To be fair, many of them don't know what they believe either.
Internal Family Systems teaches that we have multiple internal personas that have different roles in protecting the true self at the center. It has been useful for self discovery, though I don't know if I believe it's completely correct
I did learn that I have multiple sets of behaviors that l adopt based on need. It's like code switching, except it changes everything - speech cadence, word choice, body language, thought patterns, you name it. It's not multiple personalities or anything, just changing relative proportions of various traits for a given situation, like job switching in an RPG. It was initially really jarring for my partner. They are one of the few people I'm genuinely myself around, but if I'm in a very stressful situation or interacting with co-workers about work, they see me acting very differently. It's disconcerting but it makes me more flexible in social situations.
Edit: I also recently learned I'm what is known amongst the commoners as "autistic as fuck", so that may be a factor. Still learning!
I couldn't agree more. Way back when, I thought I was okay at discussing topics like public health, evolution, vaccines, and the like with the "low information voter" crowd. Then I went to university for the better part of a decade, became a Real Scientist™, then worked in research and public health.
The result? I am no better at discussing these topics with them. If anything I'm less effective as I'm now seen as part of the conspiracy or an overeducated blowhard, so they write me off even faster.
I can gently and politely correct the misinformation that comprises the core of their beliefs, complete with sources, but it doesn't matter one bit. Most of them aren't interested in truth so much as what makes them feel good about themselves and their place in the world. To be fair, I meet just as many liberals who similarly have many feelings-based opinions (Vaccines! Organic food! GMOs!), but much of the MAGA crowd actually makes ignorance as a core value a point of personal pride. It's fucking bizarre.
Yes! This exactly. I'm learning Italian and having a dictionary open on one side would be awesome.
It's an expression and might be an old people thing as I'm older. It's something like "Cats are going to cat", i.e., cats will do cat things as it's in their nature.
Going, presumably.
It'll get there, we just have to spend more money first. Any day now!
Fuck, I haven't paid attention to her for the better part of two decades. Last time I saw her was on The Creep from Lonely Island...15 years ago. Girl has gone downhill.
Instructions: remove the speaker grille, locate and pull the mechanical release cable, and then manually push the (really fucking heavy) door open. Vertically.
Someone designed that, patted themselves on the back, and thought "that'll work!" Then at least one other person reviewed that design and thought the same. Then multiple people worked on how to implement that design. Likely dozens of people rubber stamped this design. It hurts my brain.
In the event of a collision, the model X should just eject its rear doors.
It depends on the model. In the model S, it's right on the door, super easy to use and actually more intuitive than the little no motion micro switch that you're supposed to use. I have shit hand strength and I've pissed off model S owners by accidentally pulling it to open the door. It just needs an obvious marking. I'm astounded they don't have that already, but it's Tesla: Expect Less.
The back seat is super stupid. Who's more likely to be in the back seat? Kids. What's the release? You have to dig into the carpet below the rear cushions to find and pull a cable. It's harder to actuate than the front doors. Big brain material there.
The stupidest of all? No manual release at all on the outside. First responders get to watch you cook while trying to bash the window in. This is day one shit, Tesla.
Great article! I've been trying to explain VPNs to my family members for years and it just doesn't stick. I'll send this their way next time.
But then you wouldn't have a population of useful idiots, easily manipulated by distinct emotional triggers implanted from an early age.
I feel like a tinfoil hat person typing that, but I've been able to befriend a few former MAGAs and it has been insightful. They have no ideological consistency and no idea what they believe as an individual, just as a member of a group following a father figure. They're starting to learn, though.
What has been most surprising is how incredibly emotionally broken they are. Now that they're opening up, I've never met such sad, scared people before. The entire culture seems purpose built to produce people like these. The US has a lot of generational trauma to unpack if we ever want to improve.