#informed critical thinking

[youlackconviction]

Some people watch things they don’t like for the same reason they watch the news or read opinions published by people they disagree with. They want to know what’s being said. You can’t argue for any of your own beliefs based on hearsay. If someone tells you not to read or watch something you should find out directly from the source. It’s why sources are given for any sort of argument. How can anyone form a full critical or positive opinion based on only secondary sources with their own biased opinions?

i'm gonna assume this anon is inspired by this recent reblog convo

you might not have noticed but the op was discouraging people from watching it on the official streaming service, so that they don't get artificially boosted ratings by combining stats from actual fans and hatewatchers. and i stand by her overall implication that if you're hoping to see LOKI in that show... don't bother watching because he's not there. the post feels a bit like a PSA in that way.

however i agree, if i'm going to critique something indepth, then i probably should have actually seen it.

but... also, any material from it that i've already consumed against my will (trailers, gifsets, promos) is a valid source to form opinions from, even if not as thorough as they would be having seen the full episodes.

if i see a gifset of tom dressed in a weird brown suit clumsily doing insanely exaggerated clownish hairflips one after another, i can safely move forward with the knowledge that the character he's playing in the new series resembles most closely the one he played in the first series (which i did see) - but perhaps even more caricatured? and bears no resemblance to the one he played in the movies from 2011-2013.

i can't make projections about plot from scenes like that, but they still are enough for me to be confident we are in for a second helping of the dumpsterfire they served up in 2021... and have opinions about that.

actually, i will at some point hatewatch the second series just so that i do have both legs to stand on in the inevitable debates with actual fans of that new character. but not on the official platform because disney can suck my fat one.

[shorthaltsjester]

when people think delilah just completely takes over and laudna has no control. when people think jester is just an uwu child who has been manipulated by every man she’s met. when people think vex is an empty husk of daddy issues without her brother by her side. when people think fjord is an arrogant asshole who doesn’t pay attention to the party around him. when people think scanlan saying that vox machina doesn’t care about him is an accurate assessment.

[darlingofdots]

today I did not pay any attention at a lecture and still asked a question that people found "very insightful" and that's because I spent my academic career having to work hard on my bullshitting instead of getting a plagiarism machine to do it for me

[grush3nka]

soooo what you're really saying is that when you're performing your imposed stereotypical gender role right it feels rewarding to you ?? hmmm curious it's almost as if you've internalized what being a woman is supposed to look like and if you don't meet that expectation you're doing it wrong

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Hello Stranger. Whom I have never met.

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[reliand]

Me, Watching Solas' regrets: 15/10 🥰🥹😢😭 *trying to process theories being made canon and him being the saddest boy alive for a reason*

The Companions: *having the most reddit fuckass takes and the worst comedic timing* Solas is just mean and cares about no one but himself

Me: 🤫☹️😒😡Can ya'll shutup for a moment? I need a mod to remove these conversations in particular

[creature-wizard]

Another way to fight fascism more effectively: Learn information literacy!

Many people today don't have great information literacy skills, which are crucial in researching and evaluating information. But the good news is, you can learn! Here's a website to help you (and people you share it with) become more information literate!

[bigskydreaming]

Imagine if you were a gay or bi man who tried a certain firefighter show because of all the attention it was getting for one of its mains having a later in life bi awakening.....and between seasons you ventured into its fandom in search of material to tide you over til the next one. And you're greeted by a deluge of posts and fics that are just cheerfully homophobic towards one half of the newly out bi character's canon relationship on the basis of 'well he's not the RIGHT gay guy' and pushing the idea that actually its fine to cheat on him because Reasons and he's sexually predacious based on......behind the scenes implications people have divined like they're reading fucking tea leaves.

But don't get it twisted....this fandom, like all fandoms, really cares about representation!

Sorry not sorry, but we really need to kill this idea that fandoms are welcoming and inviting and inherently progressive when they're frequently insular and reductive as fuck. Every single fandom I've been in has had major trends of people doubling down on their own headcanons and fanon interpretations of the characters and willfully enacting trends aimed at running off people who like the 'wrong' characters (usually characters marginalized along one or multiple axes), like the characters in the 'wrong ways' or other bullshit.

Scott is a Bad Friend fics overtaking Teen Wolf fandom was not incidental, it was a FEATURE of the fandom, because the vast majority of that fandom did not want to share its space with anyone who had the nerve to like its main character. Survivors complaining about or criticizing the prevalance of rape fics in a certain fandom has in my experience always led to a reactionary UPTICK in those fics, with gems like 'this character can, will, must be raped' in the tags making it crystal clear that some of these fics exist because how fucking DARE anyone try and push forth a narrative not agreed upon by Fandom Main.

I could cite examples for so many other fandoms, with the commonalities always being that vast majorities in these fandoms are explicitly reacting defensively to being asked to be more mindful of fandom trends revolving around or exacerbating racism, homophobia, transphobia, rape or abuse apologia, ableism, etc....

With the most prolific fucking rallying cry across countless fandoms being "No the fuck we will NOT be doing that," because lolololol.....

Fandom is an inherently progressive space, didn't you hear?

[blue-likethebird]

The explanation for why totk’s story is so Not Great and how disconnected from its predecessor it feels being that the devs didn’t want to alienate new players who didn’t know anything about botw’s story just falls apart the more I think about it. Nothing from this stupid half a plot works unless the player is familiar with specific details from the better games that came before it.

The believability of Link and Zelda’s connection to each other hinges on you knowing about the nuance of their relationship in botw. The ancient sages fighting with the champions’ arms and divine beast helms will only be impactful to botw/aoc players because totk doesn’t bother to explain the significance of that callback at all. Fi’s cameo is meaningless unless you either got every memory in botw or finished the master trial dlc (and know about her from skyward sword). You’ll only get the full context of Teba being sidelined in favour of a 12-year old if you played a specific chapter of Age of Calamity’s second DLC. Like sorry but I think Nintendo just made a bad story tbh

[lizzybeeee]

The Lucanis vs Illario story would have had greater emotional depth/intrigue if the writers didn't water down how fucked up the Crows are as an organization.

Just some thoughts about how, out of all the side villains, Illario had some great potential to be a really interesting/tragic character in my opinion.

TL;DR: Zevran Aranai has a knife with Caterina's name on it for good reason and Lucanis/Illario need therapy...or whatever the Thedas equivalent is called...talking to Rook, I dunno

Going into DATV as a new player, or even as a returning one, the whitewashing of the Crows has a lot of the potential complexities of that life simply ignored or barely touched upon. The entire 'Illario vs Lucanis' boils down to: Illario seething in the shadows about Lucanis being the 'best boy'™ of the family while Illario is an after thought - which he is.

Let's be real, Illario is not subtle and immediately comes across as the Scar to Lucanis' 'Mufasa'. It's a questline with a very straightforward villain who has pretty lackluster motivations from what info we're provided - being 'I want power and to be the First Talon'. The game does very little explore what motivations he may have beyond being jealous of Lucanis/wanting more power.

However, if you play the quest line knowing what previous games have set up about the Crows - about how cutthroat and brutal the life is behind the glamour - then you can see that the entire Lucanis vs Illario conflict has amazing potential to be a dramatic tragedy.

We've seen how the life of Crow can affect Zevran - someone who was sold into the life through child-slavery. How interesting would it be to see how the life of a Crow can affect someone who was born into it? It's pretty clear in-game that Caterina intends for her grandchildren to carry on the family tradition - despite the fact that this 'family tradition' has likely led to the deaths of most of her grandchildren and however many children she had.

If there's banter about how Illario's/Lucanis' parents/cousins died specifically I haven't heard it, but the impression I got in-game was that it was likely linked to the Crows/politics in some way? Feel free to correct me! Still majorly fucked up that she pushes her grandsons into this life regardless!

Lucanis/Illario's situation was not like Zevran's - who was sold into the Crow's through slavery, with no one to speak up for him. Caterina was a woman who had power, who knew what the life of a Crow meant, and who still pushed those she 'loved' into it because is consolidated her place in the system. For all the Crows talk of 'family' Caterina doesn't seem to give a shit about them unless if they're contributing to the family business in some way - not to mention the whole 'you fail and we kill you' clause of being a Crow in the first place.

In the 'Wigmaker Job' from Tevinter Nights Lucanis talks about how Caterina hit him [also Illario] with her cane for mistakes and had him spend days without food/water. How he used to hate her but now 'realizes' that it was her way of ensuring he survived the life of being an Antivan Crow. Did it end up protecting them? It likely pushed them both to refine their skills out of fear. It's likely that simply by association with her they would be targets and thus needed to know how to take care of themselves and fight.

But why have him as a Crow in the first place? Why not simply train them well to defend themselves? You can't deny that she doesn't benefit from having her grandchildren in the family business - intentionally wanting Lucanis to take over her position as First Talon. The Antivan Crows are a force to be reckoned with and being one brings a whole lot of power in Antiva - being part of the elite of that group even more so.

If the game showed us the ugly reality of the Crows - the brutality of the lifestyle and how cutthroat the organization is, it could have really added some depth to Illario's betrayal - having it be more than "I want more power/respect" to "this is the result of what you taught me was valuable in life."

Warden: "Do you actually enjoy being an assassin?" Zevran: "And why not? There are many things to enjoy about being a Crow in Antiva. You are respected. You are feared. The authorities go out of their way to overlook your trespasses. Even the rewards are nothing to turn your nose up at."

Illario, bitter about Caterina favoring Lucanis - resentful of the fact that she has already decided that Lucanis will be her successor, being offered power by the Venatori (at the expense of the Crows) and accepting because why not? How different is it from what the Crows do? Isn't power and status the whole point of working yourself up in the Crows? Getting into a relationship with Zara because why not? Isn't sex part of the allure of being a Crow? Why can't he have this? Why shouldn't he have this?

Rook: "When we met, it didn't seem like Illario and Caterina were close." Lucanis: "It was hard to be close to her. Even for me. And...I was her favorite."

Why would he have connections to his family? Why should he? Caterina certainly never seemed to value 'family' beyond what they could do for her and their family legacy. Most of his family is already dead, and of those that remain the only parental figure he has obviously favors Lucanis. We don't have a lot of evidence in-game to show that Illario ever really cared for Lucanis, but the prequel story 'The Wake' and Lucanis' own banter imply that they were practically brothers, best friends. Perhaps he did care and then ceased to at some point, perhaps he didn't at all, or perhaps he accepted that an early death for them both was inevitable like everyone else in their family. Dead now or later - what was the difference? At least if Illario sells him out now to the Venatori then he'll get something from it instead of another dead family member to bury.

It's the tragic result of raising a child in an environment where he was taught and experienced the need for self-preservation at all costs. Constantly threatened, punished, and made well aware of that fact that his life was an expendable commodity. Then, when things in the world went to shit he picked the only option that made sense to him. To save himself.

The irony of the potential fall of the Crows, the fall of House Dellamorte, coming at the hands of one of their own - not because he had a change of heart but because he was taught too well by them. The Crows view those that fail them as disposable, someone to be discarded - if the Crows fail Illario, what is to stop him from applying that mindset to them?

But this would require the writers to acknowledge how messed up the Crows are and we can't do that to our 'Noble Freedom Fighters'™. They'll also need to address Zevran's existence and what lore was established in past games...and we can't have that either lmao.

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

Something else I keep thinking about:

The barricade had been well-planned.

Hugo spends pretty much all of the tenth book of the fourth tome talking about the different ways that the Amis' barricade is straegically sound. After Enjolras returns in the fifth tome to announce that no one will be coming to help, much of the "downtime" in the first book is spent setting up "the perfect martyrdom," effectively. 4.1.5 indicates that the people weren't content and were in a state of agitation and prepared to rise. This was the third revolt like this in the past several months. Hugo even spends an entire chapter (5.1.20) explaining that sometimes, France works against progress, just like that.

A take I see a lot in fanon is that the Amis (and especially Enjolras) are out of touch with the people, that they were underprepared, that they didn't know what they were doing. However, Hugo really gives the impression that everything that could have been done to prepare for a successful revolt, had been done.

So why does this matter?

Because sometimes, as Hugo says in 5.1.20, the time isn't right. The world is still catching up. That doesn't mean that the people are wrong for wanting more, or for agitating for more. Indeed, says Vicky, there are many times that the only way forward is through a revolt. However, he also encourages us not to become discouraged by such setbacks.

It's all progress.

The living may not be wrong, but the dead are right.

[roofermadness]

this article (skip paywall link) is a fucking trip. i understand humans better and worse than before.

the thesis: some people not only don't care about politics; they don't care about facts. to a certain subset of people, "no thoughts; just vibes" is a way of life. take, for example, the opening anecdote about a woman in georgia who posted a basic fact check on a friend's facebook post that alleged that chili's and other restaurant chains are on their deathbeds. we've all seen some stupid misinformation, but what sent chills down my spine was a comment from the friend who posted the rumor (bolding mine):

“I love Monica,” he told me. “But I think Monica goes directly to sources of information.” This, he suggested, was not the right approach. “Use common sense,” he went on.

how on earth, i wondered, could this guy consider seeking out information a character flaw?!

then i saw this terrifying little nugget from a poli sci prof who studied low-info voters (defined by someone who couldn't answer two out of three very basic civics questions):

Low-information voters, he found, are more likely to embrace stereotypes of other groups, and less likely to fact-check claims made by politicians. [...] He came across a metric in psychology called the “need for cognition” scale. “A question that really caught my attention on the scale is an agree or disagree: ‘Thinking is not my idea of fun,’ ” Fording recalled. He and a colleague ran a study to see whether agreement with the statement correlated with support for Trump. It did.

