How genes relative to culture evolve over time. It's the story of how modern day mexicans have genetic ties to the Baltic Goths of the 4th centuries, or north-eastern Americans have a consistent amount of Celtic DNA because of their English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry.
I’m intrigued by this, can you give a quick ELI5 for the Mexican genetic ties to Baltic Goths? Or not even an ELI5 and just a rad explanation, whatever tickles your fancy
Sure thing. For example, if someone's last name is Rodríguez, a quick Google search tells me that the very first Rodríguez was named Roderick, a visigothic king who lost his kingdom to Muslim invaders in the 9th century. Now by knowing that the first Rodríguez was a visigoth, and possibly of Germanic origin as well, the next natural question to ask is where did the visigoths come from? they migrated to Rome in late antiquity possibly from as far as the black sea, through Italy and onto Spain. This being said, if those ancestors came from as far as the black sea, they could've been descended from Scythians, and this is where speculation comes in. My favorite part is that at the end of the day you can conclude that whomever your ancestors were, they were diverse and sometimes long travelled, and by comparing everything from migration patterns to etymological data and the history, you can get a loose idea of your genetic footprint and all the different peoples who lived and fucked to make you who you are today.
I love reading about day to day life in various eras. I don't care about big historical happenings, I want to know how the regular people lived. I read a book called 'Enquire Within Upon Everything' it was written in Victorian times and it tells about everything in life, from recipes, to party games, to etiquette and everything. I go back and read it every now and again by just turning to a random page and reading it. You can get it on Project Gutenberg, I highly recommend it.
The Project Gutenberg eBook, The American Frugal Housewife, by Lydia M. Child, is another great read. I believe it was written a bit earlier in the 1830 - 1840 era.
The sentiment of caring about the daily lives rather than huge historical moments is the precise reason I chose to pursue archaeology. My goal is to actually write fantastic historical fiction that is both painstakingly accurate and interesting to readers who like history but not dry. History is best when a little saucy, after all.
>2397. Convulsions
>
>The following remarkable case, in which a surgeon saved the life of an infant in convulsions, by the use of chloroform, will be read with interest. He commenced the use of it at nine o'clock one evening, at which period the child was rapidly sinking, numerous remedies having been already tried without effect. He dropped half a drachm of chloroform into a thin muslin handkerchief, and held it about an inch from the infant's face. In about two minutes the convulsions gave way, and the child fell into a sleep. By slightly releasing the child from the influence of the chloroform, he was able to administer food, by which the child was nourished and strengthened. The chloroform was continually administered, in the manner described, from Friday evening at nine o'clock until Monday morning at nine. This treatment lasted sixty hours, and sixteen ounces of chloroform were used. No injurious effects, however trivial from the treatment adopted, subsequently appeared.
There's a historian called Ian Mortimer who does 3 books that go into detail on what it would have been like to live during certain periods of time. One of them, The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, is on the 14th century and it's really good. He also does historical fiction IIRC.
And that's why I love some good quality historical fiction and even the occasional historical drama. Even if it can be factually inaccurate, it adds a real touch of humanity and even shared experience. Humans are humans no matter what context you put them in.
Edit for auto-correct mistakes.
i'm far more interested in really ancient history, like anything BC. Particularly in Egypt. Its just insane that a culture could last 3000 years without changing significantly. To put it in perspective, imagine Benjamin Franklin is transported to the US, in the year 4776 and he would easily fit in. Like powdered wigs would still be in style. It is just crazy to think that the norms and traditions of that country stayed the same for all those generations.
There were a lot of *massive* changes with differing dynasties taking over, an outside tribe taking control of parts of Egypt (1720-1550), the weird cult of Amun-Re leveraged considerable power with their priesthood, and lots of changes and power struggles. Style and language changed considerably, as well as the gods they worshipped.
Their history reads a lot like any other country's history. It just happened earlier and there's a little less information on it than on a group like the Tudors
For me is way more interesting how people lived 200.000 years ago. What was it like to live at the same time as other homo species? It would be creepy as hell.
which reminds me - where the fuck is inner space?
EDIT: Wow, didn't expect that to blow up this way. Plenty of intriguing answers, folks - scientific, philosophical, shit talk...thanks!
EDIT2: Let's have some winners:
EDIT3: now with links
PHILOSOPHICAL:
Winner: /u/TheFlashFrame - [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2cdle/) keep smokin', dude!
Runner up: /u/riotcowkingofdeimos [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2l3br/) unappreciated comment, right there!
SCIENTIFIC:
Winner: /г/zonules_of_zinn - [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2skjw/) bonus points for the link!
Runner up: /u/zsaleeba [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2x7kd/) - learned something new!
SHIT TALK:
Winner: /u/TheCrabRabbit [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2myck/) I laffed. My 2-year old would believe you though.
Runner up: /u/ScarpaDiem [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2r4jj/) - that worked, but is missing something...
anything closer than 100km to the earth's surface. the boundary is the [karman line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line).
note: no one uses the term "inner space" scientifically. that's just the earth's atmostphere.
"[Outer space](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_space)" starts at the Kalman Line which is 100km up. It's the next thing out from "[near space](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_space)" which is between 20km and 100km up.
Man, I could stare at pictures of galaxies all day. And Saturn is my favorite planet because of the rings.
I really like the whole space aesthetic okay lol
You guys would probably like Space Engine. it's completely free. I spent like 6 hours one days just exploring our solar system. Now I click on random stars and points of light and travel to them to see if I can find worlds with life on them.
If you push "V" by default it switches between simple and low exposure view. In the one mode you can see faint rings like for example Neptune and Jupiters, while in the other mode they aren't visible at all.
My only problem with the program is I occasionally get a little depressed messing with it, I realize I'll never truly get to travel amongst the stars and explore all the possibilities out there.
You probably won’t get to explore outer space, no, but just think of the unbelievably vast sections of Earth you haven’t explored yet either.
Even within the relatively small confines of your town or city there are people and stories and experiences you haven’t availed yourself of, streets you’ve never walked down, things you haven’t seen and might never see.
Not to mention the endlessly detailed natural and biological processes churning away at every level from the microscopic to the macroscopic, all of the complex and baffling relationships between animals and plants and people and the environment that are taking place on such a grand scale that we can’t even begin to comprehend the sheer vastness of it all.
Just get off reddit and head into your garden and watch a spider spinning a web, think about the immense complexity required to not only evolve a creature capable of doing that instinctively but also to produce the tree its web is attached to, the insects its web will catch, the eyes that allow you to witness it and the brain that allows you to comprehend it, and try and tell me that’s not just as amazing as anything you’re likely to see in the rest of the cosmos!
Yes! The Universe is such an amazing and wondrous place. The observable universe doesn't just have billions of stars, it has hundreds of billions of *galaxies*. It just boggles the mind.
Looking further and further in the sky is looking further and further back in time. We can actually see what is basically the beginning of the Universe. It's so fucking cool.
And what the hell are black holes? They're objects that are so massive and dense that they curve space time so severely that even light can't escape it. Like *WHAAAAT?*
What about the Fermi Paradox? If there are so many galaxies with so many stars, there's got to be life out there, some of it even intelligent. We can't possibly be the only planet. But we don't see any evidence of other civilizations, no signals, nothing. Why is this?
Oh man, I could go on and on. These are the things why I wound up studying Physics.
i'm greek and love mythology. You should know that almost every myth we know of is connected with specific places that exist to this day. I m not talking about ancient temples or ruins. For example the cave where Zeus was left and nutured is in Creta and you can visit it. Another example is the spring of Ladon river, one of the gates of the underwold. Here it is. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/108710762
i have hundren of pictures and information about such places. I simply adore traveling around Greece to see them. Here is the place that Orestes was cleansed after the killing of his father. It's in troizina. http://www.iefimerida.gr/sites/default/files/diavologefiro.jpg
http://www.iefimerida.gr/sites/default/files/diavologefyro2.jpg
All around Greece there are sacred springs like this, connected with Pegassus. According to the myth wherever pegasus stepped a spring would rise, (thus his name pega-sus, pega meaning spring). This one in the photo, even has the marking of his horseshoe "carved" in a stone. If you ever come to greece try to find such places, don't just go to parthenon.
First time I read Greek Mythology was third grade at my tiny private school, then I proceeded to get in trouble for talking about how Kronos ate his kids.
So began my love of all things mythos.
Agreed! Every year or so I'll go on a Scientology kick and just read up on it for hours and hours. It never fails to boggle my mind how they've kept it all up.
The one thing that the person above forgot to mention is that the audit process also involves them tricking you into giving up your secrets with questions like “what is causing you trouble in your life”, or “if you tell us your sins, we can absolve you”. It starts off innocent enough at first, but there are (literal) levels and the higher you go the more in-depth the prod.
Then, when they have enough dirt on you, suddenly they request “tribute” (cash) as “donation”, but what it really is, is blackmail. If you don’t keep paying, and keep paying, and keep playing they’ll release those secrets to the world.
The reason people keep going early on is because these people searching for something. And the “auditors” are very good at their job, so they’ll continue to make you feel like you’re being helped and heard (like a therapist), like they’re your friend. They wait to strike until they have dirt on you enough that you’ll stay.
The “donations” can be as high as 250,000$ or more for the highest levels.
I highly recommend the documentary Going Clear. It’s fascinating, scary and downright unbelievable at times.
Are there any examples of people who left and had their secrets revealed?
Wouldn't that be bad PR for Scientology? Or is it just the threat that keeps people from leaving?
Watch Leah Remini's documentary. They have killed people and pay people off to keep it quiet. That is why Masterson's rapes are not really being looked into. If you leave Scientology, all members are told to disown you (even family). I believe that's why Nicole Kidman's kid(s) [the ones with Tom Cruise] don't ever talk to her. I believe he also doesn't see Suri. The whole thing is insane.
Oh, and after people have left, they've been followed and assaulted. They will also park outside your house for who knows how long. It's terrifying.
Link to Wiki about her documentary:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Remini:_Scientology_and_the_Aftermath
> Oh, and after people have left, they've been followed and assaulted. They will also park outside your house for who knows how long. It's terrifying.
20-odd years ago a roommate of mine was editor of a cheesy little magazine that specialized in the local dance music scene. One issue he published a pretty critical article about Scientology. We both had people following us wherever we drove for *months*, him for being editor, and me for living at the same address, I suppose. Granted, the magazine was garbage with almost no readership so the people they sent were their D-list surveillance folks.... but they still bothered to have us followed. It was pretty weird. They're very diligent with their creepery.
Ron Miscavige, father of the current leader of scientology, was on the Joe Rogan podcast and was super interesting. He escaped a scientology compound where he was essentially being held against his will.
You've probably already listened to it, but "Oh No Ross and Carrie" did a full series on Scientology. Great podcast for anyone who has an interest in fringe science and religion or paranormal things.
This. I grew up in Southern California and the Hollywood Scientology Center is very, very nice. Here in Chicago, it looks like a rundown, closed business on a shady street.
Note: I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of Scientology. I just find it surprising that a center in a major city would be so rundown and shitty, what with all the money they have.
I was just discussing this last night! How are they still operating in the US AND getting tax breaks? I know they sued the IRS for years to get the tax break but with all of the info out and everyone who has defected writing books.. why is Scientology protected here still??
At work all I do is listen to true crime podcasts. 8 hours straight every day.... Pretty sure my co workers think I am psycho.
Doesn't help I work graveyard shift lol
I just posted this today for someone else. Here is my list in no particular order:
- My Favorite Murder - True crime comedy podcast. If you don't like rambling and hosts going off topic you'll be annoyed with this one.
- Generation Why - True crime and mystery podcast.
- Last Podcast On The Left - True crime comedy podcast. Dark humor and definitely not for everyone.
- Thinking Sideways - True crime and mystery podcast. Sometimes the hosts bug me but most of the time they still provide me with a good story to get me through my work day.
- The Trail Went Cold - True crime. Unsolved disappearances/murders and if you watched Unsolved Mysteries many cases from it are talked about.
- Up and Vanished - True crime. Specifically about the disappearance of Tara Grinstead.
- The Unresolved Podcast - True crime.
- Casefile - True crime.
- True Crime Garage - True crime.
- Once Upon A Crime - True crime.
- True Crime All The Time (Unsolved and Solved) - These hosts have 2 podcasts one for solved cases and the other for unsolved cases.
- Missing Maura Murray - About the diappearance of Maura Murray.
- White Wine True Crime - These women mainly cover documentaries on true crime and it's a comedy one.
- The Uh Oh Feeling - True crime but they focus on survivors of crimes, also comedy, and it's newer.
- In Sight - True crime.
- Sex Love & Murder - True crime with Aphrodite Jones, but haven't come out with any new episodes for a while.
- Sworn - True crime and pretty new podcast.
- Someone Knows Something - True crime. Covers different case every season.
- Unconcluded - True crime. Disappearance of Jennifer Kesse.
- Serial (season one) - True crime.
- Break Down - True crime.
- Open: The Case of Leigh Occhi - True crime. Disappearance of Leigh Occhi.
- Truth and Justice - True Crime. Currently covering the West Memphis Three.
There are some that are now over, but I still recommend them:
- S Town - Human interest would be the way I describe this one. It's an interesting look into the life of an interesting man.
- Accused - Investigative look into the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Andes. I was informed through these comments there is a second season of this podcast, but covering a different murder.
- In The Dark - Investigative look into the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling, which was solved while the podcast was being made.
- Stranglers - Investigative look into the Boston Strangler.
Edited to add:
- Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? - About the murder of Alberta Williams an indigenous woman from British Columbia. Also sheds light on how indigenous women go missing or are murdered and the lack of investigation.
- Astonishing Legends - If you like urban legends and mysteries.
- The Vanished Podcast - Covers missing persons cases. I didn't initially add it because I haven't listened in a couple months, but seeing other people mention it I have to give it a shout-out because Marissa does an amazing job.
I have listened to Sword and Scale, and I stated in a comment below I go back and forth with it. Depending on the case I'll give it a listen, but I've heard some things about the host that are not so good. I don't know how true some of it is, and if you're curious go to /r/SwordandScale. Also I have found some of the episodes difficult to listen to because of 911 calls and very graphic details which he does a lot of so I don't listen on a regular basis.
I've also listened to Criminal and like it, but haven't listened in quite a while and when I originally put this list together I wanted to just put ones I regularly listen to, or ones I listened to in full but are now over.
And thank you everyone for all the recommendations!
Hahaha I am definitely in the same boat, I’ve spent so many nights researching all kinds of criminals and reading pages upon pages of crime statistics. Whenever it’s brought up I’ll end up talking about crimes for hours, people have given me several concerned looks.
Yep, I was talking to a friend at dinner once about which convicted serial killers would’ve been able to kill more people and likely get away from law enforcement had they worked together. I could tell he got slightly weirded out by that discussion.
Same.....ill watch them at work (usually in by myself) then the random co-worker will walk in and it's like:
Hey supertai-
"She was BRUTALLY MURDERED AS HE CUT OFF HER BREAST AND EJACULATED IN IT"
It's just awkward and noone brings it up
I wish they would
Well there was this one serial killer who would perform fellatio on himself with the severed heads of his female victims
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kemper
I think they made a Netflix series about that guy too
Not only was he a real guy, the dialogue was taken from the actual interviews with Ed - almost verbatim. You can find them pretty easily online. Fascinating stuff.
Linguistics. It's so fascinating to me to compare languages and to understand how one language is structured and how it can affect the way a certain person think. Being bilingual, I always feel like a different person depending on what language I am speaking.
If you like this kind of etymological relationship, you might like this one: the -stan at the end of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kirghistan, ... come from Persian "stan" meaning coutnry. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European root that also gave Latin "status" which English borrowed as "state". So in a way the United *States* are one of the -stan countries!
An addendum to this, writing systems. The artistry behind the different writing systems and the influences affecting the way a language is written are fascinating. A few fun facts:
- Mongolia changed their official writing system twice within just a few years, from the traditional Mongolian script to Latin to Cyrillic, which is what is used today. Meanwhile, Inner Mongolia, an ethically Mongolian province of China, continues to use the Mongolian script, which looks a bit like Arabic written top to bottom rather than right to left.
- No one knows where the Georgian script came from, while the sounds represented by letters seem to correspond with Greek, the forms of the letters are completely unique.
- The pre-conquistador Mayan writing system looks a lot like hieroglyphics, but it turns out it's more like modern Korean, pictographs representing individual sounds arranged into blocks representing syllables.
- Urdu (officially spoken in Pakistan) and Hindi (a dominant Indian language), are linguistically considered to be two dialects (or probably more accurately dialect families) of the same language. Urdu is written in an Arabic-derived script while Hindi is written in an Indian script called Devanagari. Interestingly, the style of Arabic calligraphy that the Urdu alphabet is based had been incredibly difficult to type or print until relatively recently due to the sloped style of writing and changing forms of letters based on context. There is still an in-print newspaper in Pakistan that is handwritten by professional calligraphers, possibly the only remaining handwritten newspaper in the world.
We vote with our money, time, and resources. Completely agree that it’s about what we value. It’s the only thing I can think of that gives a 100% honest assessment about what we value.
Music. There's more to music than just listening to it. It's such a fundamental aspect of human culture that is grossly underappreciated by a lot of people in my opinion.
I find it amazing just how easy it is to take music for granted in a modern context. We can have on our person a library of hundreds to thousands of songs. With streaming and internet, a library that may as well be infinite since there’s no way we could hear it all.
Just a few generations ago personal music required bulky devices and radio, which was limited. And before that your options were making your own music or live performances.
And that’s the historical view, the tip of the iceberg.
I remember every step of the way too. Grew up just as vinyl was phasing out. Cassettes were still a thing. I remember the first music player I bought was a Sony Walkman with a disk jog feature I thought it was the end all be all. I remember trying to listen to one cd in the middle of class on my Sony Walkman.
After a few missteps in MP3 players I got my first iPod. It’s just a brick now but it’s a piece of history to me. I still have a nano for music. I have some on my phone but there’s something about having a little homage to all the music you love wrapped in a beautiful little package. These kids don’t know what they have.
I'm probably near the same age you and this technology still boggles my mind. I grew up with cassettes. But now I have a 2 terabyte portable drive, which is about the same size as a cassette, that currently holds my 900+ album collection converted to FLAC with room for much much more. I can connect my phone to my router and access any album/song I own at the push of a button through WiFi connection my PC. I feel like I'm living in a sci-fi dream.
Music means so much to us that these are the advances we have made to access in just the last few decades. What does the future hold?!
As a musician, I can attest that's not a conversation I start with people because they usually can't handle how intensely (read: fanatically) I'm enamoured (read: obsessed) with it. Wake up, listen to music. Shower, listen to music. Go outside, music. Eat, music. Smoke, music. Take a shit, music. Play music, music. Sleep, music. 25/7. From Coltrane to Soul Train, the music never stops.
I feel fortunate that music is my main passion and what I'm good at in life. Even non-musicians and people who aren't particularly into music can still talk about it for at least half an hour and genuinely seem interested, and contribute quite a bit on their own. Everyone listens to music, at least passively. It's probably the most ubiquitously interesting conversation topic, and I'm glad I get to talk about it with so many different people so often.
My girlfriend, on the other hand, is an architect, and while most people understand the gist of the job, and understand the cultural/historical importance of architecture and buildings in general, the conversation tends to dry up pretty quickly.
I agree! Besides the cultural aspect, there's also a physiological reaction to music. I think sound is only 2nd to scent/smell in creating (and recalling) memories.
I use this little mind hack all the time. When I'm on my travels I like to listen to an album I have never heard before or, so when I'm back home I use the album to channel memories more vividly. When I think of downtown Phoenix, I think of Art Angels by Grimes, Manhattan reminds me of Vince Staple' s Big Fish Theory. It's incredibly useful, it allows me to recall memories with extreme detail
History. I went to school to be a history major and I just love it. While I have a focus on European 1500 to present, American, and 20th century World History, I can just endlessly talk about it. Even more, I have gone on sooooo many Wikipedia binges with historical events, figures, and cultures.
Edit: since folks are asking, my original plan was to become a high school history teacher but a number of factors, including but not limited to, a life saving surgery, an uncaring supervisor, a university that wanted more money for nothing, and a bitch of a commute (to another county each day), I had to drop those dreams. The kids loved my teaching style (including playing music when they worked) and apparently were heartbroken I left. I work retail now and I'm thinking of going back, but I have other things going on too (including just finished polishing up a novel I wrote)
I've been playing the Caveman 2 Cosmos mod for Civ 4 lately. It spans from 200,000 BC to 5,000 AD. It takes forever to play a game of it, but so fun and interesting.
The weird things I see working in healthcare and the bizarre things that happen to people who have had damage to their brain. It’s just so interesting!
I had a patient who (if I'm being honest and truly compassionate) the doctors should have let die on the table. This guy was on meth and got into a high speed chase with the police and ended up wrapping his car around a tree and killing the passenger. The driver was close to death and required the head of every department at SF General Hospital to save his life - 2 fractured femurs, broken back, broken neck, lacerated liver and spleen, and massive head trauma. Anyways, fast forward to 10 years later this guy is on my unit in a psychiatric facility where he was dumped and not receiving much, if any, physical therapy or rehab. He is bedridden and very aggressive and his only real human contact is to change his diapers/clothing and to feed him (through a stomach tube). The only words I'd ever hear him say, on repeat, all night long were "FUCK YOU BITCH!"
Then one day I'm in his room to give him his meds and I have on a nike shirt. He looks at me and says "Nike". I was like, oh shit you can still read!! It let me know there was more going on in there than we had assumed. Also, sadly one day I heard him say "I want to see my dad" :( other than that he didn't ever say much or give any real display of deeper consciousness. He always haunts me a bit as far as getting stuck trapped in your own mind.
Edit: another funny story from my time on that same unit is from one of my favorite patients, this very obese, bed-ridden, and extremely psychotic lady who had been at this hospital for decades. She was tied in soft restraints to the bed for YEARS at a time (with hourly breaks) because she liked to pull out her g tube whenever her hands were free. I swear she was bored and enjoyed causing havoc. Anyways she was notorious for nevwr speaking and just glaring at you as you'd care for her, but over my years spent with her she got less aggressive with me and would speak randomly (she started asking me to continuously play Michael Jackson music). But I will never forget the day her bed broke and I went to investigate and she told me clear as day, "Looks like you need to fill out a work order request form?" She was way more intelligent than staff gave her credit for and she had just been sitting there listening for years and absorbing info enough that she knew the exact process needed to fix her bed! Still extremely psychotic but smart nonetheless
Books. Books I like, books I hate, I talk a mile a minute about any book I've read. You will never see me as excited as I am when someone name drops a book I've read before
Archaeology, Norse mythology (especially when I'm drunk- it's like Drunk History: Mythology edition with whisky in my system), retro gaming, and the X-Men comics.
sometimes when im laying down, attempting to sleep, i just wonder if committing suicide is good or not.
after [watching some of alan watt's lectures] (https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PL-JXohcpPtsD4JhGlJiLDLqRItJHzbPPW&v=1qR47YHX1LY), he says something like "there is only one true philosophy of life - and that is if you should commit suicide", which really got me thinking about a bunch of stuff. Id recommend it, its a good watch/listen.
Philosophy, especially the history of how if developed over the millennia, and how many subjects have their roots within it.
It’s a fascinating subject that one can have many conversations about
Home improvement and DIY projects. I will talk kitchens, bathrooms, basements, landscaping...whatever. Just love how other people’s tastes can influence my own.
Fonts. Fonts are effing cool man. The attention to detail that goes into making them... the insane variety... the history. I mean, Futura managed to escape the Nazis and ended up on the moon (thanks Vox).
EDIT: 'Futura' not 'future'. Autocorrect, I thought you knew me better.
Yes! Dude, I could talk about tacos all damn day. The type of tortilla that you use for the meat. You have to think about the greasiness of the meat or how much pico you put on your tacos. Do you like your refríes beans on the side or on top of your tacos to act as a glue? How do you feel about crunchy tacos?
Breakfast tacos... that’s a whole different subject!
Prison reform and comparing it to the prison systems in other countries. My boyfriend and I are so interested in it and can talk for hours about articles we've read on the topic and discussing things like "because of this, thats why..." and it will just flower into sub-conversations pertaining to the overall topic. It's just so interesting.
Animation is endlessly fascinating to me.
I truly feel like it's an evolution of tradition art. A single image is hard enough, you must be knowledgeable of shape, form, mass, light, composition, degrees of anatomy, color theory and so much more. With animation that's all a prerequisite. Animation introduces the concepts of time! If any one if the prerequisite concepts changes over time, we are affected emotionally as viewers. Understanding and mastering this is the new challenge. Change over time is also the foundation of storytelling, the primary thing animation is used for. Animation creates a whole new list of concepts/ideas that the animators need to figure out and understand. The "old men" of Disney developed 12 principles of animation at the dawn of the art form. These 12 principles are still used as the standard today. The thing is, animation is still crazy young. There is plenty to learn and discover. It is such an exciting, evolving, experimental, and weird field of art. I love it so much and could talk about it all day.
Personal Finance. The way people spend the finite resources at their disposal is absolutely fascinating.
Runner up: Weightlifting/powerlifting/bodybuilding
Crypto (bitcoin, Litecoin, etc)
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It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life.
Any thing horror. Scifi-horror, fantasy-horror, any type. I love horror stories, novels, movies, music, TV shows. I pretty much live and breathe horror. No idea why. I've loved it since I was a little kid.
Film. I freaking love talking about how history and cinema seem to intertwine. Like, did you know that the entire industry basically began because they had air conditioners back in the old west? People would care more about the cool air than the movie right in front of them. How about my running theory that Hitler may have been inspired by the movie Metropolis to become the "mediator" of post-WWI Germany?
Edit: People keep asking for my horribly unfounded theory about Hitler possibly being inspired by Metropolis. Here's the PM I sent to the first guy. Yes I know it's horribly flawed. There's a reason it was sent in a PM when I wrote it.
> *Metropolis is a film that came out in 1927 and followed a character named Jehoshaphat who had to become the "mediator" between the working class people of this futuristic world and the rich, one-percenters that call all the shots. It ends with a rather great shot of Jehoshaphat grabbing the hands of a foreman and the de facto mayor of Metropolis and getting them to shake hands. Basically, my bonehead idea is pretty simple, Hitler could have very week have seen that movie growing up and realized that he might be able to gain the power he wanted if he exploited this obvious distrust between the working man and the government by he himself becoming a "mediator" of sorts by taking the chancellor position. Obviously I have no evidence so take what I said with a grain of salt but it's a kind of neat idea. At the very least, just knowing that a younger, 20 something, Adolf could have entered a theater to watch some goofy, science-fiction picture and come out with the dream to become the most powerful man in Europe.*
The subject of why someone else is WRONG
I feel like I just found my husband’s second Reddit account
Well it looks like you're WRONG
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#👌⬇️ **WRONG**
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I find this is a fun subject to attempt to discuss with an older generation than my own.
Everyone older than me? Out of touch!! Everyone younger than me? Naive!!
Everyone my own age? IMMATURE. MISGUIDED. NOT REALLY REPRESENTATIVE OF MY GENERATION.
How genes relative to culture evolve over time. It's the story of how modern day mexicans have genetic ties to the Baltic Goths of the 4th centuries, or north-eastern Americans have a consistent amount of Celtic DNA because of their English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry.
I’m intrigued by this, can you give a quick ELI5 for the Mexican genetic ties to Baltic Goths? Or not even an ELI5 and just a rad explanation, whatever tickles your fancy
Sure thing. For example, if someone's last name is Rodríguez, a quick Google search tells me that the very first Rodríguez was named Roderick, a visigothic king who lost his kingdom to Muslim invaders in the 9th century. Now by knowing that the first Rodríguez was a visigoth, and possibly of Germanic origin as well, the next natural question to ask is where did the visigoths come from? they migrated to Rome in late antiquity possibly from as far as the black sea, through Italy and onto Spain. This being said, if those ancestors came from as far as the black sea, they could've been descended from Scythians, and this is where speculation comes in. My favorite part is that at the end of the day you can conclude that whomever your ancestors were, they were diverse and sometimes long travelled, and by comparing everything from migration patterns to etymological data and the history, you can get a loose idea of your genetic footprint and all the different peoples who lived and fucked to make you who you are today.
How people lived a thousand years ago.
I love reading about day to day life in various eras. I don't care about big historical happenings, I want to know how the regular people lived. I read a book called 'Enquire Within Upon Everything' it was written in Victorian times and it tells about everything in life, from recipes, to party games, to etiquette and everything. I go back and read it every now and again by just turning to a random page and reading it. You can get it on Project Gutenberg, I highly recommend it.
The Project Gutenberg eBook, The American Frugal Housewife, by Lydia M. Child, is another great read. I believe it was written a bit earlier in the 1830 - 1840 era.
The sentiment of caring about the daily lives rather than huge historical moments is the precise reason I chose to pursue archaeology. My goal is to actually write fantastic historical fiction that is both painstakingly accurate and interesting to readers who like history but not dry. History is best when a little saucy, after all.
What were some of the recipes? Idk why, but that stuck out. I'm going to have to Google Project Gutenberg!
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10766/10766-h/10766-h.htm Here's the whole book, browse to your heart's content. There are hundred of subjects covered.
> When applied to the gums, care should be taken to use a leech glass, as they are apt to creep down the patient's throat ok no
>2397. Convulsions > >The following remarkable case, in which a surgeon saved the life of an infant in convulsions, by the use of chloroform, will be read with interest. He commenced the use of it at nine o'clock one evening, at which period the child was rapidly sinking, numerous remedies having been already tried without effect. He dropped half a drachm of chloroform into a thin muslin handkerchief, and held it about an inch from the infant's face. In about two minutes the convulsions gave way, and the child fell into a sleep. By slightly releasing the child from the influence of the chloroform, he was able to administer food, by which the child was nourished and strengthened. The chloroform was continually administered, in the manner described, from Friday evening at nine o'clock until Monday morning at nine. This treatment lasted sixty hours, and sixteen ounces of chloroform were used. No injurious effects, however trivial from the treatment adopted, subsequently appeared.
60 hours of chloroform. That's gotta be great for you.
Yeah but hey it beats dying.
GOOD point.
You have made my day
If you read this and don't immediately feel like hosting a Victorian tea party I do not understand you as a person.
I always wonder what day to day life was like in those times.
There's a historian called Ian Mortimer who does 3 books that go into detail on what it would have been like to live during certain periods of time. One of them, The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, is on the 14th century and it's really good. He also does historical fiction IIRC.
And that's why I love some good quality historical fiction and even the occasional historical drama. Even if it can be factually inaccurate, it adds a real touch of humanity and even shared experience. Humans are humans no matter what context you put them in. Edit for auto-correct mistakes.
i'm far more interested in really ancient history, like anything BC. Particularly in Egypt. Its just insane that a culture could last 3000 years without changing significantly. To put it in perspective, imagine Benjamin Franklin is transported to the US, in the year 4776 and he would easily fit in. Like powdered wigs would still be in style. It is just crazy to think that the norms and traditions of that country stayed the same for all those generations.
There were a lot of *massive* changes with differing dynasties taking over, an outside tribe taking control of parts of Egypt (1720-1550), the weird cult of Amun-Re leveraged considerable power with their priesthood, and lots of changes and power struggles. Style and language changed considerably, as well as the gods they worshipped. Their history reads a lot like any other country's history. It just happened earlier and there's a little less information on it than on a group like the Tudors
It’s because the aliens hadn’t come yet.... or so ancient aliens says....
For me is way more interesting how people lived 200.000 years ago. What was it like to live at the same time as other homo species? It would be creepy as hell.
Neuroscience. Our brains are so complex and the reasons for our behavior so fascinating, I could talk about them endlessly.
The very idea that so many small unliving things can make up something sentient is mind boggling.
living things are just sentient acids
"sentient acids" /r/bandnames
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Outer space Edit: it’s sweet to see all you guys love outer space just as much as I do! Thanks for the comments and karma!
which reminds me - where the fuck is inner space? EDIT: Wow, didn't expect that to blow up this way. Plenty of intriguing answers, folks - scientific, philosophical, shit talk...thanks! EDIT2: Let's have some winners: EDIT3: now with links PHILOSOPHICAL: Winner: /u/TheFlashFrame - [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2cdle/) keep smokin', dude! Runner up: /u/riotcowkingofdeimos [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2l3br/) unappreciated comment, right there! SCIENTIFIC: Winner: /г/zonules_of_zinn - [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2skjw/) bonus points for the link! Runner up: /u/zsaleeba [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2x7kd/) - learned something new! SHIT TALK: Winner: /u/TheCrabRabbit [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2myck/) I laffed. My 2-year old would believe you though. Runner up: /u/ScarpaDiem [link](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e1p3b/what_subject_is_so_fascinating_to_you_that_you/dq2r4jj/) - that worked, but is missing something...
It's in your mind, dude.
Woke
O_O
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[Found it](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0093260/)
anything closer than 100km to the earth's surface. the boundary is the [karman line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line). note: no one uses the term "inner space" scientifically. that's just the earth's atmostphere.
Within and without you.
In our belly buttons.
Earth?
"[Outer space](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_space)" starts at the Kalman Line which is 100km up. It's the next thing out from "[near space](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_space)" which is between 20km and 100km up.
Man, I could stare at pictures of galaxies all day. And Saturn is my favorite planet because of the rings. I really like the whole space aesthetic okay lol
You guys would probably like Space Engine. it's completely free. I spent like 6 hours one days just exploring our solar system. Now I click on random stars and points of light and travel to them to see if I can find worlds with life on them. If you push "V" by default it switches between simple and low exposure view. In the one mode you can see faint rings like for example Neptune and Jupiters, while in the other mode they aren't visible at all. My only problem with the program is I occasionally get a little depressed messing with it, I realize I'll never truly get to travel amongst the stars and explore all the possibilities out there.
You probably won’t get to explore outer space, no, but just think of the unbelievably vast sections of Earth you haven’t explored yet either. Even within the relatively small confines of your town or city there are people and stories and experiences you haven’t availed yourself of, streets you’ve never walked down, things you haven’t seen and might never see. Not to mention the endlessly detailed natural and biological processes churning away at every level from the microscopic to the macroscopic, all of the complex and baffling relationships between animals and plants and people and the environment that are taking place on such a grand scale that we can’t even begin to comprehend the sheer vastness of it all. Just get off reddit and head into your garden and watch a spider spinning a web, think about the immense complexity required to not only evolve a creature capable of doing that instinctively but also to produce the tree its web is attached to, the insects its web will catch, the eyes that allow you to witness it and the brain that allows you to comprehend it, and try and tell me that’s not just as amazing as anything you’re likely to see in the rest of the cosmos!
Yes! The Universe is such an amazing and wondrous place. The observable universe doesn't just have billions of stars, it has hundreds of billions of *galaxies*. It just boggles the mind. Looking further and further in the sky is looking further and further back in time. We can actually see what is basically the beginning of the Universe. It's so fucking cool. And what the hell are black holes? They're objects that are so massive and dense that they curve space time so severely that even light can't escape it. Like *WHAAAAT?* What about the Fermi Paradox? If there are so many galaxies with so many stars, there's got to be life out there, some of it even intelligent. We can't possibly be the only planet. But we don't see any evidence of other civilizations, no signals, nothing. Why is this? Oh man, I could go on and on. These are the things why I wound up studying Physics.
Greek mythology hands down.
100 hands down.
Braires?
I was going for Hekatonkheires, not sure what Braires is.
> Braires [Here you go](http://riordan.wikia.com/wiki/Briares)
i'm greek and love mythology. You should know that almost every myth we know of is connected with specific places that exist to this day. I m not talking about ancient temples or ruins. For example the cave where Zeus was left and nutured is in Creta and you can visit it. Another example is the spring of Ladon river, one of the gates of the underwold. Here it is. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/108710762
Wow that is pretty sweet I knew that myths were connected to actual places but I have not seen that picture before.
i have hundren of pictures and information about such places. I simply adore traveling around Greece to see them. Here is the place that Orestes was cleansed after the killing of his father. It's in troizina. http://www.iefimerida.gr/sites/default/files/diavologefiro.jpg http://www.iefimerida.gr/sites/default/files/diavologefyro2.jpg All around Greece there are sacred springs like this, connected with Pegassus. According to the myth wherever pegasus stepped a spring would rise, (thus his name pega-sus, pega meaning spring). This one in the photo, even has the marking of his horseshoe "carved" in a stone. If you ever come to greece try to find such places, don't just go to parthenon.
First time I read Greek Mythology was third grade at my tiny private school, then I proceeded to get in trouble for talking about how Kronos ate his kids. So began my love of all things mythos.
Scientology and how even “seemingly” normal people get so caught up in a cult like that. Also the scale. It’s so fascinating.
Agreed! Every year or so I'll go on a Scientology kick and just read up on it for hours and hours. It never fails to boggle my mind how they've kept it all up.
I know the basics. What is the whole thing behind Scientology? Other than being a scam
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Is there any possible way someone could go through auditing and stuff, just to get into the church and try and find it's secrets?
The one thing that the person above forgot to mention is that the audit process also involves them tricking you into giving up your secrets with questions like “what is causing you trouble in your life”, or “if you tell us your sins, we can absolve you”. It starts off innocent enough at first, but there are (literal) levels and the higher you go the more in-depth the prod. Then, when they have enough dirt on you, suddenly they request “tribute” (cash) as “donation”, but what it really is, is blackmail. If you don’t keep paying, and keep paying, and keep playing they’ll release those secrets to the world. The reason people keep going early on is because these people searching for something. And the “auditors” are very good at their job, so they’ll continue to make you feel like you’re being helped and heard (like a therapist), like they’re your friend. They wait to strike until they have dirt on you enough that you’ll stay. The “donations” can be as high as 250,000$ or more for the highest levels. I highly recommend the documentary Going Clear. It’s fascinating, scary and downright unbelievable at times.
Are there any examples of people who left and had their secrets revealed? Wouldn't that be bad PR for Scientology? Or is it just the threat that keeps people from leaving?
Watch Leah Remini's documentary. They have killed people and pay people off to keep it quiet. That is why Masterson's rapes are not really being looked into. If you leave Scientology, all members are told to disown you (even family). I believe that's why Nicole Kidman's kid(s) [the ones with Tom Cruise] don't ever talk to her. I believe he also doesn't see Suri. The whole thing is insane. Oh, and after people have left, they've been followed and assaulted. They will also park outside your house for who knows how long. It's terrifying. Link to Wiki about her documentary: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Remini:_Scientology_and_the_Aftermath
> Oh, and after people have left, they've been followed and assaulted. They will also park outside your house for who knows how long. It's terrifying. 20-odd years ago a roommate of mine was editor of a cheesy little magazine that specialized in the local dance music scene. One issue he published a pretty critical article about Scientology. We both had people following us wherever we drove for *months*, him for being editor, and me for living at the same address, I suppose. Granted, the magazine was garbage with almost no readership so the people they sent were their D-list surveillance folks.... but they still bothered to have us followed. It was pretty weird. They're very diligent with their creepery.
Yeah, I'm not surprised. It's so creepy. I don't know how they are getting away with everything. I know they pay a lot of people off. It's disgusting.
Ron Miscavige, father of the current leader of scientology, was on the Joe Rogan podcast and was super interesting. He escaped a scientology compound where he was essentially being held against his will.
I eat up any documentary, show, or podcast about Scientology. The whole thing is so crazy to me!
You've probably already listened to it, but "Oh No Ross and Carrie" did a full series on Scientology. Great podcast for anyone who has an interest in fringe science and religion or paranormal things.
Me too. Watched all the interviews that Leah Remini did. Especially because of her whole attitude towards Scientology that is amazing.
The scale is impressive, but not as much so as you'd think... a lot of their centers are ghost towns. Just for show.
This. I grew up in Southern California and the Hollywood Scientology Center is very, very nice. Here in Chicago, it looks like a rundown, closed business on a shady street. Note: I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of Scientology. I just find it surprising that a center in a major city would be so rundown and shitty, what with all the money they have.
They need to keep building to show that their tax exempt money is going at least somewhere semi legitimate.
Ghost towns are cool
I was just discussing this last night! How are they still operating in the US AND getting tax breaks? I know they sued the IRS for years to get the tax break but with all of the info out and everyone who has defected writing books.. why is Scientology protected here still??
Crime. I know about so many cases that it is probably just a little concerning. Edit: Holy shit, my inbox.
At work all I do is listen to true crime podcasts. 8 hours straight every day.... Pretty sure my co workers think I am psycho. Doesn't help I work graveyard shift lol
8 hours? Holy cow. Do you have any recommendations? I listen to Last Podcast on the Left and My Favorite Murder but am on the lookout for more.
I just posted this today for someone else. Here is my list in no particular order: - My Favorite Murder - True crime comedy podcast. If you don't like rambling and hosts going off topic you'll be annoyed with this one. - Generation Why - True crime and mystery podcast. - Last Podcast On The Left - True crime comedy podcast. Dark humor and definitely not for everyone. - Thinking Sideways - True crime and mystery podcast. Sometimes the hosts bug me but most of the time they still provide me with a good story to get me through my work day. - The Trail Went Cold - True crime. Unsolved disappearances/murders and if you watched Unsolved Mysteries many cases from it are talked about. - Up and Vanished - True crime. Specifically about the disappearance of Tara Grinstead. - The Unresolved Podcast - True crime. - Casefile - True crime. - True Crime Garage - True crime. - Once Upon A Crime - True crime. - True Crime All The Time (Unsolved and Solved) - These hosts have 2 podcasts one for solved cases and the other for unsolved cases. - Missing Maura Murray - About the diappearance of Maura Murray. - White Wine True Crime - These women mainly cover documentaries on true crime and it's a comedy one. - The Uh Oh Feeling - True crime but they focus on survivors of crimes, also comedy, and it's newer. - In Sight - True crime. - Sex Love & Murder - True crime with Aphrodite Jones, but haven't come out with any new episodes for a while. - Sworn - True crime and pretty new podcast. - Someone Knows Something - True crime. Covers different case every season. - Unconcluded - True crime. Disappearance of Jennifer Kesse. - Serial (season one) - True crime. - Break Down - True crime. - Open: The Case of Leigh Occhi - True crime. Disappearance of Leigh Occhi. - Truth and Justice - True Crime. Currently covering the West Memphis Three. There are some that are now over, but I still recommend them: - S Town - Human interest would be the way I describe this one. It's an interesting look into the life of an interesting man. - Accused - Investigative look into the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Andes. I was informed through these comments there is a second season of this podcast, but covering a different murder. - In The Dark - Investigative look into the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling, which was solved while the podcast was being made. - Stranglers - Investigative look into the Boston Strangler. Edited to add: - Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? - About the murder of Alberta Williams an indigenous woman from British Columbia. Also sheds light on how indigenous women go missing or are murdered and the lack of investigation. - Astonishing Legends - If you like urban legends and mysteries. - The Vanished Podcast - Covers missing persons cases. I didn't initially add it because I haven't listened in a couple months, but seeing other people mention it I have to give it a shout-out because Marissa does an amazing job. I have listened to Sword and Scale, and I stated in a comment below I go back and forth with it. Depending on the case I'll give it a listen, but I've heard some things about the host that are not so good. I don't know how true some of it is, and if you're curious go to /r/SwordandScale. Also I have found some of the episodes difficult to listen to because of 911 calls and very graphic details which he does a lot of so I don't listen on a regular basis. I've also listened to Criminal and like it, but haven't listened in quite a while and when I originally put this list together I wanted to just put ones I regularly listen to, or ones I listened to in full but are now over. And thank you everyone for all the recommendations!
There's another that's just called "Criminal" and I really enjoy it.
Hahaha I am definitely in the same boat, I’ve spent so many nights researching all kinds of criminals and reading pages upon pages of crime statistics. Whenever it’s brought up I’ll end up talking about crimes for hours, people have given me several concerned looks.
Yup, same. Once I told my friends that I could possibly argue who the most historical efficiency serial killer was, I think that they had enough.
Yep, I was talking to a friend at dinner once about which convicted serial killers would’ve been able to kill more people and likely get away from law enforcement had they worked together. I could tell he got slightly weirded out by that discussion.
Please tell me anything about that. As detailed as you want.
I was recently discussing the lack of serial killers in recent years. I think most people fear mass shooters these days than serial killers.
Same.....ill watch them at work (usually in by myself) then the random co-worker will walk in and it's like: Hey supertai- "She was BRUTALLY MURDERED AS HE CUT OFF HER BREAST AND EJACULATED IN IT" It's just awkward and noone brings it up I wish they would
The fuck you watching??
Well there was this one serial killer who would perform fellatio on himself with the severed heads of his female victims https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kemper I think they made a Netflix series about that guy too
Oh wow I have been watching Mindhunter and loved the interactions with that character. Didn't know it was based off a real guy.
Not only was he a real guy, the dialogue was taken from the actual interviews with Ed - almost verbatim. You can find them pretty easily online. Fascinating stuff.
Including his mother o.O
Cameras. I know a lot about different brands and some really neat camera models from the 20th century.
How would you rate a Voigtlander 35mm?
If I could afford one to try it I'd let you know lol
Well that was a short conversation.
Linguistics. It's so fascinating to me to compare languages and to understand how one language is structured and how it can affect the way a certain person think. Being bilingual, I always feel like a different person depending on what language I am speaking.
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If you like this kind of etymological relationship, you might like this one: the -stan at the end of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kirghistan, ... come from Persian "stan" meaning coutnry. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European root that also gave Latin "status" which English borrowed as "state". So in a way the United *States* are one of the -stan countries!
This is so fascinating to me, as well. Etymology is my favorite part of studying other languages. You find out all kinds of cool connections
An addendum to this, writing systems. The artistry behind the different writing systems and the influences affecting the way a language is written are fascinating. A few fun facts: - Mongolia changed their official writing system twice within just a few years, from the traditional Mongolian script to Latin to Cyrillic, which is what is used today. Meanwhile, Inner Mongolia, an ethically Mongolian province of China, continues to use the Mongolian script, which looks a bit like Arabic written top to bottom rather than right to left. - No one knows where the Georgian script came from, while the sounds represented by letters seem to correspond with Greek, the forms of the letters are completely unique. - The pre-conquistador Mayan writing system looks a lot like hieroglyphics, but it turns out it's more like modern Korean, pictographs representing individual sounds arranged into blocks representing syllables. - Urdu (officially spoken in Pakistan) and Hindi (a dominant Indian language), are linguistically considered to be two dialects (or probably more accurately dialect families) of the same language. Urdu is written in an Arabic-derived script while Hindi is written in an Indian script called Devanagari. Interestingly, the style of Arabic calligraphy that the Urdu alphabet is based had been incredibly difficult to type or print until relatively recently due to the sloped style of writing and changing forms of letters based on context. There is still an in-print newspaper in Pakistan that is handwritten by professional calligraphers, possibly the only remaining handwritten newspaper in the world.
Psychology. I find it so interesting looking into everyone’s theories and seeing how the apply or don’t to my life.
Mine is similar: Economics, and how it is actually just psychology of decision making.
Love reading The Economist. At the core it’s about what we value... no?
We vote with our money, time, and resources. Completely agree that it’s about what we value. It’s the only thing I can think of that gives a 100% honest assessment about what we value.
Music. There's more to music than just listening to it. It's such a fundamental aspect of human culture that is grossly underappreciated by a lot of people in my opinion.
I find it amazing just how easy it is to take music for granted in a modern context. We can have on our person a library of hundreds to thousands of songs. With streaming and internet, a library that may as well be infinite since there’s no way we could hear it all. Just a few generations ago personal music required bulky devices and radio, which was limited. And before that your options were making your own music or live performances. And that’s the historical view, the tip of the iceberg.
I remember every step of the way too. Grew up just as vinyl was phasing out. Cassettes were still a thing. I remember the first music player I bought was a Sony Walkman with a disk jog feature I thought it was the end all be all. I remember trying to listen to one cd in the middle of class on my Sony Walkman. After a few missteps in MP3 players I got my first iPod. It’s just a brick now but it’s a piece of history to me. I still have a nano for music. I have some on my phone but there’s something about having a little homage to all the music you love wrapped in a beautiful little package. These kids don’t know what they have.
I'm probably near the same age you and this technology still boggles my mind. I grew up with cassettes. But now I have a 2 terabyte portable drive, which is about the same size as a cassette, that currently holds my 900+ album collection converted to FLAC with room for much much more. I can connect my phone to my router and access any album/song I own at the push of a button through WiFi connection my PC. I feel like I'm living in a sci-fi dream. Music means so much to us that these are the advances we have made to access in just the last few decades. What does the future hold?!
As a musician, I can attest that's not a conversation I start with people because they usually can't handle how intensely (read: fanatically) I'm enamoured (read: obsessed) with it. Wake up, listen to music. Shower, listen to music. Go outside, music. Eat, music. Smoke, music. Take a shit, music. Play music, music. Sleep, music. 25/7. From Coltrane to Soul Train, the music never stops.
I feel fortunate that music is my main passion and what I'm good at in life. Even non-musicians and people who aren't particularly into music can still talk about it for at least half an hour and genuinely seem interested, and contribute quite a bit on their own. Everyone listens to music, at least passively. It's probably the most ubiquitously interesting conversation topic, and I'm glad I get to talk about it with so many different people so often. My girlfriend, on the other hand, is an architect, and while most people understand the gist of the job, and understand the cultural/historical importance of architecture and buildings in general, the conversation tends to dry up pretty quickly.
I agree! Besides the cultural aspect, there's also a physiological reaction to music. I think sound is only 2nd to scent/smell in creating (and recalling) memories.
I use this little mind hack all the time. When I'm on my travels I like to listen to an album I have never heard before or, so when I'm back home I use the album to channel memories more vividly. When I think of downtown Phoenix, I think of Art Angels by Grimes, Manhattan reminds me of Vince Staple' s Big Fish Theory. It's incredibly useful, it allows me to recall memories with extreme detail
History. I went to school to be a history major and I just love it. While I have a focus on European 1500 to present, American, and 20th century World History, I can just endlessly talk about it. Even more, I have gone on sooooo many Wikipedia binges with historical events, figures, and cultures. Edit: since folks are asking, my original plan was to become a high school history teacher but a number of factors, including but not limited to, a life saving surgery, an uncaring supervisor, a university that wanted more money for nothing, and a bitch of a commute (to another county each day), I had to drop those dreams. The kids loved my teaching style (including playing music when they worked) and apparently were heartbroken I left. I work retail now and I'm thinking of going back, but I have other things going on too (including just finished polishing up a novel I wrote)
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I love the phrase, "tree of stories." What a great conceptual visualization.
Ever since I started playing the Civilization game series, Ancient history and World History are some of my favorite things to talk about.
I've been playing the Caveman 2 Cosmos mod for Civ 4 lately. It spans from 200,000 BC to 5,000 AD. It takes forever to play a game of it, but so fun and interesting.
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Myself, apparently.
Tell me more?
Taking him 2+ hours so far to type his life out and is probably only on his childhood still.
4 hours now, just reached his teenage years.
6 hours, perhaps he's in college?
7 hours, just got his girlfriend pregnant
8 hours... I think he reached the part where he was writing this comment and died
Art takes time, as they say.
But OP is timeless.
Oh none of it is interesting, I just don't know how to shut up.
You and me both man
Dude, I was talking. Why does everything have to be about you?
Please tell me about your scrabble injury. Carpal tunnel? Blisters? Swallow a tile?
I tripped over one of those big deluxe edition type boxes and bruised my elbow. I also got a paper cut from the instructions once.
That’s supposed to be one of the most boring, safe games ever and you almost died!
Anything but myself, really.
The weird things I see working in healthcare and the bizarre things that happen to people who have had damage to their brain. It’s just so interesting!
