testfactor
@testfactor@lemmy.world
- Comment on A Song of Ice and Fire - first editions of each book 3 weeks ago:
The real infuriating thing in this picture is the order of the books.
Putting them out 1, 2, 5, 4, 3 should be an actual crime. Like, straight to jail.
- Comment on Who Wants To Be A Lemming 4 months ago:
The NBA allows women to try out though? It doesn’t ban women from competing at all.
- Comment on I love SVU 4 months ago:
Why is this superimposed on a screenshot from Quest 64, lol?
- Comment on Priorities 5 months ago:
We’re there police snipers at a student rally shooting at people? When did this happen?
- Comment on Anon vibes with his gf's brother 5 months ago:
I would argue that your “is active on social media and has an ounce of introspection” applies just as well to the gay/straight spectrum as the neurodivergence spectrum.
- Comment on How am I supposed to decide who to vote for in local elections? 6 months ago:
Do they have the exact same amount of experience as well?
Like, even if their platforms are the same, they probably have different backgrounds and accomplishments.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
I think this theory of science is so prevalent in this thread because you have to adhere to it in order to dunk on Elon Musk.
I doubt most of these ardents would have taken this position in a random thread about sea cucumbers or something.
I like dunking on Musk as much as the next guy, but the amount of double-think people are willing to commit to to do it is always pretty off-putting to me.
It’s like every ArsTechnica article on SpaceX has people come out of the woodwork to say that their accomplishments are trash and not even worth reporting because of Elon, which, like, you have to be delusional if you don’t think SpaceX is absolutely killing it.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
Believing in alchemy isn’t quite the slam dunk you think it is, since at the time we didn’t even know atoms existed, lol. It turns out that people who have massive gaps in the information available to them come to wrong conclusions sometimes, lol.
You’re just restating the position that I’ve already argued a ton elsewhere in the thread, so instead I’ll ask for a moment of introspection.
Do you believe you would have taken this stance if Elon Musk hadn’t taken the opposite one?
You are currently arguing that Isaac Newton wasn’t a scientist until that moment someone found his notebooks, at which point he magically became one. You’re arguing that none of the people who did the research on nuclear physics during WW2 that led to the development of the atomic bomb were scientists, since none of that research was intended for publication or peer review.
Would you have said Oppenheimer wasn’t a scientist outside of the context of this image we’re responding to?
At this point I just feel like I’m arguing against people who are knowingly taking a position they never would have taken if not to “own Elon Musk.” It’s the knee jerk reaction of “I can’t agree with that person I hate, so I’ve gotta argue the opposite.”
Which, look, I get the hate and like to see him dunked on as much as the next guy, but it’s the definition of arguing in bad faith if you don’t actually believe the thing you’re arguing for.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
Peer review isn’t typically included in the list of steps to the scientific method. Or, if it is, it’s a coda, not part of the main steps.
Dictionary.com for example lists the commonly accepted steps, and then follows it up with “usually followed by peer review and publication.”
www.dictionary.com/browse/scientific-method
Note the “usually.”
It’s also worth noting that there is no real “formalized” or “official” scientific method. Just some agreed upon commonalities. Any dozen science books will give you a dozen different graphs of the steps, and no two will be the same.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
Absolutely agreed with the sentiment. Collaboration is integral to most scientific endeavors. Especially in the modern era. I think we’re in the same page on that point.
But, like, if the person had asserted something like, “grilled cheese is only grilled cheese when you eat it with tomato soup,” and then Elon responded with, “that’s a dumb take, since you can totally have a good grilled cheese without tomato soup,” I don’t think it’s “totally owning him” to list off a ton of reasons why you believe any grilled cheese without tomato soup is an invalid grilled cheese.
Like, we can all agree that grilled cheese is best with tomato soup. That doesn’t change the fact that arbitrarily changing the definition of grilled cheese to be “only when paired with tomato soup,” is actually just kinda dumb.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
Fair enough. I’ll engage, lol.
Would you say that Sir Isaac Newton was a scientist? His research was almost entirely solo and was of limited release until much later.
Stephen Hawking has no published reproducible experiments as far as I’m aware. Is he not a scientist?
Is someone conducting research into a scientific field a scientist, or are they required to publish something before they can claim that title?
Honestly, I find arguments over how words are defined kind of exhausting, so maybe we should just cut to the heart of the matter. None of the definitions of science I can find in any dictionary include the word collaboration. Do you think that that’s a failure of the dictionary? And even if you do, do you think people who are operating under the belief that the dictionary definition is correct are wrong for doing so?
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
I reread my post and I’m not sure what you took as aggressive? That I used the word delusional? I didn’t intend that to be harsh, but sorry if it came across that way.
But, in my experience, arguments over how words are defined are usually unproductive because language is inherently arbitrary, so I’m fine calling it here. I doubt we’d make any progress.
I hope life is treating you well and you have a pleasant evening.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
Do you also assert that my other two examples aren’t science?
If so, why?
If not, then I feel like my point still stands and don’t feel strongly enough to argue semantics over this particular one.
Ultimately this is a fight over the definition of words, and I think 99.9% of people (and the dictionary) would define all my examples as science. If you want to split the hair of saying, “that wasn’t science, it was just scientific research,” have at it, but I’ll just call you a pedant, lol.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
If you aren’t saying that “science isn’t science without collaboration,” can you give an example of something that is science without collaboration? I only ask because you state that’s not what you’re saying, but follow it up with what, to my attempt at reading comprehension, is you just restating the thing you said you aren’t saying.
And I would argue science done in secret can have enormous impacts beyond “simply profits.” The Manhattan Project for example. I think it would be absurd to say what was going on there was anything but science, but there was no collaboration with the greater scientific community or intent to share their findings.
And look, of course you can be a researcher without being a scientist. Historians are researchers but not scientists obviously. But when what you are researching is physics and natural sciences, you are a scientist. That’s what the word literally means. When your definition requires you to eliminate Sir Isaac Newton, maybe it’s your definition that’s wrong.
You say you see no problem with calling an apple a fruit when broadly speaking. Neither do I. But that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be absolutely delusional to insist that an apple wasn’t actually an apple.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
Another great example.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
So, first and foremost it is important to recognize we are having a definition argument. The crux of our disagreement is over the definition of “science,” specifically as it relates to the act of doing it.
Now, obviously anyone can claim that any word means anything they want. I can claim that the definition of “doing science” is making grilled cheese sandwiches. That doesn’t make it so.
So, as with all arguments over the definition of words, I find appealing to the dictionary a good place to start. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/science Which, having read through all the possible definitions, does not seem to carry any connotation of mandatory collaboration.
Now, the dictionary is obviously not the be all and end all. Words have colloquial meanings that are sometimes not captured, or nuance can be lost in transcribing the straight meaning of the word. But I think that the onus is on you to justify why you believe that meaning is lost.
And note, what I’m not arguing is that science isn’t collaborative. Of course it is. There are huge benefits to collaboration, and it is very much the norm. But you have stated an absolute. “Science isn’t science without collaboration.” And that is the crux of our disagreement.
And as to why I wouldn’t just call it “research.” First, I see no reason to. By both my colloquial definition and the one in the dictionary (by my estimation), it is in fact science. But, more importantly, if we take your definition, you are relegating the likes of great scientists like Newton, Cavendish, Mendel, and Killing to the title of mere “researchers.” And I find the idea of calling any of those greats anything short of a scientist absurdly reductive.
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
What makes science a group activity by necessity?
Why is one person employing the scientific method to better understand the world around them “not doing science”?
- Comment on Finish him. 🪓 6 months ago:
Heck, I can think of a half dozen other examples of things that aren’t published and/or can’t be reproduced but would be considered science.
If I had an unpublished workbook of Albert Einstein, would I say the work in it “isn’t science”?
If I publish a book outlining a hypothesis about the origins of the Big Bang, is it not science because it doesn’t have any reproducible experiments?
Is any research that deadends in a uninteresting way that isn’t worthy of publication not science?
I like dunking on Elon as much as the next guy, but like, “only things that are published get the title of ‘science’” seems like a pretty indefensible take to me…
- Comment on [deleted] 6 months ago:
So, I’m from Alabama and my dad worked for the state. While the holiday is terrible, it has a dope as hell placement.
They always put it on the first Monday in June, so it’s always the week after Memorial Day.
As such, state offices basically shut down for a week, since everybody takes the Tuesday to Friday after Memorial Day off, since 4 days of leave gets you a 10 day stretch of no work.
Not saying it’s good, but it’d be hella unpopular to repeal, and not cause people care about Jefferson Davis, lol.
- Comment on Is there a FOSS make-your-own-dictionary app? 7 months ago:
I think what you are probably actually after, based on your description/comments is a flash card app, not a dictionary app?
To that end, seems like a guy on the open source subreddit made a thread about it and built one that’s FOSS. Some other good suggestions in the thread, even if his solution isn’t what you’re after.
- Comment on What a life to leave your children 8 months ago:
Can you source most Americans working 2-4 jobs? I tried Googling around, and it seems the actual number of Americans with 2+ jobs was about 8mil, or 5%.
One out of twenty Americans is a far cry from “the average American.” But I’m open to being wrong. Just couldn’t find anything supporting that claim.
- Comment on Political science 8 months ago:
I think you’re misunderstanding me, willfully or unwillfully.
It’s not about treating serious things seriously. It’s the understanding that when someone says “let’s not talk politics at the dinner table,” they don’t mean to not talk about distorted pictures of Luigi.
Words have meanings. Sometimes multiple meanings. But we have to share a common understanding of what a word means to have meaningful conversation. All the arguments about the Luigi image are as much “politics” as a chef boyardee ravioli is a “sandwich.” Which is to say, probably arguably so, but people will think you’re stupid if you make the argument in all seriousness.
As for roe v wade, it depends on what you mean. I’m not on the supreme court, so I certainly didn’t repeal it myself. I didn’t vote for Trump, so I didn’t repeal it in that manner either. But I didn’t campaign for it. I didn’t call anyone or post angry messages online. I think it was ruled the wrong way, but it also isn’t an issue that directly affects my life.
And that’s my point. If you spent emotional energy on every miscarriage of justice, you wouldn’t have time to live your life. Are you equally mad about every dictator in Africa or the middle east? Did you buy products from companies that take part in deforestation? Do you eat meat? Follow every single local election closely and have deep opinions about the two people running for the children’s court judge position? Do you have opinions about the people running for president in the Philippines? In Canada? Mexico? If you don’t actively care about all of those things, then you’re the one “standing still and reinforcing the status quo” on all those issues.
It’s okay to not let every issue dominate your life.
But I do agree I got bored with this exchange 2 messages ago, and am mostly responding on autopilot. Happy to call it here if you’d like to. No worries either way.
Hope life is treating you well, and you’re having a restful weekend my guy.
- Comment on Political science 8 months ago:
The issue then is one of definitions. 99% of people would say that the OP image of a distorted Luigi is, in fact, apolitical.
While you can argue that it’s political, it cheapens the word.
If, on a spectrum from 1-10, with Rosa Parks being a 10, this is, well, I suppose I can’t say a number lower than one.
The colloquial understanding of the word political then, is one not just of kind but severity. There is some severity threshold of “abstract political-ness” of a thing that, below that said threshold, would not be considered “political” in the colloquial sense.
The issue is that, when you assert that “no, those things are political,” you are elevating them in severity above that threshold. To the average listener, you are likening our distorted Luigi friend to Rosa Parks, and that is offensive.
That’s why I’m pushing back on the all things are political position.
The issue with the latter point is that you’re painting a false dichotomy.
We are not in fact on a moving train, we are living life where we find ourselves.
Yes, society moves forward, but it isn’t a monolith. Some parts move faster, and others slower. There are 10,000 different cultural fronts, and on some you are extremely progressive, and on some you are “standing still” or “normal” as it were. It’s impossible to devote the emotional/mental bandwidth to be on the bleeding edge of every front.
And standing still isn’t the same as advocating that where you’re standing is where everyone else should stand. It’s more than possible to live a “normal” life without “coercing” other people to do the same.
I think the differentiator here is “a” moral good vs “the” moral good. I think it’s more than reasonable to see unity and peace as worthy goals to strive for, and to know when to pick your battles on any given issue. That compromise can be preferable to chaos for all reasonable parties.
Which is not to say there aren’t hard limits. Compromise of human life and dignity are clearly unacceptable. But the idea that someone is willing to not build their identity around political issues (which is to say, those that rise above the political severity level to make them so in our current cultural zeitgeist), and to live in peace among those with whom they disagree. That doesn’t seem so bad to me.
- Comment on Political science 8 months ago:
The issue I have is that when you say that “trans people deserve equal rights,” and “I prefer my toast with butter on it” are equally political, I can’t take that position seriously. You might as well be saying they are equally “clifnibble” for all the meaning of has.
What you’re doing here is an “everything is a sandwich” type thing. Taco, sandwich. Ravioli, sandwich. The planet earth, basically a ravioli, so sandwich.
While that’s a fun thought experiment, and maybe technically true depending on how you define the word, if someone started trying to eat dirt because they said they wanted a sandwich, I’d call them nuts.
Yes, all things are political, if you define the word political that way. But when you start spouting off about how someone butters their toast being political, you’re reducing issues that actually matter down to that level.
And look, I do understand what you’re driving at. You are pushing back against people who don’t want to involve themselves “in politics.” I think it’s horribly reductive to paint them all as wanting to go back to the 1950s. I think most are probably fine with the LGBTQ+ community, and aren’t looking to go back to some racist “utopia.”
I think most just want to live their lives. They have families and jobs and parents with failing health and financial pressures. There are thousands of marginalized groups. They would happily throw a dollar in a donation tin for them, but they don’t have the emotional bandwidth or time to travel to DC and stand in protest, or argue with strangers on the Internet over it.
They’re not scared to rock the boat, they just have shit to do that has a far more immediate impact on their life and mental/physical health. - Comment on Political science 8 months ago:
It’s true that where there’s disagreement there’s politics. It’s also true that where there’s agreement there’s politics. There’s politics in Mariah’s B-sides and A-sides and in the font chosen in the album cover. The material the disc is made out of is politics, and so is the air that transmits the sound waves to your ears.
My point is that if everything is political, then calling something political loses all meaning. The term political is, then, useless.
- Comment on Political science 8 months ago:
I think the issue with this interpretation is the word “inherently” in the original post. It implies there is some intrinsic value to the art that makes it political.
While it’s true that all art can be interpreted politically, it’s no more or less true than “all food can be interpreted politically” or “all cats can be interpreted politically.” I can understand absolutely anything you want in a “political frame of reference.”
When a definition is that broad, it becomes useless.
- Comment on Kitten Heeled Pumps 8 months ago:
I think the issue is that none of those run up to mid thigh, lol. :)
- Comment on The legend of Ea-Nasir 1 year ago:
Well, I’ve subscribed to it now, lol. Fingers crossed it bounces back. :)
- Comment on The legend of Ea-Nasir 1 year ago:
We really need a ReallyShittyCopper community on Lemmy…
- Comment on Today is also Reformation Day. Martin Luther chose Oct. 31 to release "The 95 Theses" in Wittenberg, Germany, setting in motion the biggest religious upheaval in history. 1 year ago:
To be fair, one of the big things he “presumed to correct” the church on was indulgences, which I think even the Catholic Church is now like, “yeah, that was bad…”