(it's crucial to note, as fording does in the next paragraph, that this doesn't mean they're stupid, just that they don't get much pleasure out of learning new things. the article also cites examples of how this phenomenon can be subject-specific and position-agnostic. it also isn't limited to conservatives, as demonstrated frequently on this piss-on-the-poor website.)

but the article reminded me of the 2016 episode of this american life (the whole thing is worth a listen; it's a harbinger of what we are seeing play out eight years later) in which ira glass interviews his obama-hating uncle. ira debunks and fact-checks his uncle's stream of misinformation and plain lies, but provable facts prove uncompelling to him. this is the pithiest example:

Uncle Lenny: This guy-- he wants to have one country of North America, which is composed of Canada, the United States, and part of Mexico, if not all of Mexico. That's why the existing laws, which dictate that border trespassers shall be deported, he chooses to ignore. Ira Glass: Well, no, he actually deported 2.5 million people. More than any other president. Uncle Lenny: I don't believe that, Ira, for one minute. I don't believe that.

ira glass's conclusion, in his words: "facts do not have a fighting chance against this right-wing fable."

confirmation bias makes sense to me. not seeking out information from lack of interest makes sense to me. falling prey to misconceptions widely accepted in your community makes sense to me. what i find incomprehensible is sheer incuriosity. not only do some people lack critical thinking skills; they find thinking actively unpleasant.

so yeah. apparently some folks run on no thoughts, just vibes. not sure whether i feel more enlightened or depressed.

[little-pup-pip]

Can I get a shark moodboard for one of our smols?

- 🦈

Yes!!

[arson-09]

You know what i have gathered so far from reading the latter half of acotar? Rhysand is just. Stupid

Everything he did to ‘protect’ and ‘save’ Feyre UtM was either useless (the sa, it brought attention to feyre and the drinking caused her to not have time to focus on the riddle) or so contrived and unnecessarily cruel its almost useless (the deal thing is so confusing and how he treated her was not necessary) that when I think about it its idiotic!

this carries into the other books. He could have just asked Tarquin for the book, Rhysand continues to hide and keep important information from Feyre knowing it will make her mad and theres no reason, especially the pregnancy thing!

HES JUST STUPID!

Which could be funny and interesting if sjm leaned into it.

[i-really-like-phrogs]

When someone else’s art is so good you physically can’t look at it because of artistic jealousy

[sad-scarred-sassy]

make 3 acotar confessions that would get you in trouble *evil laugh*

Omgg I don’t know if this will get me in trouble or not but okay let’s do it…

- Feysand bores me to death as it is portrayed in canon (although the fanart is very pretty excluding the SA romantic depictions) I think I was done with them by the middle of ACOMAF. Sometimes I wish I understood the hype because ppl seem to be having fun with them (have fun guys). But yeah, I was so much more enthralled by feylin and if you look closely, i think Feysand is a half-hearted replica of feylin but with less consent and less 🔥 (my humble opinion). I think they would be a lot more interesting if they were openly considered toxic, but they are supposedly a perfect couple.

- If I could choose an ending for the sisters, I wouldn’t want any of them to stay in the Night Court with the bat boys. The archeron sisters deserve so much more than that (anything other than that actually). As it is, acotar feels like when actually bad people get their happily ever after while decent people suffer and I don’t like it 🙂 (Ill keep reading fanfiction correcting this bc I do love the other characters) (also acotar 6 might break this pattern so thats why im also still here)

- Tamlin is a much more interesting character than Rhysand. He was probably not the most complex character in the first book, but SJM trying to make him ‘bad’ actually gave him so many layers and spice. I would eagerly read a book only about him and his journey.

And a bonus no one asked for:

- I wish people also called what Rhys did to Feyre UTM (and throughout the other books) abuse as easily as people call out Tamlin’s abusive behavior. Somehow what Rhysand did is never addressed as ‘that bad’ but what Tamlin did is, constantly. Even in posts that have nothing to do with him. It icks me.

Okay bye