5 ms·

Yeah, at this point I can't tell trolls from idiots. Like it's a lifestyle. You're at a restaurant on the ocean and some fairly educated dude wants to go all f

by kurthr 6y ago

Yeah, at this point I can't tell trolls from idiots. Like it's a lifestyle. You're at a restaurant on the ocean and some fairly educated dude wants to go all flat earth. I'm like, "let me go get some binoculars and you can tell me why the bottom of the container ship falls below the horizon first. We can even estimate the distance based on size of ship and magnification factor to get a radius for the earth".... "No, it doesn't work that way". Huh? Why are all the other planets round? Why does the earth cast a round shadow on the moon (vice versa for eclipse)? Why can you fly to India in either direction in the same amount of time? It's conspiracy theories all the way down. Stupid, angry, or willfully ignorant, they're painful to talk to.

galaxyLogic 6y ago
> Stupid, angry, or willfully ignorant, they're painful to talk to. I think that is the intention behind their social discourse, to be painful. To disagree. To prove that they are superior.
- javajosh 6y ago
  It is an exercise in power, a pale imitation of O'Brian in 1984: >Obedience is not enough. Unless he is suffering, how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in shapes of your own choosing.
robotresearcher 6y ago
> they're painful to talk to. Your discomfort is the point for them. Quickly figuring out that you're in such an interaction and bailing before your day is ruined is the best you can hope for in the short term.
- guntars 6y ago
  Exactly, tell them to fuck off with a smile.
  - cutemonster 6y ago
    > > Your discomfort is the point for them What do they gain from causing such discomfort to others? They might not believe so very seriously in their own ideas? (I never met a flat earther)
    - gnarbarian 6y ago
      trolling can be a lot of fun. especially ideological adversaries. people will get incredibly twisted around their own axles And literally enraged over the opinion of some anonymous joker who they will never meet or have another interaction with. these feelings can follow you around for days vexing you and bringing you back to that negative state of mind. and that is hilarious to people who have learned to not give a shit about what some stranger thinks of them on the internet. You have a lot of control over your own mind and emotions, so don't relinquish it to malevolent tricksters. And if you can't do that quit social media. but really everyone should quit social media probably.
      - cutemonster 5y ago
        > trolling can be a lot of fun. Yes, was trolling with my cat sometimes, as a child, she got angry, it was fun (but I stopped when I grew up) > these feelings can follow you around for days vexing you and bringing you back to that negative state of mind. and that is hilarious to [the trolls] Good point, I've felt those feelings indeed (and maybe the cat too) Agreed that social media can be like that, and also, it steals time
    - Viliam1234 5y ago
      > What do they gain from causing such discomfort to others? Most people play some kinds of irrational games to generate emotions they are addicted to. The difference is what kind of emotions they want, and what kind of scenarios they use to obtain it. There is a popular book on this topic called "Games People Play", strongly recommended. From the psychoanalytical perspective, all these games ultimately are sick attempts to indirectly extract symbols of love, when people are too afraid of a more direct approach (aren't we all sometimes?). The recipe for this specific game is that I cause you discomfort, and if you continue interacting with me anyway, it means that you have forgiven me (for causing you the discomfort), which means that you care about me (otherwise why would you keep interacting with me). So I frustrate you in order to extract a costly signal of caring from you, so that I can feel loved for a moment. Why not a more direct approach? First, I am afraid to ask whether you care about me, because you might say no. Even worse, if you said yes, I would still be suspect that you are lying; maybe you are just being polite. But when I cleverly extract forgiveness from you, if you stay with me regardless of the discomfort I cause, then I can be sure that you genuinely care. Of course, the damage caused to both sides by this approach is obvious. But sometimes people just don't know how to do it better, and any symbol of love is better than nothing.
adolph 6y ago
> Why are all the other planets round? Why does the earth cast a round shadow on the moon (vice versa for eclipse)? Why can you fly to India in either direction in the same amount of time? Well, “round” can be an attribute of a plane; its typically referred to as a circle. A more descriptive term is “spheroid” but outside of a small set of long-distance navigation tasks the flat earth mental model is perfectly sufficient and computationally less expensive.
dukeofdoom 6y ago
Not a Flat Earther, but its not beyond the realm of possibility reality might be a two dimensional projection. Despite our sensory perceptions. Look into "Holographic Universe".
- tablespoon 6y ago
  > Not a Flat Earther, but its not beyond the realm of possibility reality might be a two dimensional projection. Despite our sensory perceptions. Look into "Holographic Universe". Flat Earthers are never talking about a "holographic universe," though. They're always talking about the Earth being like a board whose edges you could fall off from.

by kurthr 6y ago

galaxyLogic 6y ago

> Stupid, angry, or willfully ignorant, they're painful to talk to. I think that is the intention behind their social discourse, to be painful. To disagree. To prove that they are superior.

javajosh 6y ago
It is an exercise in power, a pale imitation of O'Brian in 1984: >Obedience is not enough. Unless he is suffering, how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in shapes of your own choosing.

robotresearcher 6y ago

> they're painful to talk to. Your discomfort is the point for them. Quickly figuring out that you're in such an interaction and bailing before your day is ruined is the best you can hope for in the short term.

guntars 6y ago
Exactly, tell them to fuck off with a smile.
- cutemonster 6y ago
  > > Your discomfort is the point for them What do they gain from causing such discomfort to others? They might not believe so very seriously in their own ideas? (I never met a flat earther)
  - gnarbarian 6y ago
    trolling can be a lot of fun. especially ideological adversaries. people will get incredibly twisted around their own axles And literally enraged over the opinion of some anonymous joker who they will never meet or have another interaction with. these feelings can follow you around for days vexing you and bringing you back to that negative state of mind. and that is hilarious to people who have learned to not give a shit about what some stranger thinks of them on the internet. You have a lot of control over your own mind and emotions, so don't relinquish it to malevolent tricksters. And if you can't do that quit social media. but really everyone should quit social media probably.
    - cutemonster 5y ago
      > trolling can be a lot of fun. Yes, was trolling with my cat sometimes, as a child, she got angry, it was fun (but I stopped when I grew up) > these feelings can follow you around for days vexing you and bringing you back to that negative state of mind. and that is hilarious to [the trolls] Good point, I've felt those feelings indeed (and maybe the cat too) Agreed that social media can be like that, and also, it steals time
  - Viliam1234 5y ago
    > What do they gain from causing such discomfort to others? Most people play some kinds of irrational games to generate emotions they are addicted to. The difference is what kind of emotions they want, and what kind of scenarios they use to obtain it. There is a popular book on this topic called "Games People Play", strongly recommended. From the psychoanalytical perspective, all these games ultimately are sick attempts to indirectly extract symbols of love, when people are too afraid of a more direct approach (aren't we all sometimes?). The recipe for this specific game is that I cause you discomfort, and if you continue interacting with me anyway, it means that you have forgiven me (for causing you the discomfort), which means that you care about me (otherwise why would you keep interacting with me). So I frustrate you in order to extract a costly signal of caring from you, so that I can feel loved for a moment. Why not a more direct approach? First, I am afraid to ask whether you care about me, because you might say no. Even worse, if you said yes, I would still be suspect that you are lying; maybe you are just being polite. But when I cleverly extract forgiveness from you, if you stay with me regardless of the discomfort I cause, then I can be sure that you genuinely care. Of course, the damage caused to both sides by this approach is obvious. But sometimes people just don't know how to do it better, and any symbol of love is better than nothing.

adolph 6y ago

> Why are all the other planets round? Why does the earth cast a round shadow on the moon (vice versa for eclipse)? Why can you fly to India in either direction in the same amount of time? Well, “round” can be an attribute of a plane; its typically referred to as a circle. A more descriptive term is “spheroid” but outside of a small set of long-distance navigation tasks the flat earth mental model is perfectly sufficient and computationally less expensive.

dukeofdoom 6y ago

Not a Flat Earther, but its not beyond the realm of possibility reality might be a two dimensional projection. Despite our sensory perceptions. Look into "Holographic Universe".

tablespoon 6y ago
> Not a Flat Earther, but its not beyond the realm of possibility reality might be a two dimensional projection. Despite our sensory perceptions. Look into "Holographic Universe". Flat Earthers are never talking about a "holographic universe," though. They're always talking about the Earth being like a board whose edges you could fall off from.