#ultimate mathematician

[smimon]

this is your blog, and so the decisions are yours to make. also i hope the problems you face will become easier to manage and your pain eases soon.

Thank you for your kind words anon! That's very sweet of you ^^ maybe today will be a slightly more bearable day knowing that there are people out there wishing me well 👌

[cryptotheism]

whos the most wretched no good scoundrel wizard of each century and which one would win in a fight

CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY BRACKET: A lot of ancient sources are poorly dated, so I tried to pick the most conclusive numbers I could. Like half of these guys might not have existed at all.

1st century - Atomus, Cypriot magician mentioned in Antiquities of The Jews. According to Josephus, he was the magician that Antonius Felix hired to cast some sort of love spell.

2nd century - Apsethus the Lybian. Mentioned in Refutation of All Heresies. Told people he was god. Trained parrots to say "Apsethus is God." Died when the Lybians burned him alive.

3rd century - Zosimos of Panopolis. Notably had an arch-rival, another alchemist named Nilos.

4th century - St. Cyprian the Magician. Probably didn't exist. Supposedly sent demons to torture people.

5th century - Hypatia. Not a wizard per se but was lynched by Christians for being a pagan philosopher and I think that should count for something.

MEDIEVAL BRACKET: Very little concrete information survives from this era. A lot of the people on this list are only here because they are the only person from their century who could reasonably be called an occultist.

6th century - We are hitting the dark ages its hard to name people from this period. I can't name an occultist who was conclusively alive in this period, its a bit of a gap.

7th century - Maybe Khalid ibn Yazid but its very possible that the alchemical works attributed to him are done falsely.

8th century - Jabir ibn Hayyan, but he was multiple people writing alchemical doxography under one name.

9th century - Abu Bakr al-Razi. But lets be real he was barely an occultist he was more like a science teacher who happened to be alive in the 9th century. His work is pretty anti-esoteric.

10th century - Ibn Umayl. One of the only people alive in the 10th century who could be called an occultist.

11th century - Al Tughrai. Same difference. Also translated Zoismos.

12th century - Sir Michael Scott. The Scottish mathematician and alchemist.

13th century - Roger Bacon. Only gets the spot because I think he could beat up Albertus Magnus and Pietro D'abano who were both weak as fuck monks.

14th century - Nicholas Flamel. Weak as fuck scribe but most of the other occultists in this century were burned at the stake.

RENAISSANCE BRACKET - Lots more to choose from here, but we are still in weak as fuck monk territory.

15th century - Paracelsus. Infamously feisty, and could definitely kick Johannes Trithemius's ass.

16th century - Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. Was literally a mercenary who fought in wars. Uncontested winner of his century.

ENLIGHTENMENT BRACKET - Way way way way more to choose from here. Newton is a wildcard for this era but I decided to chose more solid picks.

17th century - Jacob Bruce. Was a general for Peter the Great. Could definitely beat Fludd and Ashmole in a fight.

18th century - Count of St. Germain. Very little real information about him, but I suspect he is scrappy enough to beat Swedenborg.

19th century - Grigori Rasputin. Legendarily difficult to kill.

MODERNITY BRACKET

20th century - Rudolph Hess. Nazi occultist who worked out and took a lot of amphetamines.

21st century - Genesis P-Orridge. I have no doubt they could take Jodorowsky.

FINAL VERDICT

In my mind its a toss up between Agrippa, Hess, and Rasputin. Hess was trained in combat, but he's nervous and flighty. Rasputin was infamously difficult to kill, but I don't know how good his offense would be. Agrippa was also trained in combat, and was famously scrappy and clever, but is the weakest physical specimen of the three.

I think ultimately, given his sheer record of indestructibility, Rasputin takes the whole cake.

[phantomyre]

Vincent may be aware of the multiverse (UPDATE. MORE DATA DISCOVERED)

Firstly-- credit to @XTurkValentine (Twitter) who graciously shared this information with us. They connected with mathematicians and asked them to deduce what was written in Vincent's basement, and what they discovered seems to imply something fascinating about Vincent...

According to the math professors who studied this image, Vincent used a mixture of several mathematical equations, including the following:

Calculus with integrations, differential equations, summation notations, probability, statistics, complex analysis, physics, etc.

