I concur.

deleted by creator

Ivan 100% Tetrises himself to save the others that have yet to fall. It’s just the kind of block he is.

Sure. The premise is that blocks are falling and can’t be allowed to reach a certain height. There is drama in knowing that, no matter what, it will eventually reach that height. You’re given the tools to fend off the inevitable for as long as you can. There’s conflict, resolution, and the plot details are determined both by the decisions you make and the order in which the game delivers the blocks to you. You are the protagonist, the computer is the antagonist. There’s a beginning, middle, and end to every game. It’s as reductive as stories get, but it’s a story.

I would argue that all games have a story. Some have a scripted narrative–which, in the medium of video games, gives the player their own immersive role in the story–while other games give you the tools to create your own story as you play. You face conflicts and use your abilities and the resources around you to overcome them, ideally resulting in a satisfying progression throughout your playtime.

Both are cool for different reasons.

He’s got enough problems

What would we do with this information?

This is a very prudent question. Like, if we could somehow prove that we existed in a simulation, that would be an earth-shattering discovery about our origins… but then what?

What would we do? Some people would probably go nuts living with that information and certain philosophies/religions would have to reckon with that, but there isn’t anything we could do differently, and it wouldn’t alter our lived experience in any way, aside from maybe coloring it in a new light.

Not to say that seeking answers for the pursuit of knowledge itself isn’t worthwhile, but… yeah, what would it even matter to most of us outside of academia/philosophy?

Who is scrolling reddit calling people “dipclown” or “trumpstick”?

They’re not unused, and that is unsettling.

deleted by creator

Where I live, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day.

Zuko’s a prince! He’s not an awesome role model, but he’s an outstanding character and there are some great lessons to be learned from watching him over the course of the whole series.

Jabba resists Jedi mind tricks, too, doesn’t he? Idk if that’s just being strong-minded or a biological condition for Hutts.

I have it on PS4 and I’ve been itching to replay it, but I’ve been (foolishly) waiting on a PC release to replay. At this point, I think I’m just gonna go for it and play on PS4 again, cause I don’t think it’s happening any time soon. lol

I am not disputing the fact that there is a ton of misinformation about Autism on TikTok (and the internet as a whole), because there absolutely is and it’s dangerous. But it gives me pause that the researcher behind this study developed and promotes a treatment method that is essentially a cousin of ABA. That makes me incredibly skeptical of what his rubric might be for filtering the claims as factual or not.

ABA, for those that don’t know, is based on Skinner’s operant conditioning and was created by the man who developed “gay conversion therapy.” He once said this:

“You see, you start pretty much from scratch when you work with an autistic child. You have a person in the physical sense – they have hair, a nose and a mouth – but they are not people in the psychological sense. One way to look at the job of helping autistic kids is to see it as a matter of constructing a person. You have the raw materials, but you have to build the person.”

If “operant conditioning” makes you think of dog training, you’re right. ABA is dog training for Autistic people. It is conversion therapy. It does not “intervene” in their Autism so much as it forces them to appear more neurotypical, and a study from 2018 suggests that it actually creates PTSD symptoms in the patients–that it is traumatic–which is in-line with many firsthand accounts of people that have been through ABA.

So the guy behind this analysis developed his own practice which is rooted in ABA and centers around operant conditioning. I’m sure a lot of what he finds to be false is probably false and not scientifically-supported, but I would def be skeptical of what he considers to be misinformation in some instances since ABA is technically scientifically-supported for autism intervention, due to it’s effectiveness in making Autistic people appear more neurotypical (without regard for their psychological wellbeing in many cases).

But with that said, I’m just some schmuck on the internet. I highly recommend reading Autistic people’s perspectives on it and seeing what verified smart people have to say.

Here are some pieces I find enlightening:

• https://fortune.com/2022/05/13/autistic-community-reckoning-aba-therapy-rights-autism-insurance-private-equity-ariana-cernius/
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/nurturing-self-esteem-in-autistic-children/202209/does-applied-behavior-analysis-aba-cause
• https://whyy.org/segments/how-a-therapy-once-seen-as-a-victory-for-autistic-kids-has-come-under-fire-as-abuse/

Return of the king

An an animation geek: Steven Universe, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Gravity Falls, Over The Garden Wall, Spectacular Spider-Man, Apple & Onion, Bob’s Burgers, and Ugly Americans are all shows I seem to go back to every year or two.

Otherwise, I feel like Arrested Development, Better Off Ted, Mr. Robot, Party Down, Psych, Santa Clarita Diet, Schitt’s Creek, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, We Are Lady Parts, and the first season of Twin Peaks are all great re-watches.

My list would get too long if I listed all the movies I think are worth rewatching, but Coraline is a fun one to come back to because they packed more detail into that movie than one person could pick up in over a dozen viewings. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is another awesome one to rewatch because it’s just pure fun.

When it comes to changing someone’s mind, I believe it helps to first question whether there’s even a need to do so. If there is, then asking questions is vital. You can’t just hit someone with Facts & Logic™ and expect that it will immediately undo something they may have had drilled into them since childhood, or something that requires recognition that would challenge other dearly held beliefs (e.g. “if my dad did a bad thing, then is he not the great, infallible man I thought he was? If he’s a bad person and people tell me I look and act just like him, does that mean I’m a bad person, too?”). Finding out why someone believes what they believe, and taking time to understand it yourself and validate their experience is instrumental in opening up people’s hearts and minds. Or, at least, that’s been my experience and is therefore true to me. 😉

This is awesome!! Very much looking forward to seeing what’s posted here, and sharing tips of my own. I’ve actually got a handful to share when I have the time to write them out soon.

Thanks for bringing attention to this!

Tek Syndicate has a philosophical breakdown of Mr. Beast’s content that’s really interesting, but as far as being an example to your kids goes, it’s a tough one. I think his charitable acts are fundamentally good, but the fact that he does them all on camera is fundamentally icky. He’s a complicated figure. He’s not using hate speech or indoctrinating kids into cults or anything, so he’s clear of at least the bare minimum of alarming behavior. lol