David Perkins
@tecknow.grumbleware.com
Gay, disabled, curmudgeon, nerd. 40+ (he/him)
Blog updates at @grumbleware.com
Blog updates at @grumbleware.com
Update on my related research by the way, currently investigating the anti-RPG moral panic and the history of religious and philosophical movements that reject the imagination and boy do I wish there wasn't enough of that to fill an article, let alone a book. Great book though.
February 15, 2026 at 5:22 AM
Update on my related research by the way, currently investigating the anti-RPG moral panic and the history of religious and philosophical movements that reject the imagination and boy do I wish there wasn't enough of that to fill an article, let alone a book. Great book though.
"do this or I won't believe you" is an epistemic guideline, but I guess my question is what do you think is the epistemology that produced the map (ontology?) that they're insisting on?
February 15, 2026 at 1:07 AM
"do this or I won't believe you" is an epistemic guideline, but I guess my question is what do you think is the epistemology that produced the map (ontology?) that they're insisting on?
Reposted by David Perkins
Roses are red
I bet you'll agree
Which one is bouba
And which is kiki
I bet you'll agree
Which one is bouba
And which is kiki
February 14, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Roses are red
I bet you'll agree
Which one is bouba
And which is kiki
I bet you'll agree
Which one is bouba
And which is kiki
A universe where you could run out of problems to have is also a universe where there's nothing left to learn and that's just a different sort of story than Star Trek has ever been. I feel like they specifically rejected this with the Q.
February 13, 2026 at 7:50 AM
A universe where you could run out of problems to have is also a universe where there's nothing left to learn and that's just a different sort of story than Star Trek has ever been. I feel like they specifically rejected this with the Q.
Still mad about how little we got to know Ariam from Discovery.
The better we get at medicine the more new risks we find, because more people survive to encounter them.
I feel like some people assume the list of medical problems is closed and we'll reach the end someday.
The better we get at medicine the more new risks we find, because more people survive to encounter them.
I feel like some people assume the list of medical problems is closed and we'll reach the end someday.
February 13, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Still mad about how little we got to know Ariam from Discovery.
The better we get at medicine the more new risks we find, because more people survive to encounter them.
I feel like some people assume the list of medical problems is closed and we'll reach the end someday.
The better we get at medicine the more new risks we find, because more people survive to encounter them.
I feel like some people assume the list of medical problems is closed and we'll reach the end someday.
JSON doesn't really have an idea of not loading the entire object, and explicit parsing and transformation infrastructure basically doesn't exist so everyone's constantly rolling their own. XML could be confining but at least it saved you from everyone's bespoke Goldberg machine.
February 13, 2026 at 6:58 AM
JSON doesn't really have an idea of not loading the entire object, and explicit parsing and transformation infrastructure basically doesn't exist so everyone's constantly rolling their own. XML could be confining but at least it saved you from everyone's bespoke Goldberg machine.
I studied XML formally in grad school, twice, and I never thought I'd miss it but sometimes JSON makes it seem appealing. JSON really excels at quietly not quite actually helping you.
Now that I think about it, XML had a parser style that was specifically focused on huge datasets.
Now that I think about it, XML had a parser style that was specifically focused on huge datasets.
February 13, 2026 at 6:58 AM
I studied XML formally in grad school, twice, and I never thought I'd miss it but sometimes JSON makes it seem appealing. JSON really excels at quietly not quite actually helping you.
Now that I think about it, XML had a parser style that was specifically focused on huge datasets.
Now that I think about it, XML had a parser style that was specifically focused on huge datasets.
I don't disagree with you at all on this but I also think the omnicause is what happens when people know the reactionary worldview is wrong but are largely enclosed within it. I don't really know what to do about that. Epistemic injury bleeds poison, unfortunately.
February 4, 2026 at 10:13 PM
I don't disagree with you at all on this but I also think the omnicause is what happens when people know the reactionary worldview is wrong but are largely enclosed within it. I don't really know what to do about that. Epistemic injury bleeds poison, unfortunately.
This obsession with opsec makes a lot more sense if you imagine it as a concern about a sort of esoteric consent, like giving the fae your name.
Which, fits with how a lot of people understand cops and the law, actually.
Which, fits with how a lot of people understand cops and the law, actually.
February 2, 2026 at 10:36 PM
This obsession with opsec makes a lot more sense if you imagine it as a concern about a sort of esoteric consent, like giving the fae your name.
Which, fits with how a lot of people understand cops and the law, actually.
Which, fits with how a lot of people understand cops and the law, actually.
I really feel like they've over-identified with the worst parts of themselves to the point where they feel like if they made any positive changes, the person who went on to live that better life would not be them anymore.
January 31, 2026 at 4:26 AM
I really feel like they've over-identified with the worst parts of themselves to the point where they feel like if they made any positive changes, the person who went on to live that better life would not be them anymore.
So the thing about this impulse to me is that it feels like they want to Remain Unchanged(TM). They're drawn to spectacular destruction because it's the biggest impact they can imagine having on the world exactly as they are now.
January 31, 2026 at 4:26 AM
So the thing about this impulse to me is that it feels like they want to Remain Unchanged(TM). They're drawn to spectacular destruction because it's the biggest impact they can imagine having on the world exactly as they are now.
The right-wingers have latched onto this for some reason.
The viral depressed penguin
www.reddit.com
January 31, 2026 at 2:29 AM
The right-wingers have latched onto this for some reason.
Which means, acknowledging that other people might have less foresight than me is literally dehumanizing, which I absolutely do not want to do. My default assumption is that other people have _more_ foresight than I do.
But that would mean they chose what's happening.
But that would mean they chose what's happening.
January 29, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Which means, acknowledging that other people might have less foresight than me is literally dehumanizing, which I absolutely do not want to do. My default assumption is that other people have _more_ foresight than I do.
But that would mean they chose what's happening.
But that would mean they chose what's happening.
There's a dimension here that I often struggle with. Foresight is my core value, and if I'm not extremely careful, it's also the root of my morality. The reason that people can be harmed in a way that objects cannot is, in part, because people have expectations that can be violated.
January 29, 2026 at 4:09 PM
There's a dimension here that I often struggle with. Foresight is my core value, and if I'm not extremely careful, it's also the root of my morality. The reason that people can be harmed in a way that objects cannot is, in part, because people have expectations that can be violated.
You don't have to be a Marxist or obsessed with political purity to be afraid that history will repeat itself.
Basic education funding on property taxes, neutralizing the voting Rights act... now that I'm thinking of examples, I could be here all day.
Basic education funding on property taxes, neutralizing the voting Rights act... now that I'm thinking of examples, I could be here all day.
January 28, 2026 at 6:59 PM
You don't have to be a Marxist or obsessed with political purity to be afraid that history will repeat itself.
Basic education funding on property taxes, neutralizing the voting Rights act... now that I'm thinking of examples, I could be here all day.
Basic education funding on property taxes, neutralizing the voting Rights act... now that I'm thinking of examples, I could be here all day.
There's a strong thread in American history of pushing back against the right and then allowing them to have their way. From abandoning reconstruction through to tolerating segregation academies. And the more closely you look at history, the more examples there are.
January 28, 2026 at 6:59 PM
There's a strong thread in American history of pushing back against the right and then allowing them to have their way. From abandoning reconstruction through to tolerating segregation academies. And the more closely you look at history, the more examples there are.
Because invalidation-based attacks like this start with an argument about why you don't need to be listened to, they're incredibly hard to defend yourself against. If you can't just walk away, you need a community to disrupt them. So that's where my focus is.
January 28, 2026 at 2:32 AM
Because invalidation-based attacks like this start with an argument about why you don't need to be listened to, they're incredibly hard to defend yourself against. If you can't just walk away, you need a community to disrupt them. So that's where my focus is.
Well, thank you, this is an answer to my question. And I definitely agree that people do use this type of reasoning in bad faith. And I agree that if you are free to write someone off, you maybe should. But I've done it, and the cost is so high that I'm not comfortable expecting it of others.
January 28, 2026 at 2:32 AM
Well, thank you, this is an answer to my question. And I definitely agree that people do use this type of reasoning in bad faith. And I agree that if you are free to write someone off, you maybe should. But I've done it, and the cost is so high that I'm not comfortable expecting it of others.
I don't see myself as adversarial with Democrats, I expect to get rules lawyered whenever I try to support Dems in a discussion with anyone who doesn't already also support them.
January 27, 2026 at 11:46 PM
I don't see myself as adversarial with Democrats, I expect to get rules lawyered whenever I try to support Dems in a discussion with anyone who doesn't already also support them.
That's what I am trying to say. I want to use remarks by Delems to advocate for things we agree on. Remarks like "Trump's ICE" aren't helpful for that because they're too easy to interpret into the position I'm trying to argue against.
January 27, 2026 at 11:46 PM
That's what I am trying to say. I want to use remarks by Delems to advocate for things we agree on. Remarks like "Trump's ICE" aren't helpful for that because they're too easy to interpret into the position I'm trying to argue against.
I just reiterated that the question for me is about how people are treated. Improving their own understanding doesn't change anything about that, and is not a way that they can respond.
My support is always going to be with argument's like Alec's until we have an answer.
My support is always going to be with argument's like Alec's until we have an answer.
January 27, 2026 at 8:18 PM
I just reiterated that the question for me is about how people are treated. Improving their own understanding doesn't change anything about that, and is not a way that they can respond.
My support is always going to be with argument's like Alec's until we have an answer.
My support is always going to be with argument's like Alec's until we have an answer.
To apply it back to the original post, Alec doesn't need what he thinks he needs because he can do _what_ instead?
January 27, 2026 at 7:34 PM
To apply it back to the original post, Alec doesn't need what he thinks he needs because he can do _what_ instead?
Given that many people _expect to be treated this way_ what do you actually suggest that they _do?_.
I've gone no-contact with family and quit jobs because of it. But that's the selfish answer, it doesn't solve the problem, and it's not available to everyone.
I've gone no-contact with family and quit jobs because of it. But that's the selfish answer, it doesn't solve the problem, and it's not available to everyone.
January 27, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Given that many people _expect to be treated this way_ what do you actually suggest that they _do?_.
I've gone no-contact with family and quit jobs because of it. But that's the selfish answer, it doesn't solve the problem, and it's not available to everyone.
I've gone no-contact with family and quit jobs because of it. But that's the selfish answer, it doesn't solve the problem, and it's not available to everyone.