liv's recent activity
-
Comment on Why has Enlightenment, the Scientific and later the Industrial Revolution started out in the "Western" world? in ~humanities.history
-
Comment on Do you think life was better in the past? in ~talk
liv (edited )LinkAll change involves loss. I think that there have been trade offs, and there are some ways in which our pasts may have been better, and in other ways worse. I also think that when people are...All change involves loss.
I think that there have been trade offs, and there are some ways in which our pasts may have been better, and in other ways worse. I also think that when people are nostalgic it's often for the person we once were or how a percieved situation made us feel.
And, this feeling that everything is getting worse has been around for a long time. For example it's encoded into the "three ages" of Ancient Greek mythology, each of which is worse than the last.
Also, nostalgia does not necessarily imply that the past is better. Recently I came across a case of "forbidden nostalgia" where an author was talking about how survivors of a brutal regime felt nostalgic about the songs and foods from that time. A reviewer became extremely upset about this and ranted about how many people had died and how disgusting it was to attribute nostalgia to survivors. The author came back with an empirical study that proved the point about nostalgia.
-
Comment on Why did you select your username for Tildes? in ~tildes
-
Comment on Why did you select your username for Tildes? in ~tildes
liv Link ParentPretty sure they don't call it the check, though? Relates to my favourite trivia about US vs UK, though it's out of date now everyone's cashless. ("In the US they pay the check with a bill, in the...Pretty sure they don't call it the check, though?
Relates to my favourite trivia about US vs UK, though it's out of date now everyone's cashless. ("In the US they pay the check with a bill, in the UK they pay the bill with a cheque")
-
Comment on Why did you select your username for Tildes? in ~tildes
liv Link ParentI feel you. The person who owns my company name .com doesn't use it for anything. It's been in expired/redemption like 3 times as well.I feel you.
The person who owns my company name .com doesn't use it for anything. It's been in expired/redemption like 3 times as well.
-
Comment on US Redditors to earn real money for gold, karma in ~tech
liv Link ParentProbably! My country's subreddit (in English) got more conservative people a couple of years ago too. Not sure why.Probably!
My country's subreddit (in English) got more conservative people a couple of years ago too. Not sure why.
-
Comment on New tinnitus therapy can quiet torturous ringing in the ears in ~science
liv Link ParentI get that too, like a flutttering popping sound? It's usually from too many people talking loudly, like at a gallery opening.I get that too, like a flutttering popping sound?
It's usually from too many people talking loudly, like at a gallery opening.
-
Comment on US Redditors to earn real money for gold, karma in ~tech
liv Link ParentThat makes sense. I'm on +12 GMT so the British are all asleep during the afternoon, which is my main social media time. That might be why the push was less noticeable for me.That makes sense. I'm on +12 GMT so the British are all asleep during the afternoon, which is my main social media time.
That might be why the push was less noticeable for me.
-
Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech
liv Link ParentA little cat would be super cute! I kind of want one now. I wonder if they are still a thing... Yes, it felt like we were in the future or something.A little cat would be super cute! I kind of want one now. I wonder if they are still a thing...
Yes, it felt like we were in the future or something.
-
Comment on Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find in ~science
-
Comment on Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find in ~science
liv Link ParentThey pass down lore across generations ( the rubber mask experiment) so it seems likely to me that they have a belief system.They pass down lore across generations ( the rubber mask experiment) so it seems likely to me that they have a belief system.
-
Comment on Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find in ~science
liv Link ParentKea absolutely are as smart as crows. I'm not just saying this out of patriotic fervour, there is a bird intelligence lab here that studies both crows and kea....Kea absolutely are as smart as crows. I'm not just saying this out of patriotic fervour, there is a bird intelligence lab here that studies both crows and kea.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0020231
-
Comment on Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find in ~science
liv Link ParentWith all due respect no, they are absolutely doing it for fun. It's the well fed kea that come down and mess with humans.With all due respect no, they are absolutely doing it for fun. It's the well fed kea that come down and mess with humans.
-
Comment on Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find in ~science
liv Link ParentThey do it for fun. The kea who hang out in car parks vandalising cars tend to be juvenile males. It is thought that they do it because due to human habitation they are pretty well fed and have...They do it for fun.
The kea who hang out in car parks vandalising cars tend to be juvenile males.
It is thought that they do it because due to human habitation they are pretty well fed and have time to spare. Kea will come up and try to untie your shoelaces. They don't think you are "food" they just think untying laces is funny.
When land transport authority was building the Milford tunnel, Kea were caught blocking off traffic with road cones. The construction workers eventually constructed a kea gym/playground for them to keep them occupied.
-
Comment on US Redditors to earn real money for gold, karma in ~tech
liv Link ParentI agree with this. Those people with multiple alts that all have over 100k makes it abundantly clear how easy it is to farm karma. And they are just doing it for fun. The average bot can scare up...I agree with this. Those people with multiple alts that all have over 100k makes it abundantly clear how easy it is to farm karma. And they are just doing it for fun.
The average bot can scare up 1k karma before it gets sold on Player Up.
This is going to be a whole new level of crap.
-
Comment on US Redditors to earn real money for gold, karma in ~tech
liv Link ParentI never noticed the rise of UK-focussed content, but did this coincide with that weird thing where Reddit was making subs in French and German and astroturfing them with translated content from...I never noticed the rise of UK-focussed content, but did this coincide with that weird thing where Reddit was making subs in French and German and astroturfing them with translated content from other subs? That was wild.
NHS = National Health Service btw :-).
-
Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech
liv Link ParentTiny Elvis just reminded me, I had these tiny strippers - male and female - who would come out and do strip dances in the bottom right corner. I forget the name of the program. I didn't have them...Tiny Elvis just reminded me, I had these tiny strippers - male and female - who would come out and do strip dances in the bottom right corner. I forget the name of the program.
I didn't have them out of lechery, it was just so novel seeing an animated gif with a transparent background dancing around on my desktop.
-
Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech
liv Link ParentI prefer Napster. I made the mistake of searching for one of those "rain sounds for sleep" when I first discovered Spotify and all it wanted to play me were 8 hour long atmosphere tracks.I prefer Napster.
I made the mistake of searching for one of those "rain sounds for sleep" when I first discovered Spotify and all it wanted to play me were 8 hour long atmosphere tracks.
-
Comment on What is your favorite type of horror movie antagonist? in ~movies
liv Link ParentThat's a good point. The answer was unfortunately "we will physically fight each other to hoard toilet paper". I think the fun of it with the earlier zombie stuff, like the original Romero films,...That's a good point. The answer was unfortunately "we will physically fight each other to hoard toilet paper".
I think the fun of it with the earlier zombie stuff, like the original Romero films, was more "can we survive? If so, how?"
-
Comment on What is your favorite type of horror movie antagonist? in ~movies
liv Link ParentI don't think it's dumb at all. There are a lot of movies I love that I tend to forget are horror - stuff like The Fly and The Thing and Alien and Midsomer. I guess there's sort of a surfeit of...I don't think it's dumb at all. There are a lot of movies I love that I tend to forget are horror - stuff like The Fly and The Thing and Alien and Midsomer. I guess there's sort of a surfeit of invention in them that is very watchable.
The novelty and the unease or revulsion are kind of at a manageable level. Is that what draws you to horror, too?
The western world did not develop in an isolated vacuum. It benefited from vast lateral movements of ideas and technology, in a way that those not on a similar latitude did not.
For example, when western Christians had completely ignored and lost much of the ancient wisdom of Greek and Roman philosophers for hundreds of years, this knowledge was kept in the Arabic libraries of the East. The West gradually rediscovered it through contact during the Crusades etc.
Jarred Diamond's book Guns Germs and Steel touches on a lot of the things which interest you, because it sets out to answer this exact question. It isn't perfect but there's a lot of good starting points.
Edit: in the West we are often not taught properly about other civilizations. The first library was in Sumeria. The first university was in Maghadhar (Bihar). The 14th century African kingdom of Kongo was running a full district court system.