CuriousCat Archive Page 132 of 202

  1. Would this be centering around the concept of the silent, "this is you" protagonist?

    in response to Any videos about video games upcoming

    yes and no

  2. Do you think there is value in setting out to do a task that you know can never possibly be completed? If so, how would you describe that value?

    I've been set to the task of living forever all my life

  3. Do you regret using the argument "those allegations are far less substantiated" as a hypothetical response to Bill Clinton's rape accusations (in the context of a Hillary v Trump argument) in your Control the conversation video, in light of #metoo as well as everything that has come to light since?

    I mean, it is still true, less because of the severity of Clinton's accusations and more just the sheer volume of Trump's, not to mention the recorded confession.

    I would probably rephrase it so it didn't come off as dismissive of the Clinton allegations. I was trying to point out the false equivalence, but it's hard to do that without sounding like you're defending one party.

  4. Any videos about video games upcoming

    there might be a Protagony about Gordon Freeman

  5. Do you think it's unfair that when people think of Communism their mind goes straight to authoritarian regimes?

    I think it's a tricky needle to thread. On the one hand, yes, the fact that people want to dismiss leftism by insisting (falsely) that it's inherently authoritarian or that all revolutions have resulted in dictatorships is infuriating. But lefties often overcorrect to the point of minimizing the atrocities of some communist regimes and failing to question why so many revolutions have overthrown the old guard without creating the fair and equal society they promised. Liberals over-focus on the negative, but if we're genuinely interested in changing things for the better we need to engage with the failures of previous efforts. We have to learn from them.

  6. What's the largest number you've ever spoken out loud?

    twelve and three quarters

  7. What do you think about the "speculative fiction" instead of science-fiction debate?

    Valuable when it's a discussion, a waste of time when it's an argument.

  8. Best sci-fi game?

    There's no need to rank them. At the moment I'm absolutely adoring Outer Wilds.

  9. Do you think it's okay to openly advocate for criminal actions or deaths to advance leftist goals if you don't have a particularly large platform or care about the potential consequences?

    The thing is, the smaller your platform, the less responsibility you have for your words, but, also, the more pointless it is to advocate for anything in the first place. If it's just dark humor there can be some catharsis in it, but if you actually want to pursue that as an option? Yeah, the reason you're talking about it is in the hopes that people will agree. So you're responsible for the ethics of that.

  10. Is there anything that makes MI2 non-canonical for you that wasn’t already discussed in Three Short Arguments?

    in response to Given you've played a lot of Telltale, did you ever play Tales Of Monkey Island? And if so, where would you rank it within the sequels?

    Not really. Guybrush is a different character in every game and each plot retcons the ones previous, so paying attention to canon is kind of missing the point. I just pick the one I like most.

  11. If Joe Biden picked Hillary Clinton to be his Vice President, that'd be a bad idea right?

    There are way worse people he could bring into the White House - for fuck's sake, he was saying he'd consider a Republican running mate - but it's a horrible campaign idea and the message it very pointedly sends to the Left is fucking brutal.

  12. Is it just me or is there a growing sense of buyer's remorse for Biden as the nominee?

    I don't know anyone who voted for him so I can't say.

  14. Would it be better to put effort into making big service providing apps (uber,doordash,etc) have the correct amount of worker control or just figure out how to do Uber but let the drivers get control of company?

    drivers controlling the company is the correct amount of worker control

  15. Given you've played a lot of Telltale, did you ever play Tales Of Monkey Island? And if so, where would you rank it within the sequels?

    in response to What's your favorite piece of flavor text in The Secret of Monkey Island?

    It's more interesting than it is good, but I'd put it above Escape. But, then, I'm the guy who thinks everything after Secret is noncanonical.

  16. Did you grow out your beard on purpose or have you just neglected to shave amidst the whole... thing

    The second thing. Ain't like I'm doing a lot of smoochin' right now.

  17. If Thanos was going to use the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of life in the universe, but instead of the Snap being random it'd target the conservative half of every society in the universe, would the Avengers be wrong to stop him?

    you're not the first person to try to get me advocating murder of conservatives, but this is one of the more involved attempts

  18. What happened to Abolish Ice? Seems like no one talks about it anymore. I still think it's a good idea.

    what happened is the only candidate who was pushing it dropped out of the primary

    also there's like a billion things going on all the time and the discourse can't keep track of it all

  19. Re-reading your Obduction piece you reference a Riven puzzle in which a lever obviously goes up but non-obviously goes down. I've got most of Riven burned in my brain and I'm trying to remember which lever you mean, do you recall? All I can think of is inside the Whark idol on Jungle Island

    (Although the "raise the missing walkway outside the great golden dome to access the other lowering walkway underneath it" is some similar bullshit)

    yeah, the elevator inside the whark idol

  20. Same Anon, apologies for the mix up. So,as a democratic socialist, what critique,if any do you have of Anarchist philosophy

    in response to You've called yourself a social democrat in the past (while admitting you are unsure of where you lie) what beliefs do you take issue w or simply don't have that would stop you from identifying as a libertarian socialist/Anarchist. (Lack of research is obvi entirely valid as an awnser)

    I don't have a critique. I don't know a lot about anarchist thought, though what I do know seems driven by the same ethics that drive me.

  21. What was the best thing that happened to you today?

    I played Project Warlock

  22. Is an apostrophe a letter?

    moreso than any other punctuation the apostrophe is the opposite of a letter

  23. How much would I have to pay you to reply to this tweet saying "I don't predict the future"? https://twitter.com/shaun_vids/status/1254835334833192962

    14,000 USD

  24. What's your favorite piece of flavor text in The Secret of Monkey Island?

    Cat knuckles?! How barbaric!

  25. What is your favorite type of potato?

    If I HAD to pick, it would probably be those little red ones.

  26. do you watch Polygon vids?

    I watch everything BDG puts out and dabble in the other folks. The whole video team is great but only David has a show that really showcases his talents. I wish there was anything that properly captured Simone de Rochefort's chaotic energy.

  27. Did you like Octopath traveler? My current thoughts on it are "overhyped", "unintentionally hilarious" and "lots of wasted potential".

    I enjoyed it because it scratched a certain itch, but it's not terribly remarkable.

  28. Do you think the Alt Right Playbook will end on an optimistic note or a pessimistic one?

    it's gonna be a mix

  29. That's fair. More what upset me was the takes of some prominent lefties like Kyle Kulinski, Shaun, and Jack Saint.

    in response to Thanks for explicitly arguing against Bernie or Bust. Seeing leftists slip into fashy argumentative styles over this has drained so much of my political energy (even though I'm aware it shouldn't).

    Shaun has been saying Biden is a shit candidate who will probably lose. He's been very pointed about the fact that he's not saying you shouldn't vote for him.

  30. No, I'm asking a YouTuber for dating advice as part of a science experiment.

    in response to What are your most important rules when going on a date?

    the most important thing on a date is to make sure your hate matches your codpiece

    they should *not* be the same shade but should be in the same color family

  31. What is a trait of the right that you wish existed in the left? For me it's their ability to set aside their differences and work against a common foe.

    I think many of the problems I have with leftists are exactly that, actually: focusing too much on the "common foe" and not the long-term goals; treating folks with very different aims as allies because they are useful in the moment while throwing actual allies under the bus if they dissent in any way over the issue of the day.

    What I envy is the Right's deep, emotional devotion to their own causes. We see this in pockets of the Left - members of some advocacy groups with GO TO THE FUCKING MAT for each other - but we don't see it across populations the same way. A lot of leftist spaces can feel like a bunch of folks who kinda hate each other fighting over the definition of their movement. It's hard to have that "don't fuck with me and mine" attitude we see on the Right when lefties keep assuming the threat is going to come from each other.

  32. What are your most important rules when going on a date?

    you asking me out?

  33. Thanks for explicitly arguing against Bernie or Bust.

    Seeing leftists slip into fashy argumentative styles over this has drained so much of my political energy (even though I'm aware it shouldn't).

    2/3 of the voting population stays home every election for similar reasons, so I don't think it's reasonable to say I'm arguing with Bernie fans. They are a tiny, tiny percentage of the problem, they're just louder on Left Twitter.

  34. If we decenter gentiles from conversations about Zionism, the aren't we ignoring Palestinians?

    fair point, decenter gentiles who have no personal stake in the Israeli conflict

  35. What's a really significant movie that you haven't seen?

    Raging Bull

  36. Thoughts on The Wire?

    Bunny Colvin for President

  37. Do you think it may be worth the risk of catching the virus to go out and counter-protest the anti-lockdown people?

    what? no. I'm genuinely worried they're all gonna get sick and infect all their friends and family who *aren't* being dipshits, I'm not going to *send more people* to the protest

  38. diff anon, but isnt this appeal to authority? like "i think so and so because Smart Person who's Jewish said this thing and i trust their opinion"? (my understanding of this gotcha arguments are flimsy though, like HOPEFULLY you're building your opinions on reading a lot of smart people's thinkpieces, so quoting them comes next..? maybe i'm just a simp)

    in response to As a gentile, how do you avoid accidentally playing into anti-Semitic tropes when criticizing Israel? I used to just avoid talking about the topic entirely, but lately some people have been taking my silence as pro-Zionist.

