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Underrated reasons to be thankful
- greggman3 4y agoEvery time I go out to eat I'm thankful that someone was willing to make that food for me. Food prep, especially at restaurants, is a ton of work. When I cook on my own and realize how much work it can be to make a single dish I'm super thankful that someone else was willing to make some for me for money. Of course maybe if they don't actually want to do it and just have to do it for income I shouldn't be so thankful?
- hinkley 4y agoIf we had another color of cone in our eyes, would that increase the density of data we can absorb, or just reduce the 'resolution' of the other channels? I'd like to think that some day we can increase the bandwidth of information to our brains without tracing wires through our skulls to get there.
- izietto 4y agoLiving in a country with public health. It's not a joke, I'm really grateful for that.
- julian_t 4y agoModern dentistry (especially when you have a tooth abscess)
- spacesloth7 4y agore: #30 "where is my mirror life science fiction" Change Agent by Daniel Suarez
- autotune 4y agoHow about we simplify it a bit: My dog Having a job Parents and relatives who don’t get involved in scams. Except that one aunt. Living in a first world country and not having to deal with citizenship issues. No need to add all this additional complexity to something that should be so simple.
- buzzerbetrayed 4y agoPretty sure the article is just for fun. But also you can be grateful for both simple and complex things at the same time.
- autotune 4y agoTotally agree! Just offering a counter point. All in good fun.
- mattpallissard 4y ago> Except that one aunt. There's one in every crowd.
- lr4444lr 4y agoHere's one: that you don't have progressive lung disease. Enough of you I am sure have experienced briefly with COVID what it's like to acutely lose the freedom of an unobstructed breath. (And I hope those of you with long COVID are seeing eventual remission.)
- chasd00 4y agoWorking dry erase markers. You don’t realize until you need to whiteboard something and all the markers are dried out and useless.
- hinkley 4y agoDo us all a favor and throw the dead ones away. I've watched I don't know how many people cycle through three dead markers on a white board and put them all back. The only way a conference room ends up with 3 dead markers is because it has 3 dead markers and nobody does anything about it. When there are no markers left new ones will show up, one way or another.
- monster_group 4y agoThat's why I always carry my own - especially for whiteboard interviews.
- doubled112 4y agoI'm thankful that dry erase markers will take Sharpie off of the whiteboard.
- hinkley 4y agoI thought one of our artists was going to kiss me when I showed him this trick. He'd been drawing an elaborate picture on our white board with a permanent marker some idiot transferred from a paper easel. He got nearly the whole thing drawn without any mistakes, and only as he was finishing did he realize he couldn't erase it. Boy was that an emotional roller coaster.
- ulnarkressty 4y agoAfter reading this article [0] today, I am thankful I have enough to feed my children. It is strange to feel relief and be distraught at the same time. [0] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63733683 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63733683
- n8cpdx 4y agoI think sometimes people take too much for granted and can overthink thanksgiving. Just having the means to read this site means you probably have hundreds of things to be grateful for, like the ability to read and the leisure time to do so. But maybe that perspective comes from practicing gratitude daily rather than only once a year (not shading the holiday, it is great to also dedicate a special day). More relevant to the article, several of these things seem calibrated to cause division and strife at the thanksgiving dinner table. Sometimes being the drama can be fun, and I think the following would Do the trick: > That electric leaf blowers now exist and perhaps we can develop a new understanding that it’s chill to not spew intermittent pitch-shifting mechanical shrieking sounds at deafening volumes all the time everywhere? > That ghosts don’t exist, which wasn’t obvious a thousand years ago.
- ChuckNorris89 4y ago>the ability to read This. A lot of people take for granted how cool it is to have a working pair of eyes. Or being able to hear everything. Or have all four limbs. We only appreciate health once we lose it.
- neilv 4y agoGood thoughts to keep in mind before dispensing any roundhouse kicks.
- dogmatism 4y agoI really only have one working eye but I still manage to take it for granted most of the time. I'm usually just annoyed at the other one (causes minor physical discomfort, but my brain has learned to just kind of ignore the off-axis blurry signals from it) but never appreciate the normally working one Thanks, Right Eye! And fuck you, Left Eye
- musicale 4y agoIn the past 1000 years, hasn't the overall set of ghostly evidence increased? Reported sightings, suspicious photos/videos/images, reported haunted houses and locations, etc.? Even if one finds the reported evidence unconvincing, it seems difficult to definitively prove that ghosts do not exist.
- a3w 4y ago#28 That shoes [exist]. Shoes are pushed into the marked by Big Shoe. I stopped wearing them, and my health improved. Convince me wrong. /s
- AlbertCory 4y agoÖtzi had them. Was Big Shoe around even then? https://www.livescience.com/otzi-the-iceman https://www.livescience.com/otzi-the-iceman
- d_graeme 4y ago
- maccaw 4y agoThe author's last-years underrated reasons to be thankful was also excellent: https://dynomight.net/thanks/ https://dynomight.net/thanks/
- musicale 4y agoSurprising that he seems to believe in the hard problem of consciousness ('21:10) but then seems to doubt contiguous selfhood ('21:13) and then claims that ghosts don't exist ('22:17).
- black_13 4y ago[dead]
- svilen_dobrev 4y ago> 25 ... if we want to do something ambitious someday like, "dont try that at home" ..
- codecutter 4y agoI am thankful for politicians, lawyers and tv evangelists because it gives me something to laugh at. for the significant other who hogs the covers every night, because he/she is not out with someone else. for the teenager who is not doing dishes but is watching tv, because that means he/she is at home and not on the streets. for the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed. for the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends. for the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat. for my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine. for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home. for all the complaining I hear about (legal abortions, the loss of the environment, the inefficient government, greedy corporations, etc.) because it means that we have freedom of speech. for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation. for my huge heating or cooling bill, because it means I am comfortable. for the ugly fat lady behind me in church that sings way off key, because it means that I can hear and see. for the huge pile of dirty laundry, because it means I have clothes to spare. for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard. for the alarm that goes of in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive. and finally.......for too much spam and advertising, because it means I have friends, family and spammers/advertisers who are thinking of me.
- mdrzn 4y agoAppreciate this POV.
- jschveibinz 4y agoVery nicely said, and somewhat Taoist in philosophical tone.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- tombert 4y agoAs someone who has had an ulcer, I am super grateful that H. Pylori is substantially less common. Of all the diseases that I’ve had, it is easily the most unpleasant and I sincerely do not wish it even upon my worst enemies.
- aswanson 4y agoI suffered necrotic tooth pain. Wish it on no one.
- lisper 4y ago> That often there is a BIG PROBLEM that could have APOCALYPTIC CONSEQUENCES and we worry and worry and then it gets solved or goes away This is indeed something to be thankful for, but it is also something to be very wary of. Over-extrapolating this leads to complacency. Some problems, like climate change, are not just going to go away.
- kaushikc 4y agoImagine how thankful a duck should feel to walk on land, swim over and under water and also fly. If ducks got more time, they would've ruled the planet.
- lisper 4y agoHaving traveled in many third-world countries I wake up every day thankful that I have a house with a roof and walls and a floor, and water that comes out of a tap that is safe to drink. Not only that, but I have hot water that I don't have to fetch firewood for. And lights that come on at night when I flip a switch. These are unimaginable luxuries for millions of people around the world. And don't even get me started about refrigerators and air conditioning.
- vlunkr 4y agoHot showers are a truly amazing luxury. Historically not even the wealthiest people on the planet have had access to them. It’s a nice thing to think about when it’s 0 degrees outside and you’re taking a shower for probably a few pennies of water and electricity.
- jvm___ 4y agoThe 1940 census in the USA reported 50% of the homes having indoor plumbing. When the first electric lights arrived in towns or villages people would gather after dark just to enjoy the light. We're spoiled, it's hard to find true darkness anymore, but pre-electricity having light after dark meant you were burning something or you were in the dark. Eons of having the night mean you couldn't see anything and now we don't even think about it. We're just whiny, spoiled kings who live on top of supply chains.
- 4y ago
- zozbot234 4y agoSomething I'm very much not thankful for: the plight of indigenous peoples in what's nowadays the U.S. I find it outrageous that we're all expected to happily celebrate a holiday that still glorifies--in myth and tradition, if not quite officially--the centuries-old genocidal oppression of Native peoples.
- smegma2 4y agoBro has beef with a holiday
- wara23arish 4y agoEvery country needs a national myth to unite over. Not having one is a recipe for disaster.
- codazoda 4y ago17. Ghosts don’t exist I wish someone would tell the people I love about this. Nah, never mind, they don’t need to know. Oh, BTW, it’s usually when I’m most confident that I’m wrong.
- prawn 4y agoI was driving back from a remote film shoot with a colleague and client last week. The client was absolutely incredulous that neither of us believed that ghosts were real. I was in a fair bit of shock at her reaction!
- Dylan16807 4y agoKnowing the status of ghosts is cool and all, but why should I prefer that ghosts not exist??
- krapp 4y agoJudging from ghost stories and paranormal ghost hunting videos at least, being a ghost seems like an existential hell. A constant, desperate struggle to remind the living that you're real as if you truly cease to exist the moment you're forgotten. A fading of a mind into an insensate hunger, stalking empty halls or reliving the trauma of your death in an endless loop. Or if you're lucky, maybe you get to live inside a doll and spend a few decades on a shelf gathering energy until you can move your head a centimeter to the left and scare the crap out of her grandkids. Or you can rattle some shelves and move some silverware. In any case, it never seems fun. Ghosts of the Civil War still reliving their battles. Ghosts of the drowned in the water. Ghosts of inmates who never leave jail. You never hear about ghost parties or ghost orgies, it's always "the kid who hanged themselves in the 7Os still lives in the bedroom and stares at you while you try to sleep, his head lying limp at a crazy angle where the noose twisted his spine apart like a wishbone. Sometimes he makes wet, gurgling cries in the corner."
- swader999 4y agoI'm thankful for God and all of you who contribute here.
- User23 4y agoReading this submission makes me thankful that I’m not an atheistic materialist.
- archydeb 4y agoAre the musical ratios right here? 25/12 is not approximately 4/3... I struggled to wrap my head around that one Otherwise, excellent!
- chris_st 4y agoIn the comments he mentioned that an earlier version (which you read) removed the formatting, so it's supposed to be 2^(5/12), etc.
- mandelken 4y agoI believe you've misread 2^(5/12) or perhaps your browser did not display it correctly? Anyway, 2 to the power of 5/12 equals 1.3348.. which is very close to 4/3 = 1.333..
- Waterluvian 4y agoI’m not sure I understand 4. Why would it be easier to translate sound waves to text than scents?
- arise 4y agoBecause scent-languages would presumably be composed of several dozen (if not several thousand) scent components. Detection by artificial means is a hard problem, even in limited and highly lucrative domains (truffles, explosives, etc), which is why we still mostly use dogs/animals. Synthesis would require manufacturing stocks of all the various smell components, then aerosolizing them in the right combinations. Audio, by contrast, has one variable--air pressure--to control with respect to time.
- SV_BubbleTime 4y ago>electric leaf blower Easily my best purchase of the year. Along with the snowblower. I can’t believe I didn’t get these sooner. I’m thankful I didn’t stick to gas-only devices.
- prawn 4y agoGoing from a corded leaf blower to cordless was also great. Felt stupid buying it when I had a working, corded blower, but no regrets. Hearing (or barely hearing) an electric lawn mower has me planning to soon replace my very noisy lawnmower too.
- UIUC_06 4y agoMy favorite, although there's so much amusing in here. > That MSG—a standard amino acid glued to a sodium atom—is naturally present in lots of things like tomatoes, mushrooms, grapes, and parmesan cheese, meaning Italian food is high in MSG, which is good because MSG is harmless and delicious should be enjoyed by everyone including people with psychosomatic issues. I read a comment by some chef, who, when asked by another chef why she has a giant tub of MSG beneath her sink, said, "Why don't you have a giant tub of MSG beneath your sink?" MSG is wonderful. It does not give you a headache; that was debunked decades ago. If it had been discovered recently, instead of 1908: https://foodinsight.org/msg-a-brief-history/ https://foodinsight.org/msg-a-brief-history/ it would be as trendy as kale. I've heard only one compelling argument against it: If a food has too much umami you can't taste all the other flavors in it.
- mjklin 4y agoIn Chinese MSG is called 味精 (wèijīng) or “flavor essence” and it is used liberally in home cooking.
- hinkley 4y agoKombu, as it's called in Japan, is a seaweed that has a good amount of glutimate in it. It's a bit rough, and as far as I know they don't leave it in dishes, just to make the broth. It's the bay leaf of the umami world.
- LouisSayers 4y agoOften while doing planks at the gym I'll think of the things I'm grateful for. It helps pass the time, and helps simplify my thanks list. Clean air, four limbs, water, an abundance of food and to live in a peaceful country... if I get really into it I'll pick an object and think of all the things that went into creating and getting it to its location. There's a lot to be thankful for, especially when you're doing planks.
- musicale 4y ago> it is known in Holland as “peanut cheese” which I guess is a testament to the power of the Dutch butter lobby? Surprised that both the (tree) nut and (dairy) butter lobbies aren't up in arms against (this so-called) peanut butter, demanding that it be called legume spread!
- musicale 4y ago> That electric leaf blowers now exist and perhaps we can develop a new understanding that it’s chill to not spew intermittent pitch-shifting mechanical shrieking sounds at deafening volumes all the time everywhere? I've recently heard some less-deafening electric leaf blowers which sound more like hair driers and seem to lack the piercing, high-pitched "siren screech/banshee wail" of older electric models. I hope they catch on.
- don-code 4y agoWith regard to: > in principle you could create a “mirror human” with everything flipped, which is good because it’s insane and they would be immune to infectious disease but also to food so to keep them alive you’d need an entire mirror life ecosystem, although where is my mirror life science fiction I highly recommend Neal Stephenson's _Anathem_.
- gaul_praham 4y agoHow about instead of Thanksgiving, have Shitgiving? As in, instead of feeling thankful for what you got (easy for the healthy, fat, and rich), start to give a shit about those who are less fortunate than yourself? Even if they are not the least fortunate, and can have the luxury of lightbulbs...