#humaities

[elisgeorge]

Did you know there are services that offer free university-level modules, for free?

I am one of those people that are obsessed with learning, but structured courses are expensive. Not these. Here are some links if you, too, are obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge and want to learn something (for FREE!)

EdX is my personal favourite. It offers loads of subjects that are usually taken from university courses, and the ones that I have done are pretty good. These can all be taken for free, or you can pay £40 to take the assignments and recieve a graded certificate. Now, the catch here is that most of the courses are archived, which means that, occasionally, some of the links won't work and you have to be creative with the readings. I have found this to be a pretty minimal issue though, and it is worth it.

I recently took this EdX course about 19th Century literature and it was excellent. Some of the links were broken so I took some creative liberties with the readings, but I read all of the books discussed and used the course materials to critically analyse them as I did so. I didn't follow the course exactly, but it was still an enriching experience and something I wouldn't have thought to do otherwise.

Another good one is OpenLearn, which is a branch of the Open University. The OpenLearn courses are usually pretty good, although some can feel a bit lackluster and basic. Don't expect super in-depth courses, but they're good for an introduction to a subject, or to top up your skills in somethign you haven't done in a while. These offer free certificates of participation, so they're great if, say, you want a career change but you haven't studied data science since college. I enjoyed the classes I took, but I wouldn't say they were as challenging as EdX.

I recently took this OpenLearn course about Hadrian's Rome. Classical history is something I'm interested in and this was a great way to guide my study of an aspect of it.

Coursera is a very popular one. Similar to OpenLearn, these courses can sometimes be a little surface-level. These also have a much larger focus on building transferrable skills than developing cultural knowledge and learning for your own enrichment. Even so, there are some wonderful gems on there if you're willing to scroll through and find them. Coursera is also great because it has project-centred courses, where you work towards a finished product under the (virtual, recorded) guidance of an expert. Think of it like a corporate skillshare.

Last summer I took this Coursera course about screenwriting. It was project based, and I came out of it with a fully realised first draft of a pilot episode of a TV show. I realised through this process that maybe screenwriting wasn't for me, but it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone with writing and explore that avenue that I would have probably always wodered about.

OpenCulture is a good database of free courses that then redirects you to other websites, but you have to be willing to sift through the sludge with this one, as some are more worth your time than others.

Another good way to find free courses is to search for them on university websites. I have found that most US universities (and loads of UK ones too, though it is less common) offer free online courses. You have to be careful here, because sometimes they will say they are free but actually the 'free' part is viewing the syllabus.

You might be thinking 'what is the point of a course that doesn't get me a qualification?' and I'd say 'I get you, because I felt the same way,' but if you're anything like me and love learning, they're a godsend. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from finding all of the course content online, and I'd actually encourage you to do that alongside the courses, but knowing where to start is the difficult part. There is so much information to learn about any given topic that it can be overwhelming. These courses provide you with a structure that you can then use within your own wider research to learn about subjects you maybe don't want to commit to in a formal setting.

I'm not paid by any of these websites, I just think the monetisation of knowledge is wrong and awful and disgusting and anyway to beat that should be celebrated and shared and used as widely as possible.

Happy learning! :)

[kacievvbbbb]

The Seraphim & The Concept of Self

I wonder who picked the Seraphim's outfits cause at first glance when you only look at S-Hawk and S-Snake it feels like there's a standard uniform. then you see the whole group and there's definitely some individuality going on; like S-Bear just wearing a mini kuma outfit, S-Shark with the gi, my man Moria got a little suspender situation going on over there. S-mingo wearing a whole ass hawain shirt. So there's definitely some variety though they all incorporate white in some way. And I wonder if maybe they got some input into what they wore one of the only acts of "free will" they were allowed was choosing whether they wore shorts or long pants which is as adorable as it is sad.

Because think about the implications that they are dressed to the taste of their adult counterparts, right down to how doffy and mihawk like to open their shirts (except for S-Snake which thank god) but yeah what if it wasn't an allowance of free will but a test to see just how deep DNA ran. If it could influence something as simple as choice of clothing, just another fact for Vega punk to marvel at.

Or maybe the clothes were chosen by one of the Vega punks (I can imagine Shaka doing it) or one of the other various lab assistants. And it's just another way to get them to embody the warlords, to reinforce who they were cloned to be, impressing on them that they are not their own people, their lives are not their own. They are already predetermined; from what powers they get, to what weapons they use, even down to what clothes they wear. Everything reinforces that they are not people, just "better" "stronger" versions of someone else.

Either way, and It might have not have been purposely meant that way because I'm pretty sure Vega punk doesn't really register them as human (which is weird cause he treats stussy very humanly and a whole other can of worms seeing as they seem to be aware and possess a personality to some capacity) it's another way of dehumanizing them, reducing them to the people they are meant to become. They have no "free will" no illusion of choice; they have a predetermined destiny, a pre-determined order, there was never any room for choice even down to the shirts on their back.

[just-one-ghost]

Man you ever finish a Dnd game for the very first time and have so many left over feelings that can't be expressed to anyone cause it's 5am in the damn morning.

[the-chaotic-snek]

just saw a post that made me realize that even in times of war humans still try and find happiness or at least some form of comfort in whatever is around, and if the doesn't tell you more about humanity then I don't know what will.

[neevedicampelli]

Black holes

Reality frightens me No fun in it Can���t comprehend Can’t understand The complexity Of humanity The fear, the hope, the pain The never-ending refrain Still can’t see the starting line It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine The never-ending lie Still not facing reality Knowledge Patterns Bonds Mundanity Time stands still Philosophy Diversity Is what we need to feel alive To live, to breathe But where to…

[contemporaryconnoisseurcrown]

[chaoskingcornerstone]

I'm tired of the world being horrible bullshit filled with unnecessary violence death and misery.

I just want to talk about my bonkles, why does this species have to suck so much? Why are there tiny dicked assholes who actually believe that they can gain anything by sending their countries men to either slaughter or be slaughtered in unnecessary conflicts. I feel like shit for living in this world, how can those people go to sleep every night, wishing that they wake up again?

I once thought that humans are kind by nature. I have been disproven. I no longer wish to call myself human.

[solindafn]

Why do people on the internet feel the need to argue with eachother. Are people really that stupid. Like find a healthier way to get your aggression out dude.

[13thpythagoras]

even as a computer scientist I have to agree

and then it becomes crucial to strictly define what "AI" really is

is it useful to smash to pieces a robot that will be replaced faster than you can smash? I'd argue it's more useful to go after those investors who have chosen to sink their cash into the most dangerous AI research. If they want to spill our blood to make a profit, let karma find them in their sleep first... those who invest in dangerous AI are whom I believe the enlightened anarchist agent should be targetting. It makes less sense at this early stage to smash a robot, that might get some social media clicks but it's not going to dissuade investors. Kidnapping an investor in AI and holding them hostage would do a lot more to dissuade future investment in that arena... just food for thought, carry on

not to spoil where I'm going with my next video, but the more I research AI the more absolutely convinced I become that we need to smash it to pieces with hammers

[spleenyo]

The date is February 32nd 2037. The last person on earth has died. In the end, humanity was never able to fully understand how to make functioning horizontally opening window blinds and their grasp on vertically opening ones was tenuous at best.

[rockyy133]

AI vs HUMANS |Shaping Humanity's Destiny or Threatening Identity | Darryl Omar

AI continues to advance, some view it as a powerful force that can propel us into a brighter future, enhancing our lives and solving complex problems. However, others express concerns about the potential threats it poses to our very identity and existence. Join us as we examine the promises and perils of AI, inviting experts from various fields to share their insights on whether AI will shape our destiny or jeopardize the essence of what it means to be human.

[akascow]

i keep thinking about the end of this post i made lmfao:

"i like that in the last battle he just accepts it: realizes hes in the same position as future jayce, but just closes his eyes... he knew the only way to get through to viktor wasnt through fighting, but talking. which has been the basis of both of their worldviews for the whole show,, which is WHY IT WORKED"

bc wow i kinda cooked with that one HAHA

(also it like totally relates to the act3 message about how killing is a cycle and the only way to stop the killing is to literally Stop The Killing lmao)

but like, to elaborate on it i just think its so significant given that jayce and viktor were always opposed to killing others or using hextech against ppl less equipped:

-jayce's anti shimmer plan crumbles the second he accidentally kills a zaunite child.

-viktor adamantly opposes the idea of building weapons the entire first season because theyre scientists, not soldiers.

-jayce throws up and almost has a panic attack seeing a bunch of enforcers stain the bridge with blood after the firelight bombs.

