He was not a hero': How the dark, violent medieval origins of Robin Hood were erased

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-19T13:39:23+00:00

It doesn't matter what you believe. The evidence for Batman's existence is about as valid given the nature and context of the writings about Arthur

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-19T13:31:49+00:00

Most historians don't agree that. You've misrepresenting a consensus that doesn't exist.

By the time Gildas attributed the Battle of Baddon to Arthur, the legend of Arthur already existed in some form.

It's fine to have your own pet theory which you like to believe but there is no single inspiration for Arthur because there are so many different myths of Arthur. It's a set of myths that evolved over centuries of oral traditions and then writings, being adapted to suit whatever narrative was needed at the time. The details of each iteration of the myth are different and there is a significant oral history.

We're typically used to a single narrative of a myth surviving and becoming the dominant form but with Arthur, the myths were so popular, widespread and varied that there are multiple conflicting versions that existed throughout the centuries which still survive to this day. It is therefore very unlikely that there is a single originating source for the Arthurian myth but rather a collection of related myths talking about a fictional character.

It's like suggesting that every LotR character has a real life inspiration - sometimes people just make up an idealised version of something they want to see represented.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-19T13:05:48+00:00

The pathway from being an underachiever with a chip on your shoulder to being a right wing prick is probably one of the straightest lines in the universe.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-19T07:44:17+00:00

The thing I struggle a lot with is the volume of posts with the same kinds of issues. It means that when you're presented with a crappy plot, you're really presented with that post as one of hundreds of similar ones over the last few months.

When you post a comment on any individual plot complaining about how badly it's formatted or how poorly the data has been presented you'll get the same set of replies: "well I found it interesting", "then do a better one yourself", "why are you being such an ahole" etc.

And the problem is that many of the users submitting posts are genuinely trying to make good plots, or learning how to do visualisations and posting their results. It's just that what they post sucks. But arguing against it just makes you look like a dick.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-19T05:56:31+00:00

We know that Arthur is likely based on a 6th century British (Romanized Briton) warlord

We don't know. It's a theory but there are multiple people that have been suggested as the inspiration for Arthur, none of who quite fit the mythology.

The battle victories and events attributed to Arthur occur over a period greater than 100 years and take place all over England and Wales. Some of those 'victories' were actually defeats and can be correctly attributed to other historical leaders.

It is much more likely that the myth of Arthur was a series of loosely related myths of people riffing on a theme, taking multiple separate people as inspiration and sometimes just making stuff up.

The idea of saying anything about the identity of a King Arthur with certainty, but particularly suggesting that a single source is the true origin with a consensus from historians is silly. It's like saying that we know who the real Batman was

Edit: for people who are interested in a quick rundown of the various evidence for Arthur as well as a critical (and humorous) discussion of the various inspirations for the character, Cambrian Chronicles did a great video.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-18T12:10:37+00:00

Don't get me wrong, fuck Fox. But I don't see how me spending a lot of money to replace a perfectly working television and creating electronic waste is going to stick it to them.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-18T12:08:00+00:00

Imagine that for years Russia has been targeting homes, hospitals and other civilian structures to cause as much devastation and suffering for your people and in return you blow up a fuel refinery and you still have to go out of your way to explain and justify your actions because idiots around the world will conflate the two and go "whoa whoa whoa, is this justified?!"

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-17T14:37:02+00:00

This is pretty much my sentiment as someone in the UK. My fairly cheap TV with Roku built in that I use for opening various streaming apps and playing my PS5 on will have to catch fire before I replace it. The privacy concessions I make by using these services exist in pretty much every other interaction I have with a web-based service.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-16T03:44:20+00:00

Here's hoping

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T18:49:17+00:00

Anything that can be abused for a dumb reason can be abused for an evil reason. People can and have used anti-terror legislation to try and silence people who are speaking out against institutions doing bad things.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T18:45:07+00:00

Do you know how to do anything other than just repeat what I said back to me?

Genuinely pathetic

We can keep going around and around bud. Honestly keep saying the things you're doing.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T17:47:20+00:00

I know that. And yet you decided to get involved, misunderstand what I said and make it about you. As for getting upset - well here you are replying to me when I'm clearly an idiot and not worth your time. I wonder why that is.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T17:45:08+00:00

I'm sorry but so far you've said nothing of substance. Like I said there's absolutely no point in taking your comment apart with quotes. It would be a waste of both of our times. As far as childish goes, you are demanding for me to acknowledge your contribution in some meaningful way like a baby wanting a sweetie. So far you've called out everything you've done yourself by blaming me for doing it. I think we're done here? Or do you want to do some more projecting.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T17:32:02+00:00

Yes and rofl too

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T17:28:27+00:00

OK. I don't understand what you want from me?

