#but the thing is. on this particular issue (what is science?) the scientists who have brought into the hype around high minded pursuit of

[hypokeimena]

it makes me fucking crazy when people talk about bad pop science as 'pseudoscience'. the popularization of scientific ideas to reify existing social norms is part of the project of science actually. science is not (only) what people with phds are doing in laboratories and it's not (either) what elementary schoolers are doing in science class; science is what we use to establish the truths that bound the reality we live in and it is the rhetorical project of validating those boundaries. any science which does not take communication into account may be discovering fascinating new things about the universe or our humanity but it has still failed miserably 👍

[tryingahandinholdingapen]

thinking about the "consensual but not safe or sane tag" but like. what if instead of referring to sex it was referring to Tobirama's dubiously ethical science?

Imagining a fic/universe in which Tobirama is actually pretty well liked by his clan because he invents so much cool stuff they can then use (seals, jutsu including healing jutsu, knowledge, miscellaneous inventions) but you know, Tobirama needs to test things out sometimes. Theory is all well and good but ideally you don't want to be testing something for the very first time when you actually NEED it to work. But the ethics are. Dubious

Like he'll make sure he's certain of the theory before he does anything, and if applicable he will try to test it on mice or something before leaping to human testing. But if animal testing would be difficult/impossible for a particular invention (including diagnostic or healing jutsu, and some combat jutsu) he WILL just jump straight to human testing. Also sometimes "certain of the theory" means "I am certain one of two things will happen here, one of which is the desired result and the other...Isn't."

When talking human experimentation he prefers his subjects to be allies if possible. This is partly because of Hashirama (he assumes Tobirama wouldn't do anything too unethical/harmful to their allies, which may or may not be a flawed assumption but so far hasn't been an issue) but mostly because Tobirama is like. Well. One of the main advantages of testing something on humans is that they can give me coherent feedback on exactly what they experienced/felt/etc,but if the human in question is a prisoner or captured enemy they'll probably just fucking lie to me about it and that would impede further research quite significantly. Nah. Best stick to allies as test subjects

I want to say this is a universe in which a) because naruto-verse is so anachronistic and what people know is further complicated by jutsu vs technology vs keeping secrets, Tobirama's first step in helping the Senju clan develop the more complex healing jutsu was "figure out anatomy"; AND b) rumours abound about Senju Tobirama being an evil mad scientist who aims to steal bloodline limits and experiments on prisoners and there's always screaming coming from his lab... most people either fully believe this or are like "I'm sure he doesn't do any unethical experiments or test anything on humans or hurt anyone at all ever (except in battle/missions)" both of which are, of course, wrong. Just, in opposite directions

Anyway

Scenario in which an insignificant Senju is captured by another clan (Uchiha? or would it be funnier for them to learn secondhand?) and one of the first things the captors are discussing is after stripping them of weapons etc and possibly changing their clothes (look its pretty standard practice to have ninja wire, senbon, etc hidden in your clothes, it's a BAD IDEA to leave a prisoner in the clothing they had prior to capture) is "hey what the hell are these scars about?? were they tortured before or something??"

(okay pronouns are getting confusing with using plural they for captors+singular for prisoner+he for Tobirama so I'm deciding the prisoner uses she/her for sake of easy comprehension with pronouns for now)

And so at some point they question the prisoner and she's p out of it (concussion and or drugs and or shock and or genjutsu so she answers p easily she's like "which scars?"

and whoever is leading the questioning goes, "well, for starters, these scars here. when were you tortured and who by? how did you escape? (subtext: is this smth we need to be aware of/take into account and also how do we stop you escaping us the same way?)"

and she pauses a moment because what "I've never been tortured?? this is also the first time I've been captured. embarrassing really. normally people just try to kill me s'not like I'm important"

and the leader goes "..okay. how did you get these scars then?" whilst another of their group talks over them to say "wtf do you MEAN you've never been tortured it looks like someone cut you apart!"

and she goes "lab day :)"

and the leader takes a hint from the interruptor's wild gesturing to press "...how does a 'lab day' entail being cut apart?"

and she, alarmingly casually given shes talking about her own insides, clarifies "well, anatomy studies. duh. hard to study the insides of a person when the outsides are in the way, yknow?"

alarmed silence

"just cut...there, and there", jerking her chin towards two horizontal scars on one arm, "line between them..." there is indeed another scar connecting them, like a poorly proportioned H, "..and then pull the skin back to see underneath."

more horrified silence

"like flaps! or the pages of a book!" she continues (un)helpfully, "and then you draw out what you see under the skin, ideally with annotations and stuff. we've got some pretty good charts now"

"...and you say you've never been tortured before."

"nope!"

"and you don't classify that as torture because..?"

she's all blank confusion

"torture is damage or genjutsu or emotional pain inflicted by an enemy with the intention of extracting information and/or causing a victim to suffer," she reels off by rote. "that, another jerk of chin towards the scars in question, "was none of those?"

"...right."

"well I guess technically it was an attempt to extract information, yknow, the information being 'what does the inner arm look like in this spot', but if that alone classified it as torture then every conversation and observation would also be classified as torture, so..." she's still really out of it and getting distracted

"..of course. so your captor wasn't intending for you to suffer, even though you still have scars even now?"

"I mean, this was like. five months ago. I scar real easily but I also heal pretty well so those ones should be almost invisible in maybe three years?" she frowns belatedly processing "hey! captor's a bit harsh. I only had any restraints at all because I get real fidgety real quick and I kept moving too much when I tried to see what was happening. not a good idea to move around when someone's got their hands in your insides. my cousin is way better at staying still and still seeing what's going on, lucky bitch, so doesn't have to deal with restraints at all"

"you were conscious when this happened."

"yeah?"

"surely if they didn't want you to suffer the easiest option would have been to just knock you out until you had recovered from the.. injury. keeping you awake and not suffering, as you insist you werent, seems far more complicated"

she's kind of confused by this "well, yeah it was sort of complicated to figure out and implement and stuff but if I wasn't aware that wouldn't be nearly as useful?"

"...what"

"well. in this PARTICULAR case I guess it didn't really matter but USUALLY on lab days being aware is helpful. tobirama-sama says one of the top reasons to use human subjects is you can actually get active feedback on how they're affected since they can just tell you"

one of the interrogators, somewhat further from her and (mistakenly) too loudly not to be heard "god fucking DAMNIT I thought those rumours were exaggerated"

[twelvemonkeyswere]

I was one of those people who constantly worried if I was inherently bad and desperately trying to cover it up by doing good stuff.

I began getting rid of that worry after I read an article by a scientist (I forget if he was a neuroscientist or a geneticist, something like that) who was studying if particularly violent behavior in human beings might be determined by some kind of biological aspect that predisposes the person to be violent.

This is the guy who figured out the "serial killer" gene. He explained in the essay the studies eventually determined that most of the serial killers that participated in their study had this specific set of genes and that it was linked to violent behavior. He was astonished by this because, he revealed in his essay, he had been particularly interested in the topic because he knew he was a descendant of Lizzie Borden's.

Yes, the Lizzie Borden who everyone thinks killed her parents with an axe but slipped justice.

He was concerned, like any person might, that there was an element of inescapability to being a bad person, to hurting others. Are human beings naturally altruistic and sympathetic, naturally selfish and competitive? Good or bad?

He tested his mom and himself for the serial killer gene. And the biggest emotional part of the essay came from the reveal that indeed they did.

The scientist then proceeded to say one of the things that made me reconsider how I sought answers regarding my own nature. He said that the fact his mom had the gene but was kind and loving and responsible and a scientist herself, made him realize something. His mom was not concerned about the gene. Genes alone did not determine the entirety of who you are.

The man said that he realized that if humans are capable of exhibiting both compassion and violence, then by virtue of them being human behaviors it must mean that both compassion and violence are inherently natural. But this did not mean we did not have other things to take into account. Just as some people have a particular predisposition for singing but never work on it and it never reaches any skillful results, all human beings can be shaped by their environment, those around them, and by themselves.

There are things, he says, that we feed in each other and in ourselves. What we feed is the habit and behavior that will get stronger. So it's not about *being* anything, it's about *doing*. It's just a matter of encouraging in ourselves the practices we want and to encourage what we want to see in others. When he realized this, he stopped worrying about him (and his mom) having the gene.

His perspective as someone who has studied these issues on a biological level gave me a lot of peace. The essay was not expansive on the real science behind the studies, but it was a personal view of how his world changed with the findings he saw. And that frame of mind - what we do determines what we become through practice - has helped me a lot ever since.

[indigosabyss]

not to go on another crossover brainrot. but consider. dr stone x jujutsu kaisen crossover, w the base premise of ryuusui and kento being cousins.

ikik nanami is a very common surname. but they also both have blond hair, brown(-ish) eyes, and pale skin. Nanami (Kento; sorry im more used to calling him Nanami 😭) also thinks a lot about money once he quits being a sorcerer. Which is obvs meant to talk about real world issues, but also would be in line with Nanami upbringing.

ok this got way longer than i thought, so read more for a major yap session.

Kento is also a really disciplined guy, which fits into the ideals of what the Nanami household wanted Ryuusui to be. Makes him fit perfectly into the Dr Stone world. (also we know ryuusui canonically has a bunch of cousins/siblings he doesn't talk about at all so there's precedent for the family connection too)

On the flipside, Ryuusui has learnt, through real world experience, that he can get anything he wants with enough hard work and money to pave the way. Except jujutsu sorcery. He'll never be capable of that, no matter how much he wants it.

In my mind, the two universes first intersect when Ryuusui sneaks into Jujutsu Tech to see Kento, some time in the guy's second year. Since both universes use the real world calendar, its easy to pinpoint Ryuusui as being eight years younger than Kento.

Nanami Conglomerate isn't a Jujutsu clan. They really are just a regular rich-ass family company, who had a sorcerer randomly. There's some discussion about that. A lot of "damn, nanami's loaded??? why tf can't he get a better hairstylist then" type of shenaniganry.

[Side plot: At that point, Ryuusui isn't the heir at all. (I think if you refuse to let your child into family photographs out of shame, then you are not leaving a trillion-yen company to him) so there's going to be some politicking about on Francois' end to make him heir, with the two cutting a deal for Francois to be his main assistant in everything if they get it done.]

Kento and Ryuusui's relationship is strained, bc Kento has been raised to keep his distance from the black sheep of the family - even tho all Ryuusui has done so far is mess around with the stock market a little bit, so Kento doesn't really get it and talks to him anyway sometimes.

To Ryuusui, however, Kento is like his third-favorite person. (First is Sai, second is Francois) bc his 7-3 ratio technique is very useful for model building and this boy has a talent for sniffing out gifts he can exploit.

So anyway, Sai is off being tutored in economics, moving up several grade levels above his age, and Ryuusui was stuck at the Naval Academy, so he sneaks out to get to Kento, who does not speak about his school and is understandably confused when Ryuusui sneaks in and is discovered by the students.

Gojo in particular is entertained bc at that age he hasn't interacted with many young children before, and he is considering adopting the Fushiguro kid, so he kinda wants to see what he's getting himself into.

Ryuusui is having the time of his life. Everyone treats him so nice! They listen to his stories about his regular life. And then have to take Nanami to the side and break it to him that the entire family was kind of purposefully neglecting these two kids. Which makes him rethink some things about his life and the structures he upholds.

Ryuusui really wants to be a sorcerer. But he can't. So of course he finds an S-tier scientist who may or may not be called Ishigami Senku to science out a solution for him.

Francois - even though I love them with my heart and soul - will also be non-sorcerer here. But armed with cursed tools to defend Ryuusui in case something goes bad on his adventures.

And on top of all that, in the horizon, there looms a Special Grade curse, almost primordial in its age and strength, capable of affecting the entire world in one fell swoop. The Medusa.

[cookiesupplier]

Every Rose Has Its Thorns - Part Thirty-Seven

pairing: Ricky Olson x ofc x Chris 'Motionless' Cerulli

warnings/tropes: slow burn, soulmates, strangers to enemies to lovers, betrayal, angst, fluff, smut, language, online bullying, panic attacks, stalking, mental health issues.

summary: In a world where soulmates inexplicably receive a tattoo that will match that of their soulmate the moment they turn eighteen years old, being famous and covered in very visible tattoos can make finding your true soulmate a questionable fate. For everyone involved.

author’s note: Unbeta'd, readers beware as always lol.

To read from the beginning, check out the Masterlist Here!

tags: @tearfallpixie @cncohshit @jordynyingling0219 @faceless-mirror @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @wild-child-7747 @witchyweeb34 @black-damask1999 @jilliemiw86 @ilovesamkiszka @lyschko666 @lacktoesandtoddlerants @bngurngheart @collapsedglasshouses @laurpartyprogram @sunsshinesunny @malerieee @talialovesmiw @shilohrosechicken @thatchickwiththecamera @tamtam-elizabeth

Tag List is Open, please let me know if you would like to be added to it or in general.

Chris had ended up having to leave his friend a message on his machine as he was out that morning, he hated doing that as it felt so impersonal, and never wanted to give details on those things. But, it was over really, he knew that he couldn’t always be in the office. The soulmate tattoo science division was a very difficult line of research to keep funded. Most of the people in the field he’d managed to make contact with, even if just marginally over the last few years, all said the same thing. They usually either were extremely lucky with multiple grants, had side jobs, alternate research, or their research into the soul connection was the alternate study. There were some on the outside that sat the soulmate research as a hobby, but he knew they were all so very passionate about it. Sadly, none of them could dedicate all of their time to it, as it just didn’t pay the bills.

That was something Chris could understand completely. He remembered the early years in the band, working what was essentially a day job just to make ends meet. Needing it to make sure he could pay rent, buy food, have the funds for equipment, getting to and from gigs, basically everything the band could possibly need. So yes, he knew what it was like to have a passion project that was worth an absolute pittance. Unfortunately for most of the scientists he’d talked to over the years, their projects in the soulmate research, wasn’t likely to suddenly boom anything nearly as massive as the band. Not with the known track record so far. Besides, he was reminded science wasn’t just about making money though, it was about the discovery and search of knowledge.

He was in need of some of that knowledge right now, and not just him, but also Ricky, and Talia. Living like this, was driving all of them a little nuts, he could tell they were all on edge. Poor Talia, that panic attack she’d had, she had spiralled so bad just at the thought of having to face those doctors again that had treated her so badly. If Chris had his way, he’d shut that whole place down, who the hell treated people that way. What harm, what proof, had her family presented, that could have suggested that any of that was remotely necessary, even then, the doctors should have evaluated her themselves. He couldn’t personally understand how Talia could have met the criteria. 

Just the same, once Chris had made the call, now it was just the waiting game, and checking the message board, cringing at the different takes of what others had of the illnesses that could be wrong with him. Oh yes, the imaginations of these people, they were coming up with everything under the sun that could be wrong with him, and somehow every single person, assumed he was dying. He supposed that happened when you were brought to that particular area of the message boards, it involved death to start with, so assuming death was involved, could be taken to heart. Chris would like to think he wasn’t dying though, he didn’t feel sick, no matter how much of a panic this was whirling around in him right now though, let's not think about that. 

It was about lunchtime that he was finally able to hear back from his friend, right when he was in the middle of making himself something to eat no less, isn’t that how it always goes? When you have been absolutely dying for someone to call you back about a vital topic, you wait around forever expecting their call, but it doesn’t come. When you finally give up and get up to do something else, boom, you are right in the middle of what you are doing, and they call. So he was in the middle of making himself a sandwich when his phone started ringing, and he had to drop everything, he wasn’t going to risk missing this call, not this of all things.

“Micah, hey, man, how are you going? How’s the wife? The kids?”

While Chris had never met Micah in person, they had had some very long and in-depth philosophical conversations about the soulmate bonds between people. Even about the bond stemming between Micah and his wife and how their relationship had been affected by it. Micah had met his wife long before they knew they were soulmates, much like Talia’s friends Kyle and Jordan. Chris had enjoyed hearing about such a bond evolving differently somewhere else to, how the tattoos were different and worked differently for everywhere. It was amazing how that happened. 

“They are doing well, and you, Chris, how is your work going?”

Chris never spoke openly about his work on the phone, not this number anyway, this was the office number. While there were other scientists that Chris knew on a strictly surface level, Micah he’d actually gotten to know a little more personally because the man had understood to some degree what Chris went through. He had switched to soulmate research when his brother had lost his soulmate while he was still a teenager, and the toll it had taken on him had been immense. Chris felt for those that lost so much hope at such a young age.

“It’s going well, on some downtime, which is even better. Though I’ve actually had some curious thoughts lately, one of my friends has been talking to me a lot about soulmate tattoos. I mean, we were talking about the different crazy theories and hypothetical situations out there.”

Chris knew it was a little unfair that he was telling his friend a bit of a white lie, but this wasn’t just about him, this was about Ricky and Talia too. He wasn’t going to put them in a position when they had to deal with a bunch of doctors if they didn’t want to. Ricky had said straight out yesterday, no tests, and Chris did not blame him, especially with how they were all connected, if just one of them got poked and prodded, who knows if they’d all feel it.

As expected, Chris heard a rustling of papers on the desk of the other end of the phone followed by a low chuckle, assuming that Micah was getting himself comfortable for this conversation now.

“Alright, Chris, you’ve got my attention, hit me with them.”

Bingo, he knew how to get Micah, he always liked to hear the latest theories that came about. Hearing them from people was always more interesting than trolling the message boards as Micah told him after all.

“Okay, now, I know that some of these just really got my head spinning, like there is apparently one that is about how the tattoos are actually random and work on hypnotic suggestion once they come in proximity to each other. There is another, that was taking about soulmate tattoos can sometimes change colour after a soulmate passes away, and become a whole new tattoo, which is completely ridiculous. Oh hell, then there was another one, oh, oh, get this Micah, oh you’ll get a kick out of this-”

Chris had a couple more insane ideas in his head to throw at him if need be, including tid bits of the way the soulmate bond that was affecting Talia and Ricky. The idea had been, was to see if he could see if that sparked more from Micah as he went. The fact that he seemed to be stopping his jumbled rant already, it would seem he wouldn’t need that after all.

“Wait a second, what was that theory?”

Chris paused, as if thinking,

“The hypnotic suggestion? Don’t tell me someone is actually researching that, are you kidding-”

“No Chris- I-”

“Because I swear if my friend finds out that he could eventually hypnotise his girlfriend-”

“Chris, that’s not what I-”

Chris was just barrelling forward, he knew this was probably a bit much, but his nerves about the entire ordeal during the night had gone into overdrive. Remembering how it had felt holding Talia as she cried, had him convinced that he needed to protect her from any doctor involved. Even his friend. Ricky and him, they were connected yes, and sure, he didn’t want either of them hurt either, but seeing her curled up against Ricky’s chest sobbing, and the thought of her broken like that again? Never. This was why he was driving Micah around in circles, and maybe one day he’d tell him, maybe one day he’d forgive him.

“Chris!”

“Shit! Sorry, Crap, Micah, you scared me.. What..”

“I wasn’t meaning about the hypnotic suggestion theory. What, what was the other theory you, you and your, friend, were, talking about?”

Here we go, time for the other foot to drop.

“Oh, um, was it, the uh, colour-blind tattoo soulmate theory one? About being the reason they are all only black or white?”

Chris didn’t know if he was frustrating Micah now, but he seemed to just let out a decent puff of air for a long moment then, taking in a slow breath.

“You mean the one about the tattoo changing, after the soulmate died? Like.. something anyway, sounds really stupid, right?”

Snorting derisively into the phone, as if he would have thought this entire thing was utterly ridiculous, and honestly, if it were happening to anyone else, he would.

The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening. 

When Micah started talking again, something in his voice had changed, even if it was just from him adjusting his posture at his desk, Chris didn’t know, but something had changed, and instantly it made the man wary.

“So your friend, was this his theory Chris, or yours?”

“We were just shooting the breeze and talking about random things we heard about in passing, they weren’t either of our own theories, Micah, why, what does it matter, why so serious all of a sudden man?”

It was making him very worried about the fact that Micah was getting so serious about this, especially since Ricky had said the remark about testing. Thinking about it now, sent a chill down his spine. What the hell was happening, Micah had never gotten like this before, never, he’d always been so easy going, even when their discussions had become extremely intense.

“No, no, Chris, not serious, or anything like that, I just, I’m curious. How the subject of tattoos changing like that came up exactly. Is this, something that, either of you have heard about from someone in person, or, just a random joke about in the moment.”

He was fishing, Chris knew he was fishing, and it was making him nervous. He pushed himself to laughed slightly.

“Why, is there something to worry about Micah? Don’t tell me, tattoos are changing left right and centre and the government is keeping it covered up, big conspiracy they don’t want anyone to know about?”

That Chris threw out there with a real-ass loud laugh, the thought that random tattoos could be changing and no one in the world would be talking about it would be laughable to him. The things he’d heard all over the message boards about the soulmate tattoos there was no way another person tattoo could have changed, and he wouldn’t have heard about it, no, no way. Surely not… right?

“Chris…”

“Yea?”

Trying to sound as nonchalant as humanly possible considering how completely unhinged he was feeling with the turn this conversation had taken.

“Has your tattoo changed?”

Micah knew his soulmate was dead, and Chris was kicking himself now for including that in the first place, about the tattoo changing after a soulmate passing away. Shit, maybe he wouldn’t be asking about Chris’ tattoo specifically if he hadn’t. What the fuck was he supposed to say, he had to say something, the longer he said nothing, Micah would know he was stalling.. The fact he’d paused, even for a second, he was going to know something was amiss.

Scoffing slightly after that second,

“No, stuff, the same, as always, still.. White.. Still… dead.”

Swallowing, yep, his soulmate was still very much dead, everything was exactly the way it was the last time they spoke, Micah. 

As much as he’d called for answers, the cryptic way Micah was being, Chris wasn’t sure he wanted answers from him any more, something was amiss and he was nervous.

Silence met him again from the other end of the line, and just when Chris went to say something himself, Micah spoke abruptly.

“Chris, whatever you do, don’t call this number again, I’ll be in touch.”

And the line went dead.

What the hell was happening?!?

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

[thislittlekumquat]

Right but they have a point in regards to the belief in this figures not being based in any sort of fact or evidence,

That’s the difference, the atheist worldview is by far more accurate

We mock flat earthers for being wrong but not other provably false beliefs?

With all due respect, and I mean that, the concept of any sort of divinity is by definition unprovable. Modern science runs into the issue of unprovables quite often. When I was in college, my professors all worked quite hard to ensure that we understood that there are very few absolutes even in science. Many things that we take for granted as "laws" actually have the formal title of "theory", because they haven't been proven, but there's so much evidence in favor of them and the way we operate under the assumption of their truth continues to provide results, that they are essentially, but not truly, laws. Evolution, for example, is not a law as defined by science, but rather a theory.

So, that's one thing to consider. Another thing to consider is that there is not only value in things we can prove or disprove with modern science. I can't scientifically prove that my spouse loves me. I can't scientifically explain why I like my favorite band, or my favorite novel. And yet these are things I know, and they're true in the sense that they form my world, my experiences, and my life. If you try to prove every single thing you believe in, or that you prefer, or that you experience, you'll never be satisfied. To practice science and to live life ethically and happily, you need to understand what science is, what its limitations are, and how to prioritize it as a concept and as a way of knowing. Science, nor indeed any system of knowing, cannot be the be-all, end-all of your thoughts and opinions. I am a scientist and a historian by education, and having both allow me to understand that many of the conundrums we face today are not unique to us, and many of the things we assume our ancestors did not know, they did in fact know (Ferdinand and Isabella and basically all of Europe knew that the world was round. They even knew that Columbs' calculations were wrong about the size of the sphere. They gave him money for other complex geopolitical reasons, and they were his last ditch effort, since every other wealthy patron he approached knew he was wrong and turned him away).

I suspect that the impulse to deny divinity derives in the majority of cases from a sense that the human institutions of religion are frequently abusive and cause as much suffering as they do comfort to their adherents. This is a fair assessment, and you're not wrong to make it. But on an individual basis, there is nothing less intelligent or foolish about feeling that a divine something exists. I am not arguing that religious people are better than atheists. Speaking as a former angry teen atheist myself, I am simply commenting on the fact that it has been a facet of the formal atheist movement for centuries to assume that it's more rational to be atheist. Even if it were, who is to say that rationalism makes one a better person? You're on tumblr, so I assume that there's something here that moves you. Is it a fandom? Is it photography? Is it art? Is it music? None of these are rational pursuits.

So I reject the idea that divinity is demonstrably fake, because it isn't, by definition, and I reject the idea that even if it was demonstrably false, it makes one a better or smarter person to be an atheist. I think it's completely fine to be an atheist, but one must temper one's sense of self-importance with the experiences of others.

P.S. I screenshotted the post because I found it ironic that OP used the word "stigmata", which is a very particular devotional concept and image in Roman Catholicism, among other Christian sects, and a very mystical one at that, in their username, while simultaneously professing to find people who are religious to be stupid and backwards. I think there's something going on there, and it amused me. But I did not bother OP or the person who reblogged it onto my dash, nor did I tag the post in any way to lead people to my post. So I wonder why you, anonymously, felt as if their point is any more valid than mine.

[dr-futbol-blog]

Letters from Pegasus, Pt. 6

While Sheppard is on his recon mission, Teyla stays in the jumper. There is a scene in which a masked wraith warrior stands just outside the open door of the jumper and Teyla is inside, looking straight at it. It shows us the importance of perspective. When something is concealed, you can look right at the thing and see nothing. When you are within and looking out, you are able to see much more. While it is symbolic, it's also likely foreshadowing the next episode and Teyla's 'gift', the wraith able to sense something nearby even though it is unable to see her.

On Atlantis, Ford is recording Kavanaugh's message. Kavanaugh is a character made to be hated, and for this purpose he is extremely well-written and the actor does a bang-up job. As a scientist, he is also a contrast to McKay--the more we are to dislike Kavanaugh, the more we like McKay in comparison. Like many of the others, he wants to know who all are going to be watching the videos. No one on Atlantis, Ford tells him. He can rest assured he has privacy. But like McKay, Kavanaugh actually records his message to SGC, specifically intending for them to see it:

This is a message for General Jack O'Neill of Stargate Command. I feel it is my duty to inform you of what I consider to be serious errors in judgement among the leaders of this expedition. Most notably, Doctor Elizabeth Weir. Her actions have repeatedly and recklessly exposed the people of this expedition to extreme danger, leading us directly to the grave situation we currently find ourselves in. I've been keeping a record of Doctor Weir's questionable activities, which I would like to detail for you now: [...] authorised using a prisoner to test an experimental drug, in clear violation of the Geneva Convention; authorised lowering the Stargate shield when the authenticity of incoming travellers was clearly in question--

The theme of the episode is leadership, and Kavanaugh has issue with the leadership of the expedition--Weir, in particular. His grievances are personal because he felt slighted by Weir during 38 Minutes (S01E04). It is interesting that as a scientist, although McKay is his superior, he does not appear to have any complaints regarding his leadership. Even if he does have grievances regarding McKay and Sheppard's leadership, his personal hatred of Weir just makes him pile up their lapses on her.

He has been keeping a record of them, and it's good for Sheppard and McKay that he seems to have such a personal vendetta against Weir that he has failed record anything else that the leadership has done that might be questionable in the eyes of the military. He even mentions some things that Sheppard clearly instigated and blames them on her, as she had the supreme authority. But he's not precisely wrong, either. Weir is a diplomat and a negotiator, she is not a born leader. The overlapping civilian and military leadership of the expedition is a problem, it has caused serious issues. We are meant to despise Kavanaugh and sympathize with the main characters, but it does not make him wrong.

However, he does mention the "leaders of the expedition," recognizing that there is more than one leader among them. And we are very much meant to reflect on the leadership of Sheppard and McKay during this episode. As Weir was recording messages to the fallen members of the expedition, there were both members of the military and the science team among them. Both Sheppard and McKay have lost people under their leadership, and it is a heavy toll on them both. Sheppard may have lost men more recently, but McKay had known the people he lost longer. These losses are what drive both of them to work so hard to keep everyone safe, has added an air of desperation to their attempts to act as responsible leaders.

Back on the planet, Teyla sees a family running away from the culling and decides to rescue them against Sheppard's express order to "stay right here". She can't just sit and do nothing. Sheppard told her that one should only fight the battles they can win which is not something he himself really believes. But she has decided to fight him on this. Sheppard returns and while he may have come around to rescuing Teyla's 'dear friend,' he is clearly unhappy about her having picked up these stragglers. Obviously he's not going to make anyone leave now that they're already in the jumper but even after having just witnessed countless of people die screaming deaths around him, he does not feel good about her having brought them in.

Sheppard seems to have no sympathy for her even though it is not only possible but extremely likely that her dear friend has perished by now.

He picks up the binoculars from the desk, and we're shown a close-up for him grabbing them. He seems to have some trouble picking them up like he has problems with his fine motor function. When the body is under extreme stress, as for example during a fear response, at a heart rate of 115 beats per minute fine motor skills, dexterity and hand-eye coordination begin to decrease. This is what we see.

For what ever reason, his heart is pounding and his body is feeling extreme stress. This man, who has been an Air Force test pilot. Who enjoys anything that goes over 200 mph.

At the start of the episode he said that it wasn't time to panic... yet. Well, he seems to be much closer to it now. But is it caused simply by the presence of the wraith?

The gate that the wraith have been keeping open then shuts down, and Sheppard is ready to leave the planet right away. It is when we look at the desperation with which Teyla wishes to save these people that we are able to appreciate how much Sheppard wants to get back home, how much he is willing to sacrifice to see that he does:

Teyla: Please, Major--give Orin more time. Sheppard: If he was able to get here, he'd be here by now. We've got to get back. Teyla: Then go. I will stay and search in the daylight. You can return for me later. Sheppard: Can't do that. Teyla: I consider Orin as family, Major. I am sorry if you do not understand what that means. Sheppard: I understand it, Teyla, but that's not the point I'm trying to-- Teyla: With or without you, I am staying. Sheppard: You won't make it.

Let me emphasize the fact that Sheppard is fully prepared to leave Teyla, his own dear friend, behind to get back to Atlantis. He is not telling her she won't make it because he's trying to convince her that it's a bad idea, he's not playing hardball to try to convince her to come back with him. He is telling her that he will leave her behind. And the fact that this is Teyla, this is someone he really cares about, just emphasizes how dire he finds the situation, how thin the thread is that he is hanging by. How much he wants to get back.

Also noteworthy here is that Sheppard tells her that he understands what it means to consider someone family where later he says in the recording to Col. Sumner's family that he does not have a family back on Earth himself. So clearly, it is on Atlantis that he has someone or someones that he considers family. He seems really quite uncaring and even ruthless as he tells Teyla that she won't make it. Like her insistence is upsetting him. But she's not giving up on this:

Teyla: Then I ask that you stay as well--just a little longer. Allow something good to come of this. Sheppard: Alright. We'll give him a little more time.

Even Teyla asking him to stay is not enough to make him want to stay. That's how much he wants to get back home. It isn't until she pleads him with "Allow something good to come of this" that he relents. But even then, it is not easy for him. You can see that he wants to say no, he almost tells her no. He seems to be near tears here. His entire internal conflict is over believing that his emotions compromise him as a leader, that he is incapable of making impartial calls because he feels too much. And even then, all he is willing to do is to give her a little more time. It's not that he doesn't think that these people are worth rescuing, he thinks they are dead already. It's not that he has some critical intel that he just has to get to Atlantis like all of their lives depended on it because they've really learned nothing here that might save them. If anything, what Sheppard has seen here today has only confirmed to him that there is nothing they can do. Their demise is all but inevitable.

He feels the same as McKay (and it is the two of them that probably understand the situation, understand how "screwed they are," more acutely than the rest): that they're done for, their torches are soon to be extinguished. And it is because of that that he would like to spend the time they have remaining with what Weir in her message had just called "loved ones". He does not want to face that terrible enemy and that uncertain future alone, he wants to spend it with the person he has only recently come to realize he loves. Recently realized what had been a long time in the making.

On Atlantis, Beckett is continuing his message to his mother who very much seems to be paralleled with Sheppard in his current predicament:

I know you worry about me, Mum, but somehow we've found a way to rise to each challenge, so I wouldn't fret about my safety. It's the people here--from dozens of countries, all connected by a single bond. We represent the people of Earth--and if there's one thing I've discovered about we Earthlings, we're a scrappy bunch. I wouldn't be surprised if I bring back-- So take care of yourself. Lots of sleep; remember your daily walks; and keep up with your prescription. Well, that's about it. I'll say goodbye now. And, Mum? I do love you.

It's not only that Beckett and Sheppard are paralleled, Beckett's mother and McKay have a lot in common in this episode, as well: she suffers from a foot fungus where McKay's foot was cramping, McKay has slept very little recently and him telling her to get lots of sleep, McKay talking about the time he had mono and Beckett telling her to keep up with her prescription. Someone who cares about McKay has made him a sandwich and the fact that this person does not know how to make a tasty sandwich and has gone through the trouble of making it anyway is not irrelevant; we see Beckett's mother lovingly serve him a Sunday roast. They express their love through food. But where Beckett is able to come around and tell her both goodbye and that he loves her, Sheppard is unable to do either.

While Sheppard only briefly and tacitly recognized that he feels like he has a family on Atlantis, McKay elaborates on the same sentiment in his message to his sister. And note that while the onus of the message is on him reconnecting with her, wishing that they might be closer one day, the content of his message to his sister is that he has found a family on Atlantis.

Where him and his sister were not close and he is sorry about that, on Atlantis he has become so close to someone as to consider them family, so close as to come to the realization that family is important. If they ever get the chance to reconnect, he would like that because having found closeness with someone has made him appreciate it in a way he never knew before. Like Sheppard, he is certain that they are going to die and this only makes him appreciate what he now has that much more. Once more what McKay is actually saying is disguised in something else. His sister is the device with which we are told about his sentiment for someone else, someone on Atlantis.

Back on the planet, Sheppard and Teyla are sitting in the jumper looking out of the front window when they spot a group of people running from the forest. It's Orin with his family, and their arrival can be contrasted with the conversation they had in the meeting room at the beginning of the episode.

Weir: Well, we knew they were coming; at least now we know when. Sheppard: That's something. McKay: That's something? Sheppard: It means there's still time, Rodney--there's no reason to panic… yet. Teyla: Where there is time, there is hope.

Teyla never gave up hope where Sheppard never seemed to have any to begin with. Note how much optimistic Sheppard seemed back then, feigned though it may well have been. They run outside to hurry them along and it seems as though they have picked up more people along the way. Sheppard is not happy about this:

Sheppard: How big is his family?! Teyla: He must have met up with others along the way. Sheppard: That's gonna be a problem. Orin: I didn't think you'd still be here. Teyla: We would not have gone without you. Orin: We found others on the way -- and even more further behind. Sheppard: How many more?!

The amount of people gathered and the commotion they are making seem to have alerted the wraith to their presence. Sheppard notices the darts before the others, and as the children start making their way toward the jumper, he first tries to stop them. John Sheppard's first instinct here is to try and stop children from running to safety from the wraith because he is not sure that all of them will be able to fit into the jumper so as to make the jumper too heavy to take off and return to Atlantis. This is pretty far from a hero-moment for our hero.

Luckily, his instinct to save people takes over and he relents, urging Orin's group to get in. He tells them that they will try to fit in as many people as they can.

As much as he wishes that in the face of an unwinnable war he could be the kind of leader that can make tough calls without letting his feelings get in the way, he is not that man. In his heart of hearts, he has to try to save everyone even when the odds are stacked up against it. He takes one of the children and carries her in, only just making it into the jumper himself.

They listen to the screams of everyone they couldn't save outside. This is what they're up against. This is what is awaiting them on Atlantis very soon.

An eerie quiet falls over them when the last of the people outside have been taken by the wraith. And suddenly Sheppard needs to get back to Atlantis that much more desperately. He's not wasting any more time here. He's certainly not wasting any more time on talking because there is nothing to say. He needs to get back, now. He needs to get back to his family.

Teyla says nothing either, joining him to sit on the front seat. She watches him and can clearly see that he is not alright. Yes, they all just witnessed something horrible and yes, her leader did come through at the end and they were able to save as many people as it was possible to save. But there is something else going on here, and she does not know what it is. This man sitting next to him is in many ways a stranger to her.

Back in The Defiant One (S01E11), someone that had known McKay for a long time was able to see how much his time on Atlantis had changed him. Atlantis has also changed John Sheppard. They have both changed, and they have changed through their connection to each other.

Continued in Pt. 7

[vague-humanoid]

@quasi-normalcy @el-shab-hussein @dirhwangdaseul

A side of the story of Jeffrey Epstein’s creation and maintenance of a pedophilia ring and sex trafficking operation among the wealthiest, most famous, and most powerful Americans seems to have been forgotten. This is the fact that he was constantly surrounded with notable and influential members of the scientific community. 

One scientist, who remained anonymous, told Slate about lavish parties Epstein would host at his Upper East Side apartment. These parties often mixed the scientists with individuals from the world of high fashion, including many young models. “Sometimes he’d turn to his left and ask some science-y questions,” claimed the anonymous scientist, “Then he’d turn to his right and ask the model to show him her portfolio.” 

Epstein hosted this particular party in 2010, after he had been convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor. In attendance was John Brockman, a literary agent who has represented Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, and Jared Kahneman, among other scientists turned authors. According to Slate: “At one point, a young female staffer stepped into the room to give Epstein a massage, rubbing his neck as he talked and listened.” “I have only two interests,” Epstein once said to a long time friend, “Science and pussy.” Indeed, when Epstein convened a meeting of 21 physicists on his private island in 2006, he “was always followed by a group of something like three or four young women,” according to one participant.

One of the physicists in attendance was none other than Stephen Hawking, who rode in a submarine specially modified by Epstein for Hawking. According to Epstein’s LinkedIn, Hawking is among the many “well known luminaries” Epstein financially contributed to in his role as a “science philanthropist.” Keep in mind that many of the legal documents produced in the course of Epstein’s trials alleged that photos of naked girls decorated the walls of his property. Professor Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University, who organized the conference, has said that it, “wouldn’t have happened if Epstein hadn’t funded it” and that Epstein supported “some of the work at my institute.” Krauss remained close with Epstein during and after he was sentenced to prison for his pedophilia. “As a scientist,” Krauss told the Daily Beast in 2011, “I always judge things on empirical evidence and he always has women ages 19 to 23 around him, but I’ve never seen anything else, so as a scientist, my presumption is that whatever the problems were I would believe him over other people.”

Alan Dershowitz, a member of the legal team which helped negotiate a “non-prosecution agreement” to rescue Epstein from prison in 2008, alleges that Epstein once steered a lunch conversation between the two of them toward the issue of improving human genetics. Dershowitz claims he was appalled due to the similarity of what Epstein was proposing to Nazi rhetoric used to justify the Holocaust. Apparently it didn’t offend Dershowitz too much, as the two continued to work together. In fact, Dershowitz was named in court documents as one of the many men who participated in the rape of girls trapped by Epstein on Little St. James.

Epstein’s embrace of transhumanism and eugenics was also overtly Malthusian. Cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker claims that while at a Harvard meetup of scientists Epstein was critical of projects meant to promote healthcare or feed the hungry, warning that this would lead to overpopulation. The fear of “overpopulation” has a long history among bourgeois eugencistists and is rooted in the logic of imperialism. 

[joju-but-trek]

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2, Episode 13: A Tribble Called Quest

That tribble is going to give me nightmares.

Finally, we get a Prodigy episode with the Klingons! I love Klingons overall, and Prodigy did the thing that I always wish they did with the species. I'll get into it more in the spoiler section, but this episode did so much more for the Klingon lore than it had to, and I respect that. On top of that, it kept up the streak of still being a Prodigy episode first, and I respect how good this season has been about doing both. 9/10

My big issue with the Klingons is the old fan question. If everyone in the species is so predatory and warlike, how did they ever invent space travel? This episode didn't answer that, but it did have a Klingon scientist, which I think we need more of generally. And K'ruvang bridged the gap in the way that I thought it should be bridged - he treats science as a noble pursuit, and his scientific success is his source of honor just as much as a warrior's physical success is.

This episode also did some fun things with tribbles. The return of Rok's presentation from the start of the season was genius - that was such a good foreshadow now that I know where it was going. I also appreciate that Rok was able to work with someone else who valued scientific success above their own life, and that she was able to bounce off that with her own struggles and need for success. It's not fully in line with the conformism arc that she started this season with, but it's also part of it in an interesting way.

That being said, the Rok-tribble was slightly scary, at least when I first saw it. I didn't have a problem with it in the Netflix menu for some reason, but when it turned around and stared I was a little freaked out. I got used to it, and I like how Rok grew to accept it, but I'm not sure why they took it with them. It's still a tribble, and we know what happens with tribbles on a spaceship.

Rok sneezing on the tribble DNA reminded me of the Rick and Morty episode where they destroyed an entire dimension with a mutated cold virus, and I kept thinking about it now. If I were to compare them and their takes on scientific responsibility, I'd give Prodigy credit for having Rok successfully clean up the mess, but each show was going for a different theme with how they did that particular storyline, and comparing them doesn't seem fair.

I liked Dal thinking on his feet in this episode and Chakotay propping him up. The two of them have great chemistry in this dynamic, and I'm excited to see where it develops.

We're also getting an escalation of the Zero body plot. It makes sense given where we are in the season, something about it just feels like it needed more time. Maybe if it was going on in a different season where the A-plot wasn't a desperate mission to save the multiverse it could have gotten the time it deserved. What they did with it was still good, I just wouldn't have done it here and now.

One other thing about this season that I'm noticing is that it feels like a summation of this era of Trek. It ties in a lot of loose threads from the other Paramount+ shows and links them back to the older shows, on top of involving and expanding those characters' plotlines into a single cohesive story. It's like this show was trying to be the finale of the era, and I'm not sure where that element of it is leading to. I've been pretty cynical about any Trek getting renewed since Paramount tried to kill this season, and it's interesting that the show itself feels like it's trying to go down swinging.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Lucien's Through Thousands of Mirrors event translation (Day 2 - Friday)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

This post contains a HEAVY SPOILER for the event that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Through Thousands of Mirrors Event | Day 1 | Day 2 (You're here!) | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | HS/Uni SSR Story: Monochrome Scenery

-

[PREVIEW]

Everyone's school life is different. Some people wake up early to go to the library to research and study in advance, while others get up early to row on the Charles River for practice.

Lucien stops and watches the students training for a while until a woken goose begins to quack, flaps its wings in discontent, and fixes its deep, dark eyes on him.

I'm just passing by...

Lucien thought. He carefully and slowly backs away, leaving the dangerous place*.

-

[T/N: "是非之地" (shìfēi zhī dì) is a Chinese phrase that literally translated to "a place of right and wrong". it more or less mean a place where one is apt to get into trouble; in this case a place where there's a goose about to chase you at the slightest provocation😂. Funny how he now gets along well with another goose in current farming event LOL]

Also the fact that Lucien's campus is near Charles River basically confirms that his campus is definitely MIT; just get parodied to avoid copyright issues (in case if PG want to make merch of it).

-

[NEUROSCIENCE]

After class, Dr. Lawson stays for a while to chat with Lucien. It's unusual for Dr. Lawson to do so.

"Doctor, what's the matter?

"Did you already know the content we discussed today?"

"Yes, but I'm still very happy to hear it again."

-

[COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE]

When every piece of data is where it should be, within the expected range, and operates as it should, one should rightfully obtain the expected results, shouldn't they?

The irrefutable fact gives its answer with a smile: Nope!

-

[BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE]

Today, this class has a special guest lecturer. In order to help students gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter and the broader applications of biomedical science, the professor has invited his working forensic scientist friend.

Pretty cool.

Wait, isn't this professor's network a bit too extensive?

-

[FREE TIME]

No one dislikes Fridays.

Especially a Friday when everything at hand has been taken care of and you earned some free time.

In a few hours, there will be other things to do, and the weekend should also be used to prepare for the upcoming week.

But at least for now, Lucien feels he deserves to enjoy the warm afternoon sunlight and the comfortable hammock.

-

[LAB]

Lucien frowns as he looks at the chart, "Let me run it again."

After a brief moment of consideration, Professor Lawson gives a suggestion, saying, "Hmm... No need. Let Elliot run it instead."

Despite his doubts, Lucien still went ahead and followed the advice.

Not long after, he gets a beautiful chart.

"Did I make an error in my operation?"

Colt, who was passing by, glances and says, "Elliot is lucky. If there are any tricky problems, letting him give it a try might just solve them."

Lucien looks at the chart in his hand again and feels that, someday when recruiting people for his laboratory, he should perhaps consider luck as one of the factors.

-

[Tidbits: And he did 🥹 In the future, he will hire a scientist named Luo Ke, with one factor being the rumor that Luo Ke brings good luck to lab experiments [Lab Koi call] 🤣 It's cute that this not-so-scientific behavior can be traced back to this particular past event]

-

[LAB]

In the laboratory, many problems can be answered by Caroline.

"Caroline, did I use the reagents incorrectly?" Elliot asks in confusion.

"Caroline, do you have time to create a presentation poster for the project?" Dr. Lawson proudly asks, confident in Caroline's abilities.

"Caroline— the photocopier has stopped working," Colt wails in despair.

In the midst of the recurring "Caroline to the rescue"; only Lucien remains silent.

For the sake of easy record-keeping and review, he chooses to send an email.

-

[MEETING]

Lucien's report this week also receives extremely high praise from Professor Lawson.

"But then again, Lucien,"

"After you joined our laboratory, the electricity bill went up a bit, supposedly because of overnight power usage and keeping the lights on."

Lucien smiles quietly and then looks away.

[mesetacadre]

The main flaw is in the wrong approach to the relationships between the Communists and the specialists, the administrators and the scientists and writers. There is no doubt at all that some aspects of the integrated economic plan, as of any other undertaking, call for the administrative approach or for decisions by Communists alone. Let me add that new aspects of that kind can always come to the fore. That, however, is the purely abstract way of looking at it. Right now, our communist writers and administrators are taking quite the wrong approach, because they have failed to realise that in this case we should be learning all we can from the bourgeois specialists and scientists, and cutting out the administrative game. GOELRO’s is the only integrated economic plan we can hope to have just now. It should be amplified, elaborated, corrected and applied in the light of well scrutinised practical experience. The opposite view boils down to the purely “pseudo-radical conceit, which in actual fact is nothing but ignorance”, as our Party Programme puts it. Ignorance and conceit are equally betrayed by the view that we can have another general planning commission in the R.S.F.S.R. in addition to GOELRO, which, of course, is not to deny that some advantage may be gained from partial and business-like changes in its membership. It is only on this basis—by continuing what has been started—that we can hope to make any serious improvements in the general economic plan; any other course will involve us in an administrative game, or high-handed action, to put it bluntly. The task of the Communists inside GOELRO is to issue fewer orders, rather, to refrain from issuing any at all, and to be very tactful in their dealings with the scientists and technicians (the R.C.P. Programme says: “Most of them inevitably have strong bourgeois habits and take the bourgeois view of things”). The task is to learn from them and to help them to broaden their world-view on the basis of achievements in their particular field, always bearing in mind that the engineer’s way to communism is different from that of the underground propagandist and the writer; he is guided along by the evidence of his own science, so that the agronomist, the forestry expert, etc., each have their own path to tread towards communism. The Communist who has failed to prove his ability to bring together and guide the work of specialists in a spirit of modesty, going to the heart of the matter and studying it in detail, is a potential menace. We have many such Communists among us, and I would gladly swap dozens of them for one conscientious qualified bourgeois specialist.

There are two ways in which Communists outside GOELRO can help to establish and implement the integrated economic plan. Those of them who are economists, statisticians or writers should start by making a study of our own practical experience, and suggest corrections and improvements only after such a detailed study of the facts. Research is the business of the scientist, and once again, because we are no longer dealing with general principles, but with practical experience, we find that we can obtain much more benefit from a “specialist in science and technology”, even if a bourgeois one, than from the conceited Communist who is prepared, at a moment’s notice, to write “theses”, issue “slogans” and produce meaningless abstractions. What we need is more factual knowledge and fewer debates on ostensible communist principles.

Upon the other hand, the Communist administrator’s prime duty is to see that he is not carried away by the issuing of orders. He must learn to start by looking at the achievements of science, insisting on a verification of the facts, and locating and studying the mistakes (through reports, articles in the press, meetings, etc.), before proceeding with any corrections. We need more practical studies of our mistakes, in place of the Tit Titych type of tactics (“I might give my approval, if I feel like it”).

Men’s vices, it has long been known, are for the most part bound up with their virtues. This, in fact, applies to many leading Communists. For decades, we had been working for the great cause, preaching the overthrow of the bourgeoisie, teaching men to mistrust the bourgeois specialists, to expose them, deprive them of power and crush their resistance. That is a historic cause of world-wide significance. But it needs only a slight exaggeration to prove the old adage that there is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous. Now that we have convinced Russia, now that we have wrested Russia from the exploiters and given her to the working people, now that we have crushed the exploiters, we must learn to run the country. This calls for modesty and respect for the efficient “specialists in science and technology”, and a business-like and careful analysis of our numerous practical mistakes, and their gradual but steady correction. Let us have less of this intellectualist and bureaucratic complacency, and a deeper scrutiny of the practical experience being gained in the centre and in the localities, and of the available achievements of science.

Integrated Economic Plan, V. I. Lenin, 1921

[beigetiger]

Methinkin about ranks in the Sanctuary system in Battlescape, which would really be What’s In The Books™️+ other stuff. Let’s see how well I can organize it, I guess.

At the very top of the ladder is the Grand Mage, naturally. Official leader of each Sanctuary, gives out orders, makes laws and policies, and so on. I’m debating whether or not to make Roarhaven a democracy, but I’m leaning towards no because ain’t no way would the sorcerers ever manage to create a functioning democracy.

Right beneath the Grand Mage are the supporting Elders, who also give orders and help the Grand Mage keep organized and make policies. These two spots are currently empty for the Irish Sanctuary but they’re duties are performed by Temper Fray and Tanith Low.

There’s the Administrator. Keeps the whole Sanctuary organized, relays the Grand Mage’s orders to the soldiers/detectives. Since Roarhaven and it’s duties have gotten a lot bigger in the AU, I’m thinking of there being a council of five administrators, with Cerise as the head and the other four bring her assistants.

From there, the system goes into five main branches. Keepers of the Peace, the Detectives, the Specialized Skills units, science and technology, and the general military. Note that many of the people who work for these groups do assignments for other branches as well, or sometimes don’t belong to any particular branch at all. It’s very messy, but basically the types of activities they do is sorted into categories to make things easier (as opposed to strict lines in the sand about who they work for).

Keepers of the Peace are basically in charge of making sure that the various, very diverse groups within the city aren’t violently discriminating against each other. They also try to keep such corruption out of the Sanctuary as well. Duties include handling vampires (both helping and killing them when necessary) handling Gist-wielders, making sure mortals and sorcerers aren’t trying to kill each other, and splitting up hate groups. They also help people who are new to the city adjust, they have a whole system for it. This branch is headed by Temper.

The Detectives do as the detectives always have, which is solve problems, whether they be violence-based or mystery-based. They’ll also assassinate people when asked to, so really the detectives more serve as miscellaneous soldiers.

Specialized Skill units are sorcerers that are useful in wars but not your average fighting based soldier. Specialized skill sorcerers are ones such as Teleporters, Sensitives, Vitakinetics, and Gist-wielders (Gist-wielders need a lot of extra attention due to the raging mental issues that they usually come with, as well as their tendency to transform into full-fledged demons). Those in charge of Specialized Skill units tell these sorcerers where to go and make sure that they are safe and being properly cared for. This honour only extends to these type of sorcerers who work at the Sanctuary. Vampires who work for the Sanctuary (believe me, they are rare) would be categorized with the Special Skills unit but would probably do a fair bit of their work alongside the Keepers of the Peace.

Scientists/inventors are also pretty self-explanatory. They do science for the Sanctuary, which often involves creating new tech, new ways to stop the diseases that tear through the city, new ways to protect Roarhaven from invasion, and pretty much anything else useful. The science branch handles everything both magic and mundane, and is unaffiliated with the magic university that I still don’t have a name for.

And lastly, there’s the general military branch, which handles fighting, security, preventing street fights, and anything involving Ye Average Everyday Soldiers. Sub-branch of the general military branch is the prison system, which controls who works at the gaols, the locations of such prisons, and who is there (along with similar information). This branch is headed by Tanith.

The TYPES of soldiers who might belong to these units are as follows:

Sorcerers, who are exactly what you’d expect. They’re the majority population, they’re found everyone, and they can go into any branch they’re useful in.

Technomages, who are mortals that use magic tech to keep up alongside sorcerers. Some of them prefer to stealth and pretend to be normal sorcerers, while others are out and proud about being mortal. They aren’t really found in Specialized Skill units but can technically go anywhere else, although they’re virtually always some type of soldier (soldier meaning detective, assassin, cop, etc).

Completely normal mortals, who do not use violence-based magic tech. Since they aren’t violence-based, they go in the science branch. If they were to join one of the more militaristic branches, they’d pick up a magic weapon and become a technomage.

Cleavers, who go in the general military branch. How humane they are to keep around is under hot debate but for now, they’re staying. The science-tech branch is working on creating golems that function the same as Cleavers, but those are only in testing stages. Rippers can either leave, join a different branch, or stay in a different part of the general military. Cleavers are sometimes sent to do work for the Keepers of the Peace.

Miscellaneous magical beings who show up sometimes, such as witches, vampires, Crenga, and cursed magical creatures (such as Black Annis or Springheeled Jack if they weren’t dead). Quite rare but pretty useful (so long as they are kept under control), these types are usually given to Specialized Skill units for their unique abilities. The reason they aren’t given to the Keepers of the Peace is because that branch was made for protecting those outside the Sanctuary while the Specialized Skills branch was made to protect those inside.

There are NO Arbiters in the Sanctuary because nobody wanted to replace them when Skulduggery and Valkyrie left. There are, however, a few groups who serve a similar purpose, such as Dexter’s gang.

There are also probably a few programs and special units (similar to the Dead Men) in the Sanctuary, but the only particular idea I have right now is:

MILITARY COMMUNITY SERVICE! If someone fucks up with the law but has a relatively clean record or it was a minor crime, they can make it up by ensigning themselves to a program run by the Keepers of the Peace where they will have to complete or assist with one or more minor assignments (depending on the intensity of the crime). If someone is constantly going in and out of the program for committing crimes though, they usually get dragged off to prison or exiled unless they have a very good reason (such as coercion. In which case they have to help catch and punish those responsible).

Vampires and other similar creatures are quite common to find in this program because ✨discrimination✨. Really though, these types of people are usually under a lot more security than ye average citizen due to the fact that they can cause a lot more damage without being noticed. But since everyone in Roarhaven commits crimes at some point, these people all usually end up doing community service for something. They’re also more likely to get sent to prison or banished 😀 I get to write the fucked-up government system here

Also fuck it, another program is one run by the Specialized Skills branch that functions similarly to the Hidden Blades or the Cleavers, and what they do is they take orphans off the streets and train them to be gist-wielders, both because they then make excellent soldiers but also because then it can be discovered over time of gists really can be controlled or not. Anyways, orphans are picked up because it gives them somewhere to live, nobody is going to miss them, and they’re the most likely to have raging emotional issues, which makes them powerful as gists. The Irish Sanctuary, taking advantage of emotionally volatile children? Never.

But that’s the only idea for a program I have at the moment, so if anyone has any ideas let me know!

[knickynoo]

While I was gathering the High School USA gifs, I couldn't help imagining scenarios where Marty, APK, and JJ are all interacting with each other. Idk if it would be a case of "identical strangers" or alternate timeline versions, but it would be fun. Especially with Marty and JJ! The many similarities and slight contrasts between them could make for some interesting stuff. In particular...

The fact that both of them don't exactly have happy home lives (at least not original timeline Marty). George and Lorraine, while physically present in Marty's life, aren't emotionally there and have their respective issues going on. Meanwhile, JJ's parents aren't physically or emotionally there. His character is alone in an empty house most of the time (I can't remember why--I think his parents travel a lot?), and they dont seem to really care much about him, so he's kind of raising himself without any real parental support system. [EDIT: I went back to check. JJ's father is always traveling, and JJ never knows when he's coming home. He hasn't seen his mother since he was 2 years old.]

They both have nerdy, science-loving best friends! Marty has Doc, obviously, and JJ has Otto, whose main storyline involves his quest to build this huge robot that mostly just ends up walking around and destroying things; it's great.

↑ Otto, in his very first scene meant to clearly convey, "Hey, this guy is a nerd." Look at all that sciencey stuff. He even has a framed picture of Albert Einstein!

Speaking of nerds, JJ is also one. Except, he's not the smart kind; he's the "outcast, class-clown" kind. JJ is just not considered cool by his peers, especially since his social circle mainly consists of other outcasts and "weirdos." Now, I don't think Marty is quite that ostracized by his own peers--he does dress cool, has a band, and skateboards--but I've never pictured Marty as being part of the in-crowd. His personality (sweet, sensitive, low self-esteem, etc) and the fact that his best friend is a widely disliked/rumored to be dangerous and crazy scientist probably puts Marty more on the fringes of most social groups rather than in any popular crowds. This is another thing they'd be able to relate to each other on.

Also! Perhaps my favorite thing would be just...sticking them in a room and watching them attempt to converse or attend to anything for longer than 5 seconds because. JJ is every bit as adhd as Marty is. Like. JJ is all over the place. He's late for school all the time like Marty is and basically lives in the principal's office because he's time-blind and scattered and always goofing off. One of my favorite scenes (and what spurred this whole concept) is where JJ has been sent to the office because he's in trouble again, and through the whole scene, JJ is just touching everything on the principal's desk as he talks. So as he keeps reaching for things, the principal keeps having to grab them back and move them to a place JJ can't get to until there's nothing left on the desk. And the whole scene is played like they do this every single time and the principal is so tired of it. [I think I'll gif this scene hmm]. Anyway! It got me thinking, "Wouldn't it be fun to stick these two in a situation together and watch them literally not be able to stay still or remain on a singular topic for more than 2 seconds."

Now, for a slight contrast: JJ loves Hawaiian shirts. Aside from the very last scene of the movie, where he wears a tuxedo, he's in Hawaiian shirts for the entire film. Not Marty's taste, clothing-wise, BUT! He does happen to have Doc, who is also a Hawaiian shirt aficionado. They can bond over that.

Additionally, a thing I find hilarious: the Crispin Glover Factor. I've neglected Alex P. Keaton in the scenario thus far, but this is a spot where I'd love to throw him into the mix since Crispin is in BTTF, Family Ties, and High School USA. And I just can't get over an imagined scene where, not only are JJ, Alex, and Marty weirded out by their own identical faces, but they realize they also all have this Other Person in their lives who shares the strange predicament. Like, maybe one of them has a picture or something and Marty's like, "Hey, that's my dad when he was younger" and Alex goes, "Um, no, that's my friend Doug," and JJ is all, "?? What? That's my buddy Archie." And it leaves them all so confused because, as far as they can tell, they don't have any other look-alikes that they share in their lives. It's just themselves and for some reason Crispin Glover. Weird.

So, yeah, thanks for coming to my rambling, everyone.

[inoppositionflorien]

Here's a thing most people don't understand about US domestic politics: from me, a political scientist.

The parties. No one actually seems to like their party. This is true broadly across the political spectrum.

There also is no real voting market for a third party, but unlike people think, this is not (only) because FPTP voting is pretty bad for choosing between more than two options.

It's because these people who are broadly unhappy with their party are unhappy for extremely different reasons. Now, many of them will self-describe as "Centerists" or "Moderates". They are almost invariably neither. What they actually have are beliefs that neither party contains all of, because they're not nor have they ever really been on the same platform! They're anti abortion, but really like gun control, or anti tax in general but also pro government services, or other such things. No party ever can cater to what they want, not really, because their ideals are so different from each other (well not anti tax pro service but most others) that any party that hits enough of their boxes to be approved of would get almost no votes.

No one's going to vote for the Free North Florida Nationalist Orange Farmers Who Like Guns And Thinks Pork Consumption Should be Outlawed so it can be Sold to Foreigners by the Government to Subsidize Oranges Party except Dr. Amelius Agriculture and Bill H. Unger, and as that specific set of most important beliefs are held exclusively by them, the party's going nowhere in any voting system.

A party almost never moves its voters somewhere. Parties do not guide the voters particularly much, it is the voters who show the parties what face to put forward to attract votes. It is extremely rare that a party changes its position then finds a bloc who likes the position. They take the position once they've found the bloc. It's much like how public services get more funding when they get more use.

The previous is broadly true of people discontent with the two party system on the farther left too, at least currently, who fail to understand the lack of control US parties have over what happens (understandably, after all political science and more general civics is not taught much). We don't elect Anticapitalists for example, (outside of a few cases, mostly federal representatives and sometimes state level people) not because the Establishment Democrats, (an apparently invincible and all-controlling force) say we can't, we don't because anticapitalism is broadly unpopular outside of cities, and fairly unpopular even in them! There are myriad reasons for this, it's much more complicated than "the cold war" or "red scare 1 or 2" and I'll talk about it some other time maybe, but the point ultimately is it's a messaging issue. Voter suppression and gerrymandering in many places certainly doesn't help, but the thing is, cities are not only easy to gerrymander, but also are nearly impossible not to gerrymander even if you're trying to be fair for geometry reasons! There are few communists or indeed anarchists (who know that they're anarchists at least) in the rural areas for numerous reasons. (Put a pin in that bit we'll get back to it.) Rural areas are prioritized heavily in power because of the aproportional constitution parts (which have actually gotten a little better since the start, and needed to be in there for Rhode Island and a few other tiny states that needed to be on board originally) taken advantage of by Benjamin Harrison (boo hiss) and his congress (boo hiss) and their blatant gerrymandering of the American West (those low population rectangles and the Dakotas in particular are their faults. They added them specifically to add a bunch of senators.) Rural areas are also harder to gerrymander against, harder to voter suppress in, cheap to buy enormous amounts of land in (I have a whole spiel about land ownership that I may bring up in the future but let's for now just worry about this part) and crucially the towns rarely have more than one major industry which completely dominates local politics and information. Sometimes they don't even have that.

For example, in Central California, some counties don't have a water district, they have a company that owns pretty much all the infrastructure for water in the region and does whatever they like with it, usually a subsidiary owned by a farming conglomerate. Further, the western state counties tend have an enormous amount of autonomy that their eastern relatives tend to lack, and while this can be good (large unitary republics kind of are not good) it also makes them small enough to easily be bent to corporate influence. This is often compounded by how many there are. Texas doesn't need 212 counties, some with two digit populations. (California has 51 with only a couple below 10,000 people I think, for reference of what a reasonable county count should be for a high population state) those low population counties are among the worst places in the country for corruption and graft.

So remember how I said to put a pin in the rural areas lacking Anticapitalists thing?

Well, the communities are often so small they develop anarchist tendencies, (when they aren't doing Sumerian-Style Religious Kind-Of-Socialism-But-Worse). There's a culture of mutual aid in many of them. Now, I have my own problems with anarchism which I'll address some other time, but for now nearly any anticapitalist will do, and you, people of Tumblr, may be aware of at least one or two anticapitalist forms of anarchism. Maybe you even are one of them! You might also recall that land is cheap in these places as I said earlier. You might also be aware that these places often are almost completely isolated from high speed internet and the news primarily comes from TV and the radio, and perhaps you are also aware that mail campaigns (a relatively inexpensive thing) are more effective in such places for a few reasons.

This is a hypothetical long term project, BUT, it is theoretically doable. The land is cheap. It could be purchased, even a few acres in each small town would do. From there, construction. It's not extremely cheap, but nor is it prohibitively expensive to set up a network of simple community centers and radio stations. Local TV may even be an option if enough money can be brought in to the hypothetical project, though that may be more difficult. Do some mailing campaigns too. A network of anticapitalist community centers in the rural parts of the country could be established. It could be possible to mainstream anarchism in those communities if it's made clear that the centers are anticapitalist. (This may run into the slight issue that it's difficult to make an organization with a clear ideology a non-profit and claim the tax benefits but it's probably doable even if religious protections have to be taken advantage of.) In the more optimistic cases, it may also be possible to use the network to reduce rural food deserts, though that might be harder and not worth the immediate effort.

This project would probably take a few years, maybe over a decade to fully pay off, but these rural regions could become anticapitalist and, if they improve enough that it's not unreasonable and unsafe to migrate there for many people, the small populations could make it easier to mainstream things that aren't widely discussed in public non-online spaces, if the people there already don't start trying things out on their own. (Mostly the currently more "exotic" (probably not a great word for it but I can't immediately think of a better one) forms of queerness and other invisible social minority things).

From there, it should be possible to start taking local elections, and from there, build up to state level relevance, maybe even national relevance!

Now, remember how I said US parties have very little control over their membership and who's acting in their name? If this project is nominally affiliated with the democrats, even if in truth it's not financed by the party, the democrats will experience an influx of anticaptalist voters in regions where they'd previously stood no chance. The national party may even see "wait we could get a senator in like Wyoming or somewhere if we play this right", and suddenly we've got an anticapitalist senator from Wyoming with a D next to their name, and so the democrats would go lefter than the sort of center-left-on-nearly-everything-except-economic-stuff-where-theyre-generally-centerist-or-right-with-some-exceptions thing they've got going on right now, because the voters are suddenly there for anticapitalist causes where they weren't before.

I'd certainly take notice if I was a pragmatist democrat of the kind who seems to have a stance of "I'm going to try to sit at the mean average of my party's views and move with it", which is pretty clearly what a lot of the so-called establishment democrats (most notably the current president as of this post) have done for decades if you follow how their stances have shifted over time on social issues. (Economic issues tend to skew a little more rightward for the simple reason most people who can afford to be politically prominent are at least somewhat rich and also they're generally required to spend several hours a day telemarketing to donors in a building to meet a funding goal to maintain good standing for committee seats because the campaign finance law is thoroughly broken for reasons not just limited to the Citizens United Decision, but also other thing like the low public funding cap for campaigns and other stuff so obviously they're heavily incentivized to just get a few rich donors to meet their goal quickly so they can get out of being a telemarketer, which I am reliably informed is miserable work, so fair, if not good for anyone but the rich really.) But anyway, if I was one of them and saw a large amount of anticapitalists in Senator-Rich regions calling themselves reliable democrat voters who would really like some visibility in the national party, I'd happily invite them in. Even if I didn't really like their views, I'd do it, because Senate seats are valuable and they'll caucus with us anyway. And besides, if there are any consequences down the line, Hypothetical Old Establishment Liberal me would be dead or retired before anything came of it, and before then there's court appointments to make with this defensible senate majority.

A major problem with the Republican party was that they invited the fascists in because they thought they'd be a good voting bloc to have. This has been the story before with right wing parties inviting the fascists in and the fascists eventually becoming the real power in the party (or coalition.)

But that could cut both ways if we play our cards right. The democrats would definitely invite anticapitalists in much closer if they thought they could gain from it, and we could come to be the most powerful part of the party from that.

On a final, sort of extra note that doesn't really fit elsewhere here but is important to add, I am aware about the worry of the cooptation and weakening of anticapitalist movements by accepting the invitation in from liberals. I think it's a valid concern, but not a truly justifiable one, and I may talk more about my thoughts on that particular idea in the future.

[vro0ms-evil-twin]

3. Edgar Cabanas & Eva Illouz - Happycracy. How the Science of Happiness Controls our Lives

Full summary because it was truly an edifying and revolutionary critique of positive psychology that gave me great satisfaction to read.

