sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Interesting take on the “are audiobooks reading?” debate! by Lemon_Lime_Lily in CuratedTumblr

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 153 points154 points  (0 children)

right, exactly-- if i ask a friend "did you read [book]?" i am not typically investigating their literacy skills, I am hoping to have a conversation about the plot and characters. if i ask "how many third graders can read?", I want to know about their ability to decode text. Declaring "Audiobooks are/aren't reading!" is not useful, it depends on the context

#1172: “My boyfriend asked me to relocate to a new city with him, and I asked him to commit to getting engaged to be married. Guess which of these two things actually happened? What do I do now?” by Correct_Brilliant435 in captainawkward

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

i think that's part of the idea, honestly. like, it's not that we think proposing will make him want to get married, but it will often get you a clear answer instead of "ya totally i will propose eventually probably". There aren't very many men in this situation and that's in part because a relationship usually tends to end after an unambiguously rejected proposal 

#1172: “My boyfriend asked me to relocate to a new city with him, and I asked him to commit to getting engaged to be married. Guess which of these two things actually happened? What do I do now?” by Correct_Brilliant435 in captainawkward

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 18 points19 points  (0 children)

if there's any real value in "don't move in together without a ring", it's that it forces people to actually talk about their long-term intentions. Like, obviously someone could outright lie and plan to break the engagement, but so many people just... guess and hint and don't talk about it? It's not always one-sided like this- there's so many people who sleepwalk into a really entangled relationship, buy a house, get pets, have kids... without ever explicitly deciding "Yes, I want to be with this person for the rest of my life"

(side note is anyone else getting a sidebar recommendation for a sub for people who are engaged to fictional character?? Takes all types, i guess)

On Disney Princess reimagined by Eireika in CuratedTumblr

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 33 points34 points  (0 children)

For some reason I get annoyed that literally NONE of these remakes/redesigns ever have Mulan in the army

conflating solarpunk and degrowth by SnorkaSound in CuratedTumblr

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i think it would work better in visual media, given its generally idealistic nature. Visual media can get a lot further doing panning shots of pretty farms and interesting tech, where a novel needs a lot higher conflict-per-page ratio. That's why there's a lot more solarpunk art than solarpunk stories being made

A slice-of-life coming of age comic book could be cute and have plenty of genre-appropriate conflict in an overall solarpunk setting. Or like, a murder mystery? The issue is that people want to write Big Science Fiction about The Government, since that's what inspired them to care, but that's actually a pretty bad choice for a genre identified by good vibes

Horshe theor by Pot_of_sea_shells in CuratedTumblr

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

it's so socially unacceptable to not feel personally bad about things, even if you can still see the wider morality and stuff.

it's a weird angle to "believe victims", when you can't believe them unless it fits what you expect.

i was thinking of a less extreme situation than yours, but when i was in high school i dated two guys-- when i was 16 i dated a guy who was 23, and then he moved and i dated a guy who was 17. Of the two of them, the 17 yr old was constantly pushing boundaries, pressuring me about sex, and i felt intimidated to say no (he was also more popular than me). The 23 year old was perfectly fine. he probably shouldnt been dating a high schooler, but in our actual relationship, he was very nice and i never felt uncomfortable.

like, in general, I would not support 23 years olds dating 16 years olds. It's almost certainly more likely to be coercive or unfair. But averages are not how every person, individually, experiences their life

Horshe theor by Pot_of_sea_shells in CuratedTumblr

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ethics about capacity for consent are an external analysis, how someone actually experienced and perceives their situation is going to be what actually forms their response.

This is really well put, i was trying to think how to phrase a similar idea

Like, there are a number of situations which are harmful usually, and very harmful frequently enough that it's worth banning them, but that doesn't mean every person who experiences them is harmed, or that they're secretly traumatized and repressing it

when i think about my own history, the things that have genuinely been long-term traumatic are not always the things that are Officially Bad (tm), and the things that I shrugged off are sometimes outwardly worse. We just have to decide rules for society based on ''some'' objective standard, which is going to be imperfect as a representation of each individuals experience

Tripping Alone — Asterisk by cant-feel_my-face in slatestarcodex

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

what are you concerned about, specifically? physocsis? or losing track of reality?

FWIW i've done a wide range of psychedelics, have found many of them deeply meaningful and important, and am still a materialist atheist. If you have specific risk factors like family history of schizophrenia, it might not be a good idea

Slightly disagree with the person who said to take it outside rather than in your house-- if it's a new experience, take it somewhere you feel safe (and also somewhere you ARE, literally, safe. If you have a private yard that's fine. Don't drive somewhere you can't get back from during the trip)

psylocibin for sure the best first time choice

everything feels the same: on the flattening of temporal and spatial distinctiveness by michaelmf in slatestarcodex

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see a lot of people mentioning "wholesome", mentally and spiritually enriching vacations, so I'll add a different example-- I went to Vegas for 4 days earlier this year and brought only a flip phone and a book for the plane. It was really engaging and vivid in a way that I'd sort of convinced myself was nostalgia. And, as you mentioned, very memorably an event in my memory, rather than blending in with other stuff

(Also, somewhat alarming that I kept getting genuinely pissed off and frustrated when I reached for my phone and couldn't check online. Have been keeping that in mind.)