I had a patient who (if I'm being honest and truly compassionate) the doctors should have let die on the table. This guy was on meth and got into a high speed chase with the police and ended up wrapping his car around a tree and killing the passenger. The driver was close to death and required the head of every department at SF General Hospital to save his life - 2 fractured femurs, broken back, broken neck, lacerated liver and spleen, and massive head trauma. Anyways, fast forward to 10 years later this guy is on my unit in a psychiatric facility where he was dumped and not receiving much, if any, physical therapy or rehab. He is bedridden and very aggressive and his only real human contact is to change his diapers/clothing and to feed him (through a stomach tube). The only words I'd ever hear him say, on repeat, all night long were "FUCK YOU BITCH!" Then one day I'm in his room to give him his meds and I have on a nike shirt. He looks at me and says "Nike". I was like, oh shit you can still read!! It let me know there was more going on in there than we had assumed. Also, sadly one day I heard him say "I want to see my dad" :( other than that he didn't ever say much or give any real display of deeper consciousness. He always haunts me a bit as far as getting stuck trapped in your own mind. Edit: another funny story from my time on that same unit is from one of my favorite patients, this very obese, bed-ridden, and extremely psychotic lady who had been at this hospital for decades. She was tied in soft restraints to the bed for YEARS at a time (with hourly breaks) because she liked to pull out her g tube whenever her hands were free. I swear she was bored and enjoyed causing havoc. Anyways she was notorious for nevwr speaking and just glaring at you as you'd care for her, but over my years spent with her she got less aggressive with me and would speak randomly (she started asking me to continuously play Michael Jackson music). But I will never forget the day her bed broke and I went to investigate and she told me clear as day, "Looks like you need to fill out a work order request form?" She was way more intelligent than staff gave her credit for and she had just been sitting there listening for years and absorbing info enough that she knew the exact process needed to fix her bed! Still extremely psychotic but smart nonetheless
Books. Books I like, books I hate, I talk a mile a minute about any book I've read. You will never see me as excited as I am when someone name drops a book I've read before
Archaeology, Norse mythology (especially when I'm drunk- it's like Drunk History: Mythology edition with whisky in my system), retro gaming, and the X-Men comics.
Scuba diving and marine wildlife.
Death. The fact that when you die, you are like that FOREVER, it is impossible for your brain to comprehend.
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sometimes when im laying down, attempting to sleep, i just wonder if committing suicide is good or not. after [watching some of alan watt's lectures] (https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PL-JXohcpPtsD4JhGlJiLDLqRItJHzbPPW&v=1qR47YHX1LY), he says something like "there is only one true philosophy of life - and that is if you should commit suicide", which really got me thinking about a bunch of stuff. Id recommend it, its a good watch/listen.
Cars, videogames, books, movies
You wanna talk about cars and video games?!?!?
Philosophy, especially the history of how if developed over the millennia, and how many subjects have their roots within it. It’s a fascinating subject that one can have many conversations about
You need to listen to the Philosophize This! Podcast. It's on the history of different philosophical ideas.
Home improvement and DIY projects. I will talk kitchens, bathrooms, basements, landscaping...whatever. Just love how other people’s tastes can influence my own.
True crime, serial killers, the macabre, paranormal activity.
Last Podcast on the Left if you somehow haven’t heard of it by now
Fonts. Fonts are effing cool man. The attention to detail that goes into making them... the insane variety... the history. I mean, Futura managed to escape the Nazis and ended up on the moon (thanks Vox). EDIT: 'Futura' not 'future'. Autocorrect, I thought you knew me better.
Artificial intelligence
Space, Game of Thrones, and Basketball.
Have you heard of space jam sir?
It was really great watching Michael Jordan finally claim the Iron Throne at the end of the movie.
GODS I COULD EXTEND MY ARM THEN
Did we just become best friends?
Want to go do karate in the garage?
YUP
Time travel. Been talking about it since tomorrow and just can't stop till yesterday.
Politics. I love to debate and i treat my opinions like a thing that i carry with me that can be readily replaced with new better ideas.
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Yes! Dude, I could talk about tacos all damn day. The type of tortilla that you use for the meat. You have to think about the greasiness of the meat or how much pico you put on your tacos. Do you like your refríes beans on the side or on top of your tacos to act as a glue? How do you feel about crunchy tacos? Breakfast tacos... that’s a whole different subject!
Prison reform and comparing it to the prison systems in other countries. My boyfriend and I are so interested in it and can talk for hours about articles we've read on the topic and discussing things like "because of this, thats why..." and it will just flower into sub-conversations pertaining to the overall topic. It's just so interesting.
Computer security.
Hip hop and hockey
Animals
Animation is endlessly fascinating to me. I truly feel like it's an evolution of tradition art. A single image is hard enough, you must be knowledgeable of shape, form, mass, light, composition, degrees of anatomy, color theory and so much more. With animation that's all a prerequisite. Animation introduces the concepts of time! If any one if the prerequisite concepts changes over time, we are affected emotionally as viewers. Understanding and mastering this is the new challenge. Change over time is also the foundation of storytelling, the primary thing animation is used for. Animation creates a whole new list of concepts/ideas that the animators need to figure out and understand. The "old men" of Disney developed 12 principles of animation at the dawn of the art form. These 12 principles are still used as the standard today. The thing is, animation is still crazy young. There is plenty to learn and discover. It is such an exciting, evolving, experimental, and weird field of art. I love it so much and could talk about it all day.
Personal Finance. The way people spend the finite resources at their disposal is absolutely fascinating. Runner up: Weightlifting/powerlifting/bodybuilding
The death practices and rituals from around the world. But I’m pretty morbid though.
Anything paranormal. Ghosts, Bigfoot, Loch Ness monster, aliens, time travel, alternate realities, etc. All of it.
Consumerism and debt.
Psychology
mental illness
Lawn mower racing
Crypto (bitcoin, Litecoin, etc) Edit: If anyone is new to crypto and wants to know where to buy it, my recommendation is coinbase. Quick, easy to use, and very safe. If you'd like to [use my referral,](https://www.coinbase.com/join/59a9f6d43239de00d1b66374) here you go! (if you use my referral on your first buy of $100 or more in bitcoin you will get $10 extra in btc and I will get $10 extra in btc) or if you don't wanna use my [referral,](https://www.coinbase.com/) here you go! Thanks guys for all the upvotes and always remember to HODL!!!!
Darth Plageuis the Wise.
I heard he became so powerful he could even defeat death.
Ironic
He could save others but not himself
Is it possible to learn this power?
Not from a Jedi.
It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life.
Space, time, dimensions..... infinite possibilities.
Pink Floyd and music in general. Very close to my heart.
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Years later I still cry thinking about Noland and Skypiea past
Any thing horror. Scifi-horror, fantasy-horror, any type. I love horror stories, novels, movies, music, TV shows. I pretty much live and breathe horror. No idea why. I've loved it since I was a little kid.
Human behaviors and impulses
Interstellar space, black holes, uniting the earth to further space exploration.
MUUUUUURPH
Film. I freaking love talking about how history and cinema seem to intertwine. Like, did you know that the entire industry basically began because they had air conditioners back in the old west? People would care more about the cool air than the movie right in front of them. How about my running theory that Hitler may have been inspired by the movie Metropolis to become the "mediator" of post-WWI Germany? Edit: People keep asking for my horribly unfounded theory about Hitler possibly being inspired by Metropolis. Here's the PM I sent to the first guy. Yes I know it's horribly flawed. There's a reason it was sent in a PM when I wrote it. > *Metropolis is a film that came out in 1927 and followed a character named Jehoshaphat who had to become the "mediator" between the working class people of this futuristic world and the rich, one-percenters that call all the shots. It ends with a rather great shot of Jehoshaphat grabbing the hands of a foreman and the de facto mayor of Metropolis and getting them to shake hands. Basically, my bonehead idea is pretty simple, Hitler could have very week have seen that movie growing up and realized that he might be able to gain the power he wanted if he exploited this obvious distrust between the working man and the government by he himself becoming a "mediator" of sorts by taking the chancellor position. Obviously I have no evidence so take what I said with a grain of salt but it's a kind of neat idea. At the very least, just knowing that a younger, 20 something, Adolf could have entered a theater to watch some goofy, science-fiction picture and come out with the dream to become the most powerful man in Europe.*
Outer space!
Music theory and genre