#psychological geocentrism

[tastethebloodofmeatthawsmoth]

Pre-modern people weren't just blithering idiots making stuff up. They were drawing logical inferences from observable phenomena, just like scientists do today! We can say, "Ha ha, people in the past thought the earth was the center of the universe!" and feel very smug, but we still use the old geocentric conception of the universe every time we talk about the sun "coming up" and "going down." Sunrises and sunsets are not lies; they are real phenomena that can mislead those without a more advanced way of observing them. "We can no longer dismiss the change of [cosmological] Models as a simple progression from error to truth. No Model is a catalogue of ultimate realities, and none is a mere fantasy. Each is a serious attempt to get in all the phenomena known at any given period, and each succeeds at getting in a great many. But also, no less surely, each reflects the prevalent psychology of an age almost as much as it reflects the state of that age's knowledge. Hardly any battery of new facts could have persuaded a Greek that the universe had an attribute as repugnant to him as infinity; hardly any such battery could persuade a modern that it is hierarchical." - CS Lewis, The Discarded Image

[eldritch-araneae]

Got reminded again how psychology horribly lacks behind compared to other fields. It's like we still believe that solar system is geocentric. Really sucks bc you need help, but help is either unavailable ( or don't even exist as a concept in some countries) or its such low quality it's NOT worth paying money for.

Like ADHD - no only it still have this stupid name which is like calling Flu as "coughs and fever disorder" so no one takes it seriously, but the field's only solution are stimulants which are illegal in many place again and there are no alternatives or WORKING (aka stop with CBT, DBT and other crappy "you must convince yourself to feel different" shit pls holy fuck) techniques to manage our horribly malfunctioning lives.

Sure building a system around ADHD does work (that how I rarely forget keys, bc they're always in my pocked of current clothing I wear), but ffs how to build it?? Gimme a template or something bc I have NO spoons to build such enormous thing from scratch.

Do those guys in field really just expect us to kill ourselves or die of substance abuse and alcoholism bc that's what untreated adhd leads to? Feels like it, yeah.

[misschanandlerbong-3]

CW: Discussion of Trump’s executive order on two sexes and the “true nature” of biological sex; tldr this executive order has nothing to do with biology and flat out ignores it

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There are many things wrong with Trump’s Executive Order “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” (yes, that is its full name). Among the many harms that are (explicitly) called for in the order, we have the housing of trans women in men’s prisons and trans men in women’s prisons, further exacerbating the already high possibility of lethal violence against trans people. The erasure of any identification besides “male” or “female” on all government-issued documents. Not to mention the call for the Department of Education to take down all documents concerning supporting trans and other queer youth in schools.

But beyond that and the many other factual and moral problems with this document (which I’ll leave to others for now), let’s be clear about one thing: this is not based on biology, or any kind of science.

The order’s title states that it is “restoring biological truth.” Throughout the order, there are many references to the “biological reality of sex,” such as in the incorrect and inflammatory sentence “Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being.” This is of course not true and designed to ignite feelings of fear and hatred that are not based in facts.

Perhaps the most important paragraph regarding the “biological reality of sex” is given in Section 1, where it is written

“This unhealthy road is paved by an ongoing and purposeful attack against the ordinary and longstanding use and understanding of biological and scientific terms, replacing the immutable biological reality of sex with an internal, fluid, and subjective sense of self unmoored from biological facts. Invalidating the true and biological category of ‘woman’ improperly transforms laws and policies designed to protect sex-based opportunities into laws and policies that undermine them, replacing longstanding, cherished legal rights and values with an identity-based, inchoate social concept.”

Aside from the inconsistencies in this paragraph alone (and the clear attempt to pit women against nonbinary and trans individuals in a divide-and-conquer strategy à la JK Rowling’s recent remarks), this paragraph blatantly shows that this order is in no way based on science. Let’s go through a few reasons why.

The paragraph starts by talking about “ordinary and longstanding use and understanding of biological and scientific terms.” But science moves (ideally at least) according to evidence and progress, not tradition and dogma. That was, in part, why the birth of modern science was supposed to be so revolutionary. A term may be longstanding, even in science. But if new evidence dictates that we abandon or change our terminology, then we do so. Past science can be wrong. That’s why we don’t still talk about a geocentric universe with as many as 55 concentric crystalline spheres, or imbalances in the four humors as causing disease, or the homunculi contained in sperm in the preformation theory of reproduction. When new evidence arises, we abandon old terms. No matter how longstanding they are.

And the overwhelming evidence in fields of science from developmental biology to genetics to neuroscience and psychology is that sex is much more complicated than a male/female binary. In discussing “biological sex” with my students, we often break it down into four categories: chromosomes, reproductive anatomy, hormones, and secondary sex characteristics. One or more of these is usually cited as being “biological sex.” And none of them is a binary. Chromosomes are not just XX or XY. They range from X0 to XXX to XYY, among many other varieties. Reproductive anatomy is also not binary. When the embryo is developing and reproductive anatomy is at the stage of differentiation, it does not always clearly go one way or the other. Hormone levels are clearly not a binary, and misconceptions abound about “sex hormones.” And secondary sex characteristics vary widely.

Beyond all that, the four categories also don’t always align with one another. For example, those with androgen insensitivity syndrome may be born with XY chromosomes but develop traditionally female reproductive anatomy and secondary sex characteristics. And this is not even getting into more fine details of much of the biological research around “sex.”

All this to say, even from a brute biological perspective, the “biological reality of sex” is not at all binary, and also not immutable. It is, in fact, fluid. Changing. Complex. Not fully understood in all corners.

Saying that sex is not binary is not “ideology.” It’s just science. Clinging to the strict male versus female binary, that is ideology. That is dogma. And it will disappear, no matter how hard you fight it.

If you’re curious at all about the science behind sex (and gender & sexuality), I highly encourage you to read this book by Anne Fausto-Sterling called Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. Not only does it offer an excellent description of scientific research into sex and gender and sexuality, it is also filled with insightful critiques of how social ideas (including the dogma of male/female binary) get encoded into much of the science (for example the treatment of intersex babies).

As a parting gift for those who took the time to read, here are the hilariously bad definitions of “male” and “female” given in Section 2 of the executive order:

“(d) ‘Female’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell.

(e) ‘Male’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.”

You heard it here first! Those people who don’t produce reproductive cells don’t even exist at all!

[thinkabled]

Understand the Psychological Blocks Holding You Back: Imposter Syndrome, Abilene Paradox, and How to Beat Them

Ever had a great idea but felt paralyzed before taking the first step? You’re not alone. 

Psychological blocks like fear of failure, Imposter Syndrome, the Curse of Knowledge, and the Abilene Paradox often hold us back from turning our ideas into reality.

Psychologist and author Adam Grant in his book Originals cites some examples from history where in some of the greatest change makers were initially held by these psychological blocks.

Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is that feeling of inadequacy despite possessing the necessary skills and knowledge.

For Eg: Legendary Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr was apprehensive about leading the Civil Right Movement.

“It had happened so quickly that I did not even have time to think it through. It is probable that if I had, I would have declined the nomination,” King reflected.

When he was elected to lead the boycott and subsequently faced with giving a speech to the community that evening, he remarked: “I became possessed by fear”

This feeling of inadequacy and self doubt despite possessing the necessary skills and knowledge is something many people struggle with.

Curse of Knowledge

Similarly when it comes to knowledge work, another phenomenon that holds back people from publishing original ideas is “ Curse of Knowledge”. It refers to a cognitive bias in which we over estimate how likely others are to know and understand the same things as us.

Copernicus did not publish his work for almost 30 years. It’s possible that Copernicus experienced the curse of knowledge when he was developing and sharing his theory of heliocentrism.

As an expert in astronomy and mathematics, he may have found it challenging to explain his revolutionary ideas to others who did not share his level of expertise.

Copernicus’ theory of heliocentrism challenged the long-held geocentric belief that the Earth was at the center of the universe, and this made it a difficult idea for many people to accept.

The Abilene Paradox

The Abilene paradox, is a strange phenomenon where a group of people all end up doing what none of them actually want to do, because everyone is too afraid to openly question the status quo. 

This is what happened with the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. 

Managers were desperate to launch the shuttle, so they ignored warnings from engineers about the risks of launching in cold weather. 

The shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch, with millions of viewers watching on TV.

10% Edge

How do we overcome these obstacles? 

Author Amy Porterfield suggests a powerful way to overcome these psychological barriers in her book “Two Week’s Notice”. She calls it the “10% Edge”.

This concept is all about getting a slight advantage in any area that you want to pursue and then start building over it. 

You don’t need a revolutionary new idea to start a business. 

You just need to find your 10-percent edge.

Finding your 10-percent edge simply means finding a topic in which you have 10 percent more knowledge and ability than the average person.

By committing to getting a 10% edge, you gradually build momentum and make significant progress in overcoming psychological barriers.

Porterfield’s approach is based on the idea that small wins can lead to big gains. Instead of trying to make drastic changes all at once, it’s often more effective to focus on making small improvements and building momentum over time.

💬Quote of the Week

Claiming that you need to “learn more” or “get all of your ducks in a row” can often be a crutch that prevents you from moving forward on the stuff that actually matters ~ James Clear

🧭Weekly Compass

The Abilene paradox: When not rocking the boat may sink the boat: This beautiful article by Ness Labs explains the concept of Abilene Paradox in detail.

