You can have conversations IRL that nobody will monitor or have any record of. I swear, people these days have forgotten how to exist in the real world.

I wouldn’t call moderated internet communities a panopticon. You can opt out at any time, which is pretty antithetical to the definition of a panopticon.

No, dogs have no concept of gender identity.

Unlikely. They have data centers in several locations all over the world, and there are countless backup copies downloaded onto personal devices everywhere.

I just got a new phone, so clothes.

Chicken soup.

Chicken stock, chicken, carrots, onion, celery. Add noodles if you like.

I disagree with your corollary. We don’t know the rules of the universe that our simulated universe resides in. We could be the first layer or an infinitely lower layer, and there would be no way of knowing.

Nope

The Romans didn’t use base 12. Roman numerals aren’t a positional system.

I’ve never heard of crossing your fingers like that to indicate 10.

Stardew Valley run, trying to hit perfection by year 3.

Mendel’s experiments are a lot easier to recreate on your own than Darwin’s observations at Galapagos. And that’s what good science is all about.

You can do it yourself and see it firsthand. You can breed plants and artificially select the traits you want to see in future generations.

Because humans are social animals, and these sorts of customs are signals to each other that we’re all willing to abide by the social rules our societies follow.

Add more color. Paint your walls if you’re allowed to.

Add stuff. Plants, furniture, art on the walls, and rugs. Bare rooms feel bigger.

A little bit of survivorship bias there, but you are correct that engineers throughout history have been just as smart as engineers today.

If you found salmon bland, then “fishy” tasting fish probably won’t be a problem for you. Cod is a very mild and delicious fish and it’s what I would have recommended.

If fishiness isn’t going to bother you then you can probably cook it any way you want. Oven roasted or pan seared would be good bets. If you wanted something to make it delicious and not mask the taste too much, fried fish in a simple batter can’t be beat imo.

Human beings are social creatures, and being able to connect with one another is one of the best parts about the internet. But the internet’s incessant need to streamline and optimize how I connect with friends by sending me notifications the moment they’re active on TikTok, posting new stories on Instagram, or liking the same video as me is has turned those real friendships into supervised ones and that fucking sucks.

This author is making a mountain out of a molehill. There are other ways to interact on social media that aren’t just sharing memes and posts (and I’m pretty sure you can pause suggested content on Instagram anyway). You can have an actual conversation with somebody, an algorithm can’t “beat you to it” or “rob you of the opportunity” or whatever.

Or just call them up and hang out with them in the meat space if you’re so concerned.

I don’t think this is about politics