What's more interesting is that there's evidence of quantum mechanics. For example:

∫f(ϕ(x))dx: represents integrating a function over a space

P(A)=P(B)P(A∣B): describes conditional probabilities of events

In other words-- this all suggests that Vincent is aware of the multiverse as well as how different events are affected by them. His awareness of how the planet functions may even be similarly in tune with what Sephiroth knows. This further implies that there is a small chance Vincent is also aware of Chaos and his ultimate fate when it comes to the planet's function. Granted, he may not have the whole picture as much of that should still be hidden in Lucrecia's missing files. Nevertheless, if all of this tracks, this implies that Vincent may not be quite as oblivious as he was in Dirge of Cerberus.

[snorpyz]

Comfort.

You need to keep your cool in a moment like this, keep a steady head. When you find it hard to do so, it's never a bad idea for a friend to help.

Astro & Reader.

You couldn't help it. Every battered breath came out stuttered, your head pushed hard against your knees. Can't do this anymore, you just can't. You'd try and hold back your whimpers in fear of garnering attention from the fucked up "twisteds" that were no doubt taking a bite outta your friends right now, but you just couldn't keep your cries down.

This was unbearable. The absolute worst. Here you were, just trying to help the toons out, joining one of their runs, and suddenly it went from 8 to 3. Five people downed on one floor. All cuz of what looked to be a fucked up imitation of Pebble.

First you heard the screams. You'd jumped, hands clenching around the machine you were extracting ichor from. Missed a skillcheck, couldn't keep your hands from trembling and messing it all up. Then, when the sound of thundering footsteps came racing towards you, you ran out from a corner and immediately smacked into Glisten.

Whatever was chasing you had made the split second decision to lean down, and take a bite outta him right in front of you. The look in his eyes, the weird gurgle he'd made from between its jaws, you couldn't keep yourself from emptying your stomach right then and there. Thankfully, your survival instinct was still intact, and you'd leapt towards another room.

4 out of 8 machines done, with incredibly dwindling numbers. It didn't take a mathematician to know you're all fucked. So here you are, losing your mind about it while huddled behind some crates. Your muffled whimpers had quickly evolved into full body sobs, all will to persevere overshadowed by watching a friend take the brunt of your panic-stricken mistakes.

Holy shit, you should've just stayed cooped up in the lobby. With Glisten's extraction speed, there might have been a good chance you'd all have been able to make it out of here. You missed Flutter. She was here for a moment, and then vanished as if something had plucked her out of existence. You prayed it wasn't painful. Prayed it wasn't anything like what you'd just witnessed.

It's getting worse now, your fearful cries. You wouldn't be able to stop the noise from building, even if you'd covered your mouth with more than your hands. You can faintly tune in to those awful footsteps, and they're approaching steadily.

You're not sure if you give up. You can't bring yourself to stop crying, but maybe when the vile thing approaches you'll try and struggle, kick off with your feet and make a break for it.

When something touches your shoulder, you almost squeal. A hand clasps around your mouth and pulls you into a body that's oddly cold. You flail, but ultimately jerk to a stop when three more appendages wrap around you to still your movement.

What? It's offputting enough to make you still, whimpers catching in your throat as you throw your head back, trying to see what exactly has you trapped.

Oh.

When you meet his eyes, you expect to see fright. The same dread that has haunted each of you before you'd even set foot in the elevator.

Instead, you see that he's calm. Unfettered. Almost serene in the way that he looks at you. As if he's relieved- that it wasn't you that had been splattered against the ground.

It makes you freeze, to see such an expression at a time like this. Confusion scrunches your brows, your hands reaching up to layer his own.

"Astro?" You mouth against his hand. He blinks for a moment, a nod coming in response.

"You need to be quiet." He whispers, drawing closer. One of his hands pulls his blanket around you, almost as if attempting to hide you from sight. You're startled by the soft hum that rumbles through him, and even moreso shocked by the lull that encompasses your body. You sag, breathing taking a sharp dive before oddly evening out.

You knew he had the ability to put others to sleep. You'd also known he could manipulate dreams, since he'd offered multiple times to help you with yours. However, you had no idea he could soothe you to this degree. Not while awake, at least.

Nobody could blame you for the way you sunk into the body behind you, slouching and almost curling up. With the sudden relaxation you felt, all the adrenaline that had built up was released. You felt more exhausted than ever. It was obvious, to you, that this was where you crashed.

Not a good time to do it, that's for sure. But hey, if you wanted someone to blame for that, Astro is indeed right there.

"Better?" He sighs out, hand moving away from your mouth. You wondered if your breath was disturbing to someone who ran so cold. You couldn't imagine someone with cold breath breathing all over you. Eugh.

He seems to notice you've drifted a bit, no longer aware of the situation at hand. You feel one of his hands squeeze your shoulder, and his humming comes to a stop. Dazed, you peer back at him, realizing he'd wanted a response.

