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Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Matthew J Kuiper @matthewjkuiper.bsky.social · 12h

Religious movements are *always* internally contested. It is not for historians/outsiders to decide which party to the contestation represents the “true“ version or deserves exclusive use of the movement’s name/label. Their job is rather to describe the internal diversity as accurately as possible.

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Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Liz @liz-is.bsky.social · 10h

Such a good explanation! A clever extrovert friend explained this to me years ago as "it literally doesn't matter what you say - do the friendly ritual" and my autistic self has been a happy small-talker ever since

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 10h

Well, with the Guelphs on side, that settles everything. -:)

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 11h

It’s almost as if sophomoric, half-informed, jumping-to-simple-conclusions dipshittery works, everywhere it operates, to empower and reinforce the worst side of every conflict. The Saudis are the most orthodox Muslims. Bolshevism was the real Communism. And so forth.

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 11h

This dynamic exists elsewhere as well — see, for instance, non-Catholics who insist that the worst clericalist strains in Catholicism represent the core of _all_ Catholic tradition, thus setting themselves up as the arbiters of a religion that isn’t theirs. Other examples abound.

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Big Worker @bigworker.bsky.social · 12h

Was definitely a breakthrough for me when I realized that people don't care about the answers to the small talk questions they're asking you, you just have to say something friendly and vaguely on topic to keep the conversation going

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 11h

I understand completely! I’m not autistic by any definition but I’m far enough on the spectrum that I experience similar difficulty. Having an _explanation_ like the one quoted upthread doesn’t fix everything but is non-trivially helpful nonetheless.

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Dr. Fade @fade.bsky.social · 11h

I learned the absolute joy of talking about the weather when I moved to Minnesota. It's a great way to communicate to a stranger while stuck together in a place for a bit (waiting for a bus or elevator) that were all humans who acknowledge each other's humanity and aren't gonna be hostile.

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 12h

“Your distributor went bankrupt.”

Marjorie James Keenan @unenthusiast.com · 19h

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/

hammancheez @hammancheez.bsky.social · 19h

"The chancellor approved it"

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Praisegod Barebones’ Hallowe’en Name. @pgbarebones.bsky.social · 12h

This and also - perhaps the most important lesson I ever learnt in a maths class - it's a learnable skill that develops with practice.

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Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Kip Williams sort of @kipwilliams.bsky.social · 13h

Truly boggled by the number of people for whom "copy the post text, delete the post, repost with error fixed" is not a viable solution., but "make fraud possible by changing a post that's already been replied to" looks just great.

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 12h

Not only is this explanation great, I also know 5,271,009 people whose lives would be changed for the better by taking it on board.

Chappell Ellison @chappelltracker.bsky.social · 10d

This Tumblr user summarizes something I've been feeling/doing lately. Against everything going on, it somehow feels helpful.

User homoquartz writes: as long as you smile and nod, people are satisfied. it’s just to show that you are nice and there with good intentions. we’re small in a big world and have to rely on other people to be decent to us. so we do our little human dance to each other to say, “i’m not here to hurt you. here’s something we have in common, like the weather or sports or itchy sweaters, so we both know we’re on the same team. we both agree on a basic fact, like that it is rainy or that being itchy is uncomfortable, and this proves we can get along. i’m being light-hearted and non-threatening right now."
Small talk isn't to get to know a person. It's just a greeting to affirm you're buddies in the universe. I am motivated by wanting the other person to know I am friendly, so I have gotten pretty decent at small tall when I used to hate it.

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Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

rahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 1d

This is the kind of full and unequivocal defense trans people deserve to hear from more candidates for office

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 1d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 14h

Also:

Map of Canada by provinces and territories. I've lived in Ontario, slept in BC, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, driven across PEI, and never visited the others.

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 14h

(That said, I've spent more cumulative lifetime in Minnesota and Massachusetts than at least one state I've lived in. I think my total time in Massachusetts is closing in on a year, and I'm there right now.)

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 14h

Lived in, slept in, driven through, driven into. 48 out of 50.

US map by states. Yellow, the 9 states I've lived in (MI, IL, IA, AZ, OR, NY, CA, WA, OK). Dark blue, the many I've slept in. Dark red, the 8 I've only driven across. Light blue, the 3 I've only driven briefly into (MI, AL, SC). Peach, the two I've never visited (AK & HI).

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 1d

This is an aphorism for the ages.

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Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 1d

an experience I think about a lot: I was visiting a class in DC Jail shortly after Kim Kardashian visited and had brought in her camera team. I relayed critiques of her "performative", "virtue signalling" acts I had heard on the outside. the response was somewhere between a shrug and an eye roll

utopia deferred @utopia-defer.red · 2d

anyone else notice that the west took a turn for the worse once the concept of signaling one’s own social virtue became derogatory, almost as if cynically deriding all displays of charity and good will is indicative of a deeply cynical and nihilistic society capable of collaborating in genocide

larry @larrrrrry.bsky.social · 2d

her advocacy for Palestinians doesn't bother me nearly as much as she is so desperately doing all this as an actual act of transparent virtue signaling, to fill the absence she has in depth of character

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 1d

Around the time that my spouse was getting diagnosed with narcolepsy (1982, when general understanding of sleep disorders was still in its infancy), we found that her old high-school debate partner had become a nationally-famous sleep researcher

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Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Sean T. Collins @seantcollins.com · 6d

CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors.

ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't

CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.

ISILDUR: true

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 2d

Just wait till the Wall Street Journal hears about this Hank Williams guy.

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 2d

October 18, not 13, dammit. (Thanks for multiple corrections.)

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 2d

The Martha’s Vineyard No Kings rally/protest on Saturday, October 13, a week from tomorrow, is at 1:30 PM at 1 Lagoon Pond Road in Vineyard Haven. Off-islanders are specifically welcome. Just sayin’.

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Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 2d

Yeah, you can actually get a decent meal at ATL without working hard at it. Lots of good options.

Fun fact, if you live in Tucson and frequently travel anywhere in the Eastern time zone, you get _real_ familiar with ATL. I imagine it’s the same for you two, now.

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eviŁrooster @evilrooster.bsky.social · 2d

Dante was Catholic and the Inferno is full of Popes.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 2d

This presumes that the essence of Catholicism is the worship and/or veneration of clergy, particularly the Pope, and that’s never been a settled thing within Catholicism.

I mean, yes, these guys are ridiculous, but not because they argue with the pope. Catholics argue with the pope. It’s a thing.

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