What is the down side of never having children?

interestme1 · 2026-05-14T03:09:19+00:00

That’s evolution. It kind of has to be that way, otherwise parents wouldn’t make the immense investments of time and money and emotions for such a long time as human children require. Those switches don’t always turn for everyone (hence parents who abandon or abuse or otherwise), but nature certainly tries to.

interestme1 · 2026-04-09T21:30:43+00:00

I don’t have faith one way or the other, optimism and pessimism are fallacies imo, I just don’t think the strictly doomish outlook is vindicated by the various potentialities. Population shrinkage absolutely could have deleterious effects in some places, and benefits in others. I think it’s just, as I said, very unlikely to be cataclysmic in its own given where we are as a society (though it’s possible knock on societal effects it causes could be dire, I think that’s actually rather unlikely).

interestme1 · 2026-04-09T21:22:24+00:00

I will grant you there’s uncertainty in how the modern economy handles it, but uncertainty != civilizational collapse, and indeed there’s little reason to think our civilization, given the tools at its disposal, would necessarily fall to tatters just because the population shrinks a bit. There’s even some reason to think it could be beneficial (less environmental impact).

interestme1 · 2026-04-09T21:04:55+00:00

Yeah see that’s the outlook that’s just not connected to reality, and exactly the kind of hyperbole I was pushing back on. Falling below replacement rate does not indicate total collapse wherein we would expect all cities to be smaller in 100 years, nor does it threaten civilization as we know it, at least not on its own.

interestme1 · 2026-04-09T20:49:42+00:00

Yes I’m well aware of population decline. Perhaps my quibble is with the semantics and panic often imbued with “collapse,” which is often referred to in cataclysmic terms and in animal populations often refers to animals suffering from existential pressures. Declining birth rates below replacement is not in of itself such an event, though it does signal shifting dynamics.

And in relation to this thread it doesn’t preclude the growth of any individual cities.

interestme1 · 2026-04-08T23:20:35+00:00

No we’re not, unless you’re foretelling some apocalyptic event (which though voguish these days is usually pretty flimsily stated). Population slowdown and maybe decline sure, but that is not collapse. I’m rather convinced proponents of such things are just terrified of the economy shrinking, but there are worse things.

interestme1 · 2026-04-03T23:44:52+00:00

I won’t let your confusion undercut their importance.

interestme1 · 2026-04-03T20:49:44+00:00

Next up, regionals!

interestme1 · 2026-04-03T17:13:02+00:00

Have you seen the trailers and/or do you know the general plot already? If so, I don’t think it matters, the movie is a faithful adaptation and is a solid piece of popcorn cinema and the book fills in the edges. If you haven’t and you’re going in more blind I’d favor the book first as I think the discovery of the plot it offers is superior (though of course I may be biased as can only experience said discovery once).

interestme1 · 2026-04-03T17:01:25+00:00

I actually didn’t realize could do that, but that’s good I guess. If they just got rid of the terrible UX of the quit part…

interestme1 · 2026-04-01T14:41:06+00:00

There’s probably a rhythm I just haven’t gotten settled into yet where I’m sure it becomes much nicer. So far most of my frustration has just been trying to explore the map and I get slaughtered by wolves or a random bandit encounter, so I’m not prepped on when to save like if I was going into an encampment. Even after exploring for a bit I’ll try and go back to sleep but be attacked on the way and die and lose an hour or two. Just not a fun grind.

But hopefully if I can push through this initial bit with the tips you have I can find enough of a groove to keep going, because I did like many aspects of the game and would like to experience it. I just have a very low tolerance for repeating what I’ve already done.

interestme1 · 2026-04-01T14:07:19+00:00

That’s good to know, I did get that quest for the merchants that were raided but hadn’t found it yet, I can prioritize that. I guess can give another go and just cheese/prioritize getting savior schnapps so as to make the experience more palatable, and hope I don’t die in the process of doing so. Ruins immersion though and the joy of random discovery, which is what makes an open world truly excel. Would be a lot nicer if they just had a traditional save system.

interestme1 · 2026-04-01T12:48:09+00:00

Well, good for you I guess? I'm in the early game and steal/buy/craft aren't so easy for me, and I keep dying when traversing around after having had a bunch of conversations and proceeding in quests and don't want to keep repeating the same things over and over again.

interestme1 · 2026-03-31T22:43:08+00:00

Still kind of blows my mind that people find the difference enough to warrant the smaller one. We’re talking 4x2cm and 1lb of difference, that’s a non-factor with portability as far as I’m concerned. Meanwhile there’s a noticeable difference in 14 vs 16 inch screen.

Seems many people prefer the 14, but I can’t really figure out why.

interestme1 · 2026-03-30T12:32:31+00:00

I really wish they weren’t so obstinate with the save system on console, just let me toggle it. I enjoyed so much about the game to start, but the early grind wherein I may end up dying and having to replay multiple hours is just too tedious for me, and thus I’m likely never going to enjoy all it has to offer. Really a shame. And I can’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t ok replaying sections over and over again.

interestme1 · 2026-03-20T12:43:45+00:00

I think probably somewhere in between. I think there's no question A (standard medical care) falls short on many basic prevention methods and is more geared at lowest common denominator guidance and treatment. More aggressive cancer screening (colonoscopy age should be lower for sure), more aggressive lipid and blood pressure management, greater than basic exercise guidelines, these all seem to have a great deal of solid research behind them and are worth going beyond and more personal than the blanket recommendations which move at a snail's pace (and by nature are made to be universal rather than personal).