    I feel like it's a long walk to interpret "de-center gentiles from conversations about antisemitism" as "Jews are always right"

  40. CuriousCat used to have a lot more active leftists on it. Is it just me or have all the weirdos been scaring them away?

    Probably a mix of weirdos and the simply overwhelming volume of asks once you reach a certain threshold of notoriety.

  41. What's the difference? Between a social democrat and a democratic socialist?

    in response to You've called yourself a social democrat in the past (while admitting you are unsure of where you lie) what beliefs do you take issue w or simply don't have that would stop you from identifying as a libertarian socialist/Anarchist. (Lack of research is obvi entirely valid as an awnser)

    Social democracy is the European model of liberal capitalism, especially in the Nordic countries, which is capitalism but with more regulations and social safety nets.

    Democratic socialism means replacing capitalism entirely.

  42. I am an electoral nihilist. I believe that the outcome of the 2020 election will change absolutely nothing, and no individual's vote will change anything about that, therefore voting in this election one way or another is merely a personal choice and the only reason to choose to vote or not vote is to feel good about yourself.

    You believe that because it absolves you of your responsibility for what happens over the next four years.

    Nice talking with you.

  43. As a gentile, how do you avoid accidentally playing into anti-Semitic tropes when criticizing Israel? I used to just avoid talking about the topic entirely, but lately some people have been taking my silence as pro-Zionist.

    You don't have to be the voice that criticized Israel. Share the words of Jewish people who are critical of Zionism and de-center yourself from the conversation.

  44. If you mean in the stenotype context, I think ARP would either be written as: "A EU F P L T R F P L T P " (if you spoke the individual letters out loud) or "A U R P" if you were to pronounce it as if were a word {ɑːrp}.

    If you're talking about my personal anonymous human thought processes on ARP, I don't conjure any specific phrases like Tarp Budget, but I do enjoy pronouncing it like how goofy says Gawrsh.

    in response to Not original Anon but my dad does this too, but you gotta look up how Stenotypes work! Since they have fewer keys than a normal keyboard, they use letter combos to signify the letters they don't have. PB equals Final Consonant N, in this case As an aside, when I see TARPB, I say "Tarp Budget" out loud

  45. Why do so many people on the left dehumanize their opponents?

    I think the question is "why do PEOPLE dehumanize their opponents?" Humans have natural reflexes both towards cooperation/empathy and sectarianism/othering. Being on the Left doesn't guarantee the former will win out.

  46. What is something you really resent paying for?

    wars

  47. Would it be fair to say that if evangelizing to the Gabes of the world were A Thing Lefties Should Do, it should be done by those Lefties who are part of standing kyrarchies (white, straight, male, etc.) as they would be the least at-risk in interacting with Gabe, and also be someone Gabe might respect/listen to?

    I think it should be done by people in a position to reach Gabe. Statistically, those will most often be cishet white dudes, but let's not extrapolate out that being a cishet white dude ipso facto makes you qualified to deprogram a reactionary. Also let's not assume Gabe *can't* be deprogrammed by a woman or a queer person. What matters is that the person have the kind of relationship with Gabe that means he'll listen to them.

  48. You've called yourself a social democrat in the past (while admitting you are unsure of where you lie) what beliefs do you take issue w or simply don't have that would stop you from identifying as a libertarian socialist/Anarchist. (Lack of research is obvi entirely valid as an awnser)

    I've never called myself a social democrat, I've called myself a democratic socialist.

  49. Is there anyone in Trump's cabinet or advisors who is as evil as Summers? Sincere question.

    Stephen Miller is a white nationalist.

  50. There's been a fun trend in the lefty space where people are like "[left wing youtuber] is the bourgeoisie because they have thousands of patrons!" This is stupid and fake trolling right?

    some is, some is sincere, and, no, nobody can tell the difference

  51. Now that Lawrence Summers is advising Biden on the economy, is it fair to say he is no longer a lesser evil?

    I tire of this.

  52. What's the correct, comfortable amount of money people should be earning in the US country annually, on a moral level? Assuming money has to exist for the time being.

    So, money doesn't buy happiness, but it removes stress. There is a point where money has removed all the things that prevent happiness and anything above that is luxury. When I read about this I think the number was about $72k a year. With inflation, it's probably higher now. Call it $80k. If we were to put a cap on how much it is moral to own, I think I'd put it there. Anything above that, it is no longer increasing your health or happiness; it is money you are collecting that you concretely do not need and are not meaningfully benefiting from.

