tanadrin
@tanadrin.bsky.social
I also poast at tanadrin.tumblr.com. Fiction, worldbuilding, and other nonsense at tanadrin.de. Aurë entuluva!
And/or have players enter a pronunciation via IPA or something.
November 13, 2025 at 11:00 AM
And/or have players enter a pronunciation via IPA or something.
pythagorean nightmare scenario
November 12, 2025 at 7:15 AM
pythagorean nightmare scenario
apparently only around 25% of the UK identifies as middle class? which seems surprisingly low to me, coming from an American background.
November 10, 2025 at 9:29 PM
apparently only around 25% of the UK identifies as middle class? which seems surprisingly low to me, coming from an American background.
most middle class people don't own companies; many people who identify as working-class do! and the black middle class has been an important component of the united states' race and class structure for a long time.
November 10, 2025 at 9:27 PM
most middle class people don't own companies; many people who identify as working-class do! and the black middle class has been an important component of the united states' race and class structure for a long time.
there is a rich tradition of american sociologists looking at the way class is constructed within, for example, black communities specifically, going all the way back to WEB DuBois; suffice it to say, this is not at all an accurate summary
November 10, 2025 at 9:26 PM
there is a rich tradition of american sociologists looking at the way class is constructed within, for example, black communities specifically, going all the way back to WEB DuBois; suffice it to say, this is not at all an accurate summary
the same as if you treat the "working class" of the 19th century as isomorphic to the "working class" of the 21st (the precise "working class" of the 19th century basically doesn't exist anymore in post-industrial developed countries)
November 10, 2025 at 9:23 PM
the same as if you treat the "working class" of the 19th century as isomorphic to the "working class" of the 21st (the precise "working class" of the 19th century basically doesn't exist anymore in post-industrial developed countries)
but if you take 19th and 21st century conceptions of the "middle class" as roughly equivalent you will be really confused about (for instance) the nature of 19th century political mass movements and middle-class-supported liberal revolutions
November 10, 2025 at 9:22 PM
but if you take 19th and 21st century conceptions of the "middle class" as roughly equivalent you will be really confused about (for instance) the nature of 19th century political mass movements and middle-class-supported liberal revolutions
and of course when you make historical comparisons it gets even weirder: "middle class" used to be "anybody who had a lot of money who wasn't an aristocrat"
November 10, 2025 at 9:21 PM
and of course when you make historical comparisons it gets even weirder: "middle class" used to be "anybody who had a lot of money who wasn't an aristocrat"
class is weird! especially when it enters political discussions. i think a lot of times what people mean would be clarified if they specified income brackets *or* like sets of cultural signifiers, but in practice we tend to correlate these in weird ways
November 10, 2025 at 9:20 PM
class is weird! especially when it enters political discussions. i think a lot of times what people mean would be clarified if they specified income brackets *or* like sets of cultural signifiers, but in practice we tend to correlate these in weird ways
in contrast I think the British usage tends to be much more restricted: a much smaller proportion of the population identifies as middle class and as a cultural phenomenon the middle class is more clearly defined in opposition to the working class
November 10, 2025 at 9:18 PM
in contrast I think the British usage tends to be much more restricted: a much smaller proportion of the population identifies as middle class and as a cultural phenomenon the middle class is more clearly defined in opposition to the working class
AIUI sociologists generally point to a combination of income, education, aspiration, employment type, and even speech patterns as markers of the middle class in America. ~70-90% of americans identify as "middle class," including some quite wealthy ones!
November 10, 2025 at 9:15 PM
AIUI sociologists generally point to a combination of income, education, aspiration, employment type, and even speech patterns as markers of the middle class in America. ~70-90% of americans identify as "middle class," including some quite wealthy ones!
in fact i would wager even in typical US usage it is a complex intersection of both income and culture. the way people categorize traits as "working class" or "middle class" in the US does not straightforwardly map to income at all.
November 10, 2025 at 9:10 PM
in fact i would wager even in typical US usage it is a complex intersection of both income and culture. the way people categorize traits as "working class" or "middle class" in the US does not straightforwardly map to income at all.
but the solution to "this part of the constitution no longer serves our needs" cannot be "and therefore we have to write a whole new one from scratch." it's an instrument of government, not a logic puzzle.
November 10, 2025 at 7:50 AM
but the solution to "this part of the constitution no longer serves our needs" cannot be "and therefore we have to write a whole new one from scratch." it's an instrument of government, not a logic puzzle.
which is not to say that the formal properties of an entrenched clause don't serve their function (to an extent) by making it both much more annoying and much more politically difficult to repeal them.
November 10, 2025 at 7:49 AM
which is not to say that the formal properties of an entrenched clause don't serve their function (to an extent) by making it both much more annoying and much more politically difficult to repeal them.
i feel like there are workarounds, is my point. it cannot be the case that in a self-governing people past generations get to fix the form of the constitution forever, either in all particulars or in one. at a certain point i think the principle of democratic self-government trumps entrenchment.
November 10, 2025 at 7:48 AM
i feel like there are workarounds, is my point. it cannot be the case that in a self-governing people past generations get to fix the form of the constitution forever, either in all particulars or in one. at a certain point i think the principle of democratic self-government trumps entrenchment.
i was thinking you just abolish the senate and then argue in court if anybody tries to challenge it that you didn't run afoul of article V because nobody has any senators. or you disempower the senate like the Lords in the UK. or you remove the entrenched clause, *then* abolish the senate
November 10, 2025 at 7:46 AM
i was thinking you just abolish the senate and then argue in court if anybody tries to challenge it that you didn't run afoul of article V because nobody has any senators. or you disempower the senate like the Lords in the UK. or you remove the entrenched clause, *then* abolish the senate
arguable—the entrenched clause is about equal representation, and every state gets zero senators is pretty equal!
November 10, 2025 at 7:11 AM
arguable—the entrenched clause is about equal representation, and every state gets zero senators is pretty equal!
baumol's cost disease is a consequence of rising standards of living--service work increases in price even while physical goods fall in price and standards of living in general rise. this is good! servants are expensive now bc people can aspire to better jobs.
November 9, 2025 at 9:43 PM
baumol's cost disease is a consequence of rising standards of living--service work increases in price even while physical goods fall in price and standards of living in general rise. this is good! servants are expensive now bc people can aspire to better jobs.
Modern clothing certainly can be repaired, too. People just don't spend much time or money to repair it because, as you correctly note, it's not worth it for most low-cost items.
November 9, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Modern clothing certainly can be repaired, too. People just don't spend much time or money to repair it because, as you correctly note, it's not worth it for most low-cost items.
Reposted by tanadrin
If you’re wondering what a “least weasel” is, they absolutely live up to the name. This is the least amount of animal you can have that can still meet the bar for “is weasel”
June 2, 2025 at 6:30 AM
If you’re wondering what a “least weasel” is, they absolutely live up to the name. This is the least amount of animal you can have that can still meet the bar for “is weasel”
I love the Cherokee syllabary so much. Sequoyah didn’t read English so he took the basic Latin letterforms and made them all his own, with no particular relationship to how they sound in other languages. The result is aesthetically remarkable IMO. Looks great on the page, too.
November 8, 2025 at 8:13 AM
I love the Cherokee syllabary so much. Sequoyah didn’t read English so he took the basic Latin letterforms and made them all his own, with no particular relationship to how they sound in other languages. The result is aesthetically remarkable IMO. Looks great on the page, too.
Reposted by tanadrin
you have to be a genuine fucking idiot to believe this. there is no plausible genetic mechanism for this, especially if you go looking for "IQ" genes. there are a few genes which if you turn them off make humans gravely intellectually disabled. other than that it's a million point mutations.
November 8, 2025 at 5:11 AM
you have to be a genuine fucking idiot to believe this. there is no plausible genetic mechanism for this, especially if you go looking for "IQ" genes. there are a few genes which if you turn them off make humans gravely intellectually disabled. other than that it's a million point mutations.
gratuitously shitting on people like that in casual conversation is just tacky!
November 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
gratuitously shitting on people like that in casual conversation is just tacky!
there is a reason for learning traditional social graces like tact. bc regardless of politics people will find you extremely fucking irritating if you do neglect them.
November 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
there is a reason for learning traditional social graces like tact. bc regardless of politics people will find you extremely fucking irritating if you do neglect them.