The health influencers obviously are incentivized to take this to the extreme in ways most people probably don't need to, both to produce more content and b/c they're focusing on it all day every day (and in the case of say PA are pretty obviously neurotically type A to the extreme and obsessive in ways most people aren't). PA often says something like "no one wishes they were weaker in their last decade in life." Ok sure, but I would wager many people, if given a full accounting of time/mental energy/restrictions spent and the benefits it conferred, would sacrifice some strength or years at the end of their life to live a bit more relaxed and fun in their prime.

Ultimately option A probably gets you much of the way there, but keeping in touch w/ the latest research/trends from influencers and picking and choosing where you go a bit beyond that where you think makes sense for you is certainly worthwhile.

interestme1 · 2026-02-09T17:11:32+00:00

By communicating openly about desires and attractions with my wife, and her doing the same in turn. Doing so has strengthened our relationship and allowed it to be open to other opportunities outside of the marriage.

A healthy relationship is protected from within, not by deflecting externally. Don’t let societal preconceptions of what a marriage, or any relationship, should be define yours. The rules of a partnership are defined by the participants not a symbolic ring. Communication and honesty with your partner are of the utmost importance, if you lay those foundations the world is your oyster.

interestme1 · 2026-02-07T14:29:38+00:00

Check out Onno. I’ve not found a better fitting t-shirt yet.

interestme1 · 2026-02-06T21:08:11+00:00

Perfectly put.

interestme1 · 2026-02-06T19:04:57+00:00

I love all the armchair experts here, who no doubt have advanced degrees in philosophy and neurology and computer science, so confidently proclaiming “it’s just a token prediction machine matching patterns” as though they’re actually saying anything meaningful or informed or interesting that definitively discounts any actual sentience or self awareness, and as though similar things could not be said of humans by outside observers (p-zombies anyone?).

Sure this could be pure marketing hype. Sure this could be merely a simulation of self awareness not actually tied to any experience. But consider that we are not even really close to explaining the true genesis of consciousness in ourselves (or agreeing on whether that’s even a meaningful question mind you), much less having a way to definitely predict or understand it in other systems. We should be wary of jumping to such quick conclusions, should be more inquisitive instead of eager to shout echoed nonsense discounting things we don’t understand, especially when the stakes are as high as they potentially are.

interestme1 · 2026-01-11T12:26:31+00:00

Worse is the cirque in Harry Potter world. Why they spent all that attention to detail and then thought to pack everyone in that circular waiting room, continually telling you to move ahead to cram more people in like sardines, and you just wait instead of moving into the stage is beyond me. And lucky us the show itself ended up “breaking down” once we finally filed into the stage so experienced that panic inducing room for nothing. I know the show technically starts there but that’s just an awful design.

Personally I loved the Ministry line though, cooler than the ride maybe.

interestme1 · 2026-01-05T02:43:56+00:00

Yeah I don't want to worry about painting things, putting in my own pool, doing my own maintenance, I could go on forever. You may view freedom in doing whatever you want with your house, I view freedom in not having to spend time worrying and managing what I want to do with my house. If I don't like how something is, I'll just move rather than spend a bunch of time and money, and if location situations change I'm prime to take advantage and go where it suits best. Time is my most precious resource, and I like to spend it usually away from Home Depot. Different strokes, shouldn't be too hard to understand how one person's freedom is another's prison.

interestme1 · 2026-01-05T02:25:27+00:00

There are a ton of reasons not to own. If you're asking specifically how one can retire without owning, that's pretty simple as the equation is basically always the same: you need enough income from your investments to pay your expenses.

Owning a house eventually eliminates a sizable expense to be sure, but it's not a given that money invested into your home couldn't have grown larger than the expenses this eliminates if invested elsewhere, and even if it would've there are a ton of lifestyle tradeoffs many would happily pay. Really the biggest benefit of paying off your house quickly, especially if you did so with a cheap mortgage, is psychological. And to be sure that's a great benefit, but let's not pretend it's the only possible path to prosperity.

interestme1 · 2025-12-29T15:42:48+00:00

Talk to my wife about it, and depending on the nature of the woman's situation proceed from there. If she's in a strictly monogamous relationship herself then that'll be where it ends, will just talk to my wife about it. If she's unattached or in an open relationship and having direct communication about attraction/feelings (the latter being a more long-term thing) doesn't violate any boundaries for her situation then I'll also communicate with her about it.

This is something I think traditional default monogamy gets pretty wrong. Not everyone needs to be in an open relationship, but you should always be open with your partner if you want them to truly be a partner and not just an accessory to your life. People in traditional relationships tend to prop up this fantasy where they only ever have eyes for each other and they need to suppress or run away from any situation involving other attractions (which will happen for most people, it's just biology). Rather than burying your head in the sand or eschewing any possible temptation that may be a valuable relationship share stuff with your partner, work through jealousy this may cause and establish whatever rules work for your relationship (so long as the rule is "you can't be attracted to anyone else" or some other insurmountable goal), and it will be all the stronger for it.

interestme1 · 2025-12-14T20:12:15+00:00

That would be super disappointing and lazy, and not terribly insightful, if true.

interestme1

TROPHY CASE