CuriousCat Archive Page 69 of 202

  1. I've always thought you're a really good example of healthy masculinity. Looking back, was there a time when you considered yourself or your behaviors toxic and if so what did you do to change?

    I would say I was #problematic when I was younger, but I wasn't a very extreme case of #problematic. I made jokes I regret, had opinions I cringe thinking about, deflected things I should have listened to. becoming better is a process. but I was a scrawny, unpopular nerd, and the boys at school made it absolutely clear that Male Culture did respect me, so I've never really thought I had a place in it. it's never been that hard for me to pursue different models of maleness.

  2. How many layers we goin'?

    in response to And are you stopping there?

    we keep going til we get socialism

  3. Best Spiderman villain

    in response to best batman villain

  4. You think about dinosaurs much?

    yeah

  5. Is there a point you discovered you were Poly or did you find yourself in a polycule one day? (Sorry if that's too personal for cc)

    "discovering" I was poly just isn't the way I experience it. to me, being poly was a choice I made because I wanted to date a poly person. that relationship didn't last long, but I found I liked it, so I decided my next relationship would be that as well, and I've stuck with it. there may be something to the idea of "born this way" for monogamy vs. polyamory, but it hasn't resonated with me personally.

  7. What's Tumblr for?

    discourse

  8. What do you think existed before the universe?

    "before the universe" is a false concept because the Big Bang created time as we know it. there was no "before" before that.

  9. "water, fire, air, and dirt. fucking magnets, their properties are well-documented."

    in response to favorite SCP

    only the avatar can control all five

  10. If your drowning plot depends on someone not being able to swim, you're not plotting hard enough.

    in response to Do you know how to swim?

    DON'T ADVISE PEOPLE ON HOW TO DROWN ME!!!

  11. Most "Batman" Villain

    in response to best batman villain

    batman

  13. What's a very acclaimed game you've never played

    most of them

  14. how much water do you drink each day

    enough

  15. Besides your Twitter thread, do you keep track of what movies/TV shows/video games you've consumed?

    I have a bunch of lists of things I want to watch/play and I leave struck things on the list so I can see what I've finished. but the thread is the only proper LOG of movies, since sometimes I watch things that weren't on the list. don't currently have a complete game or TV log, but I track my books on Goodreads.

  16. What tax rate do you think billionaires should have to pay?

    I'm coming for all of it

  17. Do you think capitalism is one of main forces driving the climate crisis? If so, can you explain how?

    the causes of the climate crises are big and complex and I haven't done my homework. what I can say is this:

    I am one hundred percent certain that capitalism is the force *keeping us from addressing the climate crisis*. we have had all the will, knowledge, and technology to avert it since the 60's, and, near as I can tell, the only thing stopping us from doing so is a bunch of very wealthy companies that stand to make less profit in a green world have expended MASSIVE energy to prevent one from existing. oil companies buy patents for cars that run on something cleaner than gasoline and bury them. corporations that pollute lobby the shit out of politicians to keep themselves from getting regulated. car company execs get seated on zoning boards to expand suburban sprawl and gut public transit so that people can't afford not to drive cars. the things you put in your recycling bins don't get recycled, they get sold to China for scrap, and when China decided it didn't need more scrap we started burning it because that's cheaper than recycling. on and on it goes.

    I have said it before and will repeat it now: if the human species goes extinct from climate change, it will be capitalism that killed us.

  19. Do you like bill wurtz?

    I mean, I love that one video

    you know the one

  20. Do you watch drag

    not with any regularity, but I've been to some drag shows

  21. Do you sleep on your back, stomach, or side?

    I sleep on YOUR back

  22. Do you know how to fly?

    yeah, you just hurl yourself at the ground and miss

  23. An animated movie about Avatar Kyoshi is coming to theaters.

    Are you excited?

    I am pleasantly surprised, to say the least!

  24. What should I have for dinner tonight?

    polenta

  25. Will cryptocurrency technology turn society to shit...?

    I'm 90% sure crypto will be over by 2024

  26. best batman villain

    Clayface

  27. favorite SCP

    Sane Clown Posse?

  28. Do you know how to swim?

    I'm not answering that, person who is obviously plotting to drown me

  31. What makes you think markets trend towards monopolies?

    250 years of history

  32. hardest video game you've ever beaten

    I have beaten Hollow Knight, Celeste, and Earthworm Jim, you can determine for yourselves which is hardest

  33. do you think we’re ever going to be able to see widespread positive change without some truly horrific violence?

