Random thoughts... - by Tocky
Azaran on 20/11/2025 at 15:50
I was thinking how modern life is convenient, but paradoxically more stressful than a simpler existence. People might say that living as a caveman was rough, but I'm pretty sure cavemen had less anxiety. Granted, they had to survive every day and avoid danger, but the stress was in small (albeit intense) bursts. If a lion or other predator attacked them they could die or get hurt, but they might be victorious and that predator wouldn't be a problem for a while.
Compare that to the modern 'predators': bosses, landlords, the tax man, etc. You can't just avoid them, move to a new cave, throw rocks at them, etc. to make them go away.
Back then, you just had to move elsewhere to find food, maybe spend more time on the hunt, etc. Today you can go to the supermarket and get that same food, but that hinges on money and your job; if you lose that job, especially in today's market, you're out of luck. You can't just go and move to another part of the forest to get some game.
Call me crazy but the thought of living in a cabin, even in bear country, is less stressful to me than continuing to live an urban life.
The more complex life becomes, the higher the tower we build, the greater the risk if it collapses, the more we have to lose.
Tocky on 21/11/2025 at 20:42
It's a good point. They lived more in the moment than we. They rarely had to worry about thinking ahead. As long as they had a long pointy stick they were golden. These days there are no sticks long enough to hold the world at bay.
Nicker on 22/11/2025 at 01:05
I think the difference between our "wild" ancestors and us, as far as threats go, is their threats were mostly concrete whereas ours are much more abstract. Our ancestors experienced abstract threats as a result of our egos confronting their ultimate mortality. The invention of the afterlife was, at first, a balm for our apparent impermanence. Once it became a battle ground over who got in, eternity was a bittersweet elixir.
Lions and tigers and bears can be dealt with. Many of our modern threats are abstract and painted as permanent, especially the threats invented by group to manipulate another (immigrants, gays, the other...).
Our monkey brains can't tell the emotional difference between the threat of a lion, versus a contrary opinion or a disappointing product experience. While our ancestors cycled into and out of the threat response, we get stuck in it for much longer, even permanently.
Also, hunter/gatherer societies normally have a lot more leisure time than agrarian ones, and experience greater degrees of social interaction, on smaller scales. More intimacy and immediacy.
DuatDweller on 22/11/2025 at 02:56
Going wild? Going ape? Feeling like adopting a Racoon?
(
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1j8j48e5z2o)
Quote:
Cuter and closer: Raccoons may be on their way to becoming America's next pet
Raccoons may be inching closer to becoming America's next pet.
Affectionately referred to as trash pandas, the masked mammals known for rummaging rubbish bins for easy food, are evolving based on their proximity to humans, even starting to look cuter, a new study says.
Evaluation of nearly 20,000 photos found "a clear reduction in snout length" in urban raccoons compared to their rural cousins - a physical shift consistent with the early stages of domestication seen in cats and dogs.
Sulphur on 22/11/2025 at 03:01
Covers about all of the above, and lets you know how to use the information too (well, apart from DD's misjudged attempt at posting links again):
[video=youtube_share;Mo1A45ShcMo]https://youtu.be/Mo1A45ShcMo[/video]
Tocky on 22/11/2025 at 04:26
I wish the angry tiger were the only thing still attacking us. It would be so easy to pick the eye or the open mouth to drive the stick through at the appropriate moment. An understanding of anatomy was the thing most needed. Humans were much better at understanding this. The tiger only knows to go for the throat. We figured that out too. The mind was the better weapon. It's why we are the dominant species.
We had to adjust it only slightly for each other. I've often thought about the openings in armor. The angles a blade could find to drive into an artery or brain. I've studied ancient armor. It wasn't enough. What mattered was experience. The first fight was full of fear which dulled the brain for most. The experienced and intelligent thought about angles. The Spartans were able to hold off so many not because they were tough or exposed themselves to hardship thinking nothing of comfort but because they thought of angles and not only that but knew them through repetition. We can do the same for those things that require repetition.
But with constant change there is no predicting. That is the worst to survive in. It's part of why I chose as I did. What did I want? Family. Love. Did I want money? Of course. What was I willing to sacrifice for it? Location and love? No. So I chose location. I chose the routine of going through women until I found one who could love. It's still the brain that is most important. Recognition of patterns. Who did what. What to sacrifice in my world view.
Ah but you still have to support those you love. What do you give up for that? Working my entire life at a job at a job that has every day tried to take my comfort. That has tried to grind me down by degrees. Idiots in positions of power I have to accept. The world isn't fair. yes. Accept. Move on. It's not my goal. My goal is family. The goal is the only important part. The angle of thrust to the armor that wins you another day. The rest is bullshit. That makes me happy. That ends stress. That and an Ancient Age whiskey and coke that makes it easier to sleep once I have succeeded. Find what makes you happy then aim towards it. That will take the stress off. Know what is important to you and aim.
And love. Love each other. That takes a lot of stress away. We will make it. Believe man will conquer every challenge. No matter how dark we will learn. We will find the chinks. We are mankind. We cannot be defeated.
DuatDweller on 22/11/2025 at 20:17
This reminds me of a guy who was dumped by his girlfriend, they guy went completely bonkers, got to her apartment the girl run out of it, just in time as the dude set the place on fire and then jumped off the balcony from the 14th floor, no need to tell you the guy did not survive the fall.
So you never know who is gonna go bonkers and try to wack you out.
:erg:
