plutonic's recent activity

  1. Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    Talking to a wide variety of people, some seem really interested in reflecting on life and the world around us and other people return blank stares. I hate to be judgemental and accuse people of...

    Talking to a wide variety of people, some seem really interested in reflecting on life and the world around us and other people return blank stares. I hate to be judgemental and accuse people of having 'empty minds' and not being inquisitive, but I really struggle with it, some people genuinely seem uninterested in thinking about that kind of stuff (or at least are not interesting in talking about it). We seem to live in a world where we are just bombarded with so much cheap entertainment, unlimited music on Spotify, endless shorts on Tiktok, doom scrolling Reddit, where are the moments of quiet contemplation? I think it's healthy to be bored sometimes, gives you the room to think about yourself.

  2. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    Thank you! I was off put right away by the fake 'Translator's Note' I got excited for a moment 'oh, this may actually be authentic than I thought' and then figured out it was in fact fake.... lame!

    Thank you! I was off put right away by the fake 'Translator's Note' I got excited for a moment 'oh, this may actually be authentic than I thought' and then figured out it was in fact fake.... lame!

    1 vote

  3. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    plutonic
    Link
    Finished Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' Published 1847. What a masterpiece. It amazes me after all these years of reading I can still come upon well known masterpieces that I have not read. The...

    Finished Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' Published 1847. What a masterpiece. It amazes me after all these years of reading I can still come upon well known masterpieces that I have not read. The world of literature has so much to offer, an endless treasure chest of splendor. Anyways, what else can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? This isn't even the best of the Bronte sister's novels yet it's among the best of the best. Great story, great prose, great characters.

    Started Patrick White's 'The Solid Mandala' Published 1966. A couple years ago I read my first Patrick White book by randomly selecting it off my shelf having no idea who he was or anything about his writing. It was 'Riders in the Chariot' and the prose was so amazing I was stunned, a really great book. Australia's only winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. While at the used bookstore a couple weeks ago they had a few of his books so I bought them all. 'The Solid Mandala' is about 2 brothers, twins, one the cold intellectual and one mentally disabled but with an emotional understanding of the world. We follow these 2 through their lives, which they spend together, we see their inner world and see the events of their lives through their different lenses.

    Almost finished listening to 'Arthur Golden's 'Memoirs Of A Geisha' Published 1997. I didn't expect too much , but I still found this rather disappointing. I was hoping the story would be better. It feels like a very 'Westernized' depiction of a Geisha's life, lacks authenticity to me. Which I guess is exactly what it is.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Looking for feedback and just art criticism of my work in ~creative

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    I think the hands are just down to the pose!

    I think the hands are just down to the pose!

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Looking for feedback and just art criticism of my work in ~creative

    plutonic
    Link
    I commend your bravery in putting your art out there and asking for criticism! When I first looked at 'Gash' without reading the description at all my mind didn't immediately jump to 'stitches', I...

    I commend your bravery in putting your art out there and asking for criticism!

    When I first looked at 'Gash' without reading the description at all my mind didn't immediately jump to 'stitches', I think that has to due with the direction of the stitching as mentioned by Cannonball. I do think the stitching should go across the crack instead of with it?

    I'll echo what AugustusFerdinand said about 'Bound'. I think you nailed the look you were going for with the Polaroid pictures, it really looks like medical imaging and the feet could have been an image of a cadaver, the hands look like they have life still in them. "but the link doesn't have enough definition in the picture to tell it's thread sewn to an image and just looks like costume store chains laid over limbs" is also exactly what I see.

    4 votes

  6. Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    I hear you about Audiobooks, while I do listen to Audiobooks on my morning commute I specifically pick more plot-based novels and genre fiction (there is lots of good stuff there too) than deep...

    My dad proselytizes to me about audiobooks, and this is the reason I always give for why I can't enjoy them. I need to read at my pace. I need to stretch out a paragraph for 10 minutes if it's a really good one, and quickly devour others. If a book doesn't have those paragraphs that I want to reread and pause and ruminate on, then it's not a good book to me.

