Asklemmy
- Why is there no global language that at least nearly half the world speaks (3.5 billion, I'm talkin', including non-native speakers)
Is the Tower of Babel still affecting us or something?
Edit:
We have 8 billion people, yet the best we could muster for the most total speakers of a language is under 2 billion, including non-natives...
> 1. English (1,452 million speakers) > First language: 372.9 million > Total speakers: 1.4+ billion > According to Ethnologue, English is the most-spoken language in the world including native and non-native speakers.
https://www.berlitz.com/blog/most-spoken-languages-world#:~:text=1.,English%20(1%2C452%20million%20speakers)&text=According%20to%20Ethnologue%2C%20English%20is,native%20and%20non%2Dnative%20speakers.
- What reading style do you consider more tedious to read, A) short, concise, and precise, but using non-layperson vocabulary, B) using layperson vocabulary, but it's longer, drawn out, and not precise?
I've seen a lot of people on here be teased for difficulty expressing themselves. Either people complain "you're using big person words to describe mundane things" when they're aiming for precision or "woah, we don't need that damn wall of text" when they're aiming for clarity. It's like people just want to complain.
- What's your most unpopular opinion about music ?
For me : Trippie Redd's "!" Is actually a great album
- Do you leave a tip for housekeeping if you're only staying one night in a hotel?
Is it a 'thank you for prepping my room' or 'please clean my room today'? If you tip post cleaning, it's likely going to someone else the next day. Many hotels now only do housekeeping on demand. How do employees feel about this - do they miss the tips or are they happy for a less stressful workday?
ETA- I'm in the US. Does the rest of the world tip housekeeping? I always have when traveling because I do at home, but I don't know what the norm is.
- How to Post a Link in a Lemmy Post to Another Lemmy Post
Sorry if the title is confusing let me explain:
I like Lemmy and want to help it grow so I picked a community I'm passionate about (vaporents @ .world) and I've been trying to make content for it. I specifically wanted to make some guides on ball vapes because they are very new tech and pretty intimidating. I want to write guides that reference other posts with the words hyperlinked instead of pasting lemmy.world/you-get-it.
Ex: " a diffuser ball vape head is capable of adding conductive heating if a heat soak is used, see my post here(hyperlinked) about conductive vs convective heating"
I was always a lurker on reddit so I'm not use to post syntax, I can do easy things like bold text, what's the hyperlink syntax? Also I would love to hear any other useful post syntax tips!
- Can you name any objectively unique human creations or thoughts that were not derived/inspired from another source?
This is intended as a very abstract philosophical question.
Like Einstein with relativity was inspired by a man falling from a roof and a moving train. Most creative ideas seem to boil down to a person moving ideas across domains. Do you think this is always true even if the person is unwilling to admit the root thoughts, or perhaps they are completely unaware of the connections they subconsciously made? Is there truly a provably unique thought or is everything a product of experience?
- Is it possible to de-duplicate lemmy posts from other instances?
It’s annoying seeing the same headlines numerous times linking to same stuff because it’s cross posted to 3+ instances.
Is there a setting to reduce that or app that handles that well?
- Best Lemmy App in 2024
Now that the Reddit exodus is about a year old and the client apps have matured, what's the latest state of the above question?
What app do you use and why? I'm mainly interested in Android but suggestions for other platforms are also welcome. And if you are using multiple platforms, what's your primary one?
- Scariest/creepiest production logo?
When I was little, TV shows and movies apparently liked to make their production logos creepy. That logo that appeared either in the beginning of a VHS tape or DVD or in the end was enough to get some of us to not sneak out of our rooms at night and watch our favorite shows/movies. And as I grew older, I'd be confirmed of the fact I wasn't the only person caught off-guard, as there is a whole genre of discussion around it. Which one would strike the scariest vibes in you?
- In your country, what "common" animals are tourists most excited to see?
It has always amused me that the tourists to the US that I’ve spoken to are often very excited to see raccoons, and disappointed if they don’t see them before they leave.
