Taro T Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) 6 minutes ago, 3rdnlng said: You can play the game all you want. Even dress up if you prefer. Nah. You and the broads can have at it. Edited September 10, 2019 by Taro T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberius Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Are we happier than stone age man? Lonely and grey? Even if we take into account solely the citizens of today's affluent societies, Romantics may point out that our comfort and security have their price. ***** sapiens evolved as a social animal, and our wellbeing is usually influenced by the quality of our relationships more than by our household amenities, the size of our bank accounts or even our health. Unfortunately, the immense improvement in material conditions that affluent westerners have enjoyed over the last century was coupled with the collapse of most intimate communities. People in the developed world rely on the state and the market for almost everything they need: food, shelter, education, health, security. Therefore it has become possible to survive without having extended families or any real friends. A person living in a London high rise is surrounded by thousands of people wherever she goes, but she might never have visited the flat next door, and might know very little about her colleagues at work. Even her friends might be just pub buddies. Many present-day friendships involve little more than talking and having fun together. We meet a friend at a pub, call him on the phone, or send an email, so that we can unload our anger at what happened today in the office, or share our thoughts on the latest royal scandal. Yet how well can you really know a person only from conversations? In contrast to such pub buddies, friends in the stone age depended on one another for their very survival. Humans lived in close-knit communities, and friends were people with whom you went hunting mammoths. You survived long journeys and difficult winters together. You took care of one another when one of you fell sick, and shared your last morsels of food in times of want. Such friends knew each other more intimately than many present-day couples. Replacing such precarious tribal networks with the security of modern economies and states obviously has enormous advantages. But the quality and depth of intimate relationships are likely to have suffered. In the stone age, friends went mammoth-hunting together. Photograph: Andrew Nelmerm/Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley In addition to shallower relationships, contemporary people also suffer from a much poorer sensory world. Ancient foragers lived in the present moment, acutely aware of every sound, taste and smell. Their survival depended on it. They listened to the slightest movement in the grass to learn whether a snake might be lurking there. They carefully observed the foliage of trees in order to discover fruits and birds' nests. They sniffed the wind for approaching danger. They moved with a minimum of effort and noise, and knew how to sit, walk and run in the most agile and efficient manner. Varied and constant use of their bodies gave them physical dexterity that people today are unable to achieve even after years of practising yoga or tai chi. Today we can go to the supermarket and choose to eat a thousand different dishes. But whatever we choose, we might eat it in haste in front of the TV, not really paying attention to the taste. We can go on vacation to a thousand amazing locations. But wherever we go, we might play with our smartphone instead of really seeing the place. We have more choice than ever before, but what good is this choice, when we have lost the ability really to pay attention? Well, what did you expect? Even if you don't buy into this picture of Pleistocene richness replaced by modern poverty, it is clear that the immense rise in human power has not been matched by an equal rise in human happiness. We are a thousand times more powerful than our hunter-gatherer ancestors, but not even the most optimistic Whig can believe that we are a thousand times happier. If we told our great-great-grandmother how we live, with vaccinations and painkillers and running water and stuffed refrigerators, she would likely have clasped her hands in astonishment and said: "You are living in paradise! You probably wake up every morning with a song in your heart, and pass your days walking on sunshine, full of gratitude and loving-kindness for all." Well, we don't. Compared to what most people in history dreamed about, we may be living in paradise. But for some reason, we don't feel that we are. One explanation has been provided by social scientists, who have recently rediscovered an ancient wisdom: our happiness depends less on objective conditions and more on our own expectations. Expectations, however, tend to adapt to conditions. When things improve, expectations rise, and consequently even dramatic improvements in conditions might leave us as dissatisfied as before. In their pursuit of happiness, people are stuck on the proverbial "hedonic treadmill", running faster and faster but getting nowhere. If you don't believe that, just ask Hosni Mubarak. The average Egyptian was far less likely to die from starvation, plague or violence under Mubarak than under any previous regime in Egyptian history. In all likelihood, Mubarak's regime was also less corrupt. Nevertheless, in 2011 Egyptians took to the streets in anger to overthrow Mubarak. For they had much higher expectations than their ancestors. Indeed, if happiness is strongly influenced by expectations then one of the central pillars of the modern world, mass media, seems almost tailored to prevent significant increases in global happiness levels. A man living in a small village 5,000 years ago measured himself against the other 50 men in the village. Compared to them, he looked pretty hot. Today, a man living in a small village compares himself to film stars and models, whom he sees every day on screens and giant billboards. Our modern villager is likely to be less happy with the way he looks. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/05/were-we-happier-in-the-stone-age Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 22 minutes ago, Tiberius said: Are we happier than stone age man? In the stone age, friends went mammoth-hunting together. Photograph: Andrew Nelmerm/Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/05/were-we-happier-in-the-stone-age I sorta lost confidence in this article when they claimed that they had a photograph of a mammoth. I got some dinosaur pics I'll sell you but way back then those pics were taken with a Polaroid and the quality isn't the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Tiberius said: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/05/were-we-happier-in-the-stone-age Wow...you're all caught up to the news five years ago. Good for you. Let us know when you get to November of 2016 - it's a real hoot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberius Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 13 hours ago, DC Tom said: Wow...you're all caught up to the news five years ago. Good for you. Let us know when you get to November of 2016 - it's a real hoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Hmm... could be 9/11 related, or... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Update: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 1 hour ago, B-Man said: Most of the responses I've seen are more along the lines of "Kind of crazy the country is moving to ban e-cigarettes before guns." Because people still don't understand the Second Amendment exists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloHokie13 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 2 hours ago, B-Man said: Does vaping have some sort of positive benefits like killing pain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Just now, BuffaloHokie13 said: Does vaping have some sort of positive benefits like killing pain? Yes. Apparently it kills idiots, which relieves some of my pain. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Black market vape juices are killing people, so the government moves to ban legal vape juices, driving more people to the black market juices which are killing people. ”I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 4 hours ago, TakeYouToTasker said: Black market vape juices are killing people, so the government moves to ban legal vape juices, driving more people to the black market juices which are killing people. ”I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” I would have never been able to quit smoking without having a vape to wean myself off of cigarettes. With the ability to select the amount of nicotine in the fluid I use, I've managed to go from 38mg nicotine to only 1mg now, and I only hit the vape a couple times a day. There are many people out there like me, who would otherwise still be smoking if not for having vaping as an alternative. You're absolutely right - it would be a huge mistake to ban vape fluids. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Gal Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Lol funny, and true : https://mobile.twitter.com/GrrrGraphics/status/1171786045513318400 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/10/10/this-advanced-night-vision-goggle-is-headed-to-army-and-marine-units-sooner-than-you-think/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 13 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said: https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/10/10/this-advanced-night-vision-goggle-is-headed-to-army-and-marine-units-sooner-than-you-think/ Looked up some of the specs. Jesus, those things are cool as *****. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 On 8/27/2019 at 5:58 AM, Buffalo_Gal said: Do not play the sound on this at work (there is captioning). I watched his entire special last night, and it was funnier that the funniest of stand-up comedy specials, including Cosby's Himself and Eddie Murphy's Delirious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Might be TOO much cocaine today. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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