🧠Food for Thought

What is one thing you can learn today to get the 10% edge?

📖Read & Rise

���� Newsletter: Read the past issues Cerebrate Weekly:

Your attention Shapes Your Reality

Preparation is the game.

Read! In the name of your Lord

🛠Tools for Thought 

Readwise: Do you want to better retain what you read? Check out Readwise, an app that can help you grow wiser and remember books more effectively. Readwise consolidates highlights from all your favorite reading platforms into one place, making it fun and easy to revisit them.

[stary-night]

ISAT starting Act 3 Theories/Reactions:

Spoilers for In Stars and Time Act 1 and 2 and the first 10-15 minutes of Act 3

- I was looking at the run time I had of like 9 hours when starting the King fight and people saying this game is 20 hours long and was like hm.... Either I'm missing half the content or something else is going on - anyway Siffron 😭

-Also it makes more sense thematically; Siffron spends so much of the game being like "Weird things keep happening and I'm sad all of my friends are leaving but it's fine!!!! I'm fine and now I can save everyone and never tell anyone how I feel ever!" meanwhile all of the other characters are like "change and doing what is scary is part of life, you have to accept your emotions".

I'm also not sure how much the Handmaiden could really do considering she was frozen right after the Kings attack but like maybe you have to save her beforehand to stop the loop.

-The ending was so sweet tho! Seeing the final things each character would do was sweet.

-I read the content warnings before this game started and it's like "oh this is where the psychological horror starts"

-Siffron I am begging you to talk to your friends

- The picture of him in the combat screen is visibly more sad now. Poor guy.

-This game is that one text post that's like "concern through recognition of the other. He's doing bad, don't ask me why I know".

- I wonder why Loop went from "you could tell your friends" to "better start pretending nothing is wrong :)". What is your agenda, what are you doing?

-What was going on with the loops?!? Is Loop causing it - like is he a god of some sort or representative of the Universe? The king appears to be a metaphor for depression but he brings up that he wants to save stuff in their prime before the universe tears it apart. I'm wondering if the Universe is actually the heat death of the universe, and so like the inevitability of nothingness is fighting against entropy/the tendency of life to grow an evolve.

-Also wondering about; there's dialogue fairly early on that implies that the circles of Change only go out to the Earth. But themes of the boarder universe exist, as do stars. So my guess is that ISAT universe is geocentric confirmed.

-I think another metaphor could be on the repetitiveness of mental health. Like, you finally get out of a depressive/dissociative episode. But then it gets bad again due to the nature of mental health. And you kinda have to find a way to accept the good and the bad and acknowledge your emotions in order to truly have change. And also talk to people about it.

-The game also really does feel it's about trauma based on the way the memory issues are presented and how Siffrion reacts to touch, thinks about them self, and people pleases.

-Okay so there's like random stuff people aren't able to remember. The one person can't remember the name of a country, there's various parts of books people can't remember. It kinda reminds of the static in TAZ Balance, so I was wondering if stuff was purposely erased? The King doesn't seem to be in on it because he also wants to remember something. Also I think the door you can't open has something to do with that.

[andreacurryjeidajeitafanfic]

cosmographically where is the historical biological geographical cosmological psychological evolutionary library book of the pragmatic invention of the sociolexical item of the bitch the hoe the slut the whore the hooker the sex slave they have just as much to do with the war the economy the policy of the laws the geocentrism of the nations what's the quantum physics theory on the chemical element there why is that just the bill of rights how is that the constitution when does the declaration of independence from the prostitute occur who is that bad for the environment huh? 🧪

microcosmic batteries

🔋🔋🔋

your the european agriculture growing down there in europe you're not taking care of business its a different history

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[tomorrowusa]

Dr. Neil deGresse Tyson made the best recent comment about UFOs:

“Just cuz you don’t know what it is doesn’t mean you then know what it is.”

Too many people forget that the U in UFO stands for Unidentified.

We’re still discovering phenomena and learning about our surroundings. Assuming that something is automatically an extraterrestrial spacecraft simply because currently available explanations don’t account for it is unscientific as well as just plain dumb.

A lot of the obsession with alien extraterrestrials visiting Earth has to do with many people assuming that we are so interesting or important that intelligent beings from other star systems would want to visit Earth. That’s a form of planetary narcissism. In some ways it’s psychological geocentricism.

I suspect that there are intelligent civilizations elsewhere in the galaxy but they are few and far between. And they are probably at different stages of scientific, cultural, and sociological development than we are.

In Star Trek terms, Homo sapiens sapiens would probably come across as a cross between the Ferengi and the Klingons to extraterrestrials. What sort of impression would extraterrestrials get of a planetary civilization ruled by militaristic, greedy, self-important crackpots like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, Rodrigo Duterte, Xi Jinping, and Jair Bolsonaro?

We have been producing radio signals in a major way for only about a century. Given that we’re in the exurbs of the Milky Way Galaxy, the odds are against anybody else knowing that we’re even here.

While it’s fun to speculate about extraterrestrial life, there is no genuine scientific evidence that any of those folks have been here. Area 51 conspiracy theories are just as idiotic as QAnon conspiracy theories.

[1111jenx]

LIST OF FIXED STARS AND DEGREES✨

Some degrees are more significant than others in astrology. Some degrees are considered major because they are considered fixed constellations. In astrology, a planet, asteroid, or house cusp can form a star when it falls at a specific degree in a specific sign. These stars are significant for a reason, and they can reveal hidden blessings and karma in your birth chart. This is when a specific degree in certain signs is designated as a distinct point with its own unique meaning in Western Astrology. Fixed stars ≠ planets. They do not move.

In Western tropical astrology, we have 360°degrees of the zodiac. Though there are roughly 88 defined constellations projecting towards us the apparent celestial sphere around our geocentric (earth-based) vantage point in space/time, we use the 12 constellations (sidereal astrology) and their 12 associated signs (tropical astrology; 30° divisions of 360°) because the Sun moves through these particular 12 (called the ecliptic, path of the Sun). The zodiac constellations and the zodiac signs don’t “align” as they did 2,000 years ago, due to a phenomena called precession of the equinoxes. In Western astrology today, we give primacy to the signs, though many astrologers interpret the underlying constellation “meta-messages” via planetary, house or nodal conjunctions with major fixed stars.

— The key observation is that each fixed star has its own "idea of completeness," which means that the energetic balance of any given star will differ from that of the Sun, our own star.

And, because fixed stars are point-like objects on the celestial sphere when viewed from Earth, their influences are very precise and focused, similar to a laser beam of light. The fixed stars predominantly work through their aspects with the planets. A star can greatly magnify and modify a planet it’s conjunct with. And this is something that may throw an astrologer completely off balance: the client’s psychological profile doesn’t quite match their natal chart. It may be a good hint to look at the influence of the fixed stars!

When it comes to analysing the influence of the fixed stars on the planets, there are two primary factors to look for in a chart:

conjunction or parallel

Other significant factors, in the order of influence:

opposition & square

Aspects like trine and sextile are of very minor influence, and it’s up to an astrologer to investigate if there is some kind of resonance happening due to those aspects. Check your birthchart to see if you have these fixed constellations 🌌 (allow 1-2° orb)

Aries

1° Aries - Kerb: Danger of being jilted by a lover. Neutral; Mars/ Mercury

2° Aries - Difda (Deneb Kaitos): Laziness, self destruction, nervousness, illness, inhibitions, loss. Unfortunate; Saturn

9° Aries - Algenib: Ambition, vanity, intuition, enthusiasm, bad judgment. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury

12° Aries - Alderamin: Gravity, sternness, judgement, severe trials, poetry, drama. Fortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

14° Aries - Alpheratz: Grace, popularity, independence, honours. Fortunate; Venus

21°Aries - Baten Kaitos: Isolation, depression, accidents, emigration, shipwrecks. Unfortunate; Saturn

23°Aries - Acamar: Success in public office, ecclesiastical success. Fortunate; Jupiter

29°Aries - Alrisha: Unifying influence with groups. Fortunate; Mars/ Mercury

Taurus

0° Taurus - Mirach: Good fortune through marriage, beauty, love talent. Fortunate; Venus

3°Taurus - Sharatan: Violence, defeat, accidents, injury, danger, honours. Neutral; Mars/ Saturn

7°Taurus - Hamal: Violence, cruelty, brutality, also the "Healer". Unfortunate; Mars/ Saturn

7°Taurus - Schedir: Astrology, mysticism, writing. Fortunate; Saturn/ Venus

14°15 Taurus - Almach: Success in Venusian occupations, artistic ability, popularity. Fortunate; Venus

14°19 Taurus - Menkar: Disease, throat trouble, disgrace, ruin, injury from beasts, unjustified enmities; sudden emergence of deep unconscious issues. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Venus

20° Taurus - Rana: Love of knowledge, science, much travel, many changes, position of authority, accidents at sea, drowning. Fortunate; Saturn (part of "The River", a constellation traversing several Signs)

23° Taurus - Zaurak: Melancholy, fear of death and suicidal tendencies. Unfortunate; Saturn

24° Taurus - Capulus: Primitive male sexual energy; penetrating; ruthless; adventurous; dishonesty; mass effects, esp. meteorological. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury

26° Taurus - Algol (The Gorgon's Head): Primitive female sexuality; strangulation, beheading, danger to throat and neck, murder, violence, mass catastrophe, the "Evil One", the Demon Star; passionate; intense; hysterical. Saturn/ Jupiter

29° Taurus - Pleiades (The Seven Sisters): Accidents, blindness, violence, feminine power. Unfortunate; Constellation of 7 stars (refer Alcyone)

Gemini

0°00 Gemini - *Alcyone (Central star of the Pleiades): Ambition, honour and glory. Trouble with opposite sex. Neutral; Moon/ Jupiter

02°Gemini - Mirfak (Alpha Perseus): Indicative of events effecting large numbers of people, especially those caused by major meteorological phenomena. Bold, adventurous, somewhat dishonest. Fortunate; Jupiter/ Saturn

5°Gemini - *Hyades: Scandal, violence, disgrace, imprisonment. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mercury

9°Gemini - *Aldebaran (Bull's North Eye): A Royal Star. The archangel Michael, the Watcher of the East. Eloquence, high honours, integrity, popularity, courage, war mongering, agitation. Unfortunate; Mars

15°Gemini - Cursa: Currents of Fate, fluctuating emotions, irreversible changes to rhythm of life, sense of oblivion. Fortunate; Saturn

16°Gemini - *Rigel (Orion's Foot): Technical and artistic ability, inventiveness, humour, honours, riches, happiness. Fortunate; Jupiter/ Mars

21°28 Gemini - *Bellatrix (Orion's Left Shoulder): Loquaciousness, accidents, sudden dishonour. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury

21°51 Gemini - Capella: Inquisitiveness, open mindedness, powerful friends. Fortunate; Mars/ Mercury

22°16 Gemini - Phact: Talent in art or science. Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury/ Uranus

22°26 Gemini - El Nath: Luck, fortune, success, quarrels, headstrong. Fortunate; Mars

23°Gemini - *Alnilam: Brief fame, quick temper, scandal. Fortunate; Jupiter/ Saturn

24°Gemini - *Al Hecka: Honours, wealth, power, greed, aggression. Fortunate; Mars

28°34 Gemini - Polaris * (The Pole Star): Sickness, trouble, loss, affliction, spiritual powers. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Venus

28°45 Gemini - Betelgeuse * (Orion's Right Shoulder): Calamities, danger, violence. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury

Cancer

3° Cancer - Propus: Overconfidence, pride, shamelessness, violence. Unfortunate; Saturn

7°11 Cancer - Mirzam: Good qualities, charitable, faithful; dangerous passions; "The Roarer", announcing the rising of Sirius; "The Announcer", with Gomeisa. Fortunate; Venus

9° Cancer - Alhena (Almeisan, the shining one): Acute sensitivity, creative imagination, artistic skills, writing, injuries to feet. Fortunate; Mercury/ Venus/ Jupiter

11° Cancer - Alzirr: Hunting, besieging towns, the revenge of princes, trouble, disgrace, sickness, loss of fortune, affliction, danger to knees. Unfortunate; Mercury/ Venus/ Jupiter

13° Cancer - Dziban (The Two Jackals): Artistic, emotional but sombre; penetrating, analytical mind, much travel, many friends; danger of robbery and accidental poisoning. Craft, ingenuity, valour. A binary star in Draco, the Dragon. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mars

14°05 Cancer - *Sirius (the Dog Star; the Sun of the Sun; the prime Sun of our Galaxy): Ambition, pride, emotionality, fame, leadership, wealth, fires, drought, danger through impetuosity. Fortunate; Jupiter/ Mars

14°51 Cancer - *Canopus (Ship of the Desert): Voyages, journeys, creativity; scandal, violence; great glory, fame, wealth; changes evil to good; the Rishi (Hindu sage) Agasthya; star of St Catharine; helmsman of the Argo. Fortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

18° Cancer - Wasat: Chemicals, poisons, gas; violence, malevolence, destructiveness as a first principal; pessimism; clear, authoritative speech; prominence in public affairs. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mars

20° Cancer - *Castor: Sudden fame or loss, distinction, keen mind, violence, mischief; "The Mortal Twin". Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mars/ Venus

22°Cancer - Gomeisa: "The Weeping One"; frivolity; love of dogs; dogbite; death by drowning. Unfortunate; Mercury/ Mars

23°Cancer - *Pollux (Caput Hercules): Contemplative speculation, audacity, astrology, ruin, disgrace, death, calamity; the "Immortal Twin"; the "Heartless Judge". Unfortunate; Mars/ Moon/ Uranus

25°Cancer - *Procyon: Violence, sudden success then disaster, occult, politics, dissipation. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury

Leo

2°48 Leo - Talitha: Quiet, prudent, suspicious, mistrustful, self-controlled, great anger when roused. Neutral; Saturn/ Mars

Nebulous Cluster in 1st decan of Leo - The Aselli (The ***** ): Death by fever, fire, hanging, beheading, or violent catastrophe, ruin, disgrace, wounds, hurts to face, eye trouble, blindness, imprisonment, great changes in society. Unfortunate; Mars/ Moon 7°12 Leo -

*Praesaepe: Inner drive, reclusive, blindness, murder, tragedy, fires. Unfortunate; Mars/ Moon 7°24 Leo -

*North Asellus (Asellus Borealis): Patience, beneficence and courage, heroic and defiant leader. Fortunate; Sun/ Mars 8°35 Leo -

*South Asellus (Asellus Australis): Military preferment, blindness, eye trouble, shipwreck, mass murder, horrors, self-willed, uncooperative. Unfortunate; Sun/ Mars

10°20 Leo - Giansar: Penetrating and analytical mind, travel and many friends, craft, ingenuity, and valour, but danger of robbery and accidental poisoning. Neutral; Saturn/ Mars

13°35 Leo - Acubens: Astrology, writing, perseverance, domestic problems, poison, liars. Fortunate; Saturn/ Mercury

15°00 Leo - Dubhe (The Bear): Astrology, arrogance, psychic power, destruction; aka Krathu, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) in Ursa Major; Bast Isis, the Egyptian goddess; "The Eye"; "Heaven's Pivot". Fortunate; Venus/Mercury/Mars

19°06 Leo - Merak: Prudent, restrained, mistrustful, self-controlled (but angry when roused), love of command, power to achieve, good with animals; Pulaha, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of Ursa Major. Fortunate; Saturn/ Mercury/ Mars

20°42 Leo - Ras Elased Aust (Algenubi): Cruel, heartless, bold, bombastic, brutish, destructive, artistic appreciation. power of expression, spiritual gifts, leadership. Neutral; Saturn/ Mars

22°00 Leo - "Own Worst Enemy": An unfortunate degree. No freedom to act on one's own behalf. Unfortunate

24°15 Leo - Subra: Strength; plunder; swagger; yet simple and without guile. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mars

27°08 Leo - *Alphard: Gives wisdom, musical and artistic appreciation, knowledge of human nature, strong passions, lack of self control, immorality. Sudden death by poison or drowning. Problems with law, love affairs, drugs. Fortunate; Saturn/Venus

27°34 Leo - Adhafera: Crime, lying and stealing, suicide. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mercury

27°41 Leo - *Al Jabhah: Wealth, sound judgement, cleverness, prone to violence, self-seeking, danger, loss, mutiny. Neutral; Saturn/ Mercury

29°53 Leo - *Regulus (Lion's Heart): The most Royal Star. Raphael, the Healing Archangel, the Watcher of the North. Nobility, ambition, alertness, great power, status, leadership, sudden downfall, accidents, violence. Fortunate; Mars/ Jupiter/ Uranus

Virgo

0°29 Virgo - Phecda: Civilising influence, tamer of beasts, transmission of divine knowledge; Pulasthya, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of the Great Bear, Ursa Major; bloodbaths, assassinations, riots, sexual perversion. Fortunate; Jupiter/ Venus

0°53 Virgo - Præcipua: Generous, noble, peaceful, fearless nature, with the ability to undertake prominent and responsible positions. Fortunate; Jupiter/ Mars

1°04 Virgo - Megrez: Spiritual sight; creativity; violence; Atri, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages), the ruling star of the Great Bear, Ursa Major. Fortunate; Mars

7°27 Virgo - Thuban: Prospectors of gold and silver or those who are ministers of money; burning to death in own house. Fortunate; Saturn/ Mars

8°56 Virgo - Alioth (The Black Horse): Suicide among women; danger in pregnancy; Angirasa, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) in Ursa Major. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Venus

11°16 Virgo - Zosma: Keen intellect, depression, fearful, unhappy, feels restricted, loss in childhood; egotism; prophetic ability (with Coxa: "Kua, the Oracle"). Fortunate; Saturn/ Venus

13°25 Virgo - Coxa: Good for voyages, gain by merchandise, redemption of captives; prophetic ability (with Zosma: "Kua, the Oracle"). Strength. Wisdom. Fortunate; Saturn/ Venus

15°42 Virgo - Mizar: Connected with fires of a catastrophic extent and mass calamities; Vasishta, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of Ursa Major. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Venus

21°38 Virgo - *Denebola: Criticism, perseverance, control, lack of imagination, honours, undesirable associates, mental illness, happiness turns to despair, disease, natural disasters, catastrophes. Neutral; Saturn/ Venus