-viktor abandons his whole hexcore idea the moment sky dies from it, begging jayce to destroy it

-jayce completely disagrees in the use of hextech weapons even after viktor dies from the attack on the council

their goal was always to use hextech to help, not hurt.

and yes they do stray from that ideology a couple times bc of like,, moments of weakness or wtvr lol:

viktor in his Machine Herald basically killing the body and leaving the soul of everyone who joins his cult i mean harem i mean community,, ((although im pretty certain the hexcore was kinda like a virus- influencing his actions with the main goal of spreading,, and i truly believe he genuinely thought he was helping people and not like, literally killing them lol))

and jayce making some weapons for the strike team later, but you can see hes clearly distraught from breaking another promise to viktor (his wound literally reopens as a metaphor lmao)

and they try to fight each other in order to share their disagreement of the other's actions, viktor tries to make jayce see his vision, doesnt work, he tries to choke him to death. jayce tries to make viktor see that what hes doing is wrong, doesnt work, he blasts vik's puppets with his hammer lmao.

but what does work ? putting down the weapons. in the end they accomplish the mutual goal without violence. mainly because they literally cannot bring themselves to kill the other but

they never really wanted to fight, no less kill, each other in the first place. because they shared that mutual worldview, they were never in favor of violence against their enemies. both of them even show regret while trying to kill each other too. jayce's anomaly screaming trying to pull away from blasting viktor in the chest, and viktor failing to persuade jayce to his side, voicing his apology before attempting to kill him.

jayce gets to the tower and sees hes in the same position as his future self. realizing he cant beat viktor like this, and everything he saw in the future timeline is inevitable, he closes his eyes, tired from fighting. but what does viktor do? does he kill him? turn him into a puppet like the others? no, viktor lets him into his world, letting him see what he sees.

viktor shares his motivation, humanity's weaknesses causes senseless war. but instead of arguing at that, jayce just talks to him, sharing his words of affection. yes humaity has weakness, but what viktor always viewed as weakness is actually what makes people admirable. and jayce hugs him, he shows viktor the truth of what is to come continuing this path, letting viktor know what he knows.

and thats how viktor breaks free. with a hug. practically the exact opposite of violence.

and again, they fix their mistake together, holding hands and embracing each other, sharing that pain and guilt of the fact that they did hurt people, and choosing to take themselves out in pursuit of correcting that mistake.

...and isnt that just beautiful HAHA

[natailiatulls07]

OMG I love the Marguerite series and would love to see more!! Maybe another smau or about Charles protecting her when the press gets to be too much.

Paparazzi

Jules Bianchi x Daughter!reader

Charles Leclerc x little sister!reader

Summary - Being close to a formula one driver means that privacy isn't always respected by the paparazzi and press

Warning - Paparazzi being invasive

A/n - Charles and Y/n aren’t blood related but consider each other brother and sister

Marguerite

-

f1gossip

Spotted: Y/n Bianchi seen shopping in Las Vegas ahead of the grand prix this weekend. I'm sure we'll see her in the paddock supporting her brother and Ferrari

Liked by username and 87,427 others

username This is disgusting, she's a young women and has to deal with press in public. Disgusting

username Fucking leave her alone man

username Disrespectful in my opinion

username Leave the girl alone!

username Like the look she gave to the camera, you can tell she uncomfortable

yourusername

Art?? Okay whatever you say charlie!

Tagged: charles_leclerc alexandramalsaintmleux

Liked by arthur_leclerc and 132,277 others

username Ferrari girls through and through

username Charles looks so proud of his suit lmao

charles_leclerc Yes it is art! You couldn't do better if you tried

= alexandramalsaintmleux I bet she could ngl

= yourusername Alex is my favourite!!

f1gossip

Spotted: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and his girlfriend Alexandra Saint Mleux entering the Las Vegas paddock without Y/n Bianchi. They were repeatedly questioned about Y/n but whilst Alex stayed quiet, Charles just replied with a simple 'no comment'

Liked by username and 78,843 others

username It doesn't take a genius to know why they aren't as friendly as normal

username They need to get over themselves in my opinion

= username She is a minor, imagine if you had grown men following you around in public with massive camera and then tell me how you'd feel

username All Charles asks for when it comes to Y/n is privacy yet they still doesn't listen omfg

username Someone needs to teach all paparazzi that Y/n doesn't like this kind of attention at all

-

yourusername posted a private story

f1gossip

Spotted: Y/n Bianchi and her boyfriend Tom seen in a restaurant with a few friends. Y/n and Tom seen to find something on her phone whilst waiting for their meals

Liked by username and 63,468 others

username Leave her alone

username She can't even hang out with her friends without being pestered by the paparazzi

username What has the modern world come to?!

username They must be so stupid to not understand that this borderline stalking

username Apparently privacy doesn't exist anymore

f1gossip

Spotted: After recent posts of Y/n Bianchi and her boyfriend Tom hanging out with friends, Charles Leclerc and Alex Saint Mleux were spotted that evening having dinner with their friends. A fan overheard and saw the exact moment when Charles was shown the paparazzi photos

Liked by username and 59,436 others

username And it is understandable why he looks so angry and annoyed

username They pushed too far now

username He is well and truly done with the paparazzi now

username Even Alex looks angry

username I am truly disappointed in humaity

charles_leclerc

We've asked so many time and I don't know how you can still leave your houses, wives or husbands and children to go out and invade the privacy of a minor. To invade the privacy of someone who just wants to go out with her friends, wants to shop until she drops and wants to hang out with her boyfriend.

You have all just pushed her to the limit. I want you all to know that she no longer feels safe to leave the apartment. Look at what you have done, think about that.

Liked by maxverstappen1 and 187,732 others

*Comments have been disabled*

- A couple of weeks later -

yourusername

Long time no see equals to lots of relaxing and hanging with Tom, Charles and Alex!!

Tagged; charles_leclerc alexandramalsaintmleux tomsusername

Liked by francisca.cgomes and 177,734 others

*Comments have been limited*

-

[elcycyromem]

where did humaity go so wrong lets search for the answers in this big cube, come on in,. also dont mind the sins

[nathaniel-underwood-is-an-intj]

Post Ptolemy's Gate ramble

So I just finished Ptolemy's Gate, thoughts are a bit all over the place and aside from mentioning the obvious I thought I'd dump some thoughts here.

Piper's apathy certainly shocked me. I know she's stressed running the council and she's got loads of organisation to do but oof she sure did come across as cold in her conversation with Kitty. Kitty has that kind of apathetic resignation of grief but it really felt like Piper had already put it behind her despite it only being two days before. Her boss that she worked for died horribly to save them all and she didn't even seem to share a quiet moment of grief with Kitty idk it just felt a little brutal 😅 I had an impression of her being really sweet so I was a bit taken aback.

One thing that really stood out to me was Nathaniel's apathy to the situation, I found it really interesting. I guess something could be said about it being the magician in him.

Nathaniel really has this duality to him, the obvious being Nat vs John Mandrake and of course Nat + Bartimaeus but in chapter 36 part ii something that caught my attention

'it was the feeling of consummate superiority, the delight of power weilded without peril. He danced beneath the night sky, smiting down his enemies.'

It already seems as if he's being elevated to something other- a martyr perhaps, except martyrs have causes and ideals, they do something because they have a strong belief in their justness. And Nathaniel:

'He felt aloof disconnected and alone. If his hatred for demons he had killed was dull and almost matter-of-fact, so was his sympathy for the people whose lives he saved.'

So he seems almost like an avenging angel, I love the religious imagery, especially because it seems to call back to Bartimaeus comparing his body to a holy mosque. But also divine rage is the driving force for an avenging angel and he's no longer even angry at the destruction caused.

'Pride spurred him on.' this almost makes him seem God-like?? His sole motivator is the pride of a deity, and I love that. But it's also just very true to him as a boy, pride spurred him on against Lovelace and against Duval and Whitwell.

When he's alone with Bartimaeus he's taken on this air of not being entirely human. He feels alone and solitary from everything including humaity. But when he rejoins Kitty, Piper and the rest of the magicians waiting for him he's reinvigorated - 'he felt a surge of joyful impatience - 'he would detroy Nouda, rescue the commoners and return to Kitty.' it seems as though he has to be surrounded by people to remind himself he's one of them. It could be seen as an effect of sharing a mind with Bartimaeus, but of course it could be Nathaniel's own human pride and his memories of being othered even as a child. Just gives the impression of this human / higher entity duality.

But also I partly got the impression that this hints to depression- I'm sure it's hardly out of the realm of possibility for Nat to have it. Though it's never stated I think several moments in the books make a good argument for it, including the above- just the numbness to everything. And I guess the sudden change in demeanor at 'surge of joyful impatience' can be read as hopefulness, but it reminded me of the saying that when people have decided to follow through on their s*icidal ideation they come across as happy and like a weight has been lifted from them. Nathaniel is impressively calm for someone who realises he's gravely injured. And while he can be seen as a martyr or hero for his final actions, the hollowness he felt at that moment gives it a more bitter edge.

I think it's made even more sad when compared to Anthony Lockwood, who has that same sense of pride - because he's trying to make his dead parents proud and because he's trying to hide the fact that he doesn't like himself very much. Nathaniel gives this same impression. And Lockwood at the end had reason to be proud, he uncovered a huge conspiracy, his agency became the most famous in London. And Nathaniel had reason to be proud; he's managing to wield the staff of his childhood hero, something he had dreamed of doing, he's had the bravery to unite with a spirit and he's going to take down the biggest threat to London.

