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[SalmonGod]

Longer lifespans sure would help in achieving a more utopian society.  I'm not the first to point out that many of our problems arise from people realizing they have a very short time to squeeze out as much luxury as they can, and consequently decide it's too much sacrifice any of it for giving fucks about what state they're leaving the place in when they're gone.

[Rolepgeek]

Longer lifespans sure would help in achieving a more utopian society.  I'm not the first to point out that many of our problems arise from people realizing they have a very short time to squeeze out as much luxury as they can, and consequently decide it's too much sacrifice any of it for giving fucks about what state they're leaving the place in when they're gone.

As much as I think increasing lifespans is a good thing, I don't know if that's true.

Your genetics ain't designed for infinite or even huge lifespan. Thinking that far in the future as a basic mode doesn't seem likely even if you could live that long. I mean, imagine if all the Old White Men we're all waiting to have die off never died off!

[mainiac]

Just go start your own country with blackjack and social democracy

[Descan]

Damn young people calling things with new names. Now get off my lawn!

More seriously, most of that criticism seems overblown. Trigger or content warnings don't stifle free speech. Opposing them really sound like "but, I want to be a dick to people!".

Here is a nice piece Descan shared on FB by a UChicago proffessor.

<3 thank you for providing what i would have posted while i was aslep

[SalmonGod]

Your genetics ain't designed for infinite or even huge lifespan. Thinking that far in the future as a basic mode doesn't seem likely even if you could live that long. I mean, imagine if all the Old White Men we're all waiting to have die off never died off!

Maybe, but I'm not convinced that genetics aims enough of our thought-focus on that level.  I think if that was true, we wouldn't do a lot of the more advanced stuff that we do.  But it's much less debatable that a person who is merely selfish, even only mildly, isn't likely to sacrifice anything on the basis that it will create consequences for a future he will not live to suffer through.  On the other hand, we know people will sacrifice in the moment for the sake of future rewards that they expect to personally reap, even if it takes 20 years.  Almost everybody does.

[Egan_BW]

Living life as it is would be much easier if I didn't have to worry about running out of time in ~70 years.

[Rolepgeek]

Your genetics ain't designed for infinite or even huge lifespan. Thinking that far in the future as a basic mode doesn't seem likely even if you could live that long. I mean, imagine if all the Old White Men we're all waiting to have die off never died off!

Maybe, but I'm not convinced that genetics aims enough of our thought-focus on that level.  I think if that was true, we wouldn't do a lot of the more advanced stuff that we do.  But it's much less debatable that a person who is merely selfish, even only mildly, isn't likely to sacrifice anything on the basis that it will create consequences for a future he will not live to suffer through.  On the other hand, we know people will sacrifice in the moment for the sake of future rewards that they expect to personally reap, even if it takes 20 years.  Almost everybody does.

I'm trying to say that I think that it's primarily social structures that do that, and while to a certain point some people certain can think long-term, I'm saying it's not going to be a default mode of thinking because we live longer, which is what would be necessary, more or less, to affect the sort of change you're thinking of.

[Egan_BW]

Eh, people would catch on within the first few hundred years.

[Max™]

Well, I was trying to keep those in spoilers since it isn't really politics, just me being irked at Star Trek being presented as magical space utopia land, or brought up first when someone wants to compare the present to a hypothetical utopia instead of say, The Culture. I wouldn't choose the Trek universe over a huge number of places to live in, it would basically be above stuff like, crapsack worlds, the Laundry universe and similar Lovecraftian settings, I guess I'd probably be better off there than in the Star Wars universe, but at the other end I can't think of a better place to live than say on the Empiricist or another GSV?

Damn young people calling things with new names. Now get off my lawn!

More seriously, most of that criticism seems overblown. Trigger or content warnings don't stifle free speech. Opposing them really sound like "but, I want to be a dick to people!".

Here is a nice piece Descan shared on FB by a UChicago proffessor.

<3 thank you for providing what i would have posted while i was aslep

I suppose I do this when I share pictures of spiders, I always like to provide a lot of warning "HEY, THIS IS A HUGE GODDAMN ORB WEAVER, AND SHE IS GORGEOUS BUT IF THAT FREAKS YOU OUT DON'T SCROLL DOWN, KAY?" type stuff before the pictures themselves.

[RedKing]

Thank you for checking your arachnopositive privilege.

Though in a spider-free "safe space", you would be run out of town with a can of Raid for even harboring the notion that spiders are not abominations that desire to nom your face off while you're sleeping.

[Egan_BW]

Arachnophobes are the real cancer in this country.

[Frumple]

If you kill it, being a brown recluse or not becomes irrelevant. Solve the schrodinger death spider conundrum with arachnomurder, isp. It's the only way to be sure.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Got a closer look; almost certain it's just a grass spider. Certainly not a brown recluse. Poor thing can't even climb up the walls of my apartment; it just falls down.

Do you feel like a hero yet?

[Max™]

Got a closer look; almost certain it's just a grass spider. Certainly not a brown recluse. Poor thing can't even climb up the walls of my apartment; it just falls down.

Definitely not a recluse then, they're good climbers, don't like to be low, and usually freeze when noticed rather than fleeing.

http://spiders.us is a great id guide for the us.

Myself I miss our porch spider Val (she fell this morning for some reason and busted her abdomen) already, killed two mosquitos upstairs, and saw a third one a few minutes ago but lost track of it when it went past a darker background.

Spiders never leave me reflexively swatting my arm any time a breeze hits a stray hair like knowing there is a fucking mosquito flying around and I can't see it.

I bet Trump likes mosquitos, there's no way for them to easily pierce his scales as a gigantic gila monster, damn vampire sympathizer.

[mainiac]

Is calling trump a Gila monster going to be the new thing now? Is there a reason or is it just y'knoe the typical?