"Yeah. Way better. Thank you." It's stilted, and you feel the urge to yawn. Astro stares at you for a moment more, before looking to the side of the crates. You want to follow his gaze, but one of his hands covers your eyes.

You almost mumble out a question, but he shushes you. You're in too much of a daze to argue so you simply lean back and rest for a moment. It takes a few minutes, where your heart pounds in your ears with an eerie rhythm. Thump, thump, thump.

It's an odd beat, but you try not to mind it. Just relax.

It passes, and suddenly Astro is scooting to your side. You open your eyes again, and see him lean forward to almost methodically scan your body. "We'll have to run for it." He takes a hand in his, (you'd never seen him use his actual arms nor hands for anything), and closes his eyes.

A bright, ethereal light dances across the floor around you- and you feel refreshed. The heavy weight of exhaustion drains from your body, and you almost jump up from the hectic energy of it all. You do lean over though, feeling as if he'd dumped cold water all over you.

"Astro?" You warble, the weight of your situation tightening your throat.

"You'll be okay." He shushes you, offering one of his rare smiles. He pauses, peering over the crates and listening. "They're down the other hallway. Run to the left, go straight, I'll be right on your heels the whole time."

You nod. The direction feels relieving, imperative to your survival. You'll get out of this, you'll be okay.

You've both got this. You can't bring yourself to smile at him, not with all that you've seen this last floor, but you're extremely grateful you'll be making this last push with him at your side.

You hear the almost imperceptible sound of a machine go off, followed by two more almost in unison. They must have primed them. That seems to be what Astro had been waiting for, since he ushers you up and forward.

"Let's go."

It'll be okay.

1st time writing for Astro! Can be seen as platonic or romantic, lmk if u want a part 2. :] Thanks 4 reading!

[blackvoids]

Ratio would be more narratively interesting, and less like this satirical Danganronpa Ultimate if he had made some kind of secret deal with Nous after being rejected from the genius society. Throwing himself destructively into being a vessel for the god due to the crushing shame of unrealized ambitions? Consider.

HSR truly doesn't know how to write him — is he supposed to be absurd with his 8 PhDs in the context of absurd world building OR are we as the audience falling into this trap by not thinking "Occam's razor, it's not possible for someone even in this worldbuilding context to have 8 PhDs at this age without being a fraud, a demigod (*still possible) or pulling strings"

We still don't know what the deal is with him and Amphoreus, so I guess it remains to be seen. He should have context beyond being inherently amusing because it's genuinely dull. HSR loves their nonsensical Gary Stu characters and while it can work if one leans into it, it feels like they're straddling a midpoint with his writing. The duality of self-devaluing comments from himself (admittedly common for successful mathematicians in published writings — e.g. G.H. Hardy, or Silvanus P. Thompson's constant calling of himself and everyone else "FOOL") juxtaposed next to the lore taking the piss out of his achievements creates this uncanny and unbalanced tone.

It's not deep. I know he was made to make people wank off, spend money, and play the game more often (he literally wears a harness) but that's also not the point. Can you people competently write someone interesting for once? He has a lot of interesting potential to be a real savant in one or two areas, sure, or even just plainly a genius but still with a non deus ex machina solution to his struggles?

It's not just lazy, it's boring, and I think he suffers as a character because of it. Maybe he's satisfying enough to people by toeing the line between parody and genuine, but I think evidently most of his success comes from his visual gimmicks, and dynamic with Aventurine.

Someone confiscate this man's 7 other PhDs or at least give him a really interesting narrative reason for how he even has them. Please. Or don't, whatever, leave the endless fountain of "compelling mediocrity" alone

[viewofagarden]

[DW x DR] Toon Ultimates

Just a fun idea: What if the Dandy's World Toons had talents like in Danganronpa? And yes some of them are gonna share talents with the canon DR characters. Not counting Pebble or Coal because they are dogs.

For the record, I'm not making a Danganronpa AU. Though I might use this talent Idea for a different AU in the future.

Dandy: Ultimate Botanist/Gardener Astro: Ultimate Astronomer Bassie: Ultimate Florist Blot: Ultimate Mime Bobette: Ultimate Toymaker Boxten: Ultimate Musician Brightney: Ultimate Librarian Cocoa: Ultimate Chocolatier Connie: Ultimate Prankster Cosmo: Ultimate Patisserie Eggson: Ultimate Egg Hunter Finn: Ultimate Fisherman Flutter: Ultimate Aerialist Flyte: Ultimate Scrapbooker Gigi: Ultimate Collector Ginger: Ultimate Decorator Glisten: Ultimate Makeup Artist Goob: Ultimate Track Star??? (Based on his stats/distractor play style) Looey: Ultimate Clown Poppy: Ultimate Fashionista (Based on her dialogue) Razzle and Dazzle: Ultimate Thespians Rodger: Ultimate Detective Rudie: Ultimate Deliveryman? (Cause you know, reindeer, Santa, delivering presents?) Scraps: Ultimate Artisan (You know, like someone that makes crafts?) Shelly: Ultimate Paleontologist Shrimpo: Ultimate Brawler Sprout: Ultimate Baker Teagan: Ultimate Hostess Tisha: Ultimate Housekeeper/Maid Toodles: Ultimate Lucky Girl (Based on her ability) Vee: Ultimate TV Host Yatta: Ultimate Acrobat

And for the OC's (under the "read more")

Ace: Ultimate Magician/Illusionist Annie: Ultimate Party Planner Barry: Ultimate Bodyguard Booklyn: Ultimate Novelist Calvin: Ultimate Mathematician Chillian: Ultimate Snowboarder Clover: Ultimate Treasurer Claude: Ultimate Painter DJ: Ultimate Disc Jockey Frankie: Ultimate Inventor Geo: Ultimate Navigator Halo: Ultimate Peacekeeper Luci: Ultimate Troublemaker Oakley: Ultimate Zoologist Pearl: Ultimate Marine Biologist Pimenta: Ultimate Chef Pixi: Ultimate Fairy Godmother/Wish Granter Pomela: Ultimate Cheerleader Qwerty: Ultimate Programmer Raine: Ultimate Weather Forecaster Romeo: Ultimate Matchmaker Rugby: Ultimate Soccer Star Sam: Ultimate Gamer Shotson: Ultimate Doctor Stitch: Ultimate Seamstress Ticker: Ultimate Timekeeper Webby: Ultimate Entomologist Zester: Ultimate Electrician (Cause lemon batteries)

[cafejulii]

Currently thinking of how hxh 1999 had that additional phase in the hunter exam in which Kurapika almost gets himself and the 24 other applicants killed for Leorio's sake, albeit, indirectly.

All the applicants had to work together to restart an abandoned battleship so they could evacuate the island they were stationed at, as it was about to be about to be hit by a massive hurricane. The storm was to leave everything, including the entirety of the island, underwater.

Everyone was assigned specific tasks by Hanzo and Kurapika who acted as co-captains. The problem was, that not only did the ship need to be powered, but it was stuck in three specific places. The hull of the ship especially, so much so, that they had to use the ship's ammunition instead of regular explosives to free it; the majority of which were underwater. Leorio was assigned to retrieve them using the only diving suit available on board, and though he managed to get them all up to the surface; he gets knocked unconscious while coming up by debris that fell due to the minor explosives used to free the other two portions of the ship.

As the storm grew closer, Kurapika ended up becoming mostly in charge of giving out commands to everyone as he was the mathematician of the group, calculating the impact and angle of the explosions from the captain’s pit and also taking note of when the storm was to hit.

It is also around this time that Hanzo tells him that Leorio never came back, meaning he was almost dead. At the very mention of this, Kurapika begins to severely panic despite the fact they are almost free; the last thing they needed was Kurapika's command and ignition from the captain's pit to free the hull so they can all escape.

In reality, all Kurapika needed to do was push a single button. Gave out a single command. But yet, he just stood there, in complete despair, as Hanzo was screaming at him through the intercom to stop waiting because they had just a single minute left.

It was only until Killua realized what was going on, and told Kurapika that Gon successfully brought Leorio back and instantly; he snaps out of the daze he was in and confidently gives the final instructions to everyone so the ship could leave just in time.

The plot twist, though, was that Killua was not 100% sure if Gon ever actually returned with Leorio. He just saw Gon proclaim he was going to dive in to save Leorio (and had faith that it would happen because he has faith in Gon) but it was ultimately a lie to get Kurapika out of his head for the benefit of everyone on board.

(I mean, yes, Killua was right but still?!)

This fact alone makes me really wonder: if Killua hadn’t said that, would Kurapika have given the final orders in time? Or would he have waited one more minute just for the slightest chance? A minute in which they absolutely did not have.

This entire episode creates such a brutal moral situation, and honestly, it really sounds like the version of the trolley problem in which that single person on the tracks is someone you care about. I know this arc isn't canon, as a lot of scenes in the 1999 version aren't, but if I EVER hear y’all say that Kurapika doesn’t care about his friends, especially Leorio…..lord.

