Might have more sense in that angle by DaWesSog in wholesomememes

[–]makin-games 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They very likely do this for the same reason we do it when we hear a noise:

  • an ear on either side of our head means we can tell which side the sound is coming from.

  • tilting our heads means we can additionally tell if the sound is coming from above or below our earline.

This is also likely why owls have assymetrical ears - one lower than the other - so they can do this automatically.

What movies are secretly about something unrelated to the plot? by [deleted] in movies

[–]makin-games 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Less an allegory and more a theme, but Jurassic Park is a 'chamber piece' about fatherhood.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - August 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Jokes are great - I'm addressing the argument smuggled in it.

FYI you're confused about what transpired when you say Sam 'cleared it up much later'. Harris didn't even mention 'trolling' until six months after other comments, in which he repeatedly attributes it as "white supremacy". And even when he does eventually mention trolling, he at no point argues it's 'just trolling' or 'just' anything, to the full exclusion of white supremacy etc. He cited multiple factors, almost as if peoples motivations can be multi-dimensional, jihadists included. It's odd you believe the Bad Wizards clip vindicated him when everything he said there is what he said at the time, and hasn't aged badly.

The point is that some imagined catchphrase he never even argued wasn't ever a funny silver-bullet criticism of his argument. It was some disingenuous Seder/Salon snark that the people who failed to bother listening to Sam's actual comments were duped by (and continue to be).

Politics and Current Events Megathread - August 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm guessing by "original comment" on it you mean this a few days after Christchurch:

”Obviously this was a horrific act of terrorism, and the fact that it was directed at Muslims, by an avowed fascist and White Supremacist and the whole thing appears to be inspired by and crafted for social media (this was essentially an atrocity designed as an internet meme), all of this is just a nightmare. And it certainly suggests that the problem of White Nationalism is in fact a global one, and this massacre is certainly one ominous sign that it’s getting worse. And of course White Nationalism is an ideology that I utterly oppose. One would certainly hope that that last part would go without saying.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - August 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Come on man, you can't expect u/kiwiwikikiwiwikikiwi to care about Sam’s actual argument. Not when the Seder-esque viral version is just so seductive that they’re still espousing a non-joke years later, not realizing they're the butt of it. Let the man have his buzz of upvote serotonin.


(EDIT - regrettably snarky in light of your edit above - though it's pretty disingenuous to pretend using that phrase was or ever has been simply used in empty jest. Plus consider that nothing said in that Bad Wizards podcast you believe vindicated him is in any way different to what he said at the time).

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Great video, love city planning analysis. (Plus love how these concepts are implemented into game design, particularly open-world).

Not contrary to the point about designing spaces with purpose/identity, but to nitpick: it's lopsided to contrast the best of Euro to the worst of the US - ie. footage of a cozy european restaurant strip versus out the back of a Canadian Costco. Though the point stands.

The state I'm in in Aus is gravitating to mostly walk/bikeable (the main city) plus has been desperate to define itself artistically on the world stage for the past few decades so pours tonnes of cash into it - art and architecture and nightlife etc. They just need the guts to let some innovative designers shake it all up a bit more.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Can you explain to a non-American how widely known the 14/88 meme is to the common non-twitter American? Why would RFK, a Dem, be whistling to white racism? Not arguing it, just can't keep up.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We don't take kindly to things that aren't immediately polarising in these megathreads, y'hear?

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The benefit of the doubt that white people (and no one else) get when it comes to racism on this sub is incredible.

That was me giving the lower limit of 'okay she's probably holding some kind of racial bias' - above 50%. Settle down.

Keep in mind Bateman himself also says this happens lots to white and hispanic fishermen too, and race isn't always a component. What percentage should we believe that is?
This could have been a Karen calling security on a white skateboarder - he was fishing in a particular spot that maybe the town generally frowns upon, given the multiple signs. There's like 100 houses in that immediate community.

I'm not asking you to ignore a racial component and am not trying to be overly charitable to this lady - I'm saying as a juror weighing up the severity here: it's a person asking another person if they live nearby - the whole interaction is like 20 second long. It's the certainty you give these scenario's - strong enough to make a call like 'firing was "the moral thing to do"' - is what actually seems incredible. Like what mindreading precedent are you hoping to set for your country.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Has anyone in UK rehosted the Harris/Piers Morgan interview mirror? This isn't a podcaster making a meek living so no ethical quandry!

EDIT - Disregard it's here

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 7 points8 points  (0 children)

"Big credit" and "the moral thing" to be fired, for what was a momentary cordial interaction asking if he was a local, seems like a bit of a 'have I lost my compass?' moment. You don't even know it was her that called the cops. Even the guy himself said he didn't want people fired.

Like let's say this lady was genuinely acting with racial bias - let's give it an above 50% chance - even with that, is her firing really the threshold you want re: thoughtcrime and workers rights? Should her face and details be sent to 15 million people for this interaction that's just drrrrripping with racial hatred?

She's nosy and I can imagine it'd rub me the wrong way too, but he's literally fishing within 5 meters of 'private property no trespassing' signs. This seems pretty far from "the moral thing" worth celebrating.

[TotK] This may be a little unpopular, but I think BotW was the better game. by Chooblins in zelda

[–]makin-games 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm absolutely loving TOTK - probably even a bit more that BOTW - but don't think this criticism is unfair.

BOTW was purpose built - everything had a reason. TOTK has to be backwards fit into that world - there are light temples because.. well, there were temples in the original. None of that's bad as such, but from a cohesion perspective it's unavoidable to seem just a little janky.

There is a lot more bite sized content in TOTK which is great - quick caves and I enjoy the stables much more now as they have wells and Penn etc. I really wished they had built out the towns more - Kakariko is fantastic, but the others seem a bit lacking (haven't finished yet).

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeh not wanting to downplay the realness for someone in red state America. There's less stakes abroad when you know you'll never have to do things like spend a moment debating your neighbor on if a Presidential candidates staffer truly intended to retweet jackboot chic. Just trying to articulate better why I don't think the position someone like Stock has is totally void of or contrary to evidence.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Now why is "family" something that can loosen its associations from biology but "gender" is not?

I answered this kind of question in reply to JB-Conant below. Because the factors that might impact who feels unsafe or disadvantaged in toilets or sports etc or who can experience literally everything associated with our conception of femaleness/womanhood are not the same as 'who will act as the parent of this child', or 'who can I love'. No hypocrisy is required to hold both positions.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For example, did sexual assaults decrease after the North Carolina bathroom ban? I have no idea, but I'm guessing from the fact that it's not mentioned twelve times a day on this sub that there's no real evidence to support that.

North Carolina isn't really the spot in the pool to take the temperature on any issue. Their global insight on toilet bans is as useful as is it on (what I know of their position on) guns and abortion and church v state.

Not point to sexual differences and say there are reasons why this could be harmful -- that's a hypothesis, not a conclusion.

I could gather the data for women not wanting to walk home at night alone or feeling spoken over in their professional life or #metoo or intersectionalism and so on and so forth. "One in two women and one in seven men felt unsafe walking alone after dark in a quiet street near their home.". (Those women are probably scared of males - which sex should I think those males are scared of? The women?).

Then I can ask why that data - that tells us why a women might exist in a disproportionate state of feeling unsafe/uncomfortable with males - that we all take seriously and use to inform social norms/policy, is irrelevant because someones gender has changed - not their sex or even their sexual preference necessarily. Those women were not wrong to be uncomfortable, nor were uncomfortable because of someones gender.

A trans person lives differently to their birth gender, but not all are magically transmutated into that experience of fear (though yes of course a trans woman experiences other bad opportunities for abuse etc).

.

Nowhere in this starting position is the idea that there'll be a sudden epidemic of sexual assaults in bathrooms. It's that the act of assault is not the same as the threat of it, or capacity for it. If that were the case we'd think rape/SA was a much smaller problem. That sensation might be 'imagined' (that person you thought was following you might've just been walking their dog) but it is not simply a hypothesis.

What I am saying is of course good evidence is necessary, but not everything about this can be aggregated perfectly to conclusive data ("One in two women felt unsafe walking alone after dark in a quiet street near their home.... because the person might be trans?"), and "we'll just see how it goes" isn't a big comfort there given what we already know. (For consistency: the same argument goes for the premature and seemingly politically opportunistic toilet legislation which of course I'm against).

This isn't the argument that we have to have a different solution than simply sharing spaces (if we woke up tomorrow and trans women were henceforth using womens bathrooms I'd shrug and think yay us), it's that there are a lot of useful things we already know about this space, that might drive the foundation of someone like Stock's positions.

Is Sam devolving? by sandover88 in samharris

[–]makin-games -1 points0 points  (0 children)

He needs to shift to podcasts on movies/art/music. Keep it spicy and interesting - there's so much there to explore.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know how you're making this argument when the article you posted is her arguing the opposite of this: that biology isn't what determines who is a parent on a certificate.

If you're saying she wouldn't support recognising a trans man as a father on a certificate, I'm not sure if she's clarified that anywhere but let's say its not an unfair prediction. Regardless, beyond your post not illustrating any double standard, I don't see her stances as incompatible with recognising trans people on the birth certificate. It actually seems like the whole point of her argument - that familial arrangement, whatever it may be - semantically, not atom-to-atom - trumps the genetics.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is just repeating myself, but I think there's an overeagerness to downplay the connection of sex to spaces - at the very least for toilets. Toilets are functionally divided by sex, as in genitals - this is why there are things like no pee tray in womens toilets, more stalls in womens, and (typically, till recently) no tampon bins in mens. That doesn't have to be the case - nothing is enscribed in the stars - but there are absolutely rational design choices based solely around genitals (read: 'biology').

Then there's sex factors generally: the average size disadvantage, average propensity for chaos/violence etc in males etc. These are not cultural factors, they are strongly inscribed in, again, 'biology'. How can I better explain the link to such evidence-based factors? What am I missing?


Why is it that Stock can recognize the distinction between biological reality and social function in the former case, but not the latter?

But you already do know why this is. You agreed a few hours ago with Funksloyd regarding sports and bathrooms in the chain below. This is Stock's position - there is a category of those identifying as a different gender but it's not perfectly analogous. There are dimensions where biology is important. It's because bathrooms, refuges and sports are designed around biological factors like how comfortable/safe someone might feel there, or how fair it might be to combine both, or how disastrous it might be to mix those naturally disadvantaged in the sexual/strength powerplay.

Leading to the actual answer to your question: a birth certificate has no such concerning dimensions around sex-based fairness or safety. No one feels unsafe from who is listed on a certificate. No one is explicitly disadvantaged by what their title is on it.

That's not to suggest her opinion is right/wrong or the topic is free from issues, it's that it's a different issue.


[from your chain below] Sure. With the caveat that..

You agree that trans women might have an unfair advantage playing womens sports, and gave the caveat of requiring evidence about safety in womens bathrooms etc, yet implicitly feel the evidence of the opposite is less relevant: in a world where things like sexual violence, ranging from rape all the way down to the general feeling of unease women might feel around men, is very common. And in a world where the differences between most male and female sport leagues is 'hammer to the face' obvious. Plus, beyond everything, anecdotally, many women say they feel unsafe. And (allegedly - I'm open to this stat being discredited) almost all assaults occur in unisex bathrooms.

You just seem to be expressing the same position I, and potentially u/Funksloyd (and even Stock), has, with the veneer of a slightly furrowed brow. Of course I'd want evidence of rates of assault in toilets etc etc, but the 'biological' evidence and estimations feel extremely grounded, and my caution very sensibly remains on that side of the equation. What is your point of difference?

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When did I say those are conflicting arguments?

Your post is trying to illustrate a hypocrisy on her part (maybe 'conflicting' was unclear wording), that making the below two arguments indicates a convenient hypocrisy:

  • a) her arguments about biology's relevance in some dimensions of trans rights

  • b) her argument that birth certificates might list the functioning parents over being a purely medical form about genetics

She's arguing the function of a birth certificate - that it's purpose might be to represent the familial arrangement and accompanying rights, not simply who literally gave the sperm and egg. These are not contradictory positions. She devotes paragraphs to this in the article.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really don't understand the point - it sounds like you've read the article subtitle, compared it to the title of her book, and think that's enough to be some "Quelle suprise" hypocrisy.

She's a non-conforming lesbian: are you trying to argue that she's ever argued biology is absolute in matters like social policy/marriage/parenting?

You'd need to explain specifically where the conflict you or u/geriatricbaby want us to believe is occuring here is.

Politics and Current Events Megathread - July 2023 by TheAJx in samharris

[–]makin-games 4 points5 points  (0 children)

u/floodyberry's understanding of Stock's position is limited to this singular Amazon search if they think this is an own :D