    I am not qualified to say. I hope not.

  34. You also called them rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, though!

    in response to How long (reasonably) do you think it would take to "end capitalism"? Because if you think it would take decades, or even lifetimes (which seems reasonable given the sheer enormity and ubiquity of the economic system), it sounds like what you're saying is that any action currently being taken to stop monopolies, or to stop ANY of the various issues that ultimately stem from capitalism, are entirely pointless (or at the very least meaning very little) until capitalism itself is abolished, which could occur after the death of that person, or never at all While I appreciate your limited support for actions that would "make things better in the short term", I find the general idea that no action to improve society has meaning until capitalism itself is abolished to be unhelpfully binaristic, in that it cannot distinguish between two separate outcomes possible under capitalism

    I will attempt to illustrate my point with more nuance, then; sorry for being pithy.

    from the perspective of the next several decades, any action taken to break up a monopoly in the games market - really in ANY market - is going to simply make an opening for the next monopoly. monopolies are what capitalism trend towards, so nothing short of a drastic overhaul to our economic system will get rid of them.

    from the perspective of, say, the next year or two, anti-trust laws, buying directly from developers, and supporting alternative platforms, can all go some way to breaking up the specific monopoly that is Steam. and this is valuable short-term work, because monopolies suck, and it is good to break them up. and, generally, people's lives are better when there are fewer monopolies, and I like encouraging an antagonistic relationship to capitalism.

    it's just not, in an of itself, a solution. but it can be a step towards a solution! I am fond of the phrase "survival pending revolution," because it stresses that, yes, there is bigger, more important work to be done than the liberal goal of making capitalism somewhat nicer, but, when you have a choice between brutal capitalism and moderated capitalism, you should still choose the latter.

    so that's my stance. break up Steam's monopoly, and then keep going til we've broken them all up and created a system in which monopolies are impossible.

  35. They just called you a 'braniac', they're not listening to you.

    in response to So you would eat free range eggs, brainiac?

    yeah I know, but you are, and maybe this was useful information for you

  36. Sometimes I think that it would be cool if youtubers like yourself shouted out orgs doing the on-the-ground work to make a meaningful difference on a local level, because then they could pursue their mission more ardently, but another part of me is relieved I don't see that as often (save for some large, national groups) because they aren't as likely to be dog piled by the people that dog pile y'all. What do you think about that?

    I would like to shout out orgs doing the good work, my problem so far has been finding out who is ACTUALLY having an impact. I've been disappointed enough times that I don't want to publicly associate with a movement that's just going to peter out or turn into a bland pack of DC lobbyists settling for modest reforms. also, a big part of my work has been trying to find out WHAT work we should even be doing! I fully intend to make a video about this as part of the wrap-up for Alt-Right Playbook.

    I think any progressive or leftist org expects to get a degree of bullshit, and hopefully have people on staff to deal with it. it may be wise to check with them in advance, though, so thanks for aking me thinking about it.

  37. Animals can't give consent.

    in response to As a vegan, why do you think that it's morally wrong to eat and kill a single cell of a chicken - an egg, but that a pre-born baby is just a "clump of cells"?

    true, but they can pretty clearly communicate what they do and don't like. we're talking about chickens living their lives in cages too small to turn around in, having their wingtips and beak tips cut off without anesthesia, and being force fed from a tube; I think the question of whether they would consent to these things if they could is a bit moot.

  38. So you would eat free range eggs, brainiac?

    in response to As a vegan, why do you think that it's morally wrong to eat and kill a single cell of a chicken - an egg, but that a pre-born baby is just a "clump of cells"?

    "free range" in the States means they live all their life in a crowded indoor facility that has a door with a 5 foot square of grass outside that they have "access" to, but are actively discouraged from using because farmers don't want to deal with them getting sick and having to give them antibiotics because then they can't sell the eggs as organic.

    that's the legal requirement for "free range."

  39. How long (reasonably) do you think it would take to "end capitalism"? Because if you think it would take decades, or even lifetimes (which seems reasonable given the sheer enormity and ubiquity of the economic system), it sounds like what you're saying is that any action currently being taken to stop monopolies, or to stop ANY of the various issues that ultimately stem from capitalism, are entirely pointless (or at the very least meaning very little) until capitalism itself is abolished, which could occur after the death of that person, or never at all

    While I appreciate your limited support for actions that would "make things better in the short term", I find the general idea that no action to improve society has meaning until capitalism itself is abolished to be unhelpfully binaristic, in that it cannot distinguish between two separate outcomes possible under capitalism

    in response to I mean, yeah, but isn't that like: "how do we stop our banks from getting robbed and our neighborhoods being dangerous?" "Ending crime."

