People horrifically fucking up facts about evolution and genetics too support their stupid beliefs or to seem smart and “rational” is probably one of my big pet peeves
Yeah. An enormous number of racists, misogynists, homophobes and transphobes I’ve met eventually whip out something about evolutionary biology and they never, ever, ever, ever have the slightest shadow of even a half-right idea what any of it means or ever cite a claim ever actually made by a scientific study.
Here’s a quick handy reference list or anyone who isn’t sure:
Homosexuality does exist in almost all social species.
“Alpha males” are not a real phenomenon and in fact the most aggressive males tend to be the least reproductively successful.
“Survival of the fittest” simply means that the success of a species hinges on how well it “fits” its environment. It does not mean that stronger or smarter individuals are supposed to succeed. Those things can even be a detriment in nature by wasting too many resources.
“Race” is not a biological concept. Someone who looks different from you has the same human genes, just a different grab-bag of dominant traits.
Evolution is not a march towards higher complexity, more intelligence or even more adaptability. It’s just a fluctuation of characteristics dictated by environmental pressures and mutation. A slime mold isn’t “less evolved” than a hawk, just adapted for success under different parameters.
People didn’t evolve “from apes.” It’s more complicated than that. We are a category of ape, sharing a common ancestor with the other apes.
No human on Earth is “closer” to an evolutionary ancestor than any other. We all descended from the same one.
Neanderthals were also a “sibling” species of ours. We didn’t evolve from them.
Some of us did, however, cross-breed with Neandethal man. It is exclusively non-African races, such as white people, who still carry hybrid human/Neanderthal genes. Whoops, sorry “white purity” skinheads, you’re actually mixed with a whole other species.
Just had to reblog this because I am honestly so tired of people claiming that Africans are “less evolved” than everyone else
My addition to the above list:
Epigenetics does not have anything at all to do with genetic memories. It is a thing that affects characteristics like health risks, and this speculation floating around about how phobias could be related to some ancestral trauma is complete and utter nonsense.
It’s only a matter of time before such a claim is used as another pseudoscientific tool in the arsenal of people claiming that bloodlines have anything to do with the validity of one’s worship of European pantheons. “My ancestors were Swedish, and because of epigenetics I have genetic memories passed down from those ancestors, so therefore my connection with the gods is better than yours!”
Just, no. Stop. STOP.
gonna also chime in here:
saying the “male brain” works one way and the “female brain” works another way is ludicrous. for so many reasons, even beyond the obvious of imposing that tired old either/or mentality with regards to maleness and femaleness
occasionally you will read about how a study suggests that “men are naturally better at spacial reasoning” or “women are naturally better at cooperation”, but for one thing, given how early the brain wires itself and how easy it is to influence the wiring (like, disturbingly easy), and given the tremendous social expectations we face from pretty much the moment we leave the freaking womb, it’s impossible to study gender differences in a vacuum.
like, do your findings prove that “women are better at reading faces”, or do they prove that, when you are part of a group that has been socialized since birth to be “nice”, to take care of other people, and to above all avoid making folks angry, you damn well have to learn how to read the room, and read it fast.
also, the “left brain, right brain” thing is bunk. there are not, like emotion-driven people and logic-driven people. everybody is primarily emotional. that circuitry is older and reacts much faster, and this is why nobody is immune from sometimes making wildly irrational decisions.
Petition to sit down all the people who make coma theories about Adventure Time and tell them “listen, this fucking show is about the last human living in a post-apocalyptic world where deadly magic has been reawakened following a global thermonuclear war that wiped out the rest of the human species, how much fucking darker do you want it to be”
Even though I thought my first Creative Writing professor was kind of a douche, he made a good point about this. One of our first assignments was to write in this eerie, otherworldly style (we were mimicking a specific author whose name escapes me), so we had to write about eerie otherworldly things happening. It’s no exaggeration to say that more than half the class had a “big reveal” where we find out that the story’s strange events and themes are all in the mind of some person in an insane asylum, or someone having a drug trip.
My professor said something like, “you just successfully wrote a world that feels separate from our own, but got frightened last minute and shoe-horned in normalcy. You showed that you were afraid to commit to something different and interesting.” Though I’m typically a contrarian and a piece of garbage, I am inclined to agree with my professor. I feel like people who write coma theories and the like are afraid to accept that the world of the story is separate from our own. They like everything wrapped up in this crazy little realism box where nothing out of the ordinary happens in fiction.
you win the Best Addition to a Post prize
Thank you :)
This pretty well hits the nail on the head as to why I generally hate coma/dream theories and people who think they’re so fucking deep for coming up with it. In my book it’s LAZY, plain and simple.
ESPECIALLY since it’s all-too-often used as a way to cop out of building any sort of resolution for your characters and relationships. It’s lazy storytelling, lazy characterization, and frustrating as fuck. I call it ‘flinching,’ as in “You played Russian Roulette with your plot, and you flinched when you pulled the trigger.”
Anonymous asked: I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but what, exactly, is 'chain weld', and why do you consider it cheap or not worth the price tag? What's the difference?
Hi there! I think someone did ask this before, but I have no problem explaining something again, especially if I have new examples. Sometimes it’s easier to visualize when you’re looking at different versions of the same tiara design, so we’ll use Sarah Ferguson’s tiara as the example here.
Here’s the real one:
And here’s a “replica” that will set you back about $150 from a bridal shoppe:
Ugh, am I right? Doesn’t look remotely like it! This is what I call “chain weld”. It’s the method in which it was created. They took a pre-made chain of rhinestones and welded them into the pattern you see here. It limits the ability to form shapes, and it’s very clunky. Typically, chain weld pieces like this should run for $10-$15, which would be reasonable for what you’re getting, but bridal shoppes mark it up into the hundreds.
Now, here’s a loss-wax, or pavé cast, replica:
Now that’s a bit more like it! The shapes have been sculpted and cast in metal before the stones are set into it. No abrupt square ends here, these flourishes end gracefully at leaf-like points as they should. Is it a perfect, exact replica? No way! But I’ll take this over that train wreck up above. Now, here’s the fun bit. This replica is going for $10-$25US on eBay.
That’s lightyears away from the $150 pricetag of that terrible one above, no?
Bridal shoppes are a scam. The bridal industry is a racket. And so are the tiaras they churn out. Love yourself, don’t buy over-priced rubbish.
International Tiara Day, prom season, and wedding season are all coming up. Listen to @tiarasnteakettles and her infinite tiara wisdom. Save yourself some money while you’re at it <3
quick protip: if someone is crying or freaking out over something minor, eg wifi not connecting, can’t find their hat, people talking too loud, do NOT tell them how small or petty the problem is to make it better. they know. they would probably love to calm down. you are doing the furthest possible thing from helping.
When someone gets upset over something ridiculous it’s because there’s a bigger stress going on and the tiny things are piling up and becoming stressful as well because of it.
Ask them what’s REALLY wrong.
Situations like this can also be results of anxiety, especially crying over loud noises.
People with BPD are sometimes really sensitive and things that seem really ‘small’ to others can actually set off a strong emotional reaction in us. Please don’t invalidate us.
the best and saddest thing on the internet to me is dead and defunct content - the still-standing electronic remains of people who are no longer here or no longer the same people who created them, all the links long defunct and the purpose long gone
your geocities pages, your forum threads, your facebook posts, may outlive you. everything you make may one day be an electronic ghost town, just glimpses of what was once an evolving part of someone’s life. look on the internet, ye mighty, and despair.
Of course, the other perspective on this is the exact reverse.
Around the colossal wreck, we are told, nothing beside remains – of this once-great kingdom, we must assume, of this king powerful enough to leave the tiniest fingerprint for us to see.
A ghost town is sad because of what might have been. The conversations that might have been had, the toys which might have been given to children and the young lesbians who might have ducked behind the store. The flecks of paint and the trails in the dust and the fingerprints.
But as for us – glimpses? Your Facebook page might outlive your grandchildren. All my friends I have on here – just on here – I have made through this one blog. How often have you scrolled through someone blog and thought “I would love to be friends with this person”? Why should 100 years make a difference? Glimpses? These are portraits and movies and snapshots and selfies and journals more deep and more raw than anything we have seen in history.
Look upon my very existent work – the fanfics written and the jokes shared, the stories we’ve woven together and the battles lost and the best of times we’ve had – frozen in amber, perfect as that day they were shared. Look upon my work and share it with me, laugh at my flaws and chide my innocence, listen to my rants and learn from my mistakes.
Folk’s not dead while their name’s remembers, we say as we read a book again and again and again, letting that one character live a desperate, vibrant life again and again and again… and us? HOW MANY NAMES WE HAVE.
We are not doomed to be Ozymandias – we will be the traveller, from our very own antique land, wandering endlessly and greeting every diver into the archives as yet another chance to live again.
I honestly cannot wait for the day when this generation is eligible to run for a political position because people are going to go digging into everybody’s pasts and at least like half of them are going to have to explain some of the shit they posted online like imagine watching a political debate and the front runner of a party has to attempt to explain away a snap they took of themselves where a big dick is drawn next to their head and it’s captioned “I love me some demon dick” literally how tf is anyone going to explain that, huh?
imagine having to explain 250k of omegaverse fanfiction you wrote when you were 22 live on CNN with the whole country watching
when you think about how differently you act and talk depending on who you’re talking to and you sit there wondering which you is the real you
Hey friends! This is called code-switching and is entirely normal to do! You wouldn’t want to talk to everyone the exact same way because that’s just going to make things awkward or be inappropriate for various situations. You wouldn’t want to approach your boss the same way you approach your best friend or vise-versa. And you’re not being inauthentic or fake because you are a shining diamond with many facets and it’s totally okay to show different sides to different people because it’s ALL you! Shine on you multifaceted motherfucker.
