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This is something which I often contemplate but rarely but into words for fear of being misunderstood. Is it people which were without the Internet unable to d

This is something which I often contemplate but rarely but into words for fear of being misunderstood. Is it people which were without the Internet unable to develop their character fully, or is it the Internet that changes the people? Were Otherkin a normal phenomenon, or is it something that exposure to the Internet does to some people? Same with all kinds of fetishes, especially Haskell.

77pt77 10y ago
>Were Otherkin a normal phenomenon, or is it something that exposure to the Internet does to some people? All these things are old. Those people would just become shamans or go into religion and that would manifest itself in a different context. Very few things about human nature or condition are actually new.
ggggtez 10y ago
Of course otherkin already existed. They just would have not had community that connected them. People have felt connected to spirit animals and all sorts of things. Dragons may not exist but they are part of the Chinese zodiac, and I'm sure plenty of people considered the idea of being possessed by ghosts or demons real. Perhaps there just was to much societal pressure to prevent people from displaying casual interest before the internet.
- adrusi 10y ago
  People have felt connected to spirit animals and all sorts of things. If that's how you define otherkin then it's pretty obvious it's been around forever, but "otherkin" also refers to the tribe that has formed around that idea online. It refers to the interpretation of what that animal connection means, and to the dogma around it. Otherkin frame their condition in much the same way as transgender people do, and that's a very contemporary way of understanding psychology, and also a way that many people a disturbed by. The question is: would otherkin have arrived at that same interpretation, and the same dogma, without the interent. I think probably not, because it would take so long for those ideas to spread that they would be outdated long before they achieved universality.
  - posterboy 10y ago
    > Otherkin frame their condition in much the same way as transgender people do, and that's a very contemporary way of understanding psychology So, was transgenderkin a thing 50 years ago? I guess, but at least they knew it was a joke, most of the time, when they weren't send to therapy. > The question is: would otherkin have arrived at that same interpretation, and the same dogma, without the interent That's like asking if multiplayer games would have arrived at the same popularity without the internet
allemagne 10y ago
I'd say Haskell's effect on my sex life has been a mixed bag. Throwing out everything object-oriented and imperative makes women think I'm sensitive, but they're less keen on lazy evaluation.

77pt77 10y ago

>Were Otherkin a normal phenomenon, or is it something that exposure to the Internet does to some people? All these things are old. Those people would just become shamans or go into religion and that would manifest itself in a different context. Very few things about human nature or condition are actually new.

ggggtez 10y ago

Of course otherkin already existed. They just would have not had community that connected them. People have felt connected to spirit animals and all sorts of things. Dragons may not exist but they are part of the Chinese zodiac, and I'm sure plenty of people considered the idea of being possessed by ghosts or demons real. Perhaps there just was to much societal pressure to prevent people from displaying casual interest before the internet.

adrusi 10y ago
People have felt connected to spirit animals and all sorts of things. If that's how you define otherkin then it's pretty obvious it's been around forever, but "otherkin" also refers to the tribe that has formed around that idea online. It refers to the interpretation of what that animal connection means, and to the dogma around it. Otherkin frame their condition in much the same way as transgender people do, and that's a very contemporary way of understanding psychology, and also a way that many people a disturbed by. The question is: would otherkin have arrived at that same interpretation, and the same dogma, without the interent. I think probably not, because it would take so long for those ideas to spread that they would be outdated long before they achieved universality.
- posterboy 10y ago
  > Otherkin frame their condition in much the same way as transgender people do, and that's a very contemporary way of understanding psychology So, was transgenderkin a thing 50 years ago? I guess, but at least they knew it was a joke, most of the time, when they weren't send to therapy. > The question is: would otherkin have arrived at that same interpretation, and the same dogma, without the interent That's like asking if multiplayer games would have arrived at the same popularity without the internet

allemagne 10y ago

I'd say Haskell's effect on my sex life has been a mixed bag. Throwing out everything object-oriented and imperative makes women think I'm sensitive, but they're less keen on lazy evaluation.