[thetelesterion]

"Revered Hypatia, ornament of learning, stainless star of wise teaching, when I see thee and thy discourse I worship thee, looking on the starry house of the Virgin [Virgo]; for thy business is in heaven."

Palladas, Greek Anthology (XI.400)

Hypatia, born in Alexandria sometime between 350-370 CE, was a renowned scholar, mathematician, and philosopher in the Neoplatonic tradition. Her father, Theon of Alexandria, was likely the figure who nurtured her desire for learning and knowledge. She succeeded him as the head of his school, and went on to teach people from different walks of life-- polytheists, Christian, and everything in between. She taught anyone who entered her school with a longing to understand the complexities of the world around them.

Unfortunately, during this time, violence between the different religious groups of Alexandria was reaching a critical point. Riots broke out between Christians, Jews and polytheists, and Hypatia eventually became the target of many Christians, due to her associations with prominent officials of the city, such as Orestes, who was caught in a feud with the Christian Patriarch, Cyril.

Ultimately, in 415 CE, during Lent, a Christian mob pulled her out of her carriage as she was travelling, dragged her to a church, stripped her naked and hit her with roof tiles until she was torn to pieces. They then burned her body.

Blessed Hypatia, pray on behalf of all who face religous discrimination and violence.

(Painting is "Hypatia" by Scott Burdick, 2009)

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Wenn es gar so dunkel ist in deinem Leben, sieh doch einmal nach, ob es nicht am Ende daher kommt, daß alle deine Fensterläden verschlossen sind.

If your life is so dark, just take a look and see if it isn't ultimately because all your shutters are closed.

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630), German natural philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, optician and Protestant theologian

[max1461]

Physics, math, and computer science involve similar kinds of intellectual labor, a kind which I broadly enjoy, and I think ultimately a part of what drew me to math so much more strongly than these other fields is that I like it's culture much much better. I find the culture of mathematicians lovely, and spending time in their spaces generally makes me happy (which, in addition to being interested in the content, is why I recreationally read MathOverflow—it's fun to listen to mathematicians talk!). On the other hand I find the culture of physics moderately offputting and the culture of tech deeply offputting, with the exception of certain pleasant oases.

[insociometry]

Dearest Inso I am so glad you’re going down this rabbit hole with me 💕💕💕

I think my notes might be just as chaotic as yours but they make sense to ME ya know?

:I’m just doing the Hyung line so I’m not sending a full novel lol

if you want the maknae line let me know!

But BASICALLY, it panned out to:

Chan:

Neutral Good Paladin/Bard. Oath of Glory(his noterietay is directly correlated to is musical accomplishments)/college of creation bard(I don’t need to expand on this one. It’s obvious.) Folk hero background (connections with lots of other idols and people in the industry from years as a trainee and accomplishments within that time.) with the Mobile feat (read: any race Chan has participated in. The man can HAUL ASS)

Additional Notes: I considered also giving him the resilient feat as well, but ultimately went with Mobile because it matches more.

Bonus: oath of devotion could work well for him too. I get weepy thinking about his ending ments during the maniac tour where he swore to protect STAY with his entire being. I could go either way with him as far as his oath goes

Lee Know:

Chaotic neutral monk/bard. Way of the open hand (he is a skilled martial artist but is partial to boxing) college of valor (much like how college of valor bards are able to fill almost any role in a party, LeeKnow is able to fill almost any role in the group. We have seen him not only dance, but also sings well and is one of the heads of visualracha for a reason) with the entertainer background (because of his history as a backup dancer)

Additional notes: His STR stat is higher than his physical build suggests(read: has held the weight of 5 other members on his back to keep Hannie and Chan from being crushed, Piggybacking Chan(one of the larger members of the group) and DANCING, piggybacking Jeongin and Hyunjin members at once, casually princess carrying Hannie like he weighs nothing, I can go on)

Bonus: Though Lee Know is chaotic neutral, Leebit would be neutral evil 😈 🐰

Changbin:

Chaotic good paladin/bard. Oath of the ancients(he is one of the mood makers of the group. We often see him be the one to turn bad energy around. He DETESTS people who deliberately hurt others*cough*jyp*cough*especially those smaller than himself, and his motivation to get strong being a defense mechanism because of bad experiences with allergies, basically just essence wanting to protect himself and his members and being super babygirl about it, is what set him firmly in this oath for me)/college of eloquence(the wordsmith bard? Need I say more?) and sage background(he’s wicked smart! Basically a mathematician)

Additional notes: I actually initially put down Binnie as a Champion fighter/bard. But his big heart and dedication to members and STAY ultimately put him squarely in paladin territory

Bonus: I HC that when he’s all ornery and hangry, the members joke that he’s going into a barbarian rage. He whines about it, and the members reassure him that they will get him food soon enough. All is forgiven if it’s a carbonara pasta.

