3 ms·

> A second or third hand account of his great-grandmother leaving her farm, It's his great-grandmother and his family. I imagine he would know a thing or two a

by rdtsc 9y ago

> A second or third hand account of his great-grandmother leaving her farm, It's his great-grandmother and his family. I imagine he would know a thing or two about the culture, history and customs. Besides the particular story of the great-grandmother seems to just be a side story and background used to introduce the topic. > protestant Slovaks had a particular penchant for sex with farm animals Seems like that was misread. There were rumors of that happening because there was a cultural element encouraging having fewer children, so abstinence and various rituals around it became popular. I don't think reproductive and sex rituals are uncommon and strange. And we didn't invent strange sex stuff because internet is around. People were raunchy and sex obsessed before as well. I don't think that needs rigorous sources. > both interviewer and interviewee were fitting anecdotes into a preconceived narrative. It seems they still have more information and experience to draw from than an average HN'er here. If you just want to say, "I personally dislike that culture or ritual or theory", that's a fine thing. I can say I dislike spaghetti and like hamburgers more as well. But if you're trying to convince others that the presented story is wrong, then either a personal account would work (you live there, heard the stories, experience them), or even better if you have decent sources. Your source didn't quite do it and it's silly to ask the author or others to go dig more sources to prove their case.

microtherion 9y ago
> It's his great-grandmother and his family. I imagine he would know a thing or two about the culture, history and customs. My reading of OP is that he does not claim to have understood these until he read the source. And neither he nor his sources seem to have any grasp of the underlying economics. The underlying narrative of a prosperous society that collapsed because nobody was available to work the fields is extremely dubious. OP mentions that there is 30% unemployment in the region. Why can't they STILL get anyone to work the fields (Not to mention the massive productivity improvements that agriculture has gone through)? > I don't think reproductive and sex rituals are uncommon and strange. [...] I don't think that needs rigorous sources. I don't think these are uncommon at all (especially the premarital sex on which the interview frowns so much)... which is precisely why I doubt their causal link to the observed depopulation. > It seems they still have more information and experience to draw from than an average HN'er here. If they do, why don't they share that information, instead of talking about sex with farm animals and premarital relations? Even through the language barrier of the translation, the moral panic is evident. > If you just want to say, "I personally dislike that culture or ritual or theory" I do dislike the theory. It's a rancid mix of natalism and moral panic. I do NOT dislike the culture. It's the OP and his sources who are claiming that Protestant Slovaks sheep shagged themselves to extinction. My baseline is that everybody has traditions, rituals, and the occasional dysfunction, so any contention that a particular set of these led to disaster needs to be backed by data, not anecdotes.

by rdtsc 9y ago

microtherion 9y ago

> It's his great-grandmother and his family. I imagine he would know a thing or two about the culture, history and customs. My reading of OP is that he does not claim to have understood these until he read the source. And neither he nor his sources seem to have any grasp of the underlying economics. The underlying narrative of a prosperous society that collapsed because nobody was available to work the fields is extremely dubious. OP mentions that there is 30% unemployment in the region. Why can't they STILL get anyone to work the fields (Not to mention the massive productivity improvements that agriculture has gone through)? > I don't think reproductive and sex rituals are uncommon and strange. [...] I don't think that needs rigorous sources. I don't think these are uncommon at all (especially the premarital sex on which the interview frowns so much)... which is precisely why I doubt their causal link to the observed depopulation. > It seems they still have more information and experience to draw from than an average HN'er here. If they do, why don't they share that information, instead of talking about sex with farm animals and premarital relations? Even through the language barrier of the translation, the moral panic is evident. > If you just want to say, "I personally dislike that culture or ritual or theory" I do dislike the theory. It's a rancid mix of natalism and moral panic. I do NOT dislike the culture. It's the OP and his sources who are claiming that Protestant Slovaks sheep shagged themselves to extinction. My baseline is that everybody has traditions, rituals, and the occasional dysfunction, so any contention that a particular set of these led to disaster needs to be backed by data, not anecdotes.