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> I mean, the fact we have so many metaphors for the act of being the person giving a group bad news, should tell you how poorly humans look on it. Who told yo

> I mean, the fact we have so many metaphors for the act of being the person giving a group bad news, should tell you how poorly humans look on it. Who told you this? Because science shows again and again that humans respond stronger to negative stimuli than positive. This is also why media is mostly filled with bad news, and "good news only channels" always fail. BTW we have so many words for people who bring bad news unnecessarily exactly because people overreact to bad news, and quite often it reaches comical proportions, and needs to be called out. Like the guy who shows up at a party just to tell everyone that every beer shortens the lifespan for one minute. And even if what you say is true, think about it: this is a mechanism that has somehow evolved across all cultures independently. Either this, or it is a biological atittude, predating the idea of "culture". Therefore, it's not a stretch to assume that it has its purpose, and "people doing whatever they have been doing for thousands of years" is NOT a reason to panic.

johnnyanmac 2y ago
>science shows again and again that humans respond stronger to negative stimuli than positive. just because we respond more doesn't mean we like it more. they only trust the fear instillled on them by whatever authority they worship. They will dismiss it from peer and even family. That's one factor in why the nuclear family is shredding apart as a concept.
- anal_reactor 2y ago
  > they only trust the fear instillled on them by whatever authority they worship Of course they do. Imagine walking down the street, seeing a homeless guy on drugs yelling that the end is coming, and being shit scared that the end is truly coming.
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    Yes. But again, this authority is "people they see on TV" over their trusted family and friends (who I assume, aren't homeless doomees. I hope). That's just such an inverse of the human element.
    - anal_reactor 2y ago
      > That's just such an inverse of the human element. It's almost like believing your village's shaman more than your own family. Or believing your priest more than believing your family. Or believing the king more than believing your family. Truly unprecedented times we've found ourselves in.
      - johnnyanmac 2y ago
        Yes, exactly. You're being facetious but I don't go to my metaphorical priest for opinions on the best fashion. I don't go to a shaman for financial advice. And I don't trust a king telling me my kid is fine as she's clearly not breathing. We had centuries of specialization to not rely on one all knowing person for everything. Through TV it's not even like you can consult such people anyway. I'm not even entirely convinced most actually trust the administration. I've just seen enough people who'd rather die than ever admit they were wrong. Not much you can do at that point of fatal pride.

johnnyanmac 2y ago

>science shows again and again that humans respond stronger to negative stimuli than positive. just because we respond more doesn't mean we like it more. they only trust the fear instillled on them by whatever authority they worship. They will dismiss it from peer and even family. That's one factor in why the nuclear family is shredding apart as a concept.

anal_reactor 2y ago
> they only trust the fear instillled on them by whatever authority they worship Of course they do. Imagine walking down the street, seeing a homeless guy on drugs yelling that the end is coming, and being shit scared that the end is truly coming.
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  Yes. But again, this authority is "people they see on TV" over their trusted family and friends (who I assume, aren't homeless doomees. I hope). That's just such an inverse of the human element.
  - anal_reactor 2y ago
    > That's just such an inverse of the human element. It's almost like believing your village's shaman more than your own family. Or believing your priest more than believing your family. Or believing the king more than believing your family. Truly unprecedented times we've found ourselves in.
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      Yes, exactly. You're being facetious but I don't go to my metaphorical priest for opinions on the best fashion. I don't go to a shaman for financial advice. And I don't trust a king telling me my kid is fine as she's clearly not breathing. We had centuries of specialization to not rely on one all knowing person for everything. Through TV it's not even like you can consult such people anyway. I'm not even entirely convinced most actually trust the administration. I've just seen enough people who'd rather die than ever admit they were wrong. Not much you can do at that point of fatal pride.