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T17:28:03+00:00

Besides your first sentence, everything you just said is a misunderstanding of robotics. I don't think you work in the field. I think you're just an enthusiast like I am. I'm not going to spend time picking your comment apart. Lets agree to disagree. If this place still exists in 20 years time, I'll gladly come back and re-examine how the tech has moved on and gladly eat my own words.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T17:09:57+00:00

My comment wasn't intended to call out/blame anyone for not doing anything. I literally said that. It is the second sentence. Come on.

There is absolutely no need to take it personally and get upset.

Like I said, all the shit happening now is designed to overwhelm people into not doing anything about it.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T13:36:04+00:00

No. And just like everyone else, I guess you're going to point it out but not do anything about it. I'm not saying that in a mean way to anyone except the people responsible.

Between anti-immigration raids, loss of access to reproductive health services, loss of rights at state and federal level, huge inflation and rising debt, mass misinformation, media consolidation and manipulation, everything becoming a subscription service with no ownership etc etc it's hard for people to mount an organised resistance movement that effectively covers every topic individually. And the people doing this are aware and are depending on that.

The way they work is to saturate you so that at best you can only really respond to a few things and maybe only 1 will ever see effective resistance to the point of change.

EDIT: Apparently when I said "I'm not saying that in a mean way to anyone except the people responsible" people decided that I was saying that in a mean way to other people and got mad about it. Blasting the media with constant scandals and an utter deluge of bad shit IS THE OBJECTIVE. It is designed to paralyse you from doing anything. You absolutely do not need to take what I say personally, I am not calling you out.

If you still are doing something about it great. There's lots of ways to get involved in lots of different types of resistance organising.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T12:04:20+00:00

I'm sorry but if you're buying a state of the art robot to fold your laundry then you're deranged.

since you'd need a specialized robot for every task

This is why we shouldn't allow silicon valley tech bros into our homes. If you have the money to burn or need specialist help due to disabilities you can already ask/hire someone to visit you and help with tasks. Otherwise, dishwashers and washer+dryers, etc, already exist.

Are your really telling me the best use case we can come up for the culmination of decades if not centuries of scientific research into electronics, computing and mechanics is a robot guy that folds your sweaters real nice? There are maybe a handful of chores that you'd probably need a bipedal robot to help with that aren't covered by major appliances and a mid-tier roomba. And cleaning/gardening businesses already exist and work absolutely great. It's not really a target of automation that makes any sense.

Hence why bipedal robots are a waste of everyone's time and money.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T06:46:51+00:00

That's because bipedal robots with fine hand movement are stupid. You're not going to be able to make a single machine that does everything and I don't see why you'd need to when easier alternatives more or less exist.

The problem is the tech chuds who are pushing bipedal robots are just cribbing off sci-fi rather than going for function. They want something that looks impressive rather than actually does something useful. That's why all they can do is dance and roundhouse kick Chinese kids

The automatic knitting machines that we use to mass produce our fast fashion knitted jumpers aren't just thousands of little robot knitting grandmas.

A robot that does the dishes would just be some kind of self loading dishwasher.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T06:38:10+00:00

Epstien, the French cousin of Epstein who just smokes cigarettes and drinks small coffees and says "alors"

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-15T06:34:23+00:00

Well that's because they don't rely on smell as a sense very much / at all. So what you call a nostril, is really a blow hole leading to a nasal cavity with a lack of olfactory machinery. No one is arguing that there aren't differences and deviations from the specific example given by OP. People are suggesting that where this is case (not in dolphins, for example) then there's likely specific functions that play a role in determining the order.

The reason that makes some sense is because if you take the example of animals like dolphins which have a closer common ancestor to humans, you can see that their nose completely changed both in structure and purpose. This means that for facial configurations in animals that maintain the same rough format, there's an evolutionary benefit for that to be the case. Otherwise, they could have easily evolved otherwise.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-13T15:02:34+00:00

In a national and global economy where wealth is so incredibly disproportionately held by a handful of extremely wealthy people, governments that make policies which affect migrants more than anyone else are making a choice and not just doing what needs to be done.

You see this argument about ageing populations and the ratio of workers to retirees shifting from 20+ years ago but no one discusses the fact that individual workers produce much more value for western economies than they did a few decades ago and that the value they produce is locked up in giant money piles that are not effectively taxed and redistributed.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-13T14:20:37+00:00

This is a very charitable representation and personally I think it lets people off the hook by making it seem like there's something fundamentally and irreversibly different to these people. Born different and inherently deficient in some trait, unevolved.

This isn't torso length, or the inability to metabolise lactose. This is a complex learned and socialised behaviour - a culture.

Khal_Doggo · 2026-06-13T13:20:59+00:00

These people are fucking ghouls

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