23°48 Virgo - *Coma Berenices: Eye problems; suave manner, with great personal charm; idle and dissipated, dramatic; a constellation rather than a star, with the main star being Diadem. Fortunate; Moon/ Venus

26°38 Virgo - Labrum: Honours, riches, ambition, psychic, chronic illness, dishonest income. Fortunate; Mercury/ Venus

26°56 Virgo - Alkaid (Benetnash): Associated with death and mourning, war, natural catastrophes; Marichi, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of Ursa Major. Unfortunate; Moon/ Mercury/ Saturn

28°54 Virgo - Markeb: Voyages, educational work, broad knowledge, piety. Fortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

Libra

8°57 Libra - Diadem: Suave, well-bred; personal charm; dissipation. Dramatic ability. The "Wreath of Jewels" in Berenice's hair (the constellation Coma Berenices). Fortunate; Saturn/ Mercury

9°56 Libra - Vindemiatrix: Falsity, folly, disgrace, stealing, widowhood, depression, witch-hunts, mysticism & the occult. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mercury

13°27 Libra - Algorab: Scavenging, destructiveness, repulsiveness, malevolence, fiendishness and lying, suicide, greed, injuries. Unfortunate; Mars/ Saturn

15°27 Libra - Merga: Guardians, ministers of state, custodians, treasurers, force behind the scenes, hidden masters, economists, architects, designers, "The Sickle". Fortunate; Mercury/ Saturn

17°39 Libra - *Seginus: Business, astrology, law, loss through friends, deceitful, shameless. Fortunate; Mercury/ Saturn/ Venus

19°20 Libra - Mufrid: Prosperity from work, planning, strong desires, a tendency to excess, a fondness for rural pursuits, occultism. Fortunate; Mercury/ Saturn

22°09 Libra - Foramen: Prosperity, leadership; divine teacher, creative power; ear and eye trouble, indecision, shipwreck. Fortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

23°50 Libra - *Spica: Wealth, fame, honour, glamour, the "Fortunate One". Very Fortunate; Venus/ Mars

24°14 Libra - *Arcturus: Inspiration, riches, fame, honour, popularity, benefits through travel, success through work. Very Fortunate; Jupiter/ Mars

Scorpio

3°09 Scorpio - *Princeps: Ability to research keen, studious and profound mind, business, government, law, science, arts, lies. Fortunate; Mercury/ Saturn

6°57 Scorpio - Khambalia: Deep research of any kind, police investigation, espionage and esoteric subjects. Fortunate; Mercury/ Mars

11°52 Scorpio - Acrux: Interest in astrology and spirituality, metaphysics, sacrifice. Occult; Jupiter

12°16 Scorpio - *Alphecca: Honour, dignity, literate, brilliant, poetic, scandals, betrayal in love, sorrow through children. Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury

12°18 Scorpio - Menken: Wisdom, astronomy, divination, medicine, botany and music. Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury

15°04 Scorpio - *South Scale (Zuben Algenubi): Loss, theft, betrayal, abuse, venereal disease, poisoning, drowning, anguish, revenge, criminality. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mars

19°00 Scorpio - Serpentis (the "Accursed Degree"): A malefic degree, tragedy, misfortune, the "Accursed Degree". This degree does not precess; Unfortunate; Mars/ Saturn

19°23 Scorpio - *North Scale (Zuben Alschemali): Honours, wealth, distinction, brilliant mind, success in sports, politics, war, religion, writing, tragedy, violence, melancholy. Fortunate; Jupiter/ Mercury/ Mars

22°04 Scorpio - *Alpha Serpentis (Unukalhai): Success followed by fall, suicide, insanity, accidents, success in war, politics, writing, problems in love, forgery, shipwreck, loss, earthquake. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mars

23°48 Scorpio - Agena: Good health, high morals, disillusion through love, success with the masses. Fortunate; Venus/ Jupiter

29°36 Scorpio - Toliman (Bungula): Occult and philosophical learning, self analysis, honours, stubborn, cruel. Fortunate; Venus/ Jupiter

Sagittarius

1°05 Sagittarius - Kornephoros: Fixity of purpose, strength of character, ardent nature and dangerous passions. Neutral; Mercury

2°18 Sagittarius - *Yed Prior: Success in astrology & 9th house matters, shrewd. Fortunate; Saturn/ Venus

5°36 Sagittarius - Marfik: Passionate, blindly good-hearted, easily seduced, healer with herbs. Neutral; Saturn/ Venus

9°46 Sagittarius - *Antares (Heart of the Scorpion): A Royal Star. The Archangel Oriel, the Watcher of the West. Spirit of adventure, obstinacy, injuries to eyes, honours, sudden loss, stubborn, suspicious, violent, several marriages. Fortunate; Mars/Jupiter/ Mercury

11°58 Sagittarius - *Rastaban: Impulsive, honourable, good for astrology, government, writing, sports, finance, the arts, accidents, wounds, blindness, criminality. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Mars/ Jupiter

17°58 Sagittarius - Sabik: Wastefulness and lost energy, perverted moral, success in evil deeds. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Venus

20°54 Sagittarius - Atria: Just, truthful, righteous and benevolent, interest in architecture and freemasonry. Very Fortunate; Mercury/ Jupiter

22°27 Sagittarius - Ras Alhague: Trouble with women, drugs, poisoning, hallucination, medicines, infections, mystical healing. Fortunate; Saturn/Venus

24°01 Sagittarius - Lesath (Scorpion's Sting - with Shaula): Danger, desperation, immorality and malevolence, connected with acid poisons, accidents, catastrophes, operations. Unfortunate; Mercury/ Mars

24°35 Sagittarius - Shaula (Mulam: the Root): Danger, desperation, immorality and malevolence, connected with acid poisons, aids victory in sieges, destruction of seafarers and captives, exorcism, mesmerism, spiritual pressure towards enlightenment. Unfortunate; Mercury/ Mars

26°52 Sagittarius - Galactic Centre: A vast Black Hole at the centre of our galaxy, discovered 1932; source of energy, motivation, aspiration; alien consciousness; crisis of faith; travel; education; philosophy; spiritual urges; single-minded dedication. Fortunate; Jupiter

27°58 Sagittarius - Etamin: Liking solitude, good concentration, dishonour, downfall and loss of prestige, esoteric and philosophical studies. Neutral; Mars/ Moon

Capricorn

1°04 Capricorn - Spiculum: Eye trouble, blindness, depression, hopelessly doomed, morbid religious outlook, no concern for human life. Unfortunate; Mars/ Moon

1°16 Capricorn - Alnasl: Eye trouble, blindness (or bad eyesight). Unfortunate; Mars/ Moon

3°13 Capricorn - Polis: Martial desires, high ambitions, domination, keen perception, success.. Very Fortunate; Jupiter/ Mars

6°19 Capricorn - Kaus Borealis: Promoters of idealistic and humane ideas, promoters of mental stimuli, enterprise and a sense of justice. Fortunate; Mercury/ Mars

8°16 Capricorn - Facies: Blindness, violent death, sickness, accidents; leadership, war, coldness, detachment, perfectionism; earthquakes; pure combative energies; risk-taking, glamour; seeks fulfilment through charitable works. Very Unfortunate; Sun/ Mars

15°19 Capricorn - *Vega: Luck in politics, artistic talent, fleeting fame, double dealing, generosity, practicality. Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury

18°53 Capricorn - Sheliak: Artistic talent, sexual adventures, disgrace, gaudiness, independent thought, trouble with authority, death by violence. Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury

19°48 Capricorn - Dheneb: Martial Arts, ability to command, liberality, beneficence. Very Fortunate; Mars/ Jupiter

23°49 Capricorn - Peacock: Vanity and love of display, together with a long life and sometimes fame. Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury/ Saturn

25°51 Capricorn - Terebellum: Strength and power, rise in life, riches, cunning, disgrace. Fortunate; Venus/ Saturn

Aquarius

0°56 Aquarius - Tarazed (The Plundering Falcon): Spoil and plunder, imagination, strong passions, will, clairvoyance, fame, powerful mind. Fortunate; Mars/ Jupiter

1°04 Aquarius - Sham: Combative, opinionated, jealousy, danger of death in battle. Unfortunate; Mars/ Venus

1°15 Aquarius - Albireo: Contemplative, cultured, artistic, congenial appearance and disposition. Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury

1°47 Aquarius - *Altair (The Eagle): Sudden but ephemeral fortune, impulsiveness, courage, accidents, astrology, writing. Neutral; Mars/ Jupiter

3°46 Aquarius - *Algedi (Giedi Prima): Beneficence, peculiar events, love affairs, great good fortune. Neutral; Venus/ Mars

5°34 Aquarius - Bos: Keen intellect, good for business, military, analysis. Fortunate; Saturn/ Venus

11°43 Aquarius - Albali: Danger, persecution and even death, but also said to give good fortune. Neutral; Mars/ Mercury

13°51 Aquarius - Dorsum: The Wheel of Fortune; bites from venomous creatures (with Sun or Mars). Unfortunate; Saturn/Jupiter

15°54 Aquarius - Alnair: Retiring, active, proud, watchful, kind, idealistic, devoted, liking for astronomy, "the Bright One". Fortunate; Mercury/Jupiter

20°12 Aquarius - Castra: Destructiveness, uncontrollable temper, malevolence. Unfortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

21°47 Aquarius - *Nashira: Writing, government, religion, overcomes evil. Fortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

23°07 Aquarius - Kitalpha: Gives friendship and sagacity but frivolity and love of pleasure. Neutral; Mercury/ Venus

23°46 Aquarius - *Sadalsuud: Fortuna Fortunarum, great fortune; astrology, occult, government, business, psychic, visionary, originality; personal charm; temperance; aviation. Fortunate; Saturn/ Mercury

23°50 Aquarius - Deneb Algedi: A wise leader; finding the joy inherent in sorrow – and vice versa; glory and fame if death is avoided; betrayal, loss of position if associated with Sun or Moon. Fortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

24°50 Aquarius - Sador: Glittering wings, figured by stars. Part of the Christian Cross. Words of command, gathering of wealth; a hidden god; love of water, swimming, the arts; communication with birds; aviation. Fortunate; Jupiter/ Saturn

27°45 Aquarius - Gienah: Soar to great heights, potential of sudden downfall. Neutral; Venus/ Mercury

Pisces

5°16 Pisces - *Deneb Adige (Alpha Cygnus): Intelligent, creative, original, naive, astrology, writing, the public, dog bites. Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury

6°43 Pisces - Sadalachbia: Success in ventures, personal charm, movement to rich pastures, aviation, discovery of lost items, "the Star of Hidden Things". Fortunate; Venus/ Mercury

8°52 Pisces - Skat: Good fortune, personal charm, lasting happiness, psychic interests, sensitivity, occult interests, many friends. Fortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

15°19 Pisces - Achernar: Sudden success in public office, religious benefits, access to another realm. Fortunate; Jupiter ("the mouth of the River" a constellation extending over several Signs. NOTE: stars in this constellation (Eridanus) are ruled by Saturn, with the exception of Achernar, the brightest)

23°29 Pisces - *Markab: Violence, honours and riches, "Star of Sorrow", literary, legal problems, accidents. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury/ Venus

29°22 Pisces - *Scheat: Imprisonment, murder, suicide, drowning, extreme misfortune. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury

Here are some of the collected meanings of the fixed stars!! Please let me know if you guys do have any questions:) I'll link additional resources for you guys to read💕Have fun learning this aside the degree theory boo!!

love,

saint jenx🪐

external sources: one two three

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

What's your opinion on astrology?

Complete nonsense. For the same reasons we know prayer doesn't work: because nobody can define how it works, and because when we test it, the results are no better than random chance.

Otherwise, whichever is the "true" religion would exhibit greater professional and academic success, better health, longer life, etc, etc. The same for the astrologists who get it "right."

That is, it isn't just that it's not been demonstrated to work, it's been demonstrated not to work.

The interesting thing about astrology isn't the astrology itself, it's the human psychology that powers it. Pattern seeking, magical thinking, confirmation bias, appeals to mystery and ignorance, desire for control - that something is in control, and that you can take control by aligning your activities with the "predictions" for the day.

The Forer experiment is particularly interesting. James Randi conducts the same experiment in the video below. It's been consistently replicated.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/forer-effect.htm

http://skepdic.com/forer.html

Part of the reason it's so interesting is how applicable the technique is, not just in the nonsense of astrology, but also in advertising, social media, and of course, religion and politics, and particularly identity politics.

I've got an astrology tag, but this post in particular probably covers it:

https://religion-is-a-mental-illness.tumblr.com/post/622441189493391360

Of course, when you look at what is actually required for it to function, it's pretty much a tacit form of geocentric flat Earth.

[santoschristos]

Holographic Dreamtime https://www.dreamyoga.com/what-is-dream-yoga/psychological-geocentrism/?fbclid=IwAR3C7ckFftpGpXVys-PopzSvDhdfgsPssbV7xcobi7bvvu-RPaUrCrMLENk

[luxe-pauvre]

Freud bashing is a popular intellectual pastime these days (although he still has his fans in New York and London). But, as we have seen in this chapter, he did have some valuable insights into the human condition, and, when talking about psychological defences, he was right on target, although he had no idea what they evoked or what neural mechanisms might mediate them. A less well known, but equally interesting idea put forward by Freud was his claim that he had discerned the single common denominator of all great scientific revolutions: Rather surprisingly, all of them humiliate or dethrone "man" as the central figure in the cosmos. The first of these, he said, was the Copernican revolution, in which a geocentric or earth-entered view of the universe was replaced with the idea that earth is just a speck of dust in the cosmos. The second was the Darwinian revolution, which holds that we are puny, hairless neotenous apes that accidentally evolved certain characteristics that have made us successful, at least temporarily. The third great scientific revolution, he claimed (modestly), was his own discovery of the unconscious and the corollary notion that the human sense of "being in charge" is illusory. He claimed that everything we do in life is governed by a cauldron of unconscious emotions, drives and motives and that what we call consciousness is just the tip of the iceberg, an elaborate post hoc rationalisation of all our actions. I believe Freud correctly identified the common denominator of great scientific revolutions. But he doesn't explain why this is so - why would human beings actually enjoy being "humiliated" or dethroned? What do they get in return for accepting the new worldview that belittles humankind? Here we can turn things around and provide a Freudian interpretation of why cosmology, evolution and brain science are so appealing, not just to specialists but to everyone. Unlike other animals, humans are acutely aware of their own mortality and are terrified of death. But the study of cosmology gives us a sense of timelessness, of being part of something much larger. The fact that your own personal life is finite is less frightening when you know you are part of an evolving universe - an ever-unfolding drama. This is probably the closest a scientist can come to having a religious experience. The same goes for the study of evolution, for it gives you a sense of time and place, allowing you to see yourself as part of a great journey. And likewise for the brain sciences. In this revolution, we have given up the idea that there is a soul separate from our minds and bodies. Far from being terrifying, this idea is very liberating. If you think you're something special in this world, engaging in a lofty inspection of the cosmos from a unique vantage point, your annihilation becomes unacceptable. But if you're really part of the great cosmic dance of Shiva, rather than a mere spectator, then your inevitable death should be seen as a joyous reunion with nature rather than as a tragedy.

V. S. Ramachandran & Sandra Blakeslee, Phantoms in the Brain

[howtofightwrite]

Q&A: Amnesia

re: concussion types: you mentioned global amnesia being incredibly rare as a side effect of head trauma, so i was wondering, how bad would the trauma have to be to induce “i can’t remember anything” amnesia? most info i found relates to memory loss around the time of the trauma, not on total memory loss which really speaks to uncommon it is, but if you have any insight i would love to know! (also from what i gather, you’d lose not only memories but physical skills as well, reading, walking etc)

So, the correct term for what we’re talking about is Retrograde Amnesia. This is the loss of previously created memories. There’s a lot of potential causes, but as with concussions, it’s not about how hard you’re hit, it’s what your brain is doing.

In a lot of cases, it’s not even about an injury; simply, something in your brain doesn’t work right. Your brain stores and recovers a lot of information on a regular bases, and whenever something goes wrong, whether that’s due injury, illness, chemicals, electroshock “therapy,” or psychological factors, it’s amnesia.

The term itself, is a bit misleading, because it’s describing a wide range of similar symptoms under a single header. The term itself is basically just, “can’t remember.” So, technically, if you forgot where you left your keys, and wanted to be overly dramatic, you could call that amnesia. No one else would be likely to agree, but you wouldn’t be completely wrong.

Complete Retrograde Amnesia is incredibly rare. I don’t have a number for this, the rate of incidence is that low. It’s a bit confused, because things like dementia are forms of retrograde amnesia. So, this can become a question of severity.

The one I do have numbers for is Transient Global Amnesia. I’ve actually had the privilege of watching an entire TGA event from start to finish. The rate of incidence there is about 5:100,000, and events usually last for less than a day.

TGA is complete anterograde amnesia, with mild retrograde amnesia. In this case, the patient was unable to form new long term memories for about six to eight hours, and while the event persisted they were unable to recall events in the previous nine months to a year. This lead to some remarkably repetitive conversations. After the event completed they were unable to recall events from roughly six hours before the event started until after it’s conclusion, and my understanding is they never recovered those memories.

During initial onset, the immediate fear was that the patient was experiencing a stroke. Given the symptoms, that was a reasonable concern.

Lit says that the patient should be able to remember, roughly, the last five minutes during the event. That sounds consistent with what I saw, but I didn’t time it.

So, there’s a term up there, “anterograde.” Let’s describe these. Retrograde simply means, “moving backwards.” Outside of amnesia, you’ll most often encounter this regarding the movement of celestial bodies. Under the geocentric model of the solar system, planets which appeared to reverse course were a serious puzzle, and the phenomena was described as, “retrograde motion.” When you add the fact that planets orbit around the sun, and not the earth, it makes perfect sense. They’re not reversing course, it’s simply a function of the planets’ orbits creating the illusion of reverse motion. Planets are still described as being “in retrograde,” to indicate that their apparent motion has reversed from the perspective of earth, even though we now understand why this happens.

Similarly, anterograde simply means “moving forward.” (Worth knowing that, while retrograde derives from Latin, and has been around since, at least, Middle English, anterograde is a modern word.) When dealing with amnesia, anterograde is the inability to form new memories. IE: “Without memories moving forward.”