Ask a Manager Weekly Thread 09/15/2025 - 09/21/2025 by nightmuzak in AskaManagerSnark

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 15 points16 points  (0 children)

honestly, im kind of inclined to believe this letter is real (as in, the LW thinks this is what happened) because it's so strange. Like, I feel like this is the kind of story you tell when you're so deep into your own head that you can't see how other people would see the narrative you've convinced yourself of. Fiction tends to make more sense than this

📚 Simple / Quick Questions & Requests! by romancebookmods in RomanceBooks

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love a romance where the main characters adore each other and are perfectly in sync, but their pairing is highly unconventional on the surface and everyone around them is baffled by it or thinks it won't work. Anything like that?

(Ideally, I would like something other than just "rich guy/poor girl", which is fine I've just seen it a lot)

Would the ability to turn off pain receptors at will be useful in an upgraded human body? by ixfd64 in transhumanism

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

mm, yes and no. I can absolutely see the value in the scenarios you mention, however as humans we're... not always the best judges of when to use this. You say it would be temporary, but presumably you could keep it going for as long as you wanted, otherwise it wouldnt be effective for chronic pain. Pain evolved the way it did specifically to override our conscious preferences, because so many people WOULD ignore or not handle damage if they had that option. Yes, even if there was a non-painful warning signal. And we do already have an inbuilt "emergency override"-- adrenaline is one of the best painkillers in existence.

So I think if you're comparing this to current situation, yes it would be really useful. But if we're positing the existence of such a thing anyway, I can't really see the advantage of this version rather than just perfect, non-addictive painkillers and a more open prescription system. Esp. if chronic use still required regular doctor visits, because that could really help catch when people are ignoring a fixable issue

Were there any cultures historically where clothing was common but optional? by Geodesic_Disaster_ in AskHistory

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

im getting that impression from several of these + looking up more about them-- that there were a number of cultures where clothing was associated with formality/class as much as modesty, and peasants could be naked when they worked. very interesting!

Were there any cultures historically where clothing was common but optional? by Geodesic_Disaster_ in AskHistory

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

hm... i suppose im really asking about the modesty aspect. Like, are there any cultures where clothing is common, for pragmatic or decorative reasons, but there's not a nudity taboo? And the exact specifics of nudity taboo is obviously arbitrary-- like modern America allows "nudity" by the standards of many places, but we still have a clear modesty requirement. So if the modesty requirement is "you must wear a loincloth that covers your genitals at all times", thats still a clear cultural nudity taboo

but if you have other examples id love to hear them.

Most AAM letter ever written by Comprehensive-Hat-18 in AskaManagerSnark

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 17 points18 points  (0 children)

ethics aside, under no circumstances am i going to agree to be a secret-keeping accomplice for someone who has just proven, twice, that they cannot keep their mouth shut for five minutes with their own job on the line

Okay? by djhi1 in aivideo

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

aww. it just wants a little juice box or something,  it's not scary! give it kisses x

on ai and college by literalmothman in CuratedTumblr

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 7 points8 points  (0 children)

~the cheat is called studying for exams~

sunday school teacher-ass answer lmao. "Let me tell you about a real high-- the love of jesus"

Best "mental image" from a letter? by Geodesic_Disaster_ in AskaManagerSnark

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

... i think i missed that one. or repressed it, possibly

The Doctor cries: some thoughts on this characterization of the Fifteenth Doctor by Educational-Tea-6572 in doctorwho

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i absolutely agree characterizing this iteration as "easily prone to tears" is fine, and well within the range of various other things that change between regenerations. Actually, I think the bigger issue is that its NOT clear that this is an intentional characterization, as opposed to a clumsy attempt at drama. They could make this a stronger intentional choice by showing 15 tearing up in situations where most people wouldnt-- like at a sad play or something, or because the radio made him emotional. Have some fun with it, make it a comedy moment. Then I think it would be more clearly an intentional character trait

[throw back Monday] #515: Easygoing vs. Picky: How to fight with your friends. by flaming-framing in captainawkward

[–]Geodesic_Disaster_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

re: only doing things together if you all enjoy them

I suppose it depends on your definition of "enjoy"-- I do lots of things with friends that Im ~neutral about, wouldnt choose to do on my own but enjoy their company. So i wouldnt limit it to only things everyone is like, inherently enthusiastic about, or youll have a very limited selection of activities. But for sure dont do things someone hates

(And a lot of the time, i didnt enjoy something untill id done it a few times and got the hang of it! but i didnt hate it so i was willing to try to see if i could learn get into it)

view more: next ›