The Contradictory Feelings Thread

[Nortaneous]

In my opinion, straight C is a language every programmer should know, even if they end up doing little work in it. It is essentially as close as one can program to the metal without coding in assembly or Forth (Forth is a language is a language that is simultaneously higher-level and lower-level than C that I also think a programmer should know, even though many are quick to (wrongly) relegate it to the dustbin of history*).

As close as one can program to the metal on a PDP-11, sure. Every programmer should understand what pointers are, and every programmer who's doing desktop GUI stuff will probably need to know some C eventually, but your computer is not a PDP-11.

[Travis B.]

In my opinion, straight C is a language every programmer should know, even if they end up doing little work in it. It is essentially as close as one can program to the metal without coding in assembly or Forth (Forth is a language is a language that is simultaneously higher-level and lower-level than C that I also think a programmer should know, even though many are quick to (wrongly) relegate it to the dustbin of history*).

As close as one can program to the metal on a PDP-11, sure. Every programmer should understand what pointers are, and every programmer who's doing desktop GUI stuff will probably need to know some C eventually, but your computer is not a PDP-11.

I understand that C is not assembly, but what languages closer to the metal that are not assembly have you used other than C?

[Raphael]

After not working for two days, my landline internet and phone are up and running again. So that's something I'm happy about. Yay!

But when I think about what exactly had been wrong and how I solved it, partly with the help of customer service people and partly by figuring stuff out on my own, I have the very strong impression that, if the customer service people I talked to on Monday had actually known what they were talking about, I could have had the connection up and running when I went to bed on Monday night. And without my ability to figure some stuff out on my own, it probably still wouldn't work. So that's something that annoys me. Boo!

[malloc]

Despite leaning far to the left on most issues, I have always struggled with the whole notion of fat acceptance. Based on everything I have read, the scientific evidence overwhelmingly affirms that high levels of body fat carry numerous health risks and that diet and exercise significantly influence body fat levels. Furthermore, my æsthetic tastes tend toward minimalism and elegance and I simply don't find high levels of body fat beautiful. Yet fat acceptance seems the prevailing viewpoint in circles I frequent and I worry that my attitudes make me the bigoted reactionary here.

[mèþru]

I view it as the idea that fat people shouldn't be made ashamed or excluded for being fat, regardless of whether it is healthy or not. Also, it doesn't boil down to healthy vs. unhealthy - it depends a lot on the individual situation.

[Linguoboy]

Based on everything I have read, the scientific evidence overwhelmingly affirms that high levels of body fat carry numerous health risks and that diet and exercise significantly influence body fat levels.

Being underweight carries health risks equal to or greater than being overweight or even moderately obese, yet it doesn't carry the same stigma. (ON the contrary, people are only too happy to praise you for losing weight, even when it's an unintentional consequence of serious illness.) A tremendous amount of fatphobia is cloaked in "concern" for others' health when really it's anything but. If people were really concerned, they'd be outraged that widespread bias in the medical community leads to worse outcomes for people who are overweight. That is, those "health risks" are to some extent a self-fulfilling prophecy insofar as medical professionals are quick to ascribe fat folks' medical issues to weight and not investigate other causes.

Furthermore, my æsthetic tastes tend toward minimalism and elegance and I simply don't find high levels of body fat beautiful. Yet fat acceptance seems the prevailing viewpoint in circles I frequent and I worry that my attitudes make me the bigoted reactionary here.

As a rule, I don't find skinny people beautiful. Doesn't mean I go around treating them as inferior beings or constantly questioning their life choices and day-to-day decisions. If you do do that, then honestly you are being reactionary.

[malloc]

As a rule, I don't find skinny people beautiful. Doesn't mean I go around treating them as inferior beings or constantly questioning their life choices and day-to-day decisions. If you do do that, then honestly you are being reactionary.

Well certainly, I don't go around attacking people for their weight or eating habits. And for that matter, I am well aware of systemic factors like food deserts and the relative expense of healthy food. But even so, I simply don't find someone like Tess Holliday beautiful and claims that body fat has no impact on health have always seemed incredible to me.

[mèþru]

I've never heard anyone claiming body fat has no health impact. A person will die a while before they the whole of the body fat; in fact fats are an essential growth nutrient that make up many vital cell structures. All nutrients are bad in excess, but different people need different amounts.

[Linguoboy]

Well certainly, I don't go around attacking people for their weight or eating habits. And for that matter, I am well aware of systemic factors like food deserts and the relative expense of healthy food. But even so, I simply don't find someone like Tess Holliday beautiful and claims that body fat has no impact on health have always seemed incredible to me.

I daresay Tess Holliday feels likewise about you.

Why is fat acceptance more difficult for you than, I dunno, body-hair acceptance or narrow-eye acceptance or acceptance of any of the hundreds of other variables in human appearance?

[malloc]

Why is fat acceptance more difficult for you than, I dunno, body-hair acceptance or narrow-eye acceptance or acceptance of any of the hundreds of other variables in human appearance?

I really don't know to be honest and I freely admit that much of my discomfort here is irrational. For some reason, I have always had some weird neurosis surrounding food and overindulgence. I remember having anorexic tendencies as a child and my mother said there were times when I refused to eat for fear of getting fat.

Now granted, I appreciate that fat carries considerable stigma and I probably should be more sensitive on this subject. While recognizing the prevailing medical opinion on this issue, one should also consider its social dimension.

And for what it's worth (not much since I am not a software engineer), C has always been my favorite programming language.

[Linguoboy]

Apparently Facebook is trying to keep me out of online arguments. It's gotten very spotty about notifying me when people respond to my comments, particularly if we aren't Friends. Thanks?

[Linguoboy]

Woke Folk on Facebook: Notre Dame was a product and symbol of dominionism and colonialism and even a very famous historic building is not worth the life of a single human being.
Me: That is a valid and well-considered opinion; also, go to hell.

[Travis B.]

Facebook is probably best ignored.

[KathTheDragon]

Good thing nobody was hurt?

[dɮ the phoneme]

Woke Folk on Facebook: Notre Dame was a product and symbol of dominionism and colonialism and even a very famous historic building is not worth the life of a single human being.
Me: That is a valid and well-considered opinion; also, go to hell.

I may be misunderstanding something, but how is Notre-Dame a product of colonialism? Wasn't it built in, like, the 13th century?

[Vijay]

It seems the argument is that it's a symbol of Catholicism and thus Catholic oppression. I came across another perspective on this arguing that people are more eager to mourn the loss of Notre Dame than to mourn the loss of human lives, but you can mourn both, no?

Also, apparently, one firefighter was seriously injured in the fire and two police officers were injured as well.

[Linguoboy]

I may be misunderstanding something, but how is Notre-Dame a product of colonialism? Wasn't it built in, like, the 13th century?

Parts of it date back that far, but it was extensively reconstructed in the 19th century. The spire which collapsed, for instance, was recreated by Viollet-le-Duc based on the original one which had been removed in 1786.

Moreover, though the Albigensian Crusade didn't result in the Midi being treated stricto sensu as a colony, it was an act of genocide and imperialism which set a precedent for many of the atrocities which followed in later centuries.

[Linguoboy]

I'm not categorically opposed to receiving friend requests on social media from complete strangers. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the