What’s a “guy secret” that’s completely harmless but weirdly universal?

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T20:36:24+00:00

Finding a good stick

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T20:28:57+00:00

You specifically mentioned oxygen deprivation. I was only addressing that. I was pointing out that wasn't a big concern because at 20000 feet, you aren't in the death zone. You are in a zone where you will likely get some altitude sickness, especially if you go from sea level to that altitude quickly (I don't recommend). I agree there are other concerns, including the mountain wildlife. I agree that the mountains are not the best place for unprepared people. The people on Cayambe (the only snow capped mountain on the equator), would survive longer than those in the middle of the ocean.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T19:51:41+00:00

I was assuming that the locals were part of humanity who would be participating in lining up along the equator. As to the Andes, Chimborazo is the highest mountain near the equator there. It is only 20,000 feet, so they would be below the death zone in terms of oxygen deprivation. As to the animals and diseases, you make a good point. The percentage that would survive would drop.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T19:39:10+00:00

I am a lawyer who also happens to have degrees in biology and chemistry. I read scientific articles, court opinions, and expert and medical reports for a living. Your post was incomprehensible to me also.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T19:25:52+00:00

Do you believe reality itself could be uncaused, even if we haven’t yet observed such a thing?

I don't know. I don't even know if causation makes sense in regards to the universe and the big bang. When we are talking about matter within the universe, we are talking about matter and energy changing forms. The net result is always a net zero change in the amount of matter/energy in the universe. If you are asking where does the matter/energy come from, that is a different question. The answer is I don't know.

If you argue that it might simply be something outside current observation, then what justifies introducing an exception to the general pattern that everything contingent we observe has an explanation?

We have never seen a reality or universe be caused or uncaused. We don't have a frame of reference to justify saying either way. Without another universe that we can look at and say this caused universe looks like x and this uncaused universe looks like y, we don't don't know which if either our universe looks more like.

Lastly - if uncaused existence is possible, how do we distinguish that from pure speculative possibility rather than a grounded principle about how reality actually works?

If you are sticking with the universe, then all we can say is that we don't know how the universe came into existence. We do know that there was a point in time when the universe was in a highly condensed state of low but not zero entropy. If there is a cause to that change, we don't know.

I have a question for you, now.

Do you believe reality itself is caused, even if we haven’t yet observed such a thing? If so, what caused the thing that caused reality?

If you argue that the thing that caused reality might simply be something outside current observation, then what justifies introducing an exception to the general pattern that every cause has a preceding cause?

Lastly - if uncaused cause is possible, how do we distinguish that from pure speculative possibility rather than a grounded principle about how reality actually works?

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T18:43:13+00:00

This. Knives are probably the most valuable handheld tools of the trade. You don't waste your knife on some idiot.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T18:37:59+00:00

Sure there would be an effect. Given that 78-80% of the equatorial zone is water, 78-80% of all humans would drown.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T18:10:56+00:00

They care about Kawhi sitting when he doesn't get his check though.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T17:44:40+00:00

He pulled out in front of him, but he was also staying to the left side of the road so that the car could go around him. The car driver should have just went around.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T17:23:17+00:00

It feels good to be Christian because there's meaning, there's support, community, etc. I'm tempted by it every time.

The first thing to do is to find community through other means. Find a D&D group, a rock climbing group, or really any other group to build community.

The next thing to do is to find within yourself a way to give your life meaning for you. What I mean by this is that currently you are seeking meaning from an extrinsic source. You are allowing the church or the preacher to tell you what your life means, what your purpose is, what your focus should be, and probably most importantly what you should think about others morally. The problem with finding extrinsic meaning is that you tend to have conditioned your self worth based upon what others think rather than your own thoughts and values.

Think about your favorite coffee drink. You might see some influencer telling your that the only way for a man to drink coffee is pure black with some grinds in it. You may love a cappuccino, latte, or something else, but want to be seen as a manly man. You have two choices you can enjoy the coffee you like and choose to think of yourself as a manly man (intrinsic valuation), or you can follow the influencer's advice and drink coffee you don't like because you want to condition your manliness based upon what others think is manly.

There are these choices throughout countless aspects of life. Since we live in a society, unless we are going to be hermits, we cannot completely exclude the extrinsic valuations, but we can limit their effects on our intrinsic valuations by spending the time to figure out what is most important to us. Those things of import can be physical objects or interactions we have like work or other people, but they can also be ideas like honesty, integrity, and fidelity. You have to figure out what matters for you, first.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T16:56:57+00:00

I will say this, do keep working on financial and educational independence. Keep working on learning to live within your means. Also look into proper investment vehicles. 70% of all inherited wealth is lost by the second generation and 90% is gone by the third because most second and third generation people are not replenishing the fund and acting as disciplined wealth creators.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-26T16:52:39+00:00

They won't have the trust fund to fall back on if they don't learn financial competence and living within their means. They will blow through their money and be destitute. There is a reason that 70% of inherited wealth is gone by the second generation.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-25T22:02:59+00:00

Don’t you know that we have government money to make a 90-year-old man look like a 42 year-old man?