    I literally listed things that can address the problem under capitalism and said I support them.

  41. What's the alt-right been doing since Trump left? Other than the "lone wolf" shootings, of course.

    QAnon

  42. Do you also dislike the way 'literally' is pronounced as 'lichurally'?

    in response to What is your "old man yells at cloud" moment?

    no I don't care about that

  43. Don't you feel it's unfair how men have to outcompete each other for who gets the girl, whereas women are virtually guaranteed a partner since men are supposed to spread their seed to as many mates as possible while women have to select only for males with the best genes? Can you tell me how it could possibly *not* be a zero-sum game for men?

    in response to Is dating a zero-sum game?

    what incel forum did you get this from? what world do you in where men are "supposed to spread their seed to as many mates as possible?" is that what dating looks like where you live? cuz where I live people generally have kids inside of monogamous marriages. do women check men's DNA before agreeing to a date like in GATTACA? do you think women can smell a propensity for cancer? none of my partners have any idea what my genes are and my entire generation is hesitant to have kids, basic traits like "can carry on an interesting conversation," "knows how to cook," "has similar values," "is kind to kids" are FAR more advantageous in dating than, I don't know, having a few strands of Genghis Khan in your genome.

  44. I mean, yeah, but isn't that like: "how do we stop our banks from getting robbed and our neighborhoods being dangerous?" "Ending crime."

    in response to How do you think we could get around Steam's monopoly on the PC gaming market if you believe that's a problem at all?

    well, to elaborate: under capitalism, markets trend towards monopoly. so anything we do to break up the Steam monopoly is just gonna be replacing one corporation with another in the long run until we address the capitalism issue. so, like, we could talk about anti-trust laws, promoting smaller platforms, buying directly from developers, and so on and so forth, and those would probably make things better in the short term. and I support that!

    but beyond a certain point it's rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

  45. As a vegan, why do you think that it's morally wrong to eat and kill a single cell of a chicken - an egg, but that a pre-born baby is just a "clump of cells"?

    my problem with eating eggs is that the chicken is forced to produce them without its consent or with regard to its health, genius

  46. how much pie can you recite by memory

    nine

    eight if we admit Boston cream pie is really cake

    nine again if we admit cheesecake is pie

  47. Is there a difference between something being "fake" vs something being "real because we made it real"?

    yup! but there's only a difference because we decided there is.

  48. Is dating a zero-sum game?

    the crux of polyamory is "no"

  50. Have you been in any online communities that were affected by the alt-right, as you describe in How to Radicalise a Normie? If so, did you notice as it happened, or only after?

    on smaller scales. definitely had some forums get so contentious and overrun with assholes that all the decent people left. also some forums with good enough moderation that they prevented it from happening. the REALLY dark stuff I talk about came from research, though; I've never been anywhere that turned into a straight-up Nazi forum.

  51. Favorite card game?

    I used to know how to play rummy and I think I enjoyed it

  52. What's the longest movie marathon you've ever done?

    my partner was a big MCU nerd in the early days we went to one of those marathons that showed all of Phase 1 before premiering The Avengers at midnight

  53. Have you read any sci-fi by Christopher Priest? He seems like your kind of writer to me.

    I haven't. what should I read first? (something other than The Prestige, please.)

  54. What is your "old man yells at cloud" moment?

    I'm generally pretty descriptivist with language and embrace semantic drift, but the ways "literally" and "begging the question" have shifted in meaning gets me pressed

  55. How do you think we could get around Steam's monopoly on the PC gaming market if you believe that's a problem at all?

    I'm strongly in favor of the "ending capitalism" strategy

  56. Did you stop at 30 for any particular reason

    in response to Can you try typing it without searching it up?

    my friends in middle school said the barrier of entry for their Pi Club was 30 digits

  57. What fictional romances give you the most warm, fuzzy feelings inside?

  58. Do you think the female orgasm is a spandrel?

    I'm not an evolutionary biologist but I don't think so

  59. Do you think "you guys" is a gender neutral plural? I'm a habitual user of "you guys" when referring to any group of people regardless of gender, but it's seeming more and more like I really should just use y'all

    yeah, "you guys" in not gender neutral. no one ever says "this guy" in reference to a woman. I use "y'all" or "you folks" or "youse" when I'm feeling frisky.