As with any other form, anterograde amnesia can be there result of a number of different causes, including some illnesses, chemical reactions, brain tumors, injuries, and stroke.

Anterograde amnesia can also be experienced as a result of being put under general anesthesia. This means, I’ve probably experienced this first hand, but have no recollection of it.

A concussion can result in either anterograde, retrograde, or a combination of both forms of amnesia. Usually associated with damage to the medial temporal lobe. Note: this part of your brain does a bit more than just store memories. It’s also responsible for spacial cognition. If I remember correctly, but I can’d find reference to verify right now, damage to the medial temporal lobe also result in epileptic seizures, and loss (or at least impairment) of emotional control.

Since we’re talking about neural structure, and way out of my depth already, let’s talk a little more about memory. You have at least two distinct types of memories. Episodic memories are things you experience. If you stop and think back to something that happened, that’s an Episodic memory. Semantic memories are skills, and abstract knowledge. While knowledge derives from episodic experiences, you actually store this stuff differently. (I’m not clear on the exact, chemical or biological distinction here.) This is important to understand when talking about amnesia, because what you have seen and what you know are different kinds of memories. So, the idea that someone can’t remember who they are, but still has all their knowledge and skills, isn’t that far fetched. Except for the part where they can’t remember anything about who they are.

I’m going to stick a note in here: You asked about walking, that’s not a memory. Your brain is pretty well hardwired to do that. There’s actually a number of basic actions and functions of fine motor control, that have nothing to do with memory. Some of this stuff will atrophy if you don’t use it, but you’re not going to forget it. One of the more interesting ones is swimming, as infants are born with a reflexive ability to (attempt to) swim. This atrophies pretty quickly, but, it’s interesting.

One form of amnesia we’ve all experienced is infantile amnesia. This just discusses the phenomena where people do not (generally) remember the first three to five years of their lives. (There are exceptions, but those are rare.) This is simply a function of neural development, and may be tied to development of language skills.

There is one last variety you should familiarize yourself with: Dissociative amnesia. This a psychologically derived. It includes things like repressed memories and fugue states. The patient decides (at a sub-conscious level) not to remember something. This can be because the event is so traumatic they refuse to acknowledged it, or any number of other factors. In some extreme cases, the patient rejects themselves. They forget everything. Technically the memories are still intact, it’s not they put their brain on a bulk eraser and nuked it. They simply will not interface with those memories. In some ways can be pretty, “laser guided,” because the patient is trying to protect themselves, and are the best suited to know if something’s going to cause problems.

As a therapist, there a fairly decent argument not to probe someone with dissociative amnesia too deeply, unless they really are asking you to. We don’t talk about this much, but when it comes to psychology and the Hippocratic oath, if the patient is not being harmed by their issues, or harming others, you don’t mess with them. A patient with a dissociative amnesia who is happy with who they are, is not someone who “needs to be dragged back to face themselves.” Chances are, there were really good reasons their mind went, “nope,” duct taped the whole thing in a box, and chucked in the back of a closet. If the patient comes to you distressed because they can’t remember who they were, that’s different. If the patient simply can’t remember who they were, but is fine who they are, do no harm.

Okay, that’s amnesia, let’s talk about why you should never use this stuff in your writing.

The amnesiac point of view character is a very, very, useful trope. It’s too useful. This is why it has become cliche.

When you create a new world, you as the writer, know the rules, you know players, you know all the moving pieces. Your audience knows nothing. At this point, you have to decide how to introduce your audience to your world. What better way than picking a PoV character who remembers nothing and needs to be spoon fed the backstory as they go along? The audience, and the character, will acquire information at the same rate as they progress through the story.

Amnesiac characters can also justify a lot of exposition. If they know nothing, then they’ll have to have all of this explained to them. But, you might have just noticed a problem, that’s not how amnesia works (in most cases.)

Someone might not remember that the person they’re talking to killed their sister, but they are going to remember the factions and other political considerations that govern the other character’s motivations. Some details will be missing, but the abstract knowledge should be intact.

Many amnesiac PoV characters aren’t really amnesiac, they’re simply audience proxies who are unfamiliar with the backstory, blundering around, as the world is gradually filled in.

Now, having just picked at this a bit, it works very well. Especially if you, (as the writer) are not yet comfortable with the setting. The problem, and the reason I said, “don’t use this,” is because it has become cliche, due to overuse. You can’t pick a fantasy novel off the shelf without accidentally knocking over eighteen more about edgy amnesiac heroes wandering around someone’s home brew D&D campaign. It gets worse when you get into other media.

There are some other good uses. One is an amnesiac character investigating themselves. There’s a lot of this in the thriller genre. Much like the case above, this is a bit cliche, but is also a situation with some unique options. Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity comes to mind as an interesting variant of this. Though the amnesiac spy has been done to death since.

Amnesia is a very useful, very potent, tool for a writer. It’s one you do not want to abuse, because, when misused, it will deprive your story of its uniqueness. If you have to chose between an amnesiac PoV, or committing to a PoV character that’s up to speed, pick the latter. It may not seem as easy, but it gives you more control than your realize.

-Starke

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Q&A: Amnesia was originally published on How to Fight Write.

[darkscienceacademia]

The small, tidy Ptolemaic universe may have been psychologically comforting, but the universe is under no obligation to make us comfortable.

- Fundamentals of Astrophysics, by B. Ryden and B. Peterson (a lot of stuff like this that I post is from this book, sorry I haven't been citing it)

Because stellar parallax is so freaking small because the distances are so freaking huge, many astronomers, including Tycho Brahe and Ptolemy, thought both that the world was geocentric and that the universe was much smaller than it really is. But our nearest stellar neighbors are more than 270,000 astronomical units away. Such a distance, the thought of such a vast, unthinkable amount of space, may well have driven them mad.

[rabidfirefoxfan]

This video explores some interesting ways some groups of people use psychology to try and persuade you.

Or how Geocentrism try to use the medium of a documentary to try and convince you to ignore science and listen to their faith.

[collapsingintojupiter]

Philosophy and Hot Chocolate

And look who’s back with some more dumb fanfiction rambles

ha, yeah, that would be

this bastard.

@just-perhaps wanted to see the braincell boys debate, so I bring you all this. You’re welcome.

Characters: Logan, Deceit (sympathetic), Roman, Patton, Virgil.

Pairings: None. Just platonic all around here.

Warnings: Alcohol mention, and Idk of anything else? Let me know if you’d like something added tho.

It was getting late in the diner. For Logan, that was nothing new. He just sat quietly at his booth by himself like he always did, absentmindedly stirring a cup of black coffee with a spoon and ignoring the creamer that was in a tiny metal bucket near his mug. Few customers remained as per usual at this hour, which meant that the place was finally, relatively quiet. 

For a cutesy diner, things got interesting here after about 10pm. All the nice pictures crowding the walls became dark with shadow after the sun went down and the lights dimmed, and the little knick knacks began to look like haunted artifacts from their perches around various shelves in the main room. 

Logan liked that about this place. When the night got old everyone else was gone, but the diner still remained open like it always did, dutifully serving its customers clear into the next morning. The night shift had started a few hours ago now; but one lonely staff member standing behind the bar with a few of the usual drunks. They’d be leaving soon enough when they got too rowdy to stay, and then finally he could have his silence.

Then the door opened. 

Logan looked up as a strangely-dressed character entered the diner, a bowler hat topping off his honey-colored hair, tanned skin, and sharp green eyes. A thin scar ran up from the left side of his mouth to the base of his ear; a mouth that was currently twisted into something that looked like a smirk as he slowly sauntered past the empty tables, then slid into the booth across from Logan. 

“You look bored,” he said. 

“I’m not.” Logan glanced across the table at the stranger, who was wearing a yellow shirt and black jacket over top. He looked like a hornet. “Interesting clothing choice,” he commented.

“I might say the same about you.”

Logan glanced down at the black shirt and tie he currently wore, then raised an eyebrow. 

“Fair enough.”

“Hey Logan, can I get something for your friend here?” Both turned as a new character approached, this one with curly hair that hung over round glasses and a light blue apron. His name tag read Patton. 

“You’re a regular here,” the other man said. 

“And you’re not.” Logan looked over at Patton. “Can we get a basket of fries?”

“Of course!” Patton smiled at him, then turned to the hornet man. “Can I get you anything, sir?”

“Iced tea. Unsweetened.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Patton flashed them a smile and left, humming something to himself as he disappeared into the back room. The stranger raised an eyebrow at Logan.

“Fries?” he asked.

“I don’t see why not.” 

“It’s almost midnight.” 

“Says the one ordering iced tea.”

“That’s not the same.” Logan only shrugged, automatically reaching up to adjust his glasses.

“Maybe for you it isn’t.” He yawned, turning as Patton returned to the table with a small red basket of fries, offering the waiter a nod as it was set down in front of him. 

“Thank you, Patton.” 

“Sure thing! You guys just let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

The stranger reached across the table as Patton returned to his station by the bar, grabbed a fry, and took a bite. 

“I like these,” he decided after a moment, and reached for another one. 

“Do I get a name?” Logan asked. 

“No.”

“Very well, Diogenes.” The other man sipped at his iced tea. 

“A famous cynical philosopher. Touché.” He smiled a bit behind his drink as Logan reached for a fry. “My name’s Dorian.”

“Logan, as I believe you’ve already heard.” Dorian nodded to him, then took another fry. 

“I was correct in my guess that you were educated.”

“Oh?”

“The only people who frequent these places at this hour are either genius, drunk, or mad. Because you clearly aren’t drunk and you don’t speak like a churchish pig, genius is the only category I’m left with to define you by.”

“You forgot a category,” Logan stated, sipping at his coffee. He took a fry, looked at his drink, and dipped it in his coffee before trying it. Too bitter. He made a face and sipped at his coffee again, trying to wash out the weird taste in his mouth.

“What would that category be?” Dorian asked, looking amused at Logan’s unsuccessful flavor combination. 

“Desperate. And perhaps...adventurous, though those show up rarely. Even they sleep.”

“Desperate falls under the category of mad, I believe. Adventurous certainly does.”

“How so?”

“Mad with desperation, for example. That is a thing, you know.” Dorian took another fry. Someone in a far booth gave them an odd look. He looked drunk, though he had no beer in front of him and hadn’t been to the bar all evening.

“I am aware of that phrase. However, it all depends on your definition of mad, and your definition of desperation,” Logan countered. Dorian smirked. 

“Tell me more.” 

Logan tilted his head, then shrugged and adjusted his glasses again. This wasn’t the strangest thing that had happened to him by far, and he saw no harm in rolling along with the visit of this strange “Dorian” character as long as he remained civil. Which, so far, he had. 

A waltz started to play quietly in the diner. 

“For starters,” Logan said, pulling on his ‘teaching voice’ as he began, “the phrase ‘mad with desperation,’ as you put it, hinges on the definition of both words, not just the one or the other. Madness can mean anything from insanity and psychosis according to some, to mental illness, to mere eccentricity, which by psychological definition is not mad, but merely different from the norm. Desperation, on the other hand, can mean several different things as well. Someone desperate to use the restroom, for example, may come here to relieve themselves. Or on the other end of the spectrum, someone fleeing a toxic or abusive situation may wish to seek temporary shelter here. You would not call them mad, would you?”

Dorian leaned back, sipping at his iced tea. 

“I suppose I would not,” he conceded at last. “You intrigue me, Oh-One-With-The-Glasses.” 

Logan hummed his reply, then looked aside. “Ah, more visitors. I thought he’d come over here eventually.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare...” The man who had been watching them earlier now spoke up, standing behind Dorian with a partially apprehensive, partially embarrassed expression. A red and white varsity jacket hung from his shoulders, which were slumped with what Logan guessed to be exhaustion. “Ah...does your table have room for one more?” Dorian and Logan exchanged glances. 

“I suppose so. Who would you like to accompany for this fine conversation, Logan or myself?” Dorian asked. The new character looked between the two, then sat next to Dorian, who obligingly scooted over to make room. 

“I’m Roman,” he said as he sat down, his face blushing a delicate shade of red. “You guys... uh...you seemed interesting, I-I guess.”

“We met less than ten minutes ago,” Logan stated bluntly. 

“Ah, but that’s the fun part!” Dorian grinned at last, looking between Logan and the new visitor. “See, the reason that drunks, geniuses, and madmen all visit this place at this time is because the line between each is so thin, it may as well not exist at all.”

“I don’t drink,” Logan said. 

“For some of us, anyhow.” Dorian looked over at Roman. “And where do you fall in this category?”

“You two are insane.” Roman shook his head, reaching for a fry. “But...I couldn’t get to sleep, for some reason. Figured I might as well go somewhere rather than toss and turn all night.”

“Madman,” Dorian said with a nod, chuckling at Roman’s half-tired, half-outraged expression.

“Ha,” he said. “I guess you’re not wrong.”

“You’re sleep deprived,” Logan said. 

“Eh,” Dorian waved his hand, which had a yellow glove on it that Logan hadn’t noticed before. “Same difference, right Roman?”

“Falsehood. Just because the majority of a population believes in a fact or observation does not make said fact or observation correct. For example, the geocentric theory was believed by the majority in some places for hundreds of years, until science proved them wrong.” Logan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Therefore, your statement is invalid.”

“I’m not following,” Roman mumbled. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Dorian locked eyes with Logan and grinned again. “This has been much more invigorating than I had expected...I like you,” he announced. 

“Just like that?” another voice asked. 

“Patton!” Logan spun around, and the waiter tilted his head at him. “You...you startled me.”

“Oh, sorry!” Patton held up his hands, still smiling cheerfully (how did he do that at this hour, anyways?). “It’s just me! My other customers left, so you guys are the only ones still in here.”

“You’re bored,” Dorian stated, and Patton nodded. 

“Welcome to the table.”

“What is it with you and inviting people to a table that’s not yours?” Logan asked as he scooted aside for Patton to take a seat next to him. “Some people would consider that to be bad manners, you know.”

“You’re not ‘some people,’ however, so that statement is redundant.”

“...Fair point.”

“You guys are insane,” Roman said again. 

“Everything is insane depending on how you look at it.” Dorian looked at his empty iced tea, then shrugged and grabbed another fry. 

“Do you want a refill?” Patton asked. 

“I’d like that.”

“Can I have hot chocolate?” Roman looked up from where he’d been staring at Dorian’s gloves, tilting his head slightly. 

“Sure!” Patton got up and quickly disappeared into the back room, returning a few minutes later with the ordered items. Roman sipped at his hot chocolate and nodded. 

“This is good,” he announced loudly as he set his mug down. “Good hot chocolate.”

“A real philosopher, are you?” Dorian asked with an amused look. 

“No philosophy, only chocolate.” Roman hugged his mug close to him and began whispering something at it. Logan raised an eyebrow. 

“So...you wish to debate?” he asked slowly, locking eyes with Dorian. 

“Pick a topic,” Dorian answered, leaning back against the booth. “Whatever you want.” 

“Oooh, this is gonna be fun!” Patton grinned, reaching for a fry and munching on it while he watched. Logan leaned back in his seat as well; looking at Dorian; considering his offer. 

“Human morality,” he said at last. “Tell me your opinion.”

“You choose a fascinating topic. Kudos to you.” Dorian sipped at his new glass of iced tea. 

“It’s useless and we’re all gonna die,” said a new voice. 

“Did I advertise a party over here?” Logan looked over at the new voice, who belonged to a grumpy-looking character with purple-dyed hair and eyeshadow-smudged cheeks.

"Hey Virgil!" Patton said cheerfully. "What brings you here from the back?"

"Boredom," was the answer. Virgil pointed at Roman. "And that idiot's shouting."

"You just don't understand chocolate," Roman declared, looking up from his mug. Virgil rolled his eyes and adjusted the patch jacket around his shoulders. 

"Scoot," he said to Patton, who obligingly moved over so he could sit. Logan made a face as he retreated to the corner of his booth to make room, but didn't object.

What a night this was turning out to be.

"As I was saying," Dorian said, waving a gloved hand in the air as he spoke. “Morality. That certainly has a fascinating role in society, does it not? After all, without it we wouldn’t have a society.”

“And we’d all be dead,” Virgil added. Dorian glared at him. 

“Not my point.”

“You believe that morality is necessary to form a society?” Logan asked. 

“I believe it is necessary to form a society such as the ones we humans live in, yes.” 

“Fascinating.” Logan leaned back against his booth, automatically reaching up a hand to fidget with his tie. 

“Mmmm...chocolate,” Roman murmured into his mug. 

“I mean, think about it,” Dorian continued, glancing at Roman but ignoring his dramatic proclamation. “Without morality, we would have no system of justice, which can only logically produce anarchy. The system of ‘strongest wins all’ would be the only system, larger governments couldn’t possibly form, and so on and so forth. Morality is necessary for the existence of society, and also beneficial to those who know how to exploit it.”

“Which is why it is not the groundwork of society, but a mere addition,” Logan cut in. “After all, society cannot exist without structure, no matter how advanced the morals of its citizens are. Logically, people will naturally come together for the benefit of the group, and a system of justice would arise by itself in order to preserve the good of the many. Therefore, morality isn’t necessary for justice at all; rather, it can actually hinder it due to the actions of those with morals that are considered to be ‘bad.’” He leaned forward and took a sip from his tea with a smirk, watching Dorian for a reaction. The other man grinned at him for the third time that night. 

“Well done, Logan,” he said. “I applaud you.” He raised an eyebrow. “So, you believe morals are unnecessary?” 

“They are for me.” At last, Logan himself grinned, sliding the bill over to Dorian and standing up. 

“Checkmate.”

[adorable-elsanna]

I don't mean to be rude, and I apologize in advance if I am!! But why do you ship this nd WHY does this ship exist? Aren't Elsa and Anna sisters? And blood related at that. I don't want to hate on ships, you can ship washer you want as long as you aren't hurting anybody!! It's just that ships like these with incest startle me a bit. Maybe I'm just confused since I really shipped Kistof and Anna so I'm missing out on this? Ahhh sorry if this is annoying!! -confused anon

 Hi Confused Anon ( aren’t we all? ;) ),

Thanks for your polite ask, lol finally I get to dust off this blog’s ask box! :)) I’d love to respond with a whole essay xDD but I don’t really have time :’( so maybe I’ll just give a quick rundown for now. 

I might not be the most representative person to pose this question to lol because I am an outlier in general, meaning due to my life experiences, my development, my major in college, my deep meditation practice, and more, I do not abide by normative, dominant, hegemonic social structures and social constructs (nor do I actively resist them per se), so I am unfazed by anything. 

I started shipping this after I watched the first movie when it came out in Nov. 2013. One of my first posts on this blog, 7 years ago, was me explaining how I came to ship this (I had made the post private, but now you can read it here. Also this other post, but I wrote it when I was a college student, so it’s a little too analytical for my tastes now. Those were my views at the time). 7 years is a long time, so my mindsets and reasonings have changed, but all the reasons I had for shipping them from before are still with me today. 

I didn’t go into the movie with the intention to ship them, but while watching it, I picked up on a lot of chemistry between them because their interactions and even storyline were infused with strong popular romantic tropes, tropes that were used in other classic Disney movies themselves. I used to watch a lot of romantic comedies so I was very familiar with common romantic tropes. Of course, having came away from the movie having noticed all these romantic notes between them, I was a little confused and thought maybe it was just me. But when I went online to search a bit to see if others saw/felt what I saw, I found out it wasn’t just me! 

So one of the reasons why this ship exists is because people picked up on the romantic tropes that colored some of Elsa and Anna’s interactions, tropes that have usually only appeared between romantic couples, in films and in real life. Even if the creators didn’t intend to and didn’t actively put the tropes there, they are there. 

If we apply the principles of Buddhism (not the religion. Many ppl mistakenly practice things as devotional worship or for superstitious reasons. But if ppl really want to know everything about the mind, how the world works, the universe, who they are, about themselves and “other” people and why people do what they do, the meaning of life, true happiness, the end of suffering and stress and conflict, and consciousness, then forget psychology [not saying it’s not useful though]. Buddhism, or rather Buddhadharma, is the true science of mind, or at least the much more effective tool), it says that there is the law of cause and effect, the universal law. Everything that is created in the universe and each phenomenon that happens is the result of the momentary coming together of causes and conditions that make that thing happen. There are many many causes and conditions and intricacies and things are interconnected and interdependent, no one person can control something to happen (certain conditions have to be there for something to happen). Something can not come from nothing. If something happens, then certain causes and conditions have been created to bring that result. A seed was planted. If we plant an apple seed, what comes out will be an apple tree (provided the right conditions were met, like water, soil, sunlight, etc.). It will never come out as a banana tree. And so we can understand the underlying principle behind how each situation and phenomenon arises, about existence itself, why each thing exists. 

Now WHY did I go off on that tangent??? LOL All of this is to say that certain causes and conditions have been created to result in the effect of many people shipping Elsa and Anna together and there being a fandom for them. (These principles and explanations might seem very simple and like kindergarten stuff, but despite that, many people can’t accept it. ESPECIALLY when it applies to heavy stuff in their regular everyday life. Or even trivial things tbh lol) The last I checked, there were people from at least 26 different countries shipping Elsa and Anna together. 

Everyone thinks they see reality exactly as it is and takes it for granted, and thus attach strongly to the notion that they’re right. But if that’s the case, then why are there so many fights over who is right? So who is actually right? Even if someone were to follow the majority consensus or some popular, ingrained, long-standing ideas / societal rules, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re right. There are many cases of the blind leading the blind. People used to follow the geocentric model of the universe before they discovered heliocentrism. Ideas are always in flux and keeps changing and transforming, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, sometimes imperceptibly and sometimes conspicuously. If you ask 100 different people why they ship Elsa and Anna, you will get 100 different answers (with a lot of overlap of course) with unique spins on their reasons. Because in the world, each person sees reality through their own color-tinted glasses and filters and adherence to labels, concepts, beliefs, upbringing, etc. And then the person seeing “reality” through red-tinted glasses gets mad at the person seeing with blue-tinted glasses for not seeing the world how they see it (and gets frustrated not understanding why), and vice versa. In this scenario, what is actually best? To realize you’re seeing “reality” through color-tinted glasses, and so you should take them off and truly see reality without any filtered lenses. (This is a little off-topic, but I had to bring some Buddhism into this because first of all, dharma applies to everything lol, and secondly, Buddhism is all about dispelling confusion. There is definitely a way to see reality exactly as it is, it typically involves meditation.) 

Yes, Elsa and Anna are sisters. But I’ve never seen any pair of sisters act like them before (if there are, then that’s great!). I have a sibling myself, and we are very close, but we don’t act like how Elsa and Anna act with each other. With most siblings, I would say there’s a lot more joking around, teasing each other, sarcasm, pranks, and casual relaxed communication than the intense intimacy, deep eye-contact, and soul-bonding that Elsa and Anna share. Disney has portrayed many other sibling relationships before, but it seems like they tried something a little different with Elsa and Anna’s relationship that made it pretty easy for many people to ship them together. 

I ship Elsa and Anna together because their pure true love for each other transcends all labels, concepts, preconceived notions, and time and space. They are completely selfless when it comes to one another and that’s what true love means. They make each other better people and it empowers them to extend this selflessness toward other people. Their sacrificing themselves for each other and selflessness in action is true love exemplified. No one deserves Elsa more than Anna, and no one deserves Anna more than Elsa (speaking from my shipper heart xD). Confining and defining their love as just sisterly seems limiting and not allowing the full potential of their true, expansive, infinite love to manifest. (A sibling relationship is really beautiful, but it still has to be shaped and look a certain way, it has to fit into a particular mold and box and abide by certain conditions. Otherwise, as we have incontrovertibly seen, people will scream bloody murder and be squicked out and all hell will break loose.)  

We can even go one step further to say that the same similarly applies to people’s definitions, notions, concepts, ideas, and beliefs about love. They say this love is like this and that love is like that, this is what love should look like, this person can love this person but only if it’s like this and not like that, this is what it means to love and to be loved, etc. Again, it’s limiting, and placing restrictions on something whose essence is boundless. In Buddhism, with the realization of Enlightenment, one realizes that true love is selfless, unconditional, boundless, free, all-encompassing, nondual, timeless, compassionate, wise, nondiscriminating, infinite, universal, endlessly flowing, non-judgmental, creative, indescribable, and inconceivable. So THIS is the love that I see and ship between Elsa and Anna. I love their relationship as sisters, but their love is so grand that it cannot be contained inside that label, so it transcends and goes beyond any attempts to neatly define and characterize it.

It’s okay if incest ships startle you. Uncomfortable feelings come up whenever the ego experiences anything that challenges its worldview and everything it’s ever known and held to be true, and that prompts it to question and reconsider its mind-constructs. We have a knee-jerk reaction to grasp, hold, and attach to what we like, and to avoid, reject, and push away what we don’t like and what makes us feel uncomfortable. For what it’s worth, Buddhism tells about the cycle of life, death, and rebirth from beginningless time, so we have all lived infinite past lives and been each other’s lovers, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, enemies, grandparents, etc. at one point or another. (Deep, but intriguing!, topics for another time.)  

If you really like to ship Krist0ff and Anna, then go ahead and ship happily. First rule of Buddhist meditation: Whatever you do, ONLY DO IT, 100%. ;) And if you don’t do something, then don’t do it, 100%. And then move on to the next moment. Be in the present moment. And remember that everything is changing moment by moment. Mind is changing moment by moment. Don’t need to anticipate the next moment. Who knows where our shipper hearts will take us. 

I like to ship people based on their chemistry and characterization. Elsa and Anna have a great true love story that is theirs and theirs alone. I don’t like to ship relationships that seem contrived, thrown in there for the sake of it, not fleshed out, lacking in substance, trite, and with characters who are underwhelming or underdeveloped. 

Lol no worries, this is not annoying, I’m sorry this is so long and that I took 7 days to get back to you. I wish I could give specific examples from the movies with beautiful gifs to explain why I ship them (I’ve probably written such posts in the past. Maybe I’ll come back to edit this reply one day), but I’ve gotta skedaddle! I’d like to hear your thoughts about my reply if you actually read this, so please send me a message in the ask box again if you can. 

Also I’m a girl if that makes any difference, but yeah anyway, skedaddle time, love you all! 

Oooooh I never finished replying to someone else’s ask box message asking me why I shipped them, it’s from years ago :’(, I started typing my reasons and saved it in my drafts, but it’s incomplete. But here’s what I wrote at the time!

1. I just love everything that Elsa and Anna feel and do for each other. Elsa isolates herself from Anna to keep her safe, and Anna persists in trying to get Elsa to open up to her and goes to find her when she runs away. They’re always thinking of each other and worrying about each other. They act selflessly for one another and their unconditional love is expressed so genuinely. This kind of devotion in any relationship is rare.

2. There was a lot of chemistry between them in the movie. At the coronation ball scene, I get that the creators were trying to depict awkwardness between them since they haven’t spoken in a long time, and Anna wanted reassurance that Elsa didn’t hate her so she was nervous about getting Elsa’s attention and approval, but the scene came off as Elsa being kind of suave and flirty and Anna being flustered because her crush just complimented her. Then Anna gave Elsa a playful smile when she was dipped upside-down as if she only had eyes for Elsa.

When Anna stares admiringly at Elsa as she stands atop the staircase, it was like a scene straight out of A Cinderella Story or Enchanted where the prince stares at his true love like she took his breath away.