Hyunjin:

True neutral College of swords bard(our first non-multiclass!) entertainer background (specifically referring to his art school background)

Additional notes: I went with college of swords because of his propensity for swinging swords/finesse weapons during performances. His flow and body control made me consider making him a multiclass monk, however, as the leader of paboracha, I couldn’t in good consciousness make him a wisdom-dependent player (I’m so sorry Jinnie 🫶🏽💕)

Bonus: He arguably has the highest charisma score of any of the Kids. Possibly second only to Felix. (I mean, he was blind scouted at a mall for goodness sake!) and likely his second highest stat would be Dex.

~~~

Whoops I said I wouldn’t send a novel but it looks like I did anyway! 🫣 let me know what you think and if you want me to send the rest 🫶🏽🫶🏽✨💕

Notes making sense to you is the most important thing! 🫶 But also I actually think these are super legible!!!

Mobile Chan made me laugh, you're so right 😭 Ohhh Oath of Devotion hurts my heart for him... but I like both!!!!

Help Changbin barbarian rage-- I can hear the banter now!!

No wisdom for Jinnie made me laugh 😆 And his swordssssssss...!!! 💛💛💛💛💛

I loved this so much, thank you so much for showing me 🥺🥺 Pleeeaaaase do send more!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺💛💛💛

[wandaboba]

Hi, I’m struggling with using manifestation to improve my grades. I’m a high school student in the U.S., and last semester, I failed Algebra 2 😬 (I know, I know—yikes!). Honestly, I think part of the problem was the teacher. Math has always been a tough subject for me; I haven’t done great in my previous high school math classes either.

That said, I’m determined to turn things around. My ultimate goal is to achieve a 4.0 unweighted GPA and rank #1 in my class.

Heyyy I would love to give you the best advice possible xx!

First let’s look at you beliefs: (the ones I’ve picked up on and if there’s more be sure to deal with em)

- you struggle with manifestation around improving grades

- you failed algebra 2

- you have a bad math teacher

- maths always been a tough subject for you

You’ve been manifesting and persisting in the fact you have bad grades perfectly!! Now I need to to persist the opposite…

- manifesting good grades is super easy for you

- you passed Algebra 2 with flying colours

- your math teacher is so perfect for your learning style it’s honestly crazy

- math has always been that subject that just clicks for you

- your the best mathematician in your school and even graduated with a 4.0 unweighted GPA

Now do you see how natural & simple manifestation is? You’ve been manifesting bad grades without even realising it! Anyways I would advise incorporating these new beliefs into your day to day life until it feels natural and like you don’t even need to affirm (I suggest saturation sessions and if you don’t know what that is go to Taylor tookes on YouTube and she has a vid on it). You could do this a couple ways whether that be affirmations or visualisation, which you repeat during saturation sessions or when opposing thoughts come up. Just remember you don’t need any of this, you just need to accept it as true but if you having trouble accepting it that’s when affirmations and visualisation can come in handy!

I know you can do this my luv have fun and can I just say how amazed I am by your math skills? Like seriously wow… 🤩

[pinazee]

If you’re so smart, then why are you dead?

To start, heres a list of scientists that some characters were named after:

Lisa Meitner (physicist, bad bitch)

Otto Hahn (physicist)

Kurt Gödel (mathematician) (shawn was sort of correct with the pronunciation)

Robert Goddard (physicist)

William Shockley (racist)

I thought this was an accident because James seems to snicker after but apparently it was planned by Dulé’s stand in Gyle (Gile?)

Gus really should have known this was Avogadros number if he took any kind of chemistry.

Were they originally going to have Shawns mom a cop too and thats why he said he was born with “an extra normal amount [of paranormalevolance]. Two cops to be exact.” I have a vague memory of someone mentioning it on a commentary.

I wish they had let Juliet have a little more participation in the solve and therefore the victory. Or better yet, gave her a separate case to solve on her own so we saw her really get a win under her belt. She could still ask Shawn for advice, or maybe while he’s doing his whole psychic episode bit to give her a clue she solves it without him, and Shawns left standing impressed. But also, you’re telling me that she wasn’t the primary when she went undercover at the sorority??

The way Dulé says “i never got carsick a day in my life!” ABSOLUTELY SENDS ME

But what really made the Gusters keep him from going? Was it just their overprotectiveness? Was shawn really his only friend? Are they still trying to protect him from the truth?

Somehow i got it in my brain that Shawn was responsible for Gus not getting in. I think i headcanoned that so hard i made it feel true lol i thought Shawn knew the whole time (i mean he must have seen Gus practicing and being extra anxious about something) and he somehow convinced his parents that Gus wouldn’t have been happy there. maybe part of that was true, but little Shawn just didn’t want him to go.

Either way, if the Gusters were actually concerned about quality of life, then they chose Gus’s happiness over his success which is such a juxtaposition to Shawn and his dad.

Or maybe they visited the school and saw a kid getting shocked and said fuck that.

Here’s another instance of Gus looking for where he went wrong in life. If only he’d spelt aggiornamento correctly, if only he’d gone to Meitner. Gus seems so unhappy with himself, and theres this underlying narrative happening that Gus might actually be depressed. Like in 9 lives when he’s convincing himself he’s happy, or in down the stretch when Shawn says Gus needed a victory more than him at the moment. This poor guy spent so much of his life being told he would go far, that he could do anything, so when he didn’t, he felt like a failure. And I don’t think that was his parents fault necessarily, i think he put that pressure on himself, simply because it was expected. He was the gifted kid who burned out, and now he’s settled into something safe, reliable, and unfulfilling.

Then you have this chess match with Shawn and Henry and we see Shawn demonstrate his own genius. But the juxtaposition here is that shawns pressure was external. Shawn also had the potential to go far but that ultimately isn’t what he strives for. Shawn just wants to have a good, fun life. Probably because his dad sucked the fun out of everything (let the kid call the knight Dwight, jesus henry).

Sidenote: I’m obsessed with finding this blonde guy in the background now haha

[mitigatedchaos]

Some of the recent discussion on who is "left-wing" or "right-wing" reminds of a discussion on the definition of "left-wing" that I saw on Twitter.

l0m3z, a political officer in the Trump coalition, called for the development of a new coherent right-wing vision.

st_rev, a self-identified daoist, former mathematician, and disabled wiseman on the bird website, said:

The reason this is a problem is that there's no 'right wing' and there never was; the right is paraphyletic, which is to say that it's all the branches of Ideology that aren't part of the Left. It's defined only by opposition and has no essence to locate. Any bid to put forth a positive identity for the right is as valid as any other, which is to say meaningless. If you have a positive identity, you aren't part of (and don't need) the Right, except in the sense that the Left still hates you and wants you dead. So it goes.

Emmet Shear asked:

What’s the essence of the left? I agree about the right but the left seems similarly lacking in essence.

st_rev said:

Millenarian Christianity minus Jesus. Sort of a steadfastly unreflective desire to be the World's Savior without any interest in checking whether the world's actually getting saved. That's the flippant vibes version, the historical cladistics are much less ambiguous so I assumed you didn't want that part.

a poster said:

The left is anti-market, the right is anti-left.

st_rev said:

I think this is true but contingent! The left being anti-market ultimately stems from the fact that the market accomplishes the things the left thinks only it can do. No point being a messiah if the people are already saving themselves. And the right being anti-left follows from the left aggressively trying to crush its competitors. It's baked into the slur 'reactionary'; a 'reactionary' is anybody who 'reacts', ie doesn't face the wall quietly when the lefties try to shoot them.

another poster said:

By this definition, wouldn't almost any amount of redistributive investment or social insurance be "right-wing" as long as someone stopped by to make sure it actually worked?

st_rev said:

To the hardcore left, that kind of thing is absolutely right-wing, an attempt to prevent the Revolution. They called the socdems fascist, remember. And even Hayek wasn't opposed to social insurance within reason. I should probably say that I'm putting forward a theory of the left here, not the center-left, who I think are best understood as the left's battered spouses -- they try to mollify the left, the left manipulates them.

St_rev's general theory is that people should be less invested in politics, on the grounds that it's difficult to achieve practical gains due to the epistemic environment inherent to the field. His view of "the left" can be viewed through this lens.

I don't agree with this definition, personally, but I found it striking.

[santoschristos]

“Our modern day astrophysicists and astronomers, with all their sophisticated scientific instruments, are not the only humans that have wondered what may exist at the center of our galaxy. The superb astronomers and mathematicians of the ancient Mayan civilization, also pondered this question. The Mayans knew where in the sky the exact center of the galaxy was located and they even had a glyph representing it which is now named Hunab Ku; it was known to the Mayans as The Galactic Butterfly. Their entire cosmology and extremely accurate calendars were based on the existence and location of Hunab Ku and they deeply believed that the future of mankind ultimately depends on what occurs there.” – John Ennis

Hunab Ku was, to the Mayans, the supreme God and ultimate Creator and was located in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It represented the gateway to other galaxies beyond our Sun as well as all of the consciousness that has ever existed in this, our own galaxy. Hunab Ku, according to the Mayans, is also the consciousness which organized all matter from a whirling disk – into stars, planets and solar systems. Hunab Ku is the Mother Womb which is constantly giving birth to new stars and it gave birth to our own Sun and planet Earth as well as the other planets found in our solar system. They also believed that the ultimate Creator directs everything that happens in our galaxy from its center through the emanation of periodic energy bursts of consciousness.

Today, modern astronomers have indeed verified that at the center of our Milky Way galaxy is found a “whirling disk” with a “Black Hole” at its center that is both swallowing and giving birth to stars. Could the extraordinary low frequency radio wave images discovered coming from the center of our Milky Way galaxy be programmed bursts of energy consciousness coming from the ultimate Creator… and actually be a modern manifestation of what the ancient Mayans believed? […] From: Sun-Nation

“Om Yum, Hunab Ku, Evam Maya, E Ma Ho!”

This means: ”One giver of movement and measure, All hail the unity of mind & nature!”

Hunab Ku - The Galactic Butterfly Image by Mahaboka

[commsroom]

Hello. It occurred to me recently that Hera is the only character of the main cast who is not named for an engineer/physicist/mathematician. Do u think this has any significance regarding her role on the team and her character, or not really?

(Also, the wiki says she's probably named for the Greek goddess Hera which has interesting connotations if it's true. There was also a NASA probe called Hera at some point I'm pretty sure, but I don't know which is the more likely namesake. I just enjoy the names in W359 because I am a physics student and it's fun to hear character names in all my classes.)

hi! i think the answer is kind of... yes and no? like, gabriel urbina has said his process of naming characters is first to choose a category to pick surnames from, to narrow down the options (so, in this case, famous scientists), and then to find given names that he thinks sound good with those surnames. so i don't think symbolism is the purpose, and i don't think it needs to be. but hera, obviously... doesn't have a last name. and so the way she was named (both in and out of universe) is different, and i think that does represent something.

first: hera is the mother program of the hephaestus. the hera of greek mythology is the mother of hephaestus and cast him out of the sky. the allusions are obviously intentional. (as are other mythology names in the show, but that's another topic.) second: a lot of real world things relating to space are named for mythology, and clearly cutter agrees that's how it should be done. but also: goddard's AIs share the same naming scheme with their spacecrafts. hera, rhea, eris, enlil, perseus, hyperion vs. hephaestus, hermes, tiamat, urania, valkyrie, sol. in one sense, this marks them as company property, people who are treated as equivalent to technology.

but, third: from a writing perspective, gabriel urbina has also said he only started getting a sense of who hera was when he started writing for michaela swee in the second episode; there's such a difference in how she's written just between those first two scripts. you can even see in the first recording script that her name was stylized HERA, as if it stood for something, like a much more standard AI character might have been named. which goes so far against what her name actually ended up representing that it retroactively becomes an in-universe microaggression.

and so, fourth: despite all of that, the real thing that makes hera's name stand apart is that it's a chosen name. it's offered to her, but not the way a name is given - it's a bribe, with the understanding it can be taken away from her. rachel says she can see what else is available if hera "has a problem with the etymology or any of the allusions," which is kind of interesting. but hera chooses to be hera. i don't think it's a stretch to say she has a deadname and a chosen name: that she has to introduce herself every time in a way that amounts to "i prefer to be called hera" and that her name is treated as optional and conditional, a reward for good behavior. if hera wanted to take a middle or last name, she would be choosing those, too.

i think ultimately names in wolf 359 are less about categorization and/or symbolism and more about identity. names are symbols that represent and contain the people who claim them. how people are referred to, when, and by whom - as well as how people refer to themselves by name as an act of self-determination, a reclamation of identity, or in defiance - is all central to the themes of the show. and, from that perspective, i think how hera is named (and what her name means to her, how she has had to construct and fight for parts of her identity that others are given as a default assumption) is significant, but i don't think it really sets her apart from the others when their names are treated in similar ways thematically.