But Lockwood gets something Nathaniel doesn't-

There's this subtle idea seen through Lucy's eyes that Lockwood's biggest achievement was fighting through his s*icidal ideation and discovering he has something to live for, even just seeing his friends again.

And Nathaniel just doesn't get that moment.

He sort of acknowledges that he doesn't have to be a powerful leader, that he doesn't need his colleagues approval, that he doesn't need to erase the fear the commoners have of him and other magicians, but without these things he doesn't know what to do with himself. He has no plan for the future, because even before he's injured the idea of a future doesn't seem to have much appeal to him. He already appears to have given up on trying to uncover who Nathaniel is, depite finally having the opportunity to. Like after everything- being beaten, the fear of his colleagues trying to harm him and burying himself in the John Mandrake persona to protect his sensitive side- he doesn't want to uncover the remnants of that boy because he's worried it'll be too difficult to put himself back together.

Or maybe he feels that he already has discovered who Nathaniel is, a deeply unhappy, hollow shell of a person, whose personality has been pulled in so many directions he no longer has a sense of self. He's been stripped back to the barest version of himself and found he doesn't even have the foundations upon which to rebuild himsef. Like discovering dry rot in your walls and you keep pulling and pulling bits of rotting wood away from the home until you've finally got it all, only to realise the house has come down around you- there's nothing left.

He doesn't get this moment where he works through his trauma, where he realises he has a support system, where he realises he's loved. I don't know if Nathaniel ever really knew what it felt like to be loved. I don't think he did. Ptolemy's death was awful and heartbreaking but his short life was filled with affection. And Lockwood realises people do care about him, depite being told that no one does. It hurts so much that Nat felt isolated and alone his whole life, right up to the last minute. Potential love confessions aside, Nathaniel never got a chance to sit and bathe in the warmness of affection. Like Bartimaeus tells him, it's about 'being not doing.' Nathaniel never got to understand the importance of just being, of simply existing as himself or of being happy. He constantly had to be working on the next goal, the next plan, because if he stops working he'll be forced to sit with his thoughts and realise how unhappy he is. And the thought of that is just too much to bear, it's so much easier to give in.

The ending gave the impression of being very romantic, while sad. Nathaniel gets to be remembered as a hero and never has to confront the consequences of his actions with wars in Europe and America that he had a direct role in. Acknowledging his role and dealing with fallout are two very different mountains to climb. And I think that idea of dying like a hero perfectly appeals to Nathaniel's prideful tendencies, and maybe he views it that way to hide the fact it's a convenient way out of his unhappiness and confronting what he's done. It's quite interesting to see that after he's been stripped back to nothing and can't figure out who or what he wants to be if he gets the chance, he still has that vanity and arrogance to him- despite not really being good character traits, they're so authentically Nathaniel, he's been that way right from the start and it's nice little peak of the real him at the end, being so humanly flawed.

[emin-folly]

Eobarry because you know I gotta

@zeroducks-2 OF COURSE IT'S YOU TWO (affectionate)

It really seems appropriate because before you guys introduced me to this wonderful, maddening, all consuming ship, I used to be a sane and normal person lol

So! Here it is~

Yeah, I'm sorry that it's not too much different from yours but is it really any surprise? xD We all have the chronic Yellow Rat disease, both infectious and incurable ajsgdksal

On a serious note, I've recently found that I REALLY love obsessive characters, legit one of my favorite character types ever. When they love something so, SO much it robs them of their humanity and it pushes them past the brink and beyond, I eat that shit UP, I will never get enough of it, I am RAVENOUS and I NEED IT and Eobard fulfills all my check boxes

I just really wanna take Eo and study him in a lab cause he is SO captivating to me. The way he loves Barry, how he's so far gone but he's holding onto Barry with white bloody knuckles, how he's a villain but he seems to keep doing like....good deeds?? (Don't get me wrong, he absolutely has done some heinous stuff, he is Not exempt from that!), the way that he tries to actually be good but the universe punishes for it, THE WAY THAT HE ESSTENIALLY SACRIFICED HIS OWN HUMAITY TO BRING BARRY BACK TO LIFE LIKE WOW I AM NOW EATING THE CONCRETE THANK YOU BYE And then there's Barry who keeps REVIVING HIM, who became his lightning rod and he showed him forgiveness and compassion after EVERYTHING Eobard has done to him. They are both doomed by the narrative in different ways and yet they're the only ones like them in the whole of the multiverse, they are so far removed from being human and have become intrinsic and integral forces of the universe who must always have each other so there would always be balance, and y'all, if that's not one of the hero/villain ships of all time to I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS