I’d like to think my alt-Africa would be a little less… um… problematic.
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Everybody’s done a good job on the changing into which animals front, but what about the how and the why of it?
Do the clans just kind of burn some incense and form a circle while their buddy cuts themselves and becomes a bear or what?
So since abhumans, humans, and animals are all immaterial spirits, where did the spirits come from?
Also what happens when a spirit “loses” its body during change? Does it just find a new one or wander around all confused asking itself “who am I”? Also what happens to the spirit when its body dies normally?
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Spirits are ever-changing, ever fluid. During Change, it associates with the new body.
As long as they don’t change to much that works great and everybody’s spirit stays in their own body.
But I wanna know what happens when Max decides he wants to change a little too much all at once.
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There we go.
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Was this article written by an acquaintance of yours perchance @Havenstone ?
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Again, the square-cube law means that once you size these insects up to human size, most of their attributes become useless.
A flea-man would not be able to jump at all, let alone the equivalent of a building’s height. A beetle-man would be crushed under the weight of its own carapace on its spindly legs.
Arguably, one of the few things that could work are compound eyes, but possibly seeing several different pictures at once, as well as an image that is also super blurry, and building up the complex optical system needed to use it would be a lot of work for no trade off. And you don’t need that wide angle when prey mammals already have it.
We’re humans. We’re predators. This is why we have eyes at the front of our heads: better focus, better depth perception for hunting and fighting. Prey animals, such as sheep and horses, have nearly 360° vision (330° in sheep to 350° in horses), with only two blind spots: directly before/under the head and directly behind the rear end. But this also makes them lack depth perception and makes them sensitive to changes in light.
Nothing ever exists without trade-off: nature does some highly-skilled minmaxing to fit into any niche it can.
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I hate to distract from the abhuman discussion which is super interesting but I’ve been mulling over this and I have to get it off my chest. I’ve been on super long bus rides most of the last few days which has driven me to replay XoR, and to overthink. Compassion is a subject that has been on my mind off and on for basically my whole life, and this idea of “false compassion” as described in the Canon is so fascinating to me.
Anyone who’s naturally sensitive to or in tune with the suffering/emotions of others has probably been derided for being too sensitive. I’ve been ridiculed and patronized for caring about the suffering of other people and animals. My highly conservative family has mocked me for (among many, many other things) caring even the tiniest bit about immigrants, poor people, racial minorities, etc. Improving the circumstances under which these oppressed groups live would challenge the power of families like my own —white, well-off, straight and cis (as far as I know and other than me.) Basically, they told me I was exercising “false compassion,” not in that language of course, but the same sentiment.
Do you guys think that “false compassion” is ever real? Is it always a tool of people in power to maintain that power, to discourage seeing the moral value and humanity of the oppressed? Is it literally ever an idea with any value ever?
Yes, it is terribly real. I live in it for 12 years. Close your eyes imagine a posh ultra-Catholic ruled by nun private school with more a century of working and many people from my country dictatorship were from that school.
Imagine them praying every day about compassion and charity. Meanwhile they kicked gays and lesbians and execute people who hadn’t food so they stole or from being Communist.
I study in democracy but I had to study how gays trans are crazy psycho that has to be cured.
Iwas considered crazy and insulted same nuns for NOT BEHAVE LIKE A REAL WOMAN AND BE A SINNER TOMBOY
We had a day without food to understand poor and you could see nuns eating in their private dinning room
And far worse stuff
I know that it’s real in the sense that people will pretend to be compassionate/to care about others when they really don’t, or when they don’t have the best interests of others at heart. I’m using “false compassion” as described in the game: the sin of caring about someone/something that doesn’t deserve moral consideration.
Yes exactly that. I was taught have compassion (Insert slur for lgtbq) is Sinful as is make them continue to be demonic and lot of shit. So compassion with them is bad we had to tell them go to Church to be EXORTICED…
NO EVEN KIDDING i had a class like that with 8 9 years. They wanted exorticed me too… But my dad told them where could put they “help”
Disclaimer THIS is not normal in most Catholic schools i just went one of most aberrant’s thankfully is disappearing
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Everything I do, I’ve learnt. I mimicked emotions as a child by watching faces: made me a very good actor, makes me a very good liar. Compassion, also, was probably learnt. I was notably violent and reclusive, with few friends, and got into a lot of scrapes. I was probably, then, not born “human”. Chalk that down to either my autism or the fact that I was partially feral for a good part of my infant life, whichever suits you.
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I did fail to think about neurodivergency, so thanks for pointing that out.
My experience as a child was basically being constantly sad for whatever meat was being served for dinner, whichever kid was getting picked on at recess, whatever roadkill we drove by. And then when I expressed this I was either made fun of or told I was being naive.
I guess my question is whether compassion is EVER actually bad.
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Compassion is what inherently sets us apart from many other animals. Even our proto-human ancestors showed kindness to strangers for which they would get nothing in return.
But compassion is also taught. It’s as much a product of society, like guilt. And anything as complex as this can cause problems.
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A English man during the first world war had a Shocked German half bounded on sight He could just pull the trigger. But he couldn’t he was compassionate
That German was Adolf Hitler.
Yes, compassion can be terrible
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It can have unintended effects. But like… let’s say I have a cookie and I share it with some guy. Whoops, he was allergic to milk and he died. That was terrible, but was the act of sharing inherently bad or immoral?
That’s what I’m saying. Is compassion ever inherently bad? Is there such a thing as false compassion?
Is something inherently good or bad? Compassion can be inherently badReasin was only humans have it
Imagine if birds had compassion towards the snakes eating their eggs etc…
If compassion with a person means the sacrifice of thousands. Compassion is in that case inherently bad
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I think before we consider “false” compassion, and the moral and immoral potential, it would be useful to establish a common definition of compassion, as it is something of a subjective concept.
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@poison_mara that is true. I guess that’s also in alignment with how in the game, compassion is said to be a potential avenue that can allow Xaos into the world.
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In a Spanish book, there is an old differential between Sentiment and Sentimentalism
The sentiment is when you do all possible to stop your cart to avoid harm a sheep and’s in middle of a path.
Sentimentalism is were to avoid harm the sheep you kill in a crash a entire family coming other direction.
I Spanish medieval scholastic false compassion is determined. And when is just slain, someone
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