7 ms·
Imagine how dystopian that would sound in humans, like some science fiction horror. "All the leaders are secretly infected by parasites". Sounds like interest
by machina_ex_deus 4y ago
Imagine how dystopian that would sound in humans, like some science fiction horror.
"All the leaders are secretly infected by parasites".
Sounds like interesting sci fi movie premise.
- mantas 4y agoYou don't need science finction. Just on following on some online communities: > :s/reptiloids/parasites/g
- tomjuggler 4y agoWith one third of humans infected it's more like the plot of an upcoming documentary..
- cruano 4y ago> testosterone and dopamine production is increased Or advertisement
- BlueTemplar 4y agoNow I understand the purpose of trigger warnings...
- yesbut 4y agoThere is the idea that anyone that wants to be a leader probably shouldn't be a leader. These are the types of people who crave being in positions of authority over others. They'll step on anyone they need to in order to get the the top. They might be the leader, but they usually aren't necessarily the types of people that are looking out for the best interests of the people they lead.
- stncls 4y agoI was once part of a department that was so well-managed and functional that I couldn't quite believe it. Then when time came choose a new department head, someone told me that they had always specifically avoided people who wanted to lead the department for the job.
- yesbut 4y agoGood policy. In worker owned enterprises that are run democratically the owner/employees elect their managers from the ranks. They act as manager for a term and then go back to their original position after the next election. Keeps everyone based in reality.
- bsenftner 4y agoDecades ago, the Boston University Free Press (the alternative views newspaper) was managed in this manner. My buddy ended up running the paper for a year because he was the least political, most liked guy working at the place. He just wanted people to be happy. After a year, he was no longer happy and was glad to give up the job.
- yesbut 4y agoManagers, like politicians, should have term limits. The temptation for abuse and favoritism is too strong.
- beardyw 4y agoA perfect model for democracy I would say.
- Jenk 4y ago
- tomger 4y agoI think that’s the takeaway from the Lord of the Rings.
- TEP_Kim_Il_Sung 4y agoThere's also the Dunning-Kruger Effect; Incompetent or dumb people don't recognize their own failings and assume they are geniuses. Smart and competent people know their own deficiencies and assume they're limited or dumb.
- Rallen89 4y agoso if you feel like you are limited/dumb are you actually smart or does realising that loop back to you actually really being dumb. seems like a catch 22
- wpietri 4y agoWith DK, the underlying model is that people only improve when they see their flaws. People who are very good at seeing their own flaws improve their performance, but tend to think they are doing worse than they are. In my view whether or not that makes you "smart" or "dumb" depends on what you do with the insight. As Ira Glass writes: "Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."
- acuozzo 4y ago> There is the idea that anyone that wants to be a leader probably shouldn't be a leader. These are the types of people who crave being in positions of authority over others. Which is why it's helpful to have as many (what I refer to as…) "power traps" in a society as possible: coaching, teaching, leading an HOA, leading a PTA, etc. I have nothing against these endeavors, you must understand, but my view is that a person spending time acting as a judge for a dog show is less likely to pursue becoming an actual judge.
- yesbut 4y agoSolution: Put term limits on democratically elected Dog Show judges, as well as normal judges.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- lzooz 4y ago
- _def 4y agoIt probably was sensitive forever - that's why it needs to change by speaking about it ;)
- jackdoe 4y agoWell most of the leaders of the world today are psychopathic, so its not that far off.
- s3000 4y agoCulture can be seen as a symbiont for humans. Without infection, we are mere hunter-gatherers.
- the_af 4y agoCulture is emergent behavior or a description of human behavior, it's not an external agent that becomes attached to humans, so the analogy really doesn't work.
- sammalloy 4y agoCulture is literally an external agent passed on by our family, friends, peers, institutions, companies, and organizations. It is and always has been a meme. The analogy is sound.
- the_af 4y agoIt's not an external agent, it's an emergent property of humankind. I don't find memes a compelling idea, but regardless, memes are not viruses and culture is neither a virus nor a virus-like external agent. So the analogy is very forced and doesn't really work.
- upsidesinclude 4y agoHint: check on synonyms for culture
- the_af 4y agoCare to elaborate?
- upsidesinclude 4y agoPlay on words Cell colonies are cultures & this is on the topic of infection.
- fatneckbeardz 4y agoliterally an episode of Star Trek TNG, episode title Conspiracy, season 1 episode 24
- adastra22 4y agoThen whatever you do, don't google "toxoplasma gondii"
- nkzd 4y agoThere is an anime with a similar theme. Parasyte: The Maxim.
- californiadreem 4y ago"There's a secret cabal of beings that are making my life personally miserable" is already a common enough position that cyclically occurs in human history every hundred years or so that I don't think it's a fiction. I don't think it's an untenable premise to suspect that toxoplasmosis pandemics are cyclically-occuring in humans already and are responsible for revolutionary periods and/or imperialism. What people might find unpalatable is the idea that parasitic infection could determine so fundamentally political beliefs and ideology, but consider that the idea of not cleaning your hands directly led to disease was considered literal insanity (see the tragic history of Ignaz Semmelweis) prior to germ theory. Sometimes it's the smallest catalysts that cause the largest changes. For the want of a nail...
- hindsightbias 4y ago“Cats began their unique relationship with humans 10,000 to 12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, the geographic region where some of the earliest developments in human civilization occurred ” Correlation or causation?
- treis 4y agoSurely causation. Farmers store crops which attract rodents which attract felines. Wild cats that mind their manners do better in this environment. Eventually wild cats become the kitty cats we know today.
- amarant 4y agoFuturama made an episode kinda like this. But it's not so dystopic: if anything it kinda made me want to eat an egg salad sandwich from a vendomat in the bathroom of a truck stop!
- klenwell 4y agoGlad you mentioned this. Not horror, comedy! Listen, you! I was born here. I raised a cloud of children here. My ancestors came over here on the sandwich. One of my favorite episodes.
- yyyk 4y ago>Sounds like interesting sci fi movie premise. Well, their field of work is called poly-ticks...
- wazoox 4y agoPeople engaging in dangerous behaviour (fast-driving motorcycles, sky-diving and... entrepreneurship) are more prone to be infected with toxoplasma. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31980266/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31980266/
- trenchgun 4y agoWell... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33742779 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33742779
- yarg 4y agoAnimorphs.
- chronolitus 4y agocheck out "Raised by Wolves"