Some others I’ve noticed on the east coast of the US are blue jays and cardinals. Boy, do people get excited about those if they’ve never seen them before! Very pretty birds of course, just very easy to get used to and see as uninteresting as well.
- In mid-December and early January Quaker oats issued two massive recalls for salmonella risk. Many of their biggest products were involved. Other recalls were issued in February as well.
As of today many and perhaps even most of those products are still not on the shelves. It's unusual to see this kind of delay, and I wonder if anyone knows...
Have there been any leaks or investigative reporting on the source of the salmonella intrusion, and why it is proving so difficult for Quaker oats to get a handle on?
- How might perspectives on race change in a hypothetical fully-egalitarian future?
Oh please let it be a fully egalitarian future…
Attached is a perfectly acceptable social media post and two entirely understandable LLM responses to the post and a reimagining of the post.
One relevant data point in terms of how soon we’d conceivably be refactoring language models and updating our own views:
>From their research, Sáenz and Poston Jr expect the United States to have progressed to overall white minority demography by 2044.
Of course, a white minority doesn’t necessarily equate a dismantling of a power structure favoring white folks.
It shouldn’t need to be said on the fediverse that racists need not reply - expect most folks will approach this academically as intended.
PS: if you hate this post, please try to be as nice as you can about it - e.g. toss me a polite sentence after you downvote
- Help needed choosing a good pair of noise cancelling earphones
I've found a good number of negative reviews of Bose QC 2 and quite a few good things said about Sony WF-1000XM5 so I'm leaning towards buying them but would love to hear the general recommendation on Lemmy first.
I live in a very noisy environment and need earphones for my sleep, when I work or relax, and for listening to podcasts as well as a bit of music. And since sleep is most important for me, I have in-ear comfort as the top priority.
- If you had to give one piece of advice that is pretty much universally applicable, what would it be?
I wouldn't dare defile Douglas Adam's memory by not mentioning that you should keep a towel with you at all times, but my second contender is a surprisingly short three-parter:
- never lie.
- never tell the whole truth.
- never pass up a chance to use a real bathroom.
- People without a family, how are you faring in life?
Without a family as in fully on your own since legal age, be it kicked out / had to leave at 18 or from a foster background, or from an orphanage.
- How old is the oldest building in the town you live in?
To those from the Western hemisphere, it's always fascinating to hear that some homes and businesses from the times of the Greek philosophers still have inhabitants, and then you remember that the Western hemisphere is itself not without its own examples, for example some Mexican villages still have temples from the times of the Mayans.
- Why does a state like California that has supermajorities in both houses of the legislature not have a livable wage, housing guarantees, universal healthcare, and other very progressive policies?
I keep being told it's because of the Republicans that we can't have nice things. So what gives in California? We should be overflowing with progressive policies.
- who is on Lemmy (the sociology of Lemmy)
I dont know if this has been asked before or if this may be a little goofy of a question but I didn't see anything relating to it and I'm kinda curious what the culture of Lemmy is like and what sort of common things people see. ive been paying attention to interactions but nothing is as good as just asking everyone.
- Is any body able to provide some advice to help my friend through a bad patch?
So I’m a bit of a degenerate but making better choices lately and sort of getting things on track.
My friend had some health issues and had to stop working, my other friend now does all the labour, and he just runs the business.
He then split with his partner who he has children, as frankly he would never be at home and it was always going to happen.
I just found out the health condition has gotten worse and he will have to lose a leg. He never improved his diet, kept hitting the coke hard and gambling. So recently he has gambled away £35,000 and had a breakdown with another friend.
How do I even be there for him and keep him on a good path, providing he is open to change.
- I'm falling for a long-distance "bad boy trying to turn good" who has PTSD and traumatic family/past, afraid of it possibly being mistake but I'm not ready to let go: What should I do?? Please help!
Please read post for full context and be kind with me. Any help/input will be appreciated!
We met on a dating app several months ago during a hectic time for me but I wanted to ease back into dating after a bad break-up. Witty banter right away with us via text. He was a breath of fresh air, direct and candid especially when it came to the most dark and traumatic topics. Something about the way he texted me made him stand out and made me feel something. However, I had qualms because as much as I find a "bad boy" thrilling, I can't say he's my go-to type. He has been through more than anyone should in an entire lifetime: divorce and drug addictions run in the family, absent biological dad and malicious step-dad, grieving many losses, PTSD, and he himself was an alcoholic who tried various hard drugs for some time (he says no longer the case). He had to care for his siblings and be the bread winner early on. It's not that I ever want to be judgmental or prejudiced, but I can't help feeling at least somewhat anxious and afraid of making another dating mistake, this time with a man who's already endured such complex pain. I am not sure if we are trauma-bonding, but I'm so scared if it is, as we've also already talked about my own parents' dynamic (not the "normal" happy relationship either) and losing friends who couldn't see the light.
With all this darkness, why do I feel so attracted? It's how he has dealt with all of the setbacks, and the way he's said things on his own accord that heal the most painful parts of my prior relationship with a narcissist. How he cared for his family, looked for his father, got past addiction. He consistently tells me the sweetest things and has already started calling me loving names whereas my ex refused to even months after becoming official, already asking me my birthday and wanting to make it special whereas my ex ignored me completely the day of my bday causing the breakup. He remembers the little things and is proactive with the big things - we've talked about our long distance, religion, politics, kids, hypothetical trips/travel. I've been love-bombed before, gaslighted, tricked, mocked, neglected. But I do not think he is love-bombing or desperate. He does double-text often and reply immediately each time, but does that necessarily label him "clingy" or that he just simply likes me? In the past, I wished my ex did that more.
I'm also drawn to his maturity. I wasn't ready for his all-in mentality when we first met, so I actually had to step back, and he was sad but respectful of my decision. I had no idea but he recently told me it took him weeks to get over me, but that he never completely did. He sent a one-word text a month ago before moving to another state hoping to update me or even maybe meet for the first time in person. I was overwhelmed by everything on my plate and recently responded; now we're texting nonstop and having calls for hours, letting it unfold naturally. He's already told me he's going exclusive with me and was sweet about me pulling away the first time. He said long distance may actually benefit us (I don't think he means opportunity to cheat, but more so because I'm also moving within my current state and will need to be extremely busy which he seems okay with) and that I'm the only person he would move back for. We've openly discussed my trust issues and his fear around marriage but that he truly wants to settle down/have kids. We're in the process of seeing when we can at least meet in person soon.
So taking all this in, I have questions for you all. Does he seem genuine in what he says and his intentions? Does he need too much self-work before entering a relationship? Is his past alarming or any red flags relating to his experiences? Are we trauma-bonding or am I overthinking/letting my own insecurities get in the way? How can we make long distance work when it's starting off this way and even if he moves, I'm apprehensive about balancing everything with my intense new career role? During long distance, I won't have much time to spare for visits until next year (but can meet up this summer) so should we keep it an open relationship or no label, even though that could bother me as I'd prefer exclusivity? Then again, we've both been searching for the right person and if not now, when? It may always feel like it's not a good time because it's always busy. Also, about trauma-bonding, aren't we all bonding over some sort of shared trauma or struggle in order to build a deeper connection
Edit: Do any of your answers change if his PTSD is from serving as a veteran, not family related abuse (as far as he knows)?
- What are your best intrusive ads ideas?
If your job was to come up with greater enshittification for society, what would you do?
My ideas:
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Rental apartments where every wall has a screen with ads 24/7. You can pay cheaper rent to live with ads in every wall or you can pay a monthly subscription to turn off the ads (you don't get to use the screens for anything else tho). After people get used to it we can start adding a little bit of ads even for the subscription users, just a little less.
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Movie theaters. This one is obvious, why did anyone think it was ok to give people access to uninterrupted movies just because they paid a couple bucks? We should include some ads in the middle of movies in the cinema duh.
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Water and electricity. Private utility providers should be able to require you to watch a certain amount of ads on their apps in order to deliver their services to you every month (you still also pay normally ofc).
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Alarm clocks. Smartphones should delete the option to pick a custom sound for alarm and instead wake you up with loud ads. Installing any custom alarm app should require root and we should lobby government to ban devices with alarm clocks which are not smart.