    Now, obviously, since we don't live in a world where we cap people's income, we can't really put that demand on people. I know folks who earn considerably more than that, but are ethical enough people that they use the excess to support people who earn less, or to invest in organizations that work for systemic change, or lobby politicians. There are moral things you can do with more money than you need, but they are mostly done to address the immorality of capitalism.

    So, as it stands, I'm going to say: earn as much as you can get from the system without contributing its inequities, and, if you have excess, you'd damn well put it into fixing the system.

  53. Why are so many people ready to blame the left if Biden loses the election?

    u know why

  55. i'm not a cop, so why not just share a list of em here?

    in response to who are they then in the list?

    oink oink

  56. What profession doesn’t get enough credit or respect?

    sex work

  58. Is it ethical to kill and eat people?

    no but I have a short list of exceptions

  60. liek comment subsnirb nd hit that bell

    fuckin PULVERIZE that bell

    ANNIHILATE the motherfucker

  61. Not original Anon but my dad does this too, but you gotta look up how Stenotypes work! Since they have fewer keys than a normal keyboard, they use letter combos to signify the letters they don't have. PB equals Final Consonant N, in this case

    As an aside, when I see TARPB, I say "Tarp Budget" out loud

    in response to I don't know if this will be funny or interesting to you at all, but TARPB reads like "tarn" to a stenographer, and every time I have seen your Twitter thread using the acronym today I have wondered what word or phrase "tarn" is intended to be shorthand for.

    what about when you see ARP?

  63. How do you feel about being told that this novel exists?

    in response to There's a sci-fi novel from 1910 with the basic plot being "humans have adapted culturally and physiologically to extreme climate change" called The Death of the Earth It doesn't work out because people are self centred bastards who won't accept that the world doesn't exist for them, so they all die 19-fucking-10

    honestly I'm going to forget about it shortly after I hit post

  64. There's a sci-fi novel from 1910 with the basic plot being "humans have adapted culturally and physiologically to extreme climate change" called The Death of the Earth

    It doesn't work out because people are self centred bastards who won't accept that the world doesn't exist for them, so they all die

    19-fucking-10

    in response to What if humans evolve to survive climate change?

    this is not a question

  65. How do we solve journalism being run by private businesses and profiting off dishonesty when state funded programs could turn into 1984

    Tons of programs are funded through government grants without having government control.

  66. What mythical creature do you wish actually existed?

    This webbed sight conjured up this question because it can do that apparently

    Maenads

  68. I don't know if this will be funny or interesting to you at all, but TARPB reads like "tarn" to a stenographer, and every time I have seen your Twitter thread using the acronym today I have wondered what word or phrase "tarn" is intended to be shorthand for.

    why does PB look like an N to a stenographer?

  69. You should check out Receiver 2, I think the way it handles gun mechanics is very fascinating when looking at the rest of how guns behave in games, in that it actually demonstrates how dangerous they are

    I've played a bit of Receiver 1. The design was brilliant, but is the *game* any good this time?

  70. "Capitalism is ok, because nine out of hundreds of companies are doing it somewhat nicer than most!"

    in response to Assets actually generate profits/money. Machinery, vehicles, office space, even human resources are assets in a sense. The issue is debt, you need more money to grow faster, taking on too much debt makes it a tight business/cash flow. A good amount debt helps it to grow healthily... Some of the biggest and strongest companies have net cash. Meaning cash in reserve after deducting debt. These are good and healthy companies with sensible balance sheet https://www.investors.com/etfs-and-funds/sectors/sp500-companies-stockpile-325-billion-cash-financial-mayhem-cornavirus-stock-market-crash/ Most businesses just takes on debt, like people living on paycheck to paycheck. So if the company doesn't have any business/income, they won't be able to pay their debt or employee. Same as employee/people, needing the income to pay rent/food. It's about savings, being smart with $ And i get that people are pissed. Rightfully so as some companies use those supposed cash reserve for stocks buyback, artificially inflating the stock price which benefits shareholder/executives and when shit hits the fan, they have no cash reserve to weather the storm

  71. What’s your favorite holiday movie?

    Iron Man 3

  72. What game have you spent the most hours playing?

    I have 1,356 hours in Nuclear Throne.

    ...and I'm pretty sure Steam under-counts the hours, because the in-game counter was higher about 500 hours ago before a patch reset it. So it's probably over 1,500.

  73. What movie quotes do you use on a regular basis?

    "Ready when you are, Raul."

  75. I thought I put in an ask about Phyllis Schlafly being proto Alt Right since Hulu's Mrs America show came out, Is that something you wanted to wait on answering, or did I never send it and quarentine is getting to my head?

    I got it. I didn't have anything to say about Phyllis Schlafly and haven't watched Mrs. America.

    Nothing personal, I just get a lot of asks on here.

Anon commented:
Ian replied: