Adult Swim in Eden

[yulicorn]

Remind me to pick a safer hobby next time around, like beekeeping or skydiving. It's looking like Puzzlebox is going to be another exercise in learning things I already knew about human nature. For example, we're too "dumb" to realize that creating problems for other people -- or, sometimes, refusing to help uncreate their problems, or own up to

Comments

[daoistraver]

yay!

I've been thinking along these same lines about the world in general, lately. You've summed it up nicely, thanks.

I think one reason for this is that people believe that thinking is silly, and we've got it all figured out already. Such a belief is the work of the devil, if there ever was one. I call it "conventionalism".

[yulicorn]

Remind me to tell you about my views on ab*rt**n some more peaceful day. -:) The short version is, I'm disgusted that people on both factions have polarized so quickly over a subject that's still intensely open to new debate and new scientific facts. I used to think it was just that particular topic, when I was younger and religious but pro-choice. Now I just think human beings are wired up like time bombs. :p

[freeko]

Recent Interactions with people have led me to the same conclusion! People are wired like timebombs and I have been guilty of going off like a bomb at times.

[heron61]

I'm disgusted that people on both factions have polarized so quickly over a subject that's still intensely open to new debate and new scientific facts.

At the risk of derailing an admittedly interesting debate on something else entirely, I'm deeply curious about your comment about "new scientific facts". What new scientific data do you think could impact this argument? I'm at loss to think of any. Then again, my views on this topic are somewhat unusual in that I place a far greater value on experience and existence than on potential.

[shatterstripes]

Puzzlebox: the sharing-joy muck. The growing-more-human muck.

The enlightenment muck.

That's a hell of a much more interesting goal than just another variation on the theme of animal-head people.

*hug*

[yulicorn]

I shoulda just billed it as that in the first place, but I... I dunno, maybe the path from rubberclad animal-headed people to enlightenment wasn't as obvious as I thought it was. ;)

[shatterstripes]

[shatterstripes]

[rowyn]

People who disagree always just happen to be stupid, or immature, or "whiny" (I HATE that word now) or unreasonable -- traits which, mysterious, nobody ever sees fit to apply to themselves.

Amusingly, I've used the term "whiny" several times just in the past few weeks to describe myself. :)

You have my sympathies, vixie, believe me. I sure don't want your job. :) Best wishes with it, and, for what it's worth, I think you're on the right track.

[yulicorn]

Amusingly, I've used the term "whiny" several times just in the past few weeks to describe myself. :)

Good point! I realized as I was writing the post that some people do often apply those very terms to themselves, but usually other personality types under different circumstances, and I didn't want to get into that whole mess. :)

[rowyn]

Yeah. The sorts of people who call themselves whiny are generally not the sorts who call others whiny.

This would make a lot of sense if the latter were describing the former as whiny, but I don't think it actually works that way. I can't remember the last time anyone else called me whiny. >:)

[chipuni]

I'm just happy for a place where I can write stuff like

Puddles's head pops out of her puddle-like self. She seems happy and animated. "If you want, I can look into your brain! I've got a 70% success rate in my surgeries so far. Well, 75% if you're not too worried about sanity when you wake up."
Charlie's eyes widen, "Ur... I uh... 70%?" He looks kind of worried, "I'm not sure I need um... surgery... right now."
Puddles seems really happy with herself. "Yep! Better than two out of three! And it's not like the failures weren't useful... plenty of people needed or wanted the extra parts. Only a little went to the recyclers!"

Look -- not everyone will be moving in the same direction as you. Just try to work in as many other people's interests as you can.

[yulicorn]

I really needed to hear something very much like that... <3 <3 <3

[chipuni]

One more exchange to cheer you up...
Gosvier promptly flips inverted, and levitates ... more like falls upward onto another ring of the Orrey

[yulicorn]

And you know, the more I think about the abilities I mentioned above, the more I think of them in terms of skills. Being tactful, learning to flex your worldview on demand even if only to model somebody else's, learning to recognize your emotions and put them into words rather than take them for granted... those are all things we can learn, but that a lot of people aren't explicitly being taught.

[lysana]

Yes, yes, yes. I have been going through this thanks to polyamory (hell, the polyfolk have two coined words for taking joy in others' pleasure... compersion and frubbliness). It's learned skill, not always innate, and even the ones who possess the raw basics need to be refined.

[shatterstripes]

please provide me with links to good definition of those two wonderfully bouncy words.

[lysana]

http://www3.primushost.com/~anderson/glossaryrelationshipsA.html#C has a good definition of compersion. The same site has frubbly as well. They were developed to describe the pleasure someone takes in seeing someone they are involved with being happy with someone else (while still being involved with them).