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Unified ad-watching score. Similar to credit score, you will gain points by not skipping ads, having the selfie camera turned on while watching an ad (to make sure you looking), having the microphone on to make sure it isn't muted, etc. Every platform contributes to your score. They can use your ad-watching score to give you benefits or punish you as they please.
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- Joe Rogan - suggestions to switch my sibling to better media
My 27 yr old sibling is a hard core follower of Joe Rogan 💩
What are some progressive channels/people/content that I could have my sibling start watching instead?
Preferably something that has a similar flavor - example: male host, muscular, easy to digest. I think that will make the transition easier.
My personal preferences are Seth Meyers and John Oliver, but Last Week Tonight (John Oliver) is even a heavy watch for me sometimes!
[No Andrew Hubbard. He’s another fake.]
Thank you!
- SOLVED: Help me find the name of a movie
SOLVED: it’s Antitrust! Thanks everyone!
It’s a tech related movie came out probably early 2000s.
Bits I remember:
- A group of home brew coders watches a webinar of some large software company.
- One of them gets hired by the company to work on a large project
- The project is supposed to enable content delivery/streaming while overcoming bandwidth constraints, but they’re stuck in development
- Main character is working on the project and is making headway but discovers something nefarious might be going on in the company
- He checks around the place and realises a large mouse sculpture in the company campus playground is actually a hidden satellite
- Using a computer in the children’s daycare room he uncovers the conspiracy
- He manages to finish off the project, and the company thinks everything is fine
- The tech company tests the system and it works perfectly broadcasting everywhere.
- But the guy uses this test to present a montage of all the evidence of the conspiracy. Also uploads the project source code
- Company CEO gets arrested or something, everyone lives happily ever after.
- Is Open University (UK) a decent option for an online-only Master's in Education degree?
Planning to enhance my professional qualifications and want to get a Master's in Education as I'm currently working in the education field, and I was wondering if this is one of the best options out there.
Would appreciate any advice, thank you!
- What podcasts have you been listening to the most during the year?
I'm getting close to the bottom of my backlog on a few podcasts, so I'm looking to get something new in there.
Personally, it's been, in no particular order:
- If Books Could Kill
- Darknet Diaries
- Hard Fork
- 99% Invisible
- The War on Cars
- The Urbanist Agenda
- The Climate Denier's Playbook
- Well There's Your Problem
I'm mildly considering getting into Behind the Bastards and It Could Happen Here, but I'm a little bit skeptical on account of how damn much there is to be listened to in their feed.
- My (20F) colleague (60sF) is a workplace bully, what do I do?
This is a job at a casual dining establishment. My colleague is driving me nuts but there seems to be no recourse for it. UK btw
Let's call my colleague Sarah. Sarah is a salaried worker while most of the others are zero contract but she's technically not above us in any way, just acts like it. Here are some of the things she's done just recently:
-Left me by myself during the lunch rush while another colleague was on a break to manage FOH to go on a half hour smoke break. I was literally having to run from the pass to take out food to diners, back to the till, and making coffees at the same time, with a massive queue. She comes back for ten minutes then disappears somewhere again once the other colleague is back. Smoke breaks aren't a part of her contract
-Leaves 15-20 min early every day but reported me for arriving 5 minutes late
-Reported me for not saying good morning to her happily enough
-Eats off of customers plates BEFORE they go out
-Signs off on things she didn't actually do on the task sheet, but told others to do
She's very two faced, and gossips with everyone about everyone else. And is very friendly with the manager and constantly reporting back to them. Everyone is waiting for her to leave the entire shift since she only ever opens, yet she expects everything to always be perfect when she comes in when there's 10x more things to do on a close than when she opens as we are often busy until the very last minute
Honestly, she is making me dread coming into work, but the spot I'm stuck in at the moment for uni has very few students jobs and I desperately need the money. Is there anything I can do or am I just fucked?
- When you get a call from a middle-aged male coworker who had tried to coerce you (younger female) into letting him drop you off at home on a Saturday night: do you call back, text, email, or ignore?
Please read post for full context; any help or input is appreciated! I disclosed sensitive info to a close female coworker (let's say Ann), who is best friends with the male coworker mentioned (Ned). I'm sure she told him, but then they both seemed to want me to still tell him directly. I did because I believe in doing the right thing, and Ann also was a huge help for something relating to my info, even though I strongly did not want this secret to spread. Ned kept it secret; however, I detest how he started feeling like he had the upper hand and could manipulate me like a puppet to do stupid intern shit for him like repeatedly printing files, including evenings and even attempted to reach me on the weekend by text. I ignored and replied from my work email the next Monday. I could see in his eyes that he had romantic thoughts about me which is largely what made all of this sickening. Ann also went behind my back to tell my private business to one of our other coworkers, who is extremely judgmental and tough on people, and even he did not exploit it - leading us to actually become much closer and respect each other.
What pissed me off the most was when Ned - and Ann - ganged up and tried coercing me into letting him drop me off at home on a Saturday night after I reluctantly made sacrifices in my schedule to meet with them two - choosing to ignore my multiple clear "NO" about the ride as I preferred public transportation. I was having a panic attack in his car while they just relentlessly and repeatedly egged me on, thinking they could break me. They finally let up after going back and forth, and I went home by public transpo.
Ned went to a different team so we didn't talk for months. I then updated everyone in a mass email about my leaving the overall group, and that's when he called. Again, he waited until evening - after work hours - to call me. I instantly feel disgusted as it took me back to that traumatic experience. Why can't he just get the hint and drop it? I did not reach out to him directly to update him, even though it is related to the original sensitive info, because I do not want to talk or encourage anything! I do not want to keep in touch with someone who completely disregarded my preferences and basically nearly kidnapped me. I have no interest in him platonically, romantically, or professionally. Should I call back, text, email from my soon-to-expire work address, email from my personal address, or ignore him? I'm afraid it'll still bug me if I ignore. I also want to be on good terms with Ann (she has some connections where I'm heading to and I fear she'll retaliate), even if she doesn't understand what went wrong and no one has apologized since that incident.
- What is the benefit of closing Studios? Why not sell them?
Yes, this is in relation to the closing of Tango Gameworks and Arcane Austin. Is there some immediate monetary benefit behind it that I have no idea about? Is it so they can keep the IPs and not have to deal with the developers? Are the Studios too expensive for anyone to buy? I honestly don't understand how these executives play Capitalism.
- I have chronic sleeping problems therefore I love(d) taking naps but waking up afterwards is absolute hell. What should I do? **Edit: I have found a short-term solution**
I am currently struggling heavily with depression. Which impacts my quality of sleep. Sleep now has never been a talent of mine. So I generally make up for it by napping. I used to absolutely love it. Both the initial and the waking up (feeling well rested). But lately the waking up part is getting more and more difficult. It then feels like someone hung an anchor on my mental health. I am at that point in absolute disarray and so depressed it makes me feel anxious it's so bad.
This may be above lemmy's pay grade but still here goes. Should I stop taking naps? Also I'm thinking of taking antidepressants, anyone here have any experience?
Edit: Thank you all for the replies. I currently in talks with a therapist about taking antidepressants. For the mean time I have found that if when I wake up from a nap and just immediately get out of bed and go into the other room. It helps alleviate the "depressional" fall out that would normally follow.
- What is your little slice of the internet that you own/maintain?
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLopDcjdhYBYkHE_nqV7QNzrCsnscs2amf&si=q-PTjPEwEvuGWnkJ
There was a music compilation album called "Ultimate Dance" from 2004 that my family listened to. I maintain a YouTube Playlist with all the songs, some were difficult to track down, being that they are all published before 2004, and many are not of English origin.
- Advice on finding a partner?
I just got ghosted by the girl I was talking to, I want to find another girl to talk to. This girl and I met at the gym, but I don't want to be the guy that goes to the gym just to meet girls. I mean sure there's the bar and Tinder, but I want a real relationship. I mean, I guess it'll come to me.