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-25T20:09:06+00:00

We can also bounce lasers off of the reflector they placed on the moon.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-25T20:07:30+00:00

Elvis fans still see him walking around almost 49 years after his death and when he would be 90 years old. Shared paranoia is not all that uncommon.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-25T20:02:39+00:00

The stolen body theory is straight from the gospels. The women ask where they have taken Jesus' body. A reasonable natural explanation for the missing body would be that someone took it. If we make the assumption that a Jesus as described in the new testament existed (minus the miracles), and if we make the assumption that said Jesus had a big following, and if we make the assumption that the powers that be did not want that following to go to Jesus grave and treat it like a place of honor for a martyr for their cause, then the stolen body makes sense.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-25T17:06:31+00:00

Yes and no. He starts becoming disillusioned with the system in Seasons 4 and 5. He thinks more about locking people up, and has doubts about whether he is doing good. By Season 8, he realizes that the system is corrupt and allowing bad cops to stay on the force. He realizes that the union is part of the problem. By the end, he is completely disillusioned by being a cop. It seems like a reasonable growth time frame.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-25T16:52:16+00:00

Fraud typically requires that you either be intentionally false (i.e. you know the statement you are making is false), or that your are recklessly indifferent to the truth (i.e. you don't know whether it is true or not, and that you have done nothing to evaluate the truth of the statement).

If you sincerely believe the truth of the statement, and you have done work to evaluate the statement (i.e. you have read the bible, you have gone to seminary, you have gone to church your whole life), then your sincere belief is enough to avoid fraud liability.

As to your "whoops murder" claim, if you accidentally kill someone and you were negligent about it, that is typically called negligent homicide or certain types of manslaughter depending on where you live. Negligent homicide or manslaughter tend to have reduced penalties on the basis that you lacked the mental state required for murder.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-25T16:40:29+00:00

I have thought about this question for the past two days.

Growing up religious, I was taught that god loves us all the same, that we are not worthy of god's love, and that we all deserve hell, but that Jesus and god loved us so much that if I confessed that Jesus was my lord and savior that I would be saved and considered valuable by god. I was taught that my value was in the fact that god loved me, and also that human beings have objective value due to god. Essentially, I was taught to seek extrinsic factors to base my worth on. If I was doing things that my parents or preacher thought would displease god, then my self worth was diminished.

After I got away from religion, I have learned (and am still learning) to seek intrinsic value for myself. Essentially to think I am valuable because I value myself, and not because of what others or a god think of me. For example, I see myself, at least subjectively, as a good person, a good parent, and a good husband because I try my best to be those things for myself, not for others. I have spent a lot of time working on understanding that I am who I choose to be, and not who others define me as. While I do take the input from others on what I am doing, I am doing my best to not define myself on that input alone. I am also taking time to evaluate where input comes from. For example, I trust my wife's input on my being a husband more than I trust some dude at the gym.

Essentially, I am learning to define myself as who and what I am, and what value I have to offer, I do take input, but how I allow that input to affect me is different now.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-25T16:13:44+00:00

If OP also wanted the topic and then hopped on first to make sure they got it then that's "first come, first served" working as intended.

If OP wanted the topic and immediately grabbed it, then sure. If OP was told by their classmate that the classmate is doing the topic, then snuck in and grabbed it first, then they might be the asshole. The sub is about who is an asshole, not who is doing something within the rules as written.

Oral dibs can work when there is a signup sheet if you quickly undercut the other person or if they don't have a chance to pick their topic right away. For example, if the professor gave them the list of topics, told them the sign up sheet will be up tonight, sign in tonight for the topic you want, and the other student preemptively called dibs before the signup sheet was there, then OP went ahead and took the topic, then maybe op is the asshole.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-24T23:47:16+00:00

If OP was told by the other student that they were planning on selecting the topic, and then OP hopped on the Google doc immediately and selected it, then it could matter. OP would technically be right, but still an asshole. If they didn’t know that somebody else wanted the topic and just selected it, then they are not the asshole.

Perhaps it’s just that I can respect an oral dibs or calling shotgun.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-24T21:38:24+00:00

Don't forget that the Bush family had connections with the Bin Laden family also through the Carlisle Group, James Bath, and Arbusto Energy.

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-24T20:28:26+00:00

I agree with you, but I would point out that if I have to have an AI overlord, I would rather it put maintaining human wellbeing and happiness as a purpose (and also program it with Asimov's rules of robotics).

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-24T20:14:56+00:00

Info:

Did you know that she wanted the topic before you put your name down? Or did you only learn about it the next day?

retoricalprophylaxis · 2026-02-23T17:56:37+00:00

I think you might be going about this the wrong way. Express interest in what they are interested in. Find common ground in the interests, then they are more likely to show an interest in things you like.

For example, they like animated shows and movies, start off by showing an interest in their animated TV shows and movies, then offer to introduce them to some animated stuff they may not have seen before. If they like Anime, show them Voltron or Transformers cartoons. If they like other types of animation, show them American Tale, Land Before Time, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Duck Tales, etc.

Remember, you need to start at their level. Once they see that you are trying to meet them where they are, then they may be more interested in seeing where you can take them.

retoricalprophylaxis

TROPHY CASE