  61. How long do you wait to search for answers when you're playing a point-and-click adventure game?

    depends on how good the puzzles have been so far! if the solutions have been fair and satisfying so far, I'll usually stick it out a long time. if solutions have been rote or annoying, I'll look them up sooner. and, if I look up a solution and say "that's nonsense," I will start looking them up even quicker. whereas, if I look one up and say "oh, I should've thought of that!" then I'll avoid looking them up in the future.

  62. what aspect(s) of Pooh's philosophy do you admire?

    in response to Who is your favorite philosopher?

    he's Taoist

  63. Do you like Tim Burton's films?

    not lately

  64. Name a cozy spot in a video game where you would take a nap.

    Stoneship Age in Myst

  65. How well would you say you understand economics?

    I know enough to know I don't know much

  66. Any video games you're looking forward to?

    Here's my updated list

    ---

    Most hype:
    Silksong
    Return to Monkey Island

    Also hype:
    Selaco
    Core Decay
    Radio the Universe
    Skin Deep
    Tiny Money
    Somerville
    Roadwarden
    Oxenfree II
    Tobin's Tale
    Hellscreen
    Savior
    Trepang2

    Currently in Early Access:
    Ultrakill
    Prodeus
    Turbo Overkill
    Viscerafest
    Project Warlock II
    Stone Story

    Hoping they're not abandoned:
    Lionheart Drive
    To Azimuth
    In the Valley of Gods
    PiAwk

  68. do you like eating food?

    yeah, I think food is pretty awesome.

  69. What if you make it a policy not to sleep with someone who has a vagina/penis? AFAIK, this concept is highly controversial even among trans people, let alone between cis and trans people.

    in response to Is it transphobic if a cis lesbian/gay man does not want to date a trans women and trans man respectively?

    why do you need a POLICY? if you're not attracted to penises don't fuck them! you don't need to make it a rule, it just won't happen because that's not what you're into! you make it a policy and you imply that, if you ever found a person with a penis you WOULD sleep with, you would refuse because it's against your code. what purpose is that code serving?

    I have so far not slept with a person who has a penis. why do I have to promise never to?

  70. What's the best fan game or mod you've ever played?

    Streets of Rage Remake is the best Streets of Rage game

  71. how much pi can you recite by memory

    30 decimal places

  72. Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Little Caesars, or Domino's?

    I'm vegan

  73. Are there any theories, conspiracy or otherwise, that you believe in the face of contrary evidence or a lack of evidence? IE, Bigfoot is real, Elvis is still alive, Tommy Wiseau is DB Cooper, etc. (Although Bigfoot is definitely real, he gave my uncle a housewarming gift)

    in response to Are there any conspiracy theories that you actually believe are true?

    not really

  74. What's a good name for my guy in Final Fantasy 14

    Cloud

  75. This rhetoric infantalizes neurodivergent people and absolves them of personal responsibility. Of people who "live with chemical imbalances" are capable of evil. And such imbalances are just about the only *sane* explanation I can fathom for why anyone would compose a white supremacist manifesto before *murdering children*.

    in response to Sorry, but no. Rational people would not sincerely follow a nakedly irrational ideology. I don't care what statistics you pull out, that's a logical contradiction. Saying that the Nazis were rational people IS the same as saying that fascism is a rational ideology, and is abhorrent.

    in this thread people have pointed you to research where psych profiles of fascists showed most were entirely neurotypical. I have presented a quote from Robert O. Paxton, the researcher who literally wrote the book on fascism, who insists a neurological perspective cannot explain the atrocities done by the Reich. people explain, over and over, that blaming neurodivergence is ableist and that people with cognitive issues, compared with the general public, are statistically more likely to be *victims* of violence than perpetrators. yet y'all keep coming back with emotionally-charged arguments about the horror of the violence being committed, as though all the explanations we've given are irrelevant, and clearly without looking up any of the data we've referenced. you blame atrocities on mental illness not because you have evidence, but because the alternative offends your moral sensibilities.

    if you want an example of how a neurotypical person can favor a belief system over rational thought, even to the point of demonizing a marginalized group, look in the mirror.

Anon commented:
Ian replied: