*heh* I adapted a Babylon Bee “meme-y thingy” to more closely match my perceptions of Kamalamadingdong. ‘Tis a poor thing but mine own” as it were. . .
Experimental Petting?
I’ve used “inside the ear pets” with dogs and horses (yeh, depends on the animal to an extent) to great effect—appreciation and calming—but I’ve not had good results with cats. . . *heh*
N.B. It’s more of a massage than petting, and part of a deeper, more massage-like petting/grooming of the critter than just simple stokes like most petting action, so it does take some practice.
It’s Not Wisdom and Experience. . .
You know why old people panic less often than “younkers”? A proper panic entails running away, and, normatively, old folks just don’t move that fast.
*grumble-grumble-gripe-complain* #5,386
“Aight” is the stupid version of “alright,” WHICH IS ALSO NOT A WORD! (Although, to be fair, “alright” is used by a very slightly less stupid class of persons.)
That is all. For now.
Why Go There Anyway?
Well, and. . . Target, where the only people less aware of their environment than the customers are the employees? Maaaaaayyybe. . .
Observations From A Limited, Idiosyncratic, Data Set
Given my limited data set (my own children and OPB* for example, grandchildren) I have known, it seems that, while all the babies I have known have been human, there is a brief period before they transition from intelligent infant to self-aware person. I have actually seen—or, at least I think I have—the *CLICK* when a baby suddenly thinks “Hey! I am ME!”
Before that point in time, they are still very definitely human, but thereafter, they are solidly PEOPLE.
Is it just me? Maybe.
The really sad, sad thing is that I see A LOT OF people in our society ceding their personhood to someone else’s “identity politics,” handing off the agency of their sapience to someone else’s control. Scary. But maybe the phenomenon only seems more widespread because it is so widely propagated by—wait for it— the Hivemind Media. Or, maybe the Hivemind Media is spreading the phenomenon. OR, perhaps I should embrace the power of “and.”
*OPB = other people’s babies
“Consensus Science” Isn’t. Science, That Is
Whenever I see or hear someone refer to “SettledScience®” or “consensus science” I think of the late 19th century when the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) here in the United States expressed concerns about the potential for the end of knowledge. Sadly, this is not a rare phenomenon in science, just a slight twist on the “We know it all; don’t bother us with anything new or contradictory” bent of “SettledScience®.”
Settled science or consensus science ain’t science. Settled science is a classic example of the kind of UNnatural stupidity that causes enormous harm. The most nefarious (and, I fear, widespread) form of stupidity is WILLFUL ignorance, and, due to conceptual and even pre-conceptual bias and the tendency among many to simply confirm their biases with “research,” this nefarious form of stupidity has always ALSO infected science.
In the public square, this frequently translates into “Scientism,” is a cultic adulation of “science” by fanbois who worship at the feet of “SettledScience®,” “scientific consensus” or other anti-scientific belief systems. And yes, the cult is, sadly, VERY widespread in our society.
Most people, let alone “Scientism” cultists, do not have the first clue about the scientific process and if asked about the value of falsification of a hypothesis versus replication and verification of a hypothesis (or any other aspect of the scientific process) would have no response but “Science!”
And unnaturally stupid self-made morons both abound and are the backbone of the electorate. No wonder the Framers sought to curb democratic impulses. Sadly. . . *sigh*
“Against Stupidity. . . “
“. . .the gods themselves contend in vain.” – Schiller,
- Maid of Orleans.
A frequent subliterate “Dunning-Krugerand” ploy when confronted with an argument they cannot counter is to accuse their interlocutor of throwing up incoherent word salad found by (virtually?) thumbing through a thesaurus and picking “big words” to confuse the issue. Of course, all that means is that the subliterate “Dunning-Krugerand” can’t comprehend clear, plain English that is composed of words outside his pathetically small vocabulary. It also means that the subliterate “Dunning-Krugerand” (probably) cannot conceive of an expanded vocabulary that does not issue from abusing a thesaurus.
Those of use who grew up reading dictionaries for fun just laugh. Then we may, if sufficiently provoked, raucously mock them. Without end, until they slink away dragging their lobotomized Bonobo Chimpanzee ghost writer with them.
Feeding Frenzy
*munches popcorn-sips beer* Watching all the Hivemind Podpeople flipping the cover they’ve run for CwaZy (pervy, racist) UnKa JoE, ZOMBIE POOPY-PANTS President in Name Only for years (even before his puppet presidency) is entertaining. Cannibals consuming one of their own. Finally CwaZy (pervy, racist) UnKa JoE, ZOMBIE POOPY-PANTS President in Name Only gets a reunion with Uncle Josie.
One could not ask for a better reveal of the Hivemind’s basic nature as a Fake News Machine®.
Writing Tip #4,957
Eschew obscurantism, redundancy, and prolixity. That is, avoid arcane, esoteric, recondite, or obscure expressions; avoid undue repetition, reiteration, and duplication-reduplication of statements, and, above all, refrain from extreme, inordinate, unbridled, unchecked, and exorbitant wordiness.
YW.
Addendum: dictionaries are your friend. Thesauruses? not so much.