    I hear you about Audiobooks, while I do listen to Audiobooks on my morning commute I specifically pick more plot-based novels and genre fiction (there is lots of good stuff there too) than deep literature. When I read some more serious work of literature I definitely need to be able to pace myself, I want to write in the margins and underline sentences that catch my attention. I usually read with a notepad beside me writing down character names and a simple sentence about who they are, drawing lines to show character relationships, ect. Sometimes I need to read paragraphs over and over or flip back to reference previous sections of the book, this can't be done properly with an Audiobook. A big part of why I love literature is the quality of the prose, and sometimes that prose needs to be sipped like fine wine, sloshed around in the brain and contemplated.

    5 votes

  7. Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    This is something I can identify with for sure, I hate this question. I work in the trades, whenever someone asks me what I do for a living and I answer that I'm in the trades I can feel myself...

    When I meet new people, it's always "what do you do for a living", not "what do you enjoy doing in your free time?

    This is something I can identify with for sure, I hate this question. I work in the trades, whenever someone asks me what I do for a living and I answer that I'm in the trades I can feel myself judged and can feel they instantly think less of me intellectually. I don't give a shit about my job and I'm only working for a paycheque so I usually try and answer 'who cares?', that will throw people for a loop because a lot of people incorporate what they do for a living as a large part of who they think of themselves as. I try to define myself by my hobbies and interests, my passions. Electrical work is not my passion, reading literature is.

    6 votes

  8. Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books

    plutonic
    Link
    I consider myself a pretty serious reader, consuming 30-50 books of serious literature every year. I have a 3500 volume library in my house. Reading for me has been a way to try and understand...
    • Exemplary

    I consider myself a pretty serious reader, consuming 30-50 books of serious literature every year. I have a 3500 volume library in my house. Reading for me has been a way to try and understand myself and the people/world around me. I can't think of any better way to really understand humanity than these deep works of literature. Literature focuses on the human condition, it allows you to view so many different people and different ways of life and does so in a very sympathetic manner so you really get a deep feel for these characters and their situations. My lifetime of reading has added so much value to my life I can't even picture me being who I am today without those great works. I still have so many more books to read, and therefore so much more growing to do as a person.

    I've also discovered that I am a rare soul in this quest for understanding humanity through literature. Even among other readers I run into almost all are consuming genre fiction for 'entertainment' purposes. That's fine, people will pass their time as they see fit, so I'm not surprised that reading in general is vanishing. Why take 10+ hours to consume a book for entertainment instead of watching a movie or consuming shorts, people are just looking to pass the time anyways. I've found a lot of people who are off put about thinking any deeper about life and the people around them, they actively search for ways to block that stuff out by consuming cheap, easy media that is nothing but a distraction from their own thoughts.

    People are different. Some will try and seek out the deeper meanings of life and some will not. I hate to say one outlook is better than the other, each has to find their own path in life. I know what has worked for me and I'm glad I was able to find real meaning in my life through this literature. So I always advocate for deep reading of serious literature, but I've never once convinced someone else to do so. :)

    21 votes

  9. Comment on US Supreme Court rules geofence warrants require constitutional privacy protections in ~tech

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    I'm most annoyed by Government and Banking services, I cannot do online banking anymore without 2-FA using my phone. I can't interact online with my provincial government without a very invasive...

    I'm most annoyed by Government and Banking services, I cannot do online banking anymore without 2-FA using my phone. I can't interact online with my provincial government without a very invasive app on my phone that wants to screen my face. I've been told I have the 'option' to stand in line and get a token that would allow me to access a limited amount of online government services. I don't really have a choice to use those services, most other things that require an app I can just opt to not participate. OH, how about trying to park and pay and needing 5 different apps, one for each individual parking company with it being not possible to pay otherwise. Thanks, I hate it.

    7 votes

  10. Comment on US Supreme Court rules geofence warrants require constitutional privacy protections in ~tech

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    A 'Right to Remain Disconnected' Law would be great!

    A 'Right to Remain Disconnected' Law would be great!

    14 votes

  11. Comment on EU introduces €3 customs charge on small parcels to curb cheap Chinese imports in ~society

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    I have heard those 'lost package' places are really just scams, because of privacy laws all the packages must be opened to make sure they don't contain anyone's private information and through...

    I have heard those 'lost package' places are really just scams, because of privacy laws all the packages must be opened to make sure they don't contain anyone's private information and through that process the store has already identified all the high value items and sold them elsewhere or put them aside and all that is left is all the junk.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Could I travel back in time? How physics tackles the paradoxes – with Jim Al-Khalili in ~science

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    BBC is (was) the gold standard for high quality science documentaries. So many great series over the many, many years has unfortunately dwindled to almost nothing these days :(

    BBC is (was) the gold standard for high quality science documentaries. So many great series over the many, many years has unfortunately dwindled to almost nothing these days :(

    5 votes

  13. Comment on Gander social launching on Canada Day in ~tech

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    Doesn't look like it's really for me. When it comes to 'Social Media' I am only interested in long form heavily moderated discussion boards (like this one). Pictures and videos do not interest me...

    Doesn't look like it's really for me. When it comes to 'Social Media' I am only interested in long form heavily moderated discussion boards (like this one). Pictures and videos do not interest me whatsoever. Though I do wish I had a replacement for the Province/City local subreddits, those are the only things keeping me using Reddit these days.

    4 votes

  14. Comment on No, artificial intelligence is not conscious in ~tech

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    People who use sign language claim to 'see' signing hands when they think. A lot of animals appear to be conscious in some way and they don't have language, so how do they reason and think/plan...

    People who use sign language claim to 'see' signing hands when they think. A lot of animals appear to be conscious in some way and they don't have language, so how do they reason and think/plan things out? They clearly do it somehow. It's all very interesting! My opinion on the whole AI consciousness thing is I can't make any kind of call, I don't even know what the word even means. All I can say is that my experience of the world feels 'conscious' and that's about it. I assume it applies to all other humans, but I can't actually be sure.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on No, artificial intelligence is not conscious in ~tech

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    We can't really define 'consciousness', what does it mean to you? What I think of being conscious is the running internal monologue that is my true 'self'. The me inside of me. The same me that I...

    We can't really define 'consciousness', what does it mean to you? What I think of being conscious is the running internal monologue that is my true 'self'. The me inside of me. The same me that I have been for my whole life, that 'me' has changed and grown, but it still completely feels like a continuous 'me'. That world really exists through language and I have a hard time picturing an existence without it. If one has no language, what is their internal world like? How can they think? When I 'think' I'm just talking to myself internally. I've always struggled with this, if there was no voice in my head that has guided my entire life along the way.... who would I even be? That voice IS me!

    1 vote

  16. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    Would love to hear your take on 'The Judge' when you finish Blood Meridian! Great book, enjoy.

    Would love to hear your take on 'The Judge' when you finish Blood Meridian! Great book, enjoy.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    plutonic
    Link Parent
    One of the greatest masterpieces ever written. I really enjoyed it when I read it a few years ago and it's high on my list for a re-read. In my top 5 for sure.

    One of the greatest masterpieces ever written. I really enjoyed it when I read it a few years ago and it's high on my list for a re-read. In my top 5 for sure.

  18. Comment on No, artificial intelligence is not conscious in ~tech

  19. Comment on Britain and Canada join Australia in banning social media for children under 16 in ~tech

  20. Comment on Britain and Canada join Australia in banning social media for children under 16 in ~tech

    plutonic
    Link
    Welcome to the Digital Surveillance Western Empire, you will do as you are told and not step out of line. Free/Anonymous online discussion is not permitted, please submit your ID to continue. As...

    Welcome to the Digital Surveillance Western Empire, you will do as you are told and not step out of line. Free/Anonymous online discussion is not permitted, please submit your ID to continue.

    As Tildes is a Canadian run 'Social Media' site will Tildes comply and request ID from Canadian users? Refuse to comply and go rogue, or shut down in the face of censorship? I know I won't be complying under any circumstances.

    19 votes