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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 24th, 2023

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  • I think the point is that to you, it’s just semantics. But, to use your example, given that some people have started intentionally using “female” in place of “woman” as an (arguably) subtle way to exclude trans women, it suddenly becomes more than semantics to both trans and anti-trans populations. That’s what Smotherlove is saying about “dog whistle” language only being transparent to the perpetrator and the victim.

    So from your/my perspective (admittedly assuming you’re neither trans nor anti-trans), it’s largely a case of “a few rotten apples ruining it for the rest of the bunch.” What should just be a semantic difference has been coopted and intentionally weaponized by some, so all of us have to be conscious of whether or not we’re making that worse.

    It’s also not a new phenomenon. Many epithets start as PC terms and then become offensive based on how a specific group starts to use them, notably, almost every one-time PC terms for Black Americans and people of color. Unfortunately, it’s basically the reason that, for at least 100 years, (responsible) individuals/media have had to change terms for many marginalized peoples every 10-20 years, with many other examples, like “Oriental” and the terms that predate it, and plenty of others.










  • That's fair, and same when it comes to trying to explain behaviors evolutionarily (though some are definitely just random, too, since if a characteristic doesn't actually directly cause an early death/fewer reproductive years, evolution will never affect it). Such guesses just get further from reality as they get more specific. So it would make sense and likely be accurate to say there is an evolutionary explanation for the behaviors that we demonstrate to divergent levels, but it becomes a bit more strained to say that that evolutionary explanation has to do with neurodivergent people being more closely connected to cats than neurotypical people.


  • Most behaviors in mammals can be seen in other mammals (and in even less related species). Don't read too much into it.

    I'm an introvert and easily overstimulated, so I like:

    • sitting still and relaxing
    • soaking up some sun in a window seat
    • the sound of wind and silence
    • water

    Is my brain part tree? (No, these are just qualities/behaviors easy to find in another living thing, and my brain is searching for a pattern.)

    Interesting observation, but it's a bit extreme and fantastical that some shared behaviors would suggest neurodivergent humans have an evolutionary link to cats.



  • Exactly, it’s definitely a shortcoming of a lot of recipes and cooking shows. Like just in case I do have agar agar, I’d love to hear how to use it in the given recipe, but many more people probably want to hear that ~and then~ their other more common options, as well as how those compare to the more professional technique/ingredients. They do the same thing with materials, too. Like “traditionally this is made in a round bottom wok, but we get great results with this type of pan that you’re more likely to have/know how to use.” Sending huge luck for ya, and looking forward to checking out your videos when you start!


  • America’s Test Kitchen does some really great stuff for both beginner and experienced cooks, namely presenting one method/recipe after testing a number of alternatives, and including the reasons why they prefer the method/recipe they settled on. “Many people also do it this way, and here’s how that turns out and why I prefer the method shown.” Or “Here’s what happens if you add more butter, and this is what it looks like if you add more eggs/use an egg substitute etc.” They get into the chemistry/science of why the chosen method is best or why an easier method can work as well as a more traditional one, and you feel like you learn both the how of cooking something and the why behind a specific recipe, which makes it a lot easier to understand and follow. A final benefit is that it can make a lot of recipes more approachable for a home cool with things like “in professional kitchens, they will use XYZ in order to ZYX. If you don’t have access to XYZ, YYY ingredient has a similar effect and is more common in home kitchens…”