Basman

Monarchy still exist today because there is no practical reason to dismantle it. They are important public diplomats and have a lot of soft power they use for advocating cultural exchange and peace. They are "cultural glue" that fosters a sense of union. There is a reason why 13 of the last 14 presidents have visited the queen. There is genuine value in a symbolic monarchy. In Norway, the monarchy is democratically upheld. The parliament can vote at any time to dismantle it, but consistently vote not to. Wanting to dismantle monarchy without considering the value they provide to society is itself symbolic politics that accomplishes nothing. If there is a genuine appetite for a republic, then the monarchy's days are numbered.

You shouldn't expect to connect with everyone. By being fake you don't allow people to see the real you and determining if you are right for them and vice versa. You shouldn't act like a relationship is an attainable goal. It puts pressure on you and others to be a certain way.

The main benefit of abstaining is the time you save, which is also why a genuine porn addiction is problematic. It eats up all your time at the expense of everything else you hold valuable. But if you have a genuine addiction it is better to tackle that in the context of therapy rather than just treat the symptom. I think people ascribe too much profoundness to simple abstinence and demonize porn. Nofap is not a proven self-help method in of itself, meanwhile there are dozens of simple and straightforward and obvious things that are proven to improve your life, like working out, cleaning your diet, socializing more, etc. In my personal experience, I find that I masturbate a lot less when I got things I want to do. Maybe you are just bored?

Can it really be considered intelligent at that point? So far AI seems to be mostly just a tool for aggregating data more efficiently. Do you guys think we are in a Gartner hype cycle, specifically towards "peak of inflated expectations"? So far AI seems to be an effective tool for certain tasks but nothing completely revolutionary. Granted it is still developing.

You wouldn't hate if it didn't serve a purpose. In a post-scarcity world there might be less of a reason to hate. In Scandinavia where I live, there is no real hatred broadly speaking compared to for example Israel and Palestine.

Just because you support one group or the other doesn't change the meaning of a word. This is silly.

-Or like Israel-Palestine before it went hot again recently? I'm not an expert, but it seems that the way the conflict is headed is towards an eventual state of rest as opposed to a conclusive end similar to how North and South Korea are still technically at war but without any actual fighting happening currently. Russia and Ukraine seem to be at a stalemate, where both sides are too entrenched defensively to budge. If no decisive victory or lose takes place, won't the conflict eventually peter out and turn cold? Where both sides are still at war technically but simply resume business as usual. Leading to my second question, is it viable for Ukraine to be inducted into NATO? If NATO membership is a determining factor for Russia to invade Ukraine, won't the induction cause more conflict in the future?

Methinks this thread is running out of steam . People have made up their minds and are just posting memes and videos at this point. Hamas are terrorists by definition of the word. They unlawfully use violence on civilians for political aims. It is textbook terrorism.

Some are more clear and concise then others. You'll have to just look. Not just Youtube BTW.

Fundamentally it is finitude. Humans are social animals that form groups in order to survive. Those groups form identities that allow strangers to cooperate despite not knowing each other personally, within the group. A group is competing with other groups and certain animals for resources and territory. In regions where there are less resources like the middle-east and North-Africa, there is more conflict. Animals like wolves and cave lions in particular have been wiped out/driven off across the globe as they compete with humans for prey animals/livestock and territory.

Unless I'm mistaken, Putin doesn't want to border with a NATO country, which he would if he annexed Ukraine proper.

Its joever 😞 My guess from what I've read is that Russia doesn't want the entirety of Ukraine, but will install a puppet government to act as a buffer between it and NATO.

@Sucuk Ekmek What do you think will happen exactly? Will Russia conquer all of Ukraine or just parts of it and that'll be the end of the war?

Is it possible to dialogue? Can you explain your situation and ask them to stop? You can't be forced to believe in things you don't believe in and likewise for them. Unless this person is genuinely unreasonable, can't you just talk with them about it?

The top paragraph is the quote and the rest your own input, no?

I think so, but it is essentially impossible to not care. You have basic needs and there are things you want for yourself. The feeling of missing out is a relatively complex emotion. I don't think any other animals experience it because they don't weave stories about themselves.

It is a matter of perspective. It depends on your standards, really. If you have no standards, then it is not really possible to miss out because you don't care. But most people have certain standards, things that they want for themselves. Therefor they miss out when those standards aren't met. I think social media causes a lot of people to feel like they are missing out nowadays.

You can learn a tremendous amount for free just from Youtube. Learning art is simply a combination of consistent practice while learning the necessary theory. And IMO, there isn't that much theory to be learned. It just that a lot of art skills build on top of other skills that aren't immediate obvious. For example figure drawing builds on top of general anatomical knowledge, which requires anatomical knowledge of each individual body part, which again requires understanding of basic shapes. There aren't a lot of resources that explicitly make this distinction in my experience, so learning art can end up being confusing for people new to it.

The point is that criticism is a distraction when you are better of putting that energy into getting your stuff together. There is legit criticism to be had generally speaking, but that is carried out in a different manner. It less of a matter of identity.

The falling birth-rate is largely due to a worse economy for commoners and social atomization. I don't think that reflects well on society, as it basically means that people are too poor and lacking in community in order to effectively start a family. It is not just that a low birth-rate is bad for the economy but it also a sign that people are not living up to their potential. A lot of people want to have kids but don't because of all of these factors. What I think needs to be rectified is the conflict between child-rearing and career. Either you have a career and compensate with expensive childcare or you prioritize being a mother. The answer I think is a shift in work culture and reducing the amount of hours in a work week as well benefits for parents among other changes, especially in the housing market. One idea that I like is making being a mom a full-time job, so that having kids actually becomes an asset. I don't know if that is too extreme or not.

Gaza is practically a fortress. Defenders have always had the advantage in urban-warfare, especially now since Hamas is prepared for an invasion, with tunnels, traps and what not. I can see why the IDF simply tries to level the place. It is quick and easy from a warfare perspective. I think a potential solution could be to besiege Gaza and cut off its supply. Starve it till they surrender with fair terms. Then you can avoid a lot of unnecessary bloodshed and devastation. Too late now though.

@Leo Gura Sorry if you already answered this, but what was it like when first starting out and developing game? I'm basically level 0 ATM in terms of experience and I feel a bit overwhelmed by it all, going out, etc. I'm fairly socially anxious.

This kind of stuff makes me really appreciate that I live in a peaceful part of the world. Imagine being suddenly attacked while partying by a small army. I can't begin to imagine what the families of the victims are going through right now. It is so easy to take for granted once you have it, but peace is truly precious.

If you own a bike and live in a town where one of those food delivery companies operate, you can work as food delivery. You work through an app and there is usually little to no application process or formal requirements in terms of experience/education. You can start working within a couple of weeks after applying. Depending on the company you can set your own hours and work as little or as much as you want. The pay isn't "good" nor consistent usually but it is something you can do part-time while you work to discover what you are passionate about and figure out a plan or just seek to apply to better paying work. I recommend prioritizing getting a "real job" if you are desperate to pay rent, etc. due to better working conditions and labor rights compared to these gig jobs.

Without a stable government, you can't guarantee anyones basic human rights. I agree that it is ugly but from their perspective it might be better to be too hard on the criminals rather than too soft. In comparison, the Roman Empire would have probably just crucified all of those people if in the same situation. So it could've been worse relatively speaking.