#explanatory synthesis

[kaiasky]

wild.

[alt-wannabe]

MCSR As Chemical Compounds

idk either man. expect very little actual explanation and a lot of chemical yapping from a very big nerd

Silverr as Silver Nitrate:

AgNO3

the above is the crystal structure

appearance is just a white crystal kinda like sugar

it took everything in me to not just make silverr plain Ag

silver nitrate is the most common precursor for all other important silver salts

also an extremely important compound in the development of photography! (and iirc silverr is a film major)

Feinberg as Ozone:

O3

produced during lightning strikes

pale blue at high ppm

only leaves gas state at cryogenic temperatures

naturally occurring in the stratosphere and absorbs UV rays from the sun

Fruit as Nickel(II) Chloride Hexahydrate:

NiCl2•6H2O

green

the non-hydrate form is a sort of olive-y yellow color

used to absorb ammonia in gas masks

Raddles as Potassium Permanganate:

KMnO4

Sometimes referred to as Purple Potion Powder

goes CRAZY purple when dissolved and is lowkey my favorite chemical

very strong oxidizing agent

one time i stained my hand purple through my glove with this shit idk how it happened

if made in specific solvents can look extremely similar to dragon's breath in minecraft imo

K4 as Octathio[8]circulene:

C16S8

also referred to as Sulflower (like sulfur and sunflower haha get it)

planar which is fairly uncommon for molecules of this size

can be stacked together to make sheets of sulflowers

Cube as Cubane:

C8H8

yeah this is self-explanatory

what is interesting though is that ring strain in 4 membered rings/squares is really high, so cubane existing is a bit of a chemical anomaly

i havent read into it enough to know for sure but i suspect that ring strain is why cubane is a precursor to a HELLA STRONG explosive compound

Reignex as PPTA:

Poly-p-paraphenylene terephthalamide

[-CO-C6H4-CO-NH-C6H4-NH-]n

the name is complicated as shit but this is just kevlar!

aka bulletproof vest material

looks fluffy when not woven completely together

aligning of polymer chains w hydrogen bonds creates EXTREMELY high tensile strength

Mime as Phenylmagnesium Bromide:

C6H5MgBr

a common grignard reagent aka a compound that can be used in a grignard reaction, an extremely important reaction in organic synthesis as it creates new C-C bonds

another fun fact about grignard reagents is that if water is added to them- or even if they're handled in particularly moist air- they fucking explode

extremely strong nucleophile and base

Poundcake as Xenon Hexafluoride:

XeF6

Noble gases don't react unless you REALLY make them

so a compound containing xenon is really interesting

colorless as a solid but sublimes (aka skips straight from solid to gas) into a bright yellow gas

fun fact a lot of instances where typical chemistry rules are broken (noble gases not reacting, octet rule in general, etc) involve fluorine to the point ive heard it referred to as a "batshit electron thief"

Fulham as Iron Hexacyanidoferrate:

C18Fe7N18

also known as prussian blue

extremely common pigment in paints and the first modern synthetic pigment

used extensively in The Great Wave

another one of my favorite molecules bc im biased and like inorganic chem aka things that contain metals

used as an antidote for heavy metal poisoning which is interesting bc it contains cyanide ligands!

Couriway as Bullvalene:

C10H10

in a state of constant resonance

aka the double bonds are CONSTANTLY shifting and reforming bullvalene into... itself but moved around a little

the bonds fluctuate so rapidly that in nmr analysis each carbon and hydrogen in the entire molecule is read as equivalent (for my non-chem people that's very uncommon and very cool)

formed through photolysis (aka using light/photons to fuel a reaction)

[evidence-based-activism]

do you believe that men and women have inherent differences in their brain structure at birth and throughout life? and this does not imply superiority of one over another, merely differences in structure leading to different tendencies along a statistical distribution by gender. for instance women tend to have larger corpus collosums meaning better communication between hemispheres and emotional integration, while men tend to have higher visuospatial abilities which is explanatory for more men in fields like mechanical engineering. exceptions to the rule are the rule, so women can be aeronautical engineers and men can be heartfelt poets. The idea though is that we are born with natural tendencies.

on the individual level forgetting about gender momentarily, certain people are born with natural inclinations towards verbal or mathematical abilities that are notable in early childhood

i understand the top down society and roles change your brain idea which is absolutely true, so there is energy for change in the idea of abolishing gender roles, but do you disagree that there is any bottom up force? especially with (generally) a chromosome of difference between sexes?

Hi Anon!

Sex Differences in Adult Brains

This 2022 review [1] examines two large scale studies from 2021 [2-3]. These two studies both examined sex differences in the human brain, but came to different conclusions. The first [2] directly examined a large sample of brain scans and found small sex differences in many brain areas. In contrast, the second [3] performed a meta-synthesis of three decades of research "emphasizing meta-analyses and other large studies" and found sex differences in the brain are explained by differences in overall body size.

The review [1] I mentioned takes the stance that "differences in the mean value of largely overlapping distributions, and they show small-to-moderate effect sizes; however, we do not understand their microstructural basis, the causal factors shaping them, or if they facilitate sex differences or equivalences in behavior and cognition", essentially agreeing with the direct brain analysis [2] (but emphasizing the limitations of this finding) and suggesting that meta-analyses and reviews like [3] fail to find differences due to methodological heterogeneity.

In response to this, the authors of [3] released a response [4] in 2024 pointing out that while large scale studies do often find significant (but small) sex differences in the brain, they do not find consistent differences (i.e., one study may find brain area A is larger in males while another finds the same area is larger in females). In addition they note that large sample sizes inevitably "detect statistically significant interactions,including sex differences, of clinically trivial and meaningless magnitude” [emphasis mine].

Personally, I'm not sure if the distinction between "no sex differences once corrected for body size" vs "very small sex differences once corrected for body size" is really all that important. In either case, differences within each sex are larger than differences between each sex, suggesting that it is some other factor underlying the differences (if they do indeed exist).

Sex Differences in Children's Brains

In addition to the above, simply finding small sex differences also wouldn't tell us the cause of these differences. The above studies were based on adults, and – as you've acknowledged – there's a significant difference between how we treat female and male people in society. Given the brain's highly plastic (changeable, adaptable) nature, it's probable that observed differences could be the result of this socialization.

The idea, then, is to look for sex differences in very young children, who have not been exposed to such gendered socialization yet. For example, this study [5] suggests there are small differences in regional brain volumes at birth and this study [6] claims to find small sex differences in fetal brain connectivity.

However, the conclusion that these results support biological differences between the sexes relies on the assumption that there are no differences in socialization at these stages. Other work [7] suggests that this is not a fair assumption, showing that "women who learn the sex of their fetus before birth are engaging in gendered verbal interactions throughout pregnancy." Given that we know children's language [8] and social [9] development begin in the womb, this difference in treatment suggests that gendered socialization can also begin in the womb.

If Sex Differences Do Exist, Do They Matter?

Beyond this, there appears to be a general assumption that if small sex differences are found they are also relevant. However, there's no current consensus on how or why any proposed brain sex differences would produce observed sex differences in mental disorders or behaviors [3, 4].

This is important because it's not so much the existence of a difference than the relevance of a difference that interests people. What does it matter whether there's a sex difference in a brain region's volume if it isn't related to sex differences in behavior? We're concerned with sex differences in the body (e.g., sex differences in lung size) because they have an impact on some relevant factor in people's lives (e.g., equity in sports, differences in lung disease [10]); the same is true of our interest in the brain, so the fact that we don't see reliable sex-driven connections between brains and behavior suggests that any differences may not be of particular interest.

Sexual Dimorphism in the Body

And there are sex differences in the body. In fact, the article [4] points out that the one reliable sex difference in brains (overall volume difference) is smaller than similar size differences in other organs.

This article [11] discuss the underlying factors (genetics and hormones) for human sex differences. For a single system's example, this review [12] discusses "sex-influenced immune responses" and what specific relevance they have to understanding and treating human disease. The book Invisible Women [13] discuss many more sex differences, how much of society ignores these differences, and the negative effects this has on women.

All of this is to say that I actually wouldn't have been surprised to see sex differences in the human brain. (Although I would still point out the tenuous connections between brain and behavior.) That being said, current research suggests that sex is not a reliable determinant of brain anatomy or physiology.

Individual Predispositions

To address your question of predisposition: It is likely that individual predispositions (i.e., genetic predispositions) play a role in some behaviors and cognition (the nature part of nature and nurture).

However, current evidence indicates that these predisposition are unlikely to be linked to sex.

I hope this helps you! Let me know if you have follow up questions!

References below the cut:

DeCasien, A. R., Guma, E., Liu, S., & Raznahan, A. (2022). Sex differences in the human brain: a roadmap for more careful analysis and interpretation of a biological reality. Biology of Sex Differences, 13(1), 43.

Williams, C. M., Peyre, H., Toro, R., & Ramus, F. (2021). Neuroanatomical norms in the UK Biobank: The impact of allometric scaling, sex, and age. Human Brain Mapping, 42(14), 4623-4642.

Eliot, L., Ahmed, A., Khan, H., & Patel, J. (2021). Dump the “dimorphism”: Comprehensive synthesis of human brain studies reveals few male-female differences beyond size. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 125, 667-697.

Eliot, L. (2024). Remembering the null hypothesis when searching for brain sex differences. Biology of sex Differences, 15(1), 14.

Khan, Y. T., Tsompanidis, A., Radecki, M. A., Dorfschmidt, L., APEX Consortium, Austin, T., ... & Baron-Cohen, S. (2024). Sex Differences in Human Brain Structure at Birth. bioRxiv, 2024-06.

Wheelock, M. D., Hect, J. L., Hernandez-Andrade, E., Hassan, S. S., Romero, R., Eggebrecht, A. T., & Thomason, M. E. (2019). Sex differences in functional connectivity during fetal brain development. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 36, 100632.

Barnes, M. W. (2015). Anticipatory socialization of pregnant women: Learning fetal sex and gendered interactions. Sociological perspectives, 58(2), 187-203.

Gervain, J. (2018). The role of prenatal experience in language development. Current opinion in behavioral sciences, 21, 62-67.

Castiello, U., Becchio, C., Zoia, S., Nelini, C., Sartori, L., Blason, L., ... & Gallese, V. (2010). Wired to be social: the ontogeny of human interaction. PloS one, 5(10), e13199.

Carey, M. A., Card, J. W., Voltz, J. W., Arbes Jr, S. J., Germolec, D. R., Korach, K. S., & Zeldin, D. C. (2007). It's all about sex: male-female differences in lung development and disease. Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM, 18(8), 308.

Federman, D. D. (2006). The biology of human sex differences. New England Journal of Medicine, 354(14), 1507-1514.

Wilkinson, N. M., Chen, H. C., Lechner, M. G., & Su, M. A. (2022). Sex differences in immunity. Annual review of immunology, 40(1), 75-94.

Perez, C. C. (2019). Invisible women: Data bias in a world designed for men. Abrams.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Following publication of the final report there have been a number of questions and points for clarification about the findings and recommendations. We have collated those questions, along with our answers, on this page.

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Did the Review set a higher bar for evidence than would normally be expected?

No, the approach to the assessment of study quality was the same as would be applied to other areas of clinical practice – the bar was not set higher for this Review.

Clarification:

The same level of rigour should be expected when looking at the best treatment approaches for this population as for any other population so as not to perpetuate the disadvantaged position this group have been placed in when looking for information on treatment options.

The systematic reviews undertaken by the University of York as part of the Review’s independent research programme are the largest and most comprehensive to date. They looked at 237 papers from 18 countries, providing information on a total of 113,269 children and adolescents.

All of the University of York’s systematic review research papers were subject to peer review, a cornerstone of academic rigour and integrity to ensure that the methods, findings, and interpretation of the findings met the highest standards of quality, validity and impartiality.

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Did the Review reject studies that were not double blind randomised control trials in its systematic review of evidence for puberty blockers and masculinising / feminising hormones?

No. There were no randomised control studies identified in the systematic reviews, but other types of studies were included if they were well designed and conducted.

Clarification:

The Review commissioned the University of York to undertake an independent research programme to ensure the work of the Review and its recommendations were informed by the most robust existing evidence. This included a series of systematic reviews which brought together, analysed and evaluated existing evidence on a range of issues relating to the care of gender-questioning children and young people, including epidemiology, treatment approaches and international models of current practice.

Randomised control trials are considered the gold standard in relation to research, but there are many other study designs that can give valuable information. Explanatory Box 1 (pages 49-51 of the final report) discusses in more detail the different kinds of studies that can be used, and how to decide if a study is poorly designed or biased.

Blinding is a separate issue. It means that either the patient or the researcher does not know if the patient is getting an active treatment or a ‘control’ (which might be another treatment or a placebo). Patients cannot be blinded as to whether or not they are receiving puberty blockers or masculinising / feminising hormones, because the effects would rapidly become obvious. Good RCTs can be conducted without blinding.

The University of York’s systematic review search did not identify any RCTs, blinded or otherwise, but many other studies were included. Most of the studies included were called ‘cohort studies’. Well-designed and executed high quality cohort studies are used in other areas of medicine, and the bar was not set higher for this review; even so the quality of the studies was mostly only assessed as moderate.

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Did the Review reject 98% of papers demonstrating the benefits of affirmative care?

No. Studies were identified for inclusion in the synthesis (conclusions) of the systematic reviews on puberty blockers and masculinising/feminising hormones on the basis of their quality. This was assessed using a standard quality assessment tool appropriate to the types of study identified.  All high quality and moderate quality reviews were included in the synthesis of results. This totalled 58% of the 103 papers.

Clarification:

The Newcastle-Ottawa scale (a standard appraisal tool) was used to compare the studies. This scores items such as participant selection, comparability of groups (how alike they are), the outcomes of the studies and how these were assessed (data provided and whether it is representative of those studied). High quality studies (scoring >75%) would score well on most of these items; moderate quality studies (scoring >50% – 75%) would miss some elements (which could affect outcomes); and low-quality studies would score 50% or less on the items the scale looked at. A major weakness of the studies was that they did not have adequate follow-up – in many cases they did not follow young people for long enough for the long-term outcomes to be understood.

Because the ranking was based on how the studies were undertaken (their quality and execution), low quality research was removed before the results were analysed as the findings could not be completely trusted. Had an RCT been available it would also have been excluded from the systematic review if it was deemed to be of poor quality.

The puberty blocker systematic review included 50 studies. One was high quality, 25 were moderate quality and 24 were low quality. The systematic review of masculinising/feminising hormones included 53 studies. One was high quality, 33 were moderate quality and 19 were low quality.

All high quality and moderate quality reviews were included, however as only two of the studies across these two systematic reviews were identified as being of high quality, this has been misinterpreted by some to mean that only two studies were considered and the rest were discarded. In reality, conclusions were based on the high quality and moderate quality studies (i.e. 58% of the total studies based on the quality assessment). More information about this process in included in Box 2 (pages 54-56 of the final report)

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Has the Review recommended that no one should transition before the age of 25 and that Gillick competence should be overturned.

No.  The Review has not commented on the use of masculinising/feminising hormones on people over the age of 18. This is outside of the scope of the Review. The Review has not stated that Gillick competence should be overturned.

The Review has recommended that:

“NHS England should ensure that each Regional Centre has a follow through service for 17-25-year-olds; either by extending the range of the regional children and young people’s service or through linked services, to ensure continuity of care and support at a potentially vulnerable stage in their journey. This will also allow clinical, and research follow-up data to be collected.”

This recommendation only relates to people referred into the children and young people’s service before the age of 17 to enable their care to be continued within the follow-through service up to the age of 25.

Clarification:

Currently, young people are discharged from the young people’s service at the age of 17, often to an adult gender clinic. Some of these young people have been receiving direct care from the NHS gender service (GIDS as was) and others have not yet reached the top of the waiting list and have “aged out” of the young people’s service before being seen.

The Review understands that this is a particularly vulnerable time for young people. A follow-through service continuing up to age 25, would remove the need for transition (that is, transfer) to adult services and support continuity of care and continued access to a broader multi-disciplinary team. This would be consistent with other service areas supporting young people that are selectively moving to a ‘0-25 years’ service to improve continuity of care.

The follow-through service would also benefit those seeking support from adult gender services, as these young people would not be added to the waiting list for adult services and, in the longer-term, as more gender services are established, capacity of adult provision across the country would be increased.

People aged 18 and over, who had not been referred to the NHS children and young people’s gender service, would still be referred directly to adult clinics.

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Is the Review recommending that puberty blockers should be banned?

No. Puberty blocker medications are used to address a number of different conditions. The Review has considered the evidence in relation to safety and efficacy (clinical benefit) of the medications for use in young people with gender incongruence/gender dysphoria.

The Review found that not enough is known about the longer-term impacts of puberty blockers for children and young people with gender incongruence to know whether they are safe or not, nor which children might benefit from their use.

Ahead of publication of the final report NHS England took the decision to stop the routine use of puberty blockers for gender incongruence / gender dysphoria in children.  NHS England and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) are establishing a clinical trial to ensure the effects of puberty blockers can be safely monitored. Within this trial, puberty blockers will be available for children with gender incongruence/ dysphoria where there is clinical agreement that the individual may benefit from taking them.

Clarification:

Puberty blockers have been used to suppress puberty in children and young people who start puberty much too early (precocious puberty). They have undergone extensive testing for use in precocious puberty (a very different indication from use in gender dysphoria) and have met strict safety requirements to be approved for this condition. This is because the puberty blockers are suppressing hormone levels that are abnormally high for the age of the child.

This is different to stopping the normal surge of hormones that occur in puberty. Pubertal hormones are needed for psychological, psychosexual and brain development, and there is not yet enough information on the risks of stopping the influence of pubertal hormones at this critical life stage.

When deciding if certain treatments should be routinely available through the NHS it is not enough to demonstrate that a medication doesn’t cause harm, it needs to be demonstrated that it will deliver clinical benefit in a defined group of patients.

Over the past few years, the most common age that young people have been receiving puberty blockers in England has been 15 when most young people are already well advanced in their puberty. The new services will be looking at the best approaches to support young people through this period when they are still making decisions about longer-term options.

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Has the Review recommended that social transition should only be undertaken under medical guidance?

The Review has advised that a more cautious approach around social transition needs to be taken for pre-pubertal children than for adolescents and has recommended that:

“When families/carers are making decisions about social transition of pre-pubertal children, services should ensure that they can be seen as early as possible by a clinical professional with relevant experience.”

Parents are encouraged to seek clinical help and advice in deciding how to support a child with gender incongruence and should be prioritised on the waiting list for early consultation on this issue. This should include discussion of the risks and benefits and the voice of the child should be heard. It will be important that flexibility is maintained, and options remain open.

Clarification:

Although the University of York’s systematic review found that there is no clear evidence that social transition in childhood has positive or negative mental health outcomes, there are studies demonstrating that for a majority of young children presenting with gender incongruence, this resolves through puberty. There is also evidence from studies of young people with differences of sex development (DSD) that sex of rearing seems to have some influence on eventual gender outcome, and it is possible that social transition in childhood may change the trajectory of gender identity development for children with early gender incongruence. Living in stealth from early childhood may also lead to stress, particularly as puberty approaches.

There is relatively weak evidence for any effect of social transition in adolescence. The Review recognises that for adolescents, exploration is a normal process, and rigid binary gender stereotypes can be unhelpful. Many adolescents will go through a period of gender non-conformity in terms of outward expressions (e.g. hairstyle, make-up, clothing and behaviours). They also have greater agency in how they present themselves and in their decision-making.

Young people and young adults have spoken positively about how social transition helped to reduce their gender dysphoria and feel more comfortable in themselves. They identified that space to talk about socially transitioning and how to handle conversations with parents/carers and others would be helpful. The Review has therefore advised that it is important to try and ensure that those already actively involved in the young person’s welfare provide support in decision making and that plans are in place to ensure that the young person is protected from bullying and has a trusted source of support.

Further detail can be found in Chapter 12 of the Final Report.

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Did the Review speak to any gender-questioning and trans people when developing its recommendations?

Yes, the Review has been underpinned by an extensive programme of proactive engagement, which is described in Chapter 1 of the report. The Review has met with over 1000 individuals and organisations across the breadth of opinion on this subject but prioritised two categories of stakeholders:

People with relevant lived experience (direct or as a parent/carer) and organisations working with LGBTQ+ children and young people generally.

Clinicians and other relevant professionals with experience of and/ or responsibility for providing care and support to children and young people within specialist gender services and beyond.

A mixed-methods approach was taken, which included weekly listening sessions with people with lived experience, 6-weekly meetings with support and advocacy groups throughout the course of the Review, and focus groups with young people and young adults.

Reports from the focus groups with young people with lived experience are published on the Review’s website and the learning from these sessions and the listening sessions are represented in the final report.

The Review also commissioned qualitative research from the University of York, who conducted interviews with young people, young adults, parents and clinicians. A summary of the findings from this research is included as appendix 3 of the final report.

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What is the Review’s position on conversion therapy?

Whilst the Review’s terms of reference do not include consideration of the proposed legislation to ban conversion practices, it believes that no LGBTQ+ group should be subjected to conversion practice. It also maintains the position that children and young people with gender dysphoria may have a range of complex psychosocial challenges and/or mental health problems impacting on their gender-related distress. Exploration of these issues is essential to provide diagnosis, clinical support and appropriate intervention.

The intent of psychological intervention is not to change the person’s perception of who they are but to work with them to explore their concerns and experiences and help alleviate their distress, regardless of whether they pursue a medical pathway or not. It is harmful to equate this approach to conversion therapy as it may prevent young people from getting the emotional support they deserve and make clinicians fearful of providing this group of children and young people the same care as is afforded to other children and young people.

No formal science-based training in psychotherapy, psychology or psychiatry teaches or advocates conversion therapy. If an individual were to carry out such practices they would be acting outside of professional guidance, and this would be a matter for the relevant regulator.

==

Like any religious fanatics, pathological liars like "Erin" Reed and "Alejandra" Carballo still won't stop lying, since it's all they have. But their disciples should really be noticing how they've been directly refuted.

[braxiations]

Hylics Analysis - The Significance of Hylem and the Afterlife

Hi, and welcome to another Hylics analysis! I’m hesitant to call it a theory because I’ll spend the majority of this post going over what I believe to be the canon intent. Most of this stuff is, in my opinion, pretty grounded, but I’ve seen so little discussion about it online. I aim to unpack the ways hylem unexpectedly appears in Hylics, its importance to the overall story, and what its true source may be.

Hylethems

The first, and really only direct mention of hylem comes from some workers in the caves of New Muldul. The workers are seen cutting away at pink cave formations called hylethems. Specifically, they cut away at odd tendrils protruding from the hylethems presumably called fronds (which is what they’re called internally.) The fronds themselves writhe, indicating that they may be alive. The minecarts of the miners are full of these fronds. One of the miners describes hylethems as “hylem-rich cave formations.” Another, crucially, says the following:

“Glove lathing. Burrito synthesis. All starts with hylethems. Find a rich vein, translates to a lotta bones. Lotta bones.”

This gives us two uses for hylem or hylethem fronds. The fact that the fronds are what’s being harvested might suggest they’re the items of value, not hylem itself, but this is pretty unclear. Maybe the fronds are full of the hylem? Really, the two might as well be synonymous for our analysis today.

While we’re here, I’d like to take the time to clear up a piece of dialogue that I see confuse people, being an NPC in New Muldul that describes the town’s primary industry as “calthemite husbandry.” I’ve seen people attribute the word “calthemite” to both insects and juice beasts, but calthemites are a real thing: they’re cave formations. Given that the harvesting of hylethems is shown in New Muldul, I think it’s safe to say that’s what they’re talking about here.

Standard uses of hylem

Hylem is stated to have two uses: burrito synthesis and glove lathing, though the wording of miner’s speech suggests they might have many more. Burrito synthesis is odd but rather self-explanatory, and implies hylem might have healing properties for both flesh and will (this’ll be important later.) Glove lathing is more interesting. “Lathe” and “lathing” have multiple, kind of convoluted meanings, but its usage here suggests either coating or shaping the gloves. This could either mean the gloves are coated in hylem, likely as a liquid, or the gloves are cut out of pleather and shaped by… the fronds? It’s really unclear. 

The description of the tendril hand item is “The people of Mocetul shun lathing, and for gloves rely on other processes.” The long gloves are also described as “standard gestural combat garbs.” It seems clear that gloves are what enable the use of gestures, but whether or not lathing is responsible for this is questionable. The fact that the tendril hand was made without lathing suggests hylem isn’t critical to the use of gestures, however it might imply that it's the usual process that enables them. Regardless, lathing is clearly common and important and hylem is what allows it to happen.

What’s a Hylemxylem anyway?

Ah, the Hylemxylem, Gibby’s associated fortress. Before we discuss it, let’s take a look at its name. First is the word “hylem,” which is a term unique to Hylics (and also apparently the name of a music artist,) and “xylem.” In simplified terms, xylem is a sort of transport tissue within plants that takes in and distributes water and minerals throughout the plant. With this in mind we can basically translate the word “Hylemxylem” into “thing that takes in hylem.”

[Before we move on, I want to suggest an origin for the word “hylem.” This is largely conjecture on my part, but I believe Mason knew he wanted Gibby’s fortress to absorb a substance and wanted to use the word “xylem” in there. Needing a name for the substance and wanting it to rhyme, he added the “-lem” suffix. To complete it, he took from the game’s own title: Hylics. Why would he do this? Well, as we’ve seen glimpses of, hylem might be very, very important to the nature of this world.]

So, the Hylemxylem xylems hylem, that much seems pretty clear. With this in mind we can identify the pink goop flowing throughout the hylemxylem.

Seen throughout the hylemxylem is this strange, pink liquid, highly resembling that seen in the Afterlife. It fills many of the rooms, spews out of spouts, and appears to flow into the fortress via the tubes descending down into the waters. It’s this very liquid, described as “the terrestrial juice,” that Gibby floats in before his transformation. This, as implied by the name “Hylemxylem” itself, is hylem. But where does all this hylem come from? Of course, it’s possible that the tubes of the Hylemxylem bore into the ground, sapping hylem away from the Hylethems. However, we don’t need to speculate on this. In one of the few changes to the environment during the course of Hylics 2, we see where the tubes lead…

The Afterlife

That’s right. A detail I see often overlooked is that, after the raising of the Hylemxylem, many tubes appear in the Afterlife, each flowing with the pink substance that comprises the sea, up into the sky. These tubes only appear after the ‘Xylem is raised, implying they’re the very tubes pumping hylem into the fortress. A quick glance at the game’s internals confirms this, calling them “Afterlife Xylem Columns.” I really hope this isn’t ambiguous at this point: the pink liquid within the Hylemxylem is the same liquid that fills the Afterlife.

Thanks to Happy/S For Sprinkles for this photo! Also, it's a lot easier to see in-game that these tubes are flowing with the sea's liquid. You can pretty clearly see it flowing upwards.

Now, this leads me to two conclusions I hope you find reasonable:

Wait, we very clearly see the tubes of the ‘Xylem go into the ocean. Is the Afterlife in the ocean? Maybe in some weird bubble? That’d explain why there are fish flopping around in H1. Maybe it’s an underwater cave??

More relevantly, if the pink goo in the Hylemxylem is hylem, and the pink goo in the Hylemxylem is also the Afterlife goo, that must mean the Afterlife goo is hylem. X = Y and Z = Y. Therefore X must equal Z.

This is, to me at least, super interesting. Despite never being outright stated, it is very, VERY heavily implied that the sea of the Afterlife is hylem. This sea’s strange waters, mind you, comprises the pools and fountains we fall into to reach the Afterlife. It also comprises the sea that spits us out when we die. If it is true that X = Y = Z, then hylem is not only responsible for the burritos we eat, the gloves we use, or the seemingly the ascension of Gibby, but also for the repeated reincarnation of our party members. Remember how I earlier noted that burritos, synthesized from hylem, heal flesh and will? Well, that may be an extension of the life giving, healing properties of hylem as found in the Afterlife! That’s why, I believe, Mason named the substance of hylem after the games themselves. Without hylem, the story of the games wouldn’t be possible. It's a foundational element to the world itself.

This also explains the weird fixation the game has on hylem. While Mason might have some worldbuilding hidden in random item descriptions or one or two sets of NPC dialogue (the only piece of non-relevant worldbuilding mentioned more than once being Amulom,) hylem has 5, completely separate NPCs that talk about it upright (not even counting the other NPCs that talk about calthemites.) Hylethem fronds are even seen scattered around the places that Smuldunde visits for some strange reason. This conclusion, that hylem enables the events of the game, explains why; it isn’t irrelevant worldbuilding. Hell, you could even view the hylethems being mentioned so early on as foreshadowing for the Hylemxylem itself and Gibby’s ascension from the terrestrial juices. Like the ‘Xylem does, it seems likely that hylelthems sap hylem away from the Afterlife!

Conclusion

So, that concludes the analysis! Hylem is a powerful substance that enables the use of gloves and burritos, sustains the Hylemxylem, and allowed Gibby to ascend. Given the evidence we have, I think this is the conclusion intended by Mason himself. Perhaps we were all intended to figure this out on our own, but the abstract and indirect story-telling method of Hylics 2 obscured this. Hell, I’ve seen a ton of misconceptions about the Accretion despite things the game pretty directly shows us. Maybe I should make a post about that? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! I might make an addendum to this post as well going over some specific ideas like how the Moon might have processed hylem and why only Gibby ascends through it. After that I’ll probably cover either the symbols used in the world of Hylics or some speculation on Viewax. I might even put up a poll on which I should cover first!

[erriga]

Pathologic and Edward Gordon Craig

In this episode, one very tired theatrology student will try to explain how Craig's ideas about actors and theatre in general might have factored into the way theatre is used in pathologic, especially when it comes to minor changes made between patho classic and 2. We'll talk about puppets vs actors, the role of directors and how it all relates to death. Yay!

SPOILERS FOR BOTH GAMES AHEAD

THEATRE IN PATHOLOGIC

So, anyone who's seen Codex Entry's video essays might be aware that Pathologic very visibly uses and plays with various theatrical ideas and concepts, especially when it comes to XXth century avantgarde movements. So far, Ruby has discussed the influences of Artaud (my boi), Brecht and Beckett, but today we're going to take a little step back and focus on one thinker who might have just been on of the most important theatre theorists ever and whose ideas definitely influenced all those that came after him. We're talking about our favorite theatre malcontent- Edward Gordon Craig

Soo, Craig was a theatre theoretician, actor, director, and founder of the magazine "The mask" back in the 1910s. In it, Craig would talk about his thoughts on theatre, which were largely counter-cultural, at least in comparison to the standard established back in the mid XIXth century. His works are often cited as fundamental to the Great Reform movement, which included among others, Stanislavsky, Reinhardt, and Appia. Their works paved the way towards avant garde theatre and a completely new understanding to it.

Now, why is Craig so important? Basically, he complained a lot and had very cool, albeit sometimes impossible ideas which were later inspired other in creative ways. His main ideas were:

Theatre is not a synthesis of other arts but rather something autonomical, unlike SOME OTHER PEOPLE THOUGHT (im loking at you wagner)

The director>>>>>>>> some dumb smelly actors

The actor shall one day be replaced by the Uber marrionette (tm)

Today we'll focus on those last two, since they are interconnected and most relevant in Pathologic.

The second point is pretty self-explanatory. Craig proposed that the director and their vision is the most important part of any given theatre show. The director should have a holistic vision, knowledge about all the arts participating in theatre and abilities to make their ideas reality. Before that, directors were more like the caretakers of shows, while the main focus was on the star actors. And this way of thinking leads us directly toooo:

THE UBER MARRIONETTE

(project by Oscar Schlemmer)

So, what is the uber marrionette? Basically it's a slightly esoteric idea that somewhere between puppets and living actors exists a form which would be perfectly responsive to the director's artistic vision. Human actors were ego-driven, restricted by their bodies and minds which generally not malleable enough to be a good material, even going so far as to suggest that acting is not an artform at all, since it is driven by chance and not specific intentions.

In contrast to that, Craig explained the nature of puppets- perfectly controlled, humble, objects of worship. And also symbols of death. Which he thought of as perfection. So, in some way, a perfect actor is a ...dead actor. Or, not literally dead, but posseing the perfect stasis of death, one usually assosciated with inanimate objects.

OK, WTF?

As I mentioned those ideas are very cool theories but are rather hard to actualize in the real world, especially since Craig was sometimes vague about what he ACTUALLY wanted to see. He would complain about people misinterpreting his works and declaring that he wants to replace actors with literal machines, while also never specifying what he actually meant. So different artists tried to bring his ideas to life, mostly by "mechanising" living actors, or using some blend of life and artificiality. In practice it was mostly shit like putting actors in giant metal pots and making them communicate in mono syllables to restrict their natural expressions od self as much as possible

OK, BUT HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO PATHOLOGIC?

So my theory is, that by portraying the player character(s) as puppets in classic, and as actors and tying all of this to the idea of death, the makers of PAthologic are playing (pun intended) with the concept of the uber marionnette and maybe even proposing a solution to this impossible problem.

Let's start with classic, because it's pretty straight forward. The characters are dolls/puppets (I'll be using those words interchangibly because fundamentally they serve the same purpose). The theatre itself is specifically said to host puppet shows (which is in itself a nod to the long standing tradition of folk puppetry in Russia and other eastern european countries)

Which in hindsight, are a direct reference to the fact that the very story you are playing is nothing more than a game/puppet performance hosted by in-world The Powers That Be and at the very top by the makers of Pathologic. In that way it is a very straight forward (but ultimately incorrect) use of the uber marionette- the player character is a humble vessel through which an idea is manifested. It's a puppet made out of polygons and lines of code instead of wood or felt. Your role as a player in this performance is two fold- you are both the puppeteer (the one who moves the dolls) and the spectator (because you are being told the story, not the other way around). What you are not is the Director- that role, personified by Mark Immortel and later by the Executor and Tragedian is out of reach for you. So, as you can see it's definitely using puppets, but not necessarily uber marrionetes.

AND THEN WE HAVE PATHO 2

So, the theatre inspirations in Patho 2 are a lot less...subtle than in classic, one of them being literally namedropping my boi Artaud's concept of the Theatre of Cruelty.

But what I want to focus on in this case is the seeming dissapearence of the puppet metaphor from the first game. You are no longer compared to a puppeteer moving a vessel, but to an actor inhabiting a role. A role which is in a way highly restrictive, since there are only four endings, and only two choices that actually impact what happens in the end (what you do with the documents, and whether you take the fellow travellers deal or not) You are faced with the idea that you are replacable, so your personal ego is not valuable to the director in universe and the game creators out of the universe. And finally, to make it even more interesting, you are in-universe faces with the neverending cycle of life and death, through the system of deaths having consequences/being part of the game's continuous timeline instead of just out of universe reloading. I think you might already see where i am going with this.

I THINK THAT THOSE TRAITS MAKE ARTEMY'S PORTRAYAL SIMILAR TO THE CONCEPT OF THE UBER MARRIONETTE

So not the concept itself, but something that heavily resembles the ideal version of what it could have been. Now, does it theory make perfect sense? No, but I thought it was a cool though experiment to do nontheless. The idea of an uber marionnette is onfusing theatrologists to this day, and many people have claimed to having founf a way to realize it, but since Craig himself was unclear about it, we will never know how relevan those tries were. But I still think that the topic of video games and theatre concepts is a fascinating one (that will probably be the topic of my bachelor's thesis lol), and pathologic is a perfect examples of those two ideas working together. If you have any other ideas about it, please let me know, and if you're interested i can make more posts about the theatrological angle of patho!!

[dexjarxenoengage]

Good day/evening and welcome to my Persona X Metaphor: What Archetypes the Persona 3-5 party members have if they were Metaphor characters? If the title was made obvious, it’s my list on what Archetypes the party members of each of the modern Persona party members would have if they were Metaphor characters. Let’s get some ground rules out of the way:

1. this is the most important thing I need to address, this is my opinion. If you feel differently about what which Archetypes fit the characters better, then that’s entirely on you as it is on me. 2. I will explicitly talk about the party members (excluding the Navigators, of course), so no Social Link characters, or Igor and the like. 3. When I match the Archetypes with these characters, I take their weapon types, personalities, stats and gameplay into consideration. 4. If there are any Archetypes that could fit into the characters as well, I will mention them.

So with all that being said: we start with the Persona 3 cast. Recency bias aside, I think the Persona 3 characters matches with the Archetypes in Metaphor really well.

And one last thing: spoilers for both Persona 3 (Reload) and Metaphor: ReFantazio Will more than likely be abound.

As the main character of the game, we start with Makoto Yuki/Minato Arisato. Whatever you wish to call our door to be, we obviously take these aspects of him into account: Makoto is the main protagonist of Persona 3 as much as Will is to Metaphor. Both characters canonically use 1 handed swords. Both Makoto and Will can use any available Persona or Archetypes save for the exclusive ones to the party. And finally, both of their stats are not set in stone like their allies: On the one hand, Makoto’s stats depends on the Persona he is equipped with. On the other hand. Will’s stats depends on your starting dialogue options with Klinger and you can choose one extra stat he gains upon leveling up.

So it makes sense that Makoto would start off with the Seeker Archetype, the Archetype Will starts with. It fits perfectly because they both use the same weapon, the Seeker Archetype and Orpheus in Persona 3 Reload have a magic attack, a physical attack and a single target healing spell in their level up repertoire. Also, Will himself takes after Makoto Yuki somewhat in terms of design.

Junpei, much like Strohl would later be in concept, is the bromatic foil character to Makoto. Junpei and Strohl both use Greatswords in battle. Which is the weapon type for the Warrior Archetype. Junpei and Strohl are both physically oriented. And both also have a boost in Critical Hit rates as part of their passive skills when you bond with them.

The Warrior Archetype linages places emphasis on the sword. So it seems natural that Junpei has the Warrior Archetype as his starting line up. The Royal Warrior Archetype Strohl gets near the end of the game has Vorpal Blade and Brave Blade in the moveset, which was Junpei will get himself at the end of his journey.

Yukari is going to be difficult to pinpoint because Yukari serves as the main healer for the party, so it only feels right to give Yukari the Healer Archetype. Well the weapon she uses are a bow and arrow, which is not the weapon type the Healer Archetype uses (Healer Archetypes use a Mace). And while this does fall in line with the Gunner Archetype, the weapon for the linage is less like a bow and arrow and more like a Crossbow gun (something that Zen from Persona Q uses). It’s quite the conundrum.

But I personally decided to stick with my guns and still with the Healer Archetype for Yukari. Why? Because if your job is to heal, then that’s more important than using a bow, especially when you might miss anyway (lol). And besides, as Fuuka states herself, the Healer Archetype fits with Yukari’s “kindness,” not that she herself would agree with that flat out.

Akihiko Sanada is self explanatory in terms of what Archetype he would have: The Brawler Archetype linage. It helps that one of the Synthesis Skills tied to one of the Archetypes is an electric based attack. So Akihiko, the literal brawler of the team couldn’t have asked for a more befitting Archetype linage.

I have a very interesting take on what starting Archetype linage Mitsuru Kirijo would have. Hot take, but I would give her the Commander linage. One of my main reasons for this is her weapon the Rapier. In the Persona Q games, her Rapier does Pierce damage. The weapon the Commander linage uses also does Pierce damage. So although one could classify Mitsuru’s weapon as another one handed sword with a different name like in original Persona 3, I actually like how the Rapier is handled in those game as it makes Mitsuru’s weapon more unique to her.

As for other reasons for why I would give Mitsuru this linage, the General adept Archetype uses Ice Skills, not unlike Mitsuru. Mitsuru is a Magic specialist, Commander (again) has magic skills. And most importantly, character wise, Mitsuru is the one running the S.E.E.S. operations to begin with and is one of the older members of the team. If anyone can use this Archetype in a way that befits their character, the Commander Archetype linage is perfect for Mitsuru IMO.

Aigis is also somewhat self explanatory, I would give her the Gunner Archetype. I mean, you can’t entirely disagree… right? In all seriousness, let’s look at Persona Q again as another example for why I have chosen this Archetype linage for her, however obvious it is. In the Persona Q games, Aigis is one of few characters that the game suggests to be in the back row. The Gunner Archetype is exclusively required to be in the backseat in order to use its skills. Speaking of which, all of them (prior to Dragoon) is exclusive to piercing skills. Piercing skills are Aigis’s MO as far as her skills from her base Persona is concerned.

Koromaru is with the Thief Archetype. Usage of dark skills, check. Him and Heismay are some of the fastest members of their teams (check). Both Koromaru being the sole animal of the team, with Heismay having the most animalistic traits of the races in Metaphor, check. It’s also worth noting that Koromaru snatches the remote control Ikutsuki was using to control Aigis, so that counts for something.

Though it should be worth noting that Koromaru uses Knives, something which the Faker Archetype linage uses. But the Thief Archetype uses Katana like weapons. But they are small for the most part to fit Heismay’s stature. So they can still function well for Koromaru and how he fights with weapons.

Ken Amada uses the Knight Archetype weapon type: a Lance. And yet Ken uses Light primarily and is a secondary healer like Yukari. I already gave the Healer Archetype to Yukari because it fits with her not wanting someone else close to her to die. But what about Ken? Ken, prior to October 4th, has wanted solely to avenge the death of his mother; by killing Shinjiro Aragaki. Although Ken had healing skills, Ken skills were exclusively instant death skills because she wished to kill his mother’s (accidental) murderer.

This is something that canonically would disgust Hulkenburg. During the early stages of the game after Grius’ death at Louis’ hands, when Strohl explains to Hulkenburg on why Grius (Alces, in her case) was trying to kill Louis (but hiding that the Prince is alive). Hulkenburg misinterpreted this act as a quest for vengeance and would never believed that Alces would succumb to “anger and malice.” Ultimately, Hulkenburg learns the truth about the Prince’s survival (after nearly getting skewered by the reanimated Alces) and awakens to her Archetype.

Ken, after the whole ordeal with Shinjiro, strives to make an effort to protect his friends going forward after learning how damning the path of revenge is to one’s self and the people around them. So that’s why I decided to let Ken have the Knight Archetype.

And last, but certainly not least, we end this post on a high note with Shinjiro Aragaki. With the obvious fact that he uses an Axe. And the fact that he is a bruiser with a heart of gold, Shinjiro’s starter Archetype would undoubtedly be the same as Basilio: the Berserker Linage. It’s fitting because both Shinjiro and Basilio use axes, can cook well, and are tied with the themes of death and regret. Basilio became a permanent last party member after the death of his older brother Fidelio (who incidentally has the Japanese voice actress as Ken: Megumi Ogata). Shinjiro is a temporary party that dies, but would spark the character developments of the remaining team members.

And that is the Persona 3 party’s potential starting Archetypes.

[swellbloom-kids]

Character Classes for a Noli TTRPG

My Noli ttrpg, A Town So Blighted, contains twelve character classes, each patterned after different characters in the Noli and El Fili. They are:

The Freethinker

The Socialite

The Servant

The Acolyte

The Clerk

The Ruffian

The Merchant

The Revolutionary

The Charlatan

The Schoolmaster

The Artisan

The Eccentric

Each class has its own unique non-magical abilities that supplement the PCs' magical ones. For example:

This one in particular is inspired by the quack doctor Don Tiburcio, as well as a previous PC who was a fake fortune-teller. The Schoolmaster and The Eccentric are pretty self-explanatory, while The Freethinker is a synthesis of characters like Ibarra, Isagani, and Makaraig.

These classes slot in with the module's magical abilities, which also number 12 after the main 12 gods in Swellbloom Kids. I would think that certain combos make for a lot of synergy - such as a gravedigger (Servant) blessed by a death goddess (Magwayen). Something to think about!

[transmutationisms]

Can you longpost on epigenetics? I get that it's thorny ground wrt the medical field, but I study plants (though I'm also learning connections between botany, racism, and empire). Gene expression is the hot thing for horticulturists atm. I got the canon "history of genetics" in college, & read Mayr's "One Long Argument." I even read Lysenko critiquing Morgan, and I thought "he's almost describing epigenetics (and that's a good thing)!" Are there contemporary alternatives to epigenetic models?

like, alternatives for what application or explanatory potential? when i talk about epigenetics i'm making basically two critiques:

methodological—it's far more difficult than most people estimate to actually identify a list of differentially expressed genes (you need lots of samples, which is a tremendous amount of data; results vary based on the parameters you give the computer for where to differentiate one discrete gene from the next; many DEGs will only 'differentiate' at fairly low rates); even if you do manage to come up with a list of DEGs you're highly confident in, it's incredibly hard to identify what most of these genes actually do in the organism (genes seldom work alone, but express in the context of other genes and biochemical cascades; hierarchical gene ontologies are plagued by high degrees of uncertainty and are a bitch and a half to make; text mining solutions are worse; all of this is hampered by linguistic and financial barriers that make it difficult to share research); even if you by some miracle have identified strongly expressed DEGs and also know with confidence what they do, altering their expression, eg through up- or down-regulation, is also incredibly difficult (like, no we can't just whip up a pharmacological or biological agent for this most of the time lol) and can have unintended effects on other genes or biological processes. so, the lofty promises of epigenetics as a field are usually pretty fucking far from materialising into anything concretely useful or beneficial;

historical—people who claim that epigenetics is an inherently liberatory science (i think i talked about this wrt catherine malabou, though she's far from the only person to make this claim) are ignorant, wilfully or not, of the past and present relationship between epigenetics, theories of environmental influence, and eugenics (in this context sometimes called euthenics—bad term), and the biopolitical efforts to control and improve populations through management of their surroundings. these run the gamut from efforts predating the science of genetics (1790s french revolutionaries trying to create an ordered and productive citizenry by controlling the nation's sensory inputs and the social environment) to discourses situated between contested uses of the term 'natural selection' & the later 'modern synthesis' of evolution & genetics (1892 charlotte perkins gilman's 'the yellow wallpaper', in which a degenerative madness arises from prolonged exposure to insalubrious environmental surroundings) to later efforts relying more on the scientific prestige of technical genetic language (late 20th century onward attempts to make the 'thrifty gene' hypothesis into an epigenome of 'obesity' that therefore implies a future ability to eliminate fatness). the bottom line here is that the idea of biological malleability is not inherently liberatory and can and does support eugenic arguments; we can't rely on nature or biology to ground or justify our political positions, and science is produced and wielded by humans who place it in our own ideological and political epistemologies.

my argument is not & never has been that gene expression doesn't vary; it is pretty well established at this point that it does: between individuals, between environmental conditions, over one individual's lifetime; as a result of chronic & acute illness; etc. what we do with that information, though, is politically weighted as much as anything else; notions of biological 'improvement' are never neutral (this goes for plants as much as animals; think about agricultural reform & technologies, the use of plant breeding treatises to inform human eugenic discourses, & so forth); and anyway, again, knowing that gene expression varies and changes doesn't mean we automatically have concrete & certain information about this or that gene, how it functions, & what its differential expression means for an organism or population.

[carvalhais]

This idea that a human is a kind of natural cyborg, that we are the product of what might be called the entanglement of human nature and human invention, as philosophers as diverse as Donna Haraway and Andy Clark have proposed, is central to what I call “the New Synthesis.” Modern biology achieved its full explanatory power, its ability to account for life, its variety, and origins, thanks to the Original Synthesis, that is, the integration of Darwinian evolution with Mendelian genetics, but also with the new molecular biology that came of age in the mid-twentieth century. But if we are to explain the human mind, it is now believed by many, we need a New Synthesis, that is, we need to join biology, so understood, to the theory of cultural evolution. For it is cultural selection, and cultural modes of sharing, change, and transmission, rather than genetics or natural selection, that explain the emergence of uniquely human cognitive accomplishments, a process that, as we have already considered, probably began around one hundred thousand years ago. It is culture, layered on top of biology, that explains how we became human. Alva Noë. 2023. The Entanglement: How Art and Philosophy Make Us What We Are. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

"I am conducting a personal investigation into the world I find myself in."

JOYCE MESSIER - "How *truly* curious -- a sort of philosopher-detective!"

My theory is that this inquiry into the nature of reality will ultimately converge with our murder investigation. They are really one and the same."

"Actually... that's not why I need you to give me the low-down."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Are they now?" The lieutenant cocks one eyebrow.

JOYCE MESSIER - "A deep synthesis," she nods. "I'll assist you however I can then. Go ahead. Ask."

+5XP

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - All right. We're in. I know these *all* look good, but begin with the first, okay.

"Where are we?"

"What times are these?"

[Espirit de Corps - Legendary 14] What is... (Think of something close to you.)

"What are *you*?"

"What is this?" (Spread your hands.)

[Conceptualization - Impossible 20] What is... Reach for something fundamental.

"That's all for now." (Conclude for now.)

JOYCE MESSIER - "We're in Martinaise, baby."

"*Baby*?"

"Mhm. And what is *Martinaise*?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "A casual term of endearment popular among the 50+ crowd. It's a disco holdover, pay it no heed."

"I'm a disco holdover myself."

"Mhm. And what is *Martinaise*?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "Ha!" She smiles. "Aren't we all?"

"Mhm. And what is *Martinaise*?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "Martinaise is a district of Revachol." She looks around, her green raincoat flapping in the wind. "A very small district tucked away near the Industrial Harbour. North of the 8/81 and Jamrock."

"You would be excused for not knowing about it. Unimportant, they say. Forgotten even -- shelled to smithereens during the Revolution." She shrugs. "It has its charms, just not this time of year."

"Tell me more about Martinaise."

"You mentioned a sea. What sea is this?"

"Okay, that's Martinaise. What's *Revachol*?" (Continue.)

"Tell me about another, perhaps even *more* fundamental aspect of reality."

JOYCE MESSIER - "I'm not a good ambassador. I've only been here once before, as a teenager. Not a lot has changed..." She closes her eyes. "There are ruins, a terminal, fishing boats, reeds. Boys with boxy shoulders."

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - A brief spike of longing in her upright body. The dots under her eyelids shake.

JOYCE MESSIER - She opens them: "As I told you: Martinaise used to be a province, a workers' resort before the city swallowed it and the artillery did its part. Now the reeds are the real star of the show here. The further down the coast, the wilder it gets."

2. "You were here as a teenager?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "Yes, I was *slumming* it with some girlfriends of mine. We had boats and..." She smiles. "Don't hold it against me -- the boys certainly did not."

3. "You mentioned a sea. What sea is this?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "It's not really a sea. It's the Bay of Revachol. And the bay feeds into the ocean."

"Are we near the ocean?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "Yes. We are on an island in an ocean. The world's largest body of water -- the Insulindic."

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Vast, lukewarm and unknowable. Flowing in and out of sight.

4. "What's the name of this island?"

JOYCE MESSIER - Caillou, as you already know." She looks to the waters. "Imagine a pebble, a smoothed over pebble amidst a great blue sea. Mis-shapen, cracked. The cracks are the River Esperance. We're in the delta of this river, on the sixth branch -- the Martinaise distributary."

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - It is clear this *pebble* is of enormous value to her...

5. "Okay, that's Martinaise. What's *Revachol*?" (Continue.)

JOYCE MESSIER - "Revachol -- Revachol is what you call a *city*."

"What kind of city is Revachol?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "The *Great* kind."

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - As if it's self-explanatory, beyond patriotism. A fact.

"What makes Revachol great?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "History, detective. They built this city to *resolve* History -- our part in it at least, our centuries."

"Okay. *Who* built this city?"

*When* was Revachol built?"

"And why will it *resolve* history?" (Continue.)

JOYCE MESSIER - "The nations of the Occident. Or migrant workers from Semenine and Iilmaraa, depending on your creed."

2. *When* was Revachol built?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "In the Dolorian century, 380 years ago."

3. "And why will it *resolve* history?" (Continue.)

JOYCE MESSIER - "They say it's where the *terrible* questions of our time will be answered -- the tensions are highest, the faultlines deepest."

"By that I mean conflicts. Ideological conflicts. The stuff of men."

"Why here?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "We are standing on a fertile, self-sufficient island able to sustain up to 200 million people; in the middle of the Insulindic ocean -- the world's connective tissue..." She smiles. "It's where the money is."

"So, we're in an unimportant part of an important place?"

"So, we're pretty much at the centre of the world?"

"So, we're on the periphery? Basically nobodies?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "I think it's fair to say so. Martinaise is about..." She points across the water, where the skyscrapers rise...

"Twenty-two kilometres from the centre of the world. That soldering iron is the Bank of the World building. The bottom floors are INSURCOM -- *Coalition Government* Insulindian Mission Command."

+5XP

Look to the sea...

JOYCE MESSIER - Silence. She lowers her hand.

INLAND EMPIRE [Trivial: Success] - The water, the light... It's as though you're seeing it for the *first* time.

SHIVERS [Easy: Success] - There is no recognition. Only the immensity of the sea, and the cold radiating from it.

"Where *are* we?"

"I don't know any of this..."

Say nothing. Observe the large body of water. Swelling. Cold...

JOYCE MESSIER - "We are where we are. I have no truer answer to give, unfortunately." She watches you closely as you scan the horizon.

Thought Gained: Jamais Vu (Derealization)

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - This is one thought you *need* to complete. Where are you?

JOYCE MESSIER - "Was there something else you wanted to know? I remember something about a low-down..."

KIM KITSURAGI - "This has been informative, thank you ma'am. I'm sure my memory-impaired partner has *many* more questions to ask..." He turns to you. "...about even more fundamental aspects of reality..."

"Might I suggest *not* asking them all right now? Ma'am Messier will be here later too. And tomorrow. Isn't that true, ma'am?"

JOYCE MESSIER - "Absolutely -- my commitment here is long term."

"You're right, lieutenant. I'll continue later."

"But I want to know everything now."

"But won't I be *lazy* if I don't do it all now?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "That is understandable -- but *perhaps* it's better not to eat all your candy at once?"

Task Updated: Get a Reality Lowdown

JOYCE MESSIER - "Indeed. I am always at your service."

[aioleis]

This book is about evolutionary theory. It deals with aspects of its history to focus upon explanatory structures at work in the various forms of evolutionary theory - as such this is also a work of philosophy. Its focus lies on recent debates about the Modern Synthesis and what might be lacking in that synthesis. These claims have been most clearly made by those calling for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. The author argues that the difference between these two positions is the consequence of two things. First, whether evolution is a considered as solely a population level phenomenon or also a theory of form. Second, the use of information concepts.

In this book Darwinian evolution is positioned as a general theory of evolution, a theory that gave evolution a technical meaning as the statistical outcome of variation, competition, and inheritance. The Modern Synthesis (MS) within biology, has a particular focus, a particular architecture to its explanations that renders it a special theory of evolution.

[literaturereviewhelp]

The Family is a Type Evolution of a Sociological School   The Family is a Type Evolution of a Sociological Institution Introduction The foregoing essay provides expiation of normative ideas about the proper place of the family. Macro sociology looks at economies of scale, law, medicine and systems of education to show how society works. The family, the modern unit, instrument and raison d’etre for political action still offers apt locus for generation of theoretical ideas. The tradition of Sociology involves three basic precepts: 1) Functionalist theory – universal acknowledgement that society has needs, and those needs are met through natural social practices and institutions already present in society (Durkheim, 2002); 2) Conflict theory – contention is a force for maintaining social inequality and preserving dominance (Freire, 2007); and 3) Symbolic integrationists -- direct observation of social happenings, and the learning capability that comes from reflection (i.e. advertising) (Mead, 2011). Functionalism and the Family The early functionalist (and structuralist-functionalist) logic of sociologist Emile Durkheim (2002) coalesced entirely with the reproductive focus of eugenics policies that emerged between the World Wars. Durkheim’s functionalist perspective marked the introduction of systems application to institutional analysis. According to Functionalist theories, the presence of “roles” is an organic synthesis of basic knowledge and skills translatable to future generations. Considered the vehicle for “moral education” as a concept stems from this model of socialization, or “cohesive social structure.” Functionalism progressed in sociology of the family perspectives as an explanatory model for “why” families functioned how they do, and places this social formation at the center of socialization of children and classificatory site of common sense administration in government. An example is found in the Western eugenics movement that followed this period. Eugenicists and policy makers “took reproduction to define women’s social roles” into the realm of social mandate (Stephan-Leys, p. 12). Early objections by the Catholic Church opposed this movement, however, instigated public argument on control of reproduction in a strong counter discourse determined to leave proprietary decision to the power of God. Sterilization, birth control and abortions were not only illegal, they were considered contrary to the moral development of Western civilization. According to Stephan-Leys (1991), eugenicists sought to develop a negative eugenics of reproduction that would be “compatible with the very real political and other constraints” of society. Read the full article

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Robert F. Graboyes

Published: Feb 28, 2024

Egalitarianism vs Who-Knows-What

The titanic social struggle of our era pits those favoring equality (in its traditional sense) against those demanding “equity” (in a sense far from its traditional meaning). One who advocates equality is an egalitarian, and his philosophy is egalitarianism. One who advocates “equity” has no name—or has scores of names; the same is true of his philosophy. This asymmetry of nomenclature and the divergent meanings of “equity” put egalitarians at a powerful rhetorical disadvantage. For effective argumentation, egalitarians need to level the rhetorical playing field, and I believe the most efficient way of doing so is to refer to anti-egalitarians as “equitists” and to their philosophy as “equitism”—as we’ll do here. 

Following is an excellent example of how equitists themselves distinguish egalitarianism from equitism:

“Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.”

Egalitarians aspire to equalize individual rights and opportunities, and perhaps to equalize ex post outcomes across individuals via social safety nets. Equitists, well-intentioned though they may be, pigeonhole people by immutable characteristics (race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, disability, etc.) and then seek to equalize average outcomes across groups. Someone in charge (an equitist, naturally) must devise a taxonomy of mankind, assign every individual to some cell in that taxonomy, rank each cell along something like an oppressor/oppressed spectrum, and then allocate rights, privileges, opportunities, and wealth among these cells.

Generally, egalitarians seek to define “equal” objectively (e.g., equal rights, opportunities, access to education, income), whereas equitism’s definitions of “equal” are subjective. Equitism is largely an outgrowth of Frankfurt School critical theory, which rejects the very notion of objectivity. (My “Equity-toonz: One Meme Is Worth a Thousand Pictures” explores how explanatory memes that equitists often employ can mislead readers—intentionally or not.) 

The subjectivity of equitism can be seen in “antiracism” guru Ibram X. Kendi’s prescription: 

“The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”

In Kendi’s formulation, no metric can ever signal that equality (between groups) has arrived. Instead, there is never-ending retribution for ancestral sins, subjectively administered via an authoritarian “antiracist constitutional amendment.” 

And yet, as odious as Kendi’s ideas may be, the absence of a word like “equitism” leaves egalitarians flailing. Kendi calls his version of equitism “antiracism,” allowing his enthusiasts to declare that if one is not antiracist, then logic dictates that one must be proracist. This false dichotomy forces egalitarians into convoluted, never-satisfying rebuttals. Declaring one’s opposition to “Kendian Equitism” would present no equivalent difficulties. 

And “antiracism” is only one of many names an egalitarian must battle. As the artwork atop this essay shows, these interconnected doctrines have been called antiracism; wokeness; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); critical race theory (CRT); environmental, social, and governance (ESG); postcolonialism; anticolonialism; social and emotional learning (SEL); safetyism; intersectionality; oppressor/oppressed; white fragility; identity Marxism; identity politics; fighting white privilege; postmodernism; identity synthesis; social justice; critical social justice; political correctness; progressivism; and more. All are closely related, but just different enough to sow confusion, accidentally or deliberately—e.g., “Antiracism is not the same thing as critical race theory, which is not the same as DEI.” 

Sun Tzu said, “He who occupies the high ground will fight to advantage.” The absence of an umbrella term for these highly interrelated philosophies hands equitists the rhetorical high ground. The key to cleaning this Augean Stable of lexicon is recognizing that the revisionist definition of “equity” is the one common thread running through every one of these movements or concepts. This simple trio of terms—equity, equitist, equitism—can level that battlefield of ideas.

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Name the Target, Freeze It, Personalize It

Many have commented on the absence or multiplicity of names for this anti-egalitarian tendency—and the rhetorical mire this shortcoming imposes on the whole egalitarianism-versus-whatever-you-happen-to-call-it-on-a-given-day debate. On the political right, Thomas Klingenstein said, “Rhetorically, our side is getting absolutely murdered … We have not even come up with an agreed-on name for the enemy.” In the center, Bari Weiss said, “[T]his new ideology doesn’t even like to be named.” On the left, Freddie DeBoer titled an essay (without asterisks), “Please Just F***ing Tell Me What Term I Am Allowed to Use for the Sweeping Political Changes You Demand,” adding, “You don't get to insist that no one talks about your political project and it's weak and pathetic that you think you do.” 

Many have suggested names, but none has caught on. This is because an effective name must meet seven separate criteria—and no previously suggested options have checked all or even most of the seven boxes. Here are (1) the criteria; (2) examples of why current terms fail; and (3) why equity-equitist-equitism could succeed. 

[1] FLEXIBILITY: There must be a trio of terms naming the aspiration, the advocate, and the philosophy.

If you call the philosophy “wokeness,” then who advocates it? Wokesters? Woke folk? Persons of the woke persuasion? They have no name.

With equity-equitist-equitism, one can say, “Someone who supports equity over equality is an equitist, and his philosophy is equitism.” All grammatical forms are available, and their interconnections are logical and intuitive.

[2] BREVITY: The trio must consist of simple, single, clearly related words.

“Critical race theory” demands three words and seven clunky syllables. Who is its advocate? “Critical race theorist” might describe academicians, but not activists. “Someone who subscribes to critical race theory” entails a mind-numbing seven words and thirteen syllables. “CRT” is brief but obscure.

In contrast, one can easily say, “He is an equitist,” rather than ponderous phrases like, “He is someone who supports the idea of equity over equality,” or the audience-euthanizing, “He is someone who supports equity, but I’m talking about the modern anti-egalitarian definition of equity, not the traditional definition.” 

[3] BREADTH: The terms must be applicable to a broad swath of the many allied movements comprising this philosophy.

Enthusiasts swear (sometimes) that CRT is only a legal doctrine and not, say, the clearly derivative concepts taught in K-12 settings. ESG applies only to business investment. You need a term that covers all these related doctrines.

The re-engineered definition of “equity” is the common thread that connects all 21 movements listed above (along with others), and equitist-equitism follow suit. Does any other word fill this niche?

[4] COHESION: The quest for breadth must be offset by parameters that limit the philosophy to a focused topical range.

“Political correctness” may cover many equity doctrines, but it also incorporates lots of barely related concepts—etiquette, scientific doctrines, etc. Maybe SEL derives from postcolonialism, but applying the latter label to the former would likely stall the speaker in a futile argument over arcane lexical points.

Using equity-equitist-equitism limits the conversation to the notion of allocating rights, privileges, resources, and wealth across groups rather than across individuals. It leaves cultural tics and attitudes to other days. 

[5] CLARITY: The trio must be sufficiently novel to insulate egalitarians from both innocent confusion and deliberate shenanigans.

To naive listeners, “I oppose Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (the doctrine) sounds exactly like “I oppose diversity, equity, and inclusion” (three separate, benign ideals). This can lead to confusion among thoughtful, well-intentioned listeners and speakers—and it allows some disingenuous “equity” enthusiasts to frustrate meaningful debate by means of motte-and-bailey rhetorical tactics (i.e., using a term that has two meanings—one controversial, and one not). 

Equity-equitist-equitism quashes the motte-and-bailey problem. “Equitist” and “equitism” have no familiar, traditional meanings with which they can be easily confused—accidentally or purposefully. The word “equity” remains a problem, but one easily dealt with via scare quotes or quick clarifications like “equity, in the equitist sense.”

[6] FAMILIARITY: The trio must not be so novel as to be incomprehensible to those hearing them for the first time.

Yascha Mounk suggests that these doctrines be referred to together as, “identity synthesis.” But one would need a fairly comprehensive explanation before using such an expression. Terminology, like iPhones, should be usable without requiring an instruction booklet. 

Someone who has never heard the terms equitist or equitism can intuitively sense their meanings by thinking about the obvious root word—equity.   

[7] RESPECTABILITY: The terms must not be patently frivolous or insulting.

“Wokeness” is widely viewed as an insult and, to be honest, the word is usually invoked specifically to deliver scorn or insult. Yes, “woke” was once a self-description that seems to have originated with blues musician Huddie Ledbetter (a.k.a., Lead Belly), but there is always danger in outsiders trying to co-opt in-group slang.

“Equitist” and “equitism” have a staid, neutral vibe. Equity-equitist-equitism is precisely analogous to equality-egalitarian-egalitarianism. While some equitists will object to being called equitists, their complaint will seem more petty and unreasonable than their current objections to “wokeness” or “political correctness.”

Equity-equitist-equitism has an additional bonus virtue. Google Translate is able to translate all three into at least some other languages. (e.g., Equidad-equitista-equitismo for Spanish; Equité-equitiste-equitisme for French). Since these doctrines are debated internationally, this multilingual flexibility is important. This brings us to the following.

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Equity-Equitist-Equitism as Self Description

Interestingly, one can find some (obscure) equitists on the Internet who have suggested calling their philosophy “equitism.” Billionaire entrepreneur Marc Lore aspires to build a visionary city (“Telosa”) based on a somewhat-related concept of “equitism;” Telosa’s website says, “Equitism is inclusive growth,” and speaks of the project’s “commitment to DEI” to be administered by a municipal DEI department. A group calling itself the Atlas Movement (of whom I know nothing) wrote: 

“Equitism is the political, social, and economic doctrine promoting the idea that to maximize peoples’ well-being, society must ensure equitable rights and opportunities for all. In short, we want to systematically improve society by applying the value of Equity (from Aequitas, justice & fairness) to all its areas.”

There was also a 2022 opinion column in Ecuador’s El Heraldo: “La filosofía del equitismo” (“The Philosophy of Equitism”). Written by Guillermo Tapia Nicola, who calls himself a legal and political advisor to Ecuador’s National Assembly, here are some relevant passages (translated from Spanish):

“This endeavor … the result of everything that has happened in recent decades, is what has been called ‘Equitism,’ conceptualizing it as a new ideology for a new stage, which is supposed to guide political and social work. ... Then, talking about democratic equity, equity in vaccines, institutional equity, climate equity, or equity in matters of rights, and verifying the actions that are actually taking place on these issues, will no longer sound strange to the ears ... Ultimately, the effort and determination put in by those agents of change, promoters of equitism, could well give us a spark of hope, two years after the pandemic ... In short, it is about maintaining the audacity of those actions that provide balance, and it is only matched by the audacity of that new vision and philosophy. Equitism.”

I agree with these writers. The movement they describe should have a name, acceptable to honorable advocates and adversaries alike, and I believe the best option lies in equity-equitist-equitism.” Apply these words to the proponents of “equity” and to their philosophy, and let the real debates begin—on level ground, at last. 

[janaawrites2024]

Required #3.1

Week 8 Writeup #1: Synthesis Paper

Summarize your topic in the synthesis paper.

by Nike My part on the synthesis paper was all about relational webs.

These relational webs, composed of individuals and groups engaging in virtual environments, are the foundation of online communities. By examining online communities as social networks, applying a social network perspective, and utilizing social network analysis, we can better understand the structure, dynamics, and implications of these digital relationships. Although the concept of social networks appears to be self-explanatory, different researchers describe it in slightly different ways. However, what they all basically boil it down into is the understanding that social networks focus on the interactions among individuals—referred to as ‘actors’ or ‘nodes’—and how these connections, termed ‘relationships’ or ‘edges,’ can influence community dynamics.

The social network perspective provides a framework for understanding this concept. This perspective highlights the importance of the connections (or ties) between users in shaping the flow of information, influence, and support within the network. In this view, the structure of a network is vital to understanding how relational webs operate. To analyze these relational webs, a method called Social Network Analysis (SNA) can be implemented. This method quantitatively measures the patterns of relationships within a network, allowing researchers to identify key nodes, clusters, and pathways of communication. SNA helps uncover the central players or "influencers" in the network, as well as any isolated groups or weak ties that might affect the overall flow of information. By applying SNA to online communities, we gain insights into how information spreads, how social support is mobilized, and how influence is exerted within digital spaces. To conclude, understanding these relational webs through a social network lens provides valuable tools for analyzing the dynamics of online communities, shedding light on their complexities and revealing opportunities for enhancing connectivity, engagement, and overall community health.

[seopiepie]

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