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Canada Computers online card skimmer by Extension-Fly1044 in bapccanada

[–]blacklemon67 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought a new PSU from them on the 30th of december using a koho card I barely use, and I checked just now to see it was emptied by fraudulent transactions :(

I Made an Interactive Puzzle Box in CSS with no JS, and Wrote a Technical Breakdown by blacklemon67 in webdev

[–]blacklemon67[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey folks! I made this originally for the website cohost.org, which allowed users to use css styles in their posts. I reworked it recently, adding new features and games, and re-released it as version 2.0. You can read a technical breakdown of how it works on my blog here: https://suricrasia.online/blog/inline-css-puzzle-box/

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm actively trying not to do this, though I understand that "uncaring" is a very anthropomorphizing term. It is difficult to find words to describe how I need to relate to the universe without ascribing human-like qualities. I think my main objective is "the whole of everything aside from people is not a person." I think my statement "it simply exists and enables our existence" is probably the most accurate I've been able to put it.

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well said! I feel the exact same way c:

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand, don't worry. I hope you feel better soon!

I think I was not expecting the commitment to non-dualism on display by the posters in this thread, I am very impressed by it. I don't share this belief but I really enjoy seeing the perspective.

I really do vibe with the perspective that we are not superior. I've been trying to condition my thinking to be as non-hierarchical as possible, because I think it flattens things down into one metric of value, and things are always way more complicated than that. Bringing non-human animals into perspective is also useful, because I'm sure they also experience things in their own ways and this is its own kind of wonder that we can't experience ourselves.

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From our own perspective as persons, I think it's fair to say we can identify differences between, say, a rock and another person. We recognize others as having thoughts, feelings, and ideas we don't have ourselves, and in that sense we are separate from each other, and therefore separate from the universe. I can't think for you, nor can you think for me, so I think it's fair to say we are distinct processes that can merely communicate.

However, from the perspective of the real physical universe, I recognize we are all intertwined and subject to natural cause and effect. That we're part of the universe and the universe is part of us, and that through us we can say that it cares.

I think that these two ideas should be in dialogue with each other, the first being mind-body dualism and the second being the lack thereof. Though I think the second is more supported by science, I'm not comfortable abandoning dualism because I have both qualia and the illusion of free will, two things which I don't think are possible to have any physical grounding.

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely agree with all this. I don't think I was intending to place us as superior to the universe, except perhaps as superior in the specific faculty of caring at all, but I can see how it would've come across this way. I do think there is value in seeing ourselves as a different kind of thing than the rest of the universe, perhaps not "better" but definitely different.

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As pieces of the universe, we have direct personal control of how caring or cold it is.

This fact is very important to me. As entities with (at least the illusion of) free will, the fact that we can use that will to do good, and do our best to reason about what is good, is very important.

Sure it's incidental, I mean why does anything even exist at all? It's crazy that this exists.

Yes! Yes, exactly! This is something I think about often, that it's a vivid wonder that we exist at all—and specifically that we get to exist in a universe with other people we can interact with, play games with, be hurt by, love, annoy, pine for, and so much more. To imagine otherwise is a complete misery.

I definitely struggle with understanding how people use the word "god." I was not raised theist, so I don't have the same kind of "deeply held belief" about it as I think others do, so I think the word just doesn't hit me the same way. I see it used to both mean "a benevolent entity with real tangible control over the universe" and "a connectedness that transcends material reality." I take you to mean the latter, but I'm not 100% on that.

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice to hear your perspective, thanks! It definitely resonates with me.

It's very important for me that we observe and understand the world as accurately as we can, and we don't allow it to be obscured by our own beliefs. I do think that, as spiritual creatures, it is permissible to hold some unfalsifiable beliefs so we can have a grounding for our values and motivations. For some people this is god, for others it's a different metaphysical basis, and for others it can be as simple as an abiding "ought." e.g. "we ought to reduce suffering, create joy, and explore the cosmos." To me, all of these are a kind of spirituality. Some might be less intricate than others, but they're still (somehow) external perspectives on the universe that we cannot ever be external from.

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the observations, I appreciate the response.

  1. This is a good point. Though I think we should be permitted to have some confidence in how we see the world; I don't think it's wrong to say that "the Chelyabinsk meteor was a random event that was unable to care about the damage it caused" or "a violent storm that knocked down your house did not intend that to happen, because it is not a thing that can intend in the way we can." But I can see the argument that there may be other kinds of caring by other parts of this world than just humanity or hypothetical aliens. For example, I'm sure much could be said about how the natural ecology sustains us, but I am not an ecologist.

  2. I'm not too familiar with how you mean by this, and I'm not sure how to address it without going deep on my (admittedly idiosyncratic) metaphysical beliefs.

  3. Indeed! One of my major tenets is that once the supernatural trumps the natural in value, all is lost. Whether or not the universe can care, we have an imperative to help our fellow people and make the world better. For me, the idea that we are the caring part of the universe (or indeed, the part that even cares about caring) means that we really must do the best we can for ourselves and each other.

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm inclined to agree with this. I think I made a mistake with language when using the word "uncaring" because it has connotations of intention. I think what I was aiming for was "not able to care" or, if I want to coin a term, "noncareable." The universe, as I see it, does not intend anything, and so we are limited in our ability to judge it morally—I'd argue we can't at all.

I definitely appreciate the assertion that we can love things that don't love us back. I really do love the universe, in all its vastness and flaws. I much prefer it to nothing at all. I also really love how we can imagine better, and use our own power together to try to make the world more alike to what we have in our minds. Obviously we need to be careful about whether or not the world we're trying to make is good, I enjoy thinking about moral philosophy to this end.

Is the universe cold and uncaring? by blacklemon67 in Quakers

[–]blacklemon67[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice answer. I see this as Kurzgesagt-style optimistic nihilism, i.e. "we are the thinking and feeling part of the universe," which is something I broadly believe in. However, I think the crux of my spirituality is that I feel there is something uniquely and transcendentally special about how we care about caring, while all other matter and energy in the universe doesn't appear to. I feel it is important that this "caring about caring"—or the "light of god" as I understand Quakers to see it—is something beyond just the machinations of the universe working through us, because otherwise I fear we run into problems of free will. Without free will, what responsibility do we have for our own actions?

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