Chapter 1/5 : the science of happiness or why you are now expected to be a happy person at all times

Some psychologists (Seligman in particular) built what they called "positive psychology" to focus on the good side of things (how to be happier even when you don't have issues to begin with) as opposed to the bad side of things (people who actually have issues, boo) while economists simultaneously and in partnership with them built a case for "happiness" being a better indicator of a society's wellbeing than, you know, trivial things such as equality, social justice, economy, etc. as a way to silence the population by not asking them whether they agree with their government's decisions but whether they are happy in their lives instead, which is a basic neoliberal way of focusing on the individual instead of the collective. Oh and of course happiness is seen as an universal objective measure which is total bullshit but we will get back to that.

More ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Chapter 2/5 : individualism and neoliberalism

The science of happiness successfully developed because both it and the neoliberal system are structured around individualistic values. Positive psychology became popular especially after the 08 financial crisis and serves as a way to convince people that the solution to their anxieties and to the contextual instability is within them, within their control, and especially within their responsibility, all the while driving them away from collective political action. The entire industry and individualism at large are presented as the solution to the issue while being part of the issue itself : obsessively focusing on and tracking ourselves and our emotions is bound to be counterproductive if the goal is actually well-being. It maintains us in a constant state of insatisfaction by convincing us that we could always be happier than we are, and a constant feeling of inadequacy because as happiness is our individual responsibility and under our individual control, not being happy is a personal failure. It leads to more individualism by pushing us to deny unhappiness in front of others and teaching us to take care of ourselves instead of teaching us to take care of each other. Meanwhile all the scientists working for the science of happiness pretend to be apolitical and objective because Science™ when they are fully working for the political system and basing their work on extremely dubious studies.

Chapter 3/5 : positivity at work

In the post second world war world, capitalism was initially based on the Maslow pyramid of needs (which is bullshit itself btw but that's not the point) and thus workplaces were encouraged to offer security and stability to their employees to satisfy their basic needs so they would work better. Under neocapitalism, we went from "success in the workplace leads to happiness" to "happiness leads to success in the workplace", to the point that you now need to be a positive optimistic person to even find a job. Neocapitalism doesn't care about job security or stability – and more precisely cannot, by essence, be secure nor stable – and implements neoliberal individualism instead : it is your responsibility to be happy at work (and also your goal, remember? you should always be happier than you are). It allows workplaces to hire chief happiness officers to supposedly make you happier rather than offer good working conditions, and if it doesn't work, it's your fault, not theirs. Job insecurity also leads to a constant requirement of "flexibility" from the workers, who are supposed to adapt to all demands to keep their jobs but also change jobs frequently, again in a movement away from collective responsibility to individual responsibility. But no worries! Positive psychology is there to teach the workers how to handle that instability through self-development instead of political action against the system that breeds it, which makes positive psychologist really rich. Now resilience is celebrated as the best possible quality a worker can have, rather than something that is born out of necessity in adverse circumstances.

Chapter 4/5 : the commodification of happiness

(We're in the thick of it now so it's longer, buckle up.)

The commodification of happiness through the science of happiness doesn't just sell happiness itself but a neoliberal lifestyle directly defined by the neocapitalist market's demands. Our value is dependent on our ability to constantly optimise ourselves to become the ideal new psychological citizen, that the authors call psytizen. This psytizen has 3 main psychological traits that we should all thrive for according to the neoliberal system.

The first is emotional self management, the ability to control our thoughts and emotions rationally and strategically to thrive (understand : choose to be happy no matter what happens). This, again, makes us entirely responsible of ourselves and our circumstances. We supposedly can reach this ideal by "making happiness a habit" through superficial, easy to implement, low effort tactics, such as apps that we pay 12 bucks a month to teach us how to be happy through lessons and trackers. These apps double as mass surveillance tools and our data is sold to the happiness industry to publish more "research" to 1) claim the tips that we pay for are scientifically backed (they are not), and 2) create behaviorist models of how we buy and how much, to sell us more things.

Second is authenticity, which positive psychology both pretends is a stable personality trait that can be objectively measured and is something that can be learnt and developed, no matter the contradiction. And because authenticity leads us to behave according to our "true nature", it should of course bring us happiness in accordance to our Selves. In this convenient way, what we buy is what we are because an authentic person chooses what they are destined to choose according to their true nature. "If you think it'll make you happy then do it" is both an ad slogan and an advice from the science of happiness. Personal branding is the perfect example of the commodification of authenticity, as a logical consequence of the current individualistic neocapitalist market. In the USA especially, 79% of students consider their names a brand and thus that they need to only ever present as positive and optimistic to be worth it, in the social as much as the professional sense, which leads to the artificially positive representation of ourselves in social media, disguised as authenticity. You need to make yourself desirable, enviable, employable, at all times. Influencers are the obvious epitome of this commodification of the self for the neocapitalist market : professionally authentically inauthentic to sell us more stuff.

The third trait of the prototypical psytizen is personal development, or flourishing : chasing ever more happiness leads us to ever more develop our Selves to their full potential and functioning. That's where success comes from and that's why the pursuit of happiness is worth it : not actually for more happiness but more success, but they're basically synonyms at this point. Seligman for example defends the idea that countries develop when their citizens are flourishing, and not the other way around, which makes it our civic duty to keep self developing. This self-development, however, is conceptualiseed as constant and never ending, in perfect alignement with the neoliberal neocapitalist mindset : you not only can but should always be better, happier, more successful, richer, etc., mainly because it keeps you buying. Don't forget though, as mentioned before, that this constant self surveillance and this constant pressure to be better leads to issues in and of itself, because it is frustrating, exhausting, and obsessive.

The extreme result of this psytizen philosophy is entrepreneurship – which highlights qualities such as self-motivation, perseverance, adaptability, and is most present in countries with the highest unemployment rates and most unstable economies. The positive psychology logic allows these markets to disguise their failures as potential for self-development, resilience, and flexibility, which are, as mentioned before, the perfect qualities of a neoliberal worker, now turned psytizen.

Chapter 5/5 : happiness as a norm

Positive psychology has made happiness a moral value (being happy is being good) as well as a norm (being happy is normal and functional, anything else isn't). By that logic, where "traditional" psychology (understand not positive) classified (with its own shortcomings) what is mental illness and what is mental health, positive psychologists have declared that the absence of a negative isn't enough and mental health requires positivity. Hence, you can have no symptoms of mental illness per se, but have an "incomplete mental health" because you are deemed more emotionally negative than positive overall. This is based on the fallacious idea that there are negative and positive emotions (there aren't) and that mental health, success, and happiness in all areas of life require a positive ratio between the two categories (the ratio is entirely made up).

What positive psychology got wrong is that emotions aren't universal, stable experiences, but highly historical and cultural. First, simplifying emotions in that way denies that emotional experiences are first of all most of the time mixed, and second of all always situation-dependent. This makes positive psychology inapplicable in real life because what each of us refers to as happiness is itself dependent on historical, societal, cultural, personal, individual, psychological, and contextual factors, hence different at all times and for all people.

Second, positive psychology states that positivity is necessary because it breeds positive emotions when negative emotions breed more negative emotions. This is wrong too, not only because there's no such thing as positive and negative emotions, but because one emotion can lead to different outcomes. Happiness can heighten your motivation and lead you to reach more goals, but it can lead you to take more undue risks as well, with potentially undesirable results. Anger can lead to destructive behaviors, but it can also lead to constructive actions to change an unsatisfactory situation.

Third, positive psychology states that positive emotions are required for good social functioning. This denies that "negative" emotions such as resentment or hatred are powerful motivators for revolutions and social progress, for example.

Seligman's theory relies on a bastardization of the concept of learned helplessness (originally a concept in which people submitted to repetitive adverse stimuli outside of their control tend to unlearn that they have the power to change their circumstances in subsequent situations) in which he states that optimism is the remedy to it. According to him, success is born of optimism when failure and unemployment are born of a poor psychological constitution that can't turn negatives into positives. According to positive psychology, resilient people thus flourish because they are basically immune to negativity. The concept of resilience, the ability to overcome adversity, is also, as mentioned, the perfect quality of a neocapitalist worker, that can adapt and resist to the increasingly insane demands of the neoliberal market. Would it surprise you to learn that Seligman works closely with the US army on this concept of resilience? What should we think of the glorification of soldiers who are unmoved by and fast to get back on their feet in the face of the atrocities they witness and commit? What should we think of the glorification of workers who can withstand, overcome, and accept increasingly unacceptable working conditions? Equally, what should we think of the other side of this coin which is the social and moral condemnation of suffering? In truth, however much positive psychology seems to fear this so-called negativity, it's made it way worse by prescribing happiness as a duty : on one hand, happy people now live under the looming threat of negativity as a moral, personal, and social failure ; on the other hand, unhappy people have been turned into undesirable elements of society, adding to their suffering shame, guilt, and alienation.

Positive psychology thus not only relies on an oversimplified theory of emotions to generate substantial financial gains through the marketing of an artificially created moral prescription of happiness, but voluntarily participates in the depolitisation of our existence intrinsic to the maintenance of the current neoliberal system by negating the social and political value of all emotions, as well as pushing a individualistic agenda to the detriment of collective organization. As such, positive psychology should be seen as an agent of the capitalist power dedicated to maintaining us in a state of powerless distraction from the social issues at hand.

Conclusion :

In reality, the improvement of society isn't achieved through the improvement of individuals, and although we need hope in hard times, happiness isn't hope, nor power. Social justice, critical thinking, and political action is what breeds hope. What we need to face our difficulties isn't individual change, but social structure and collectivity. The goal of the science and industry of happiness is to steal our subjectivities by prescribing to us what we should feel, want, and aspire to, and trap us in a pointless constant chase for unreachable happiness. Embrace your so-called negative emotions as motivators for social change and political organization. The revolutionary goal of our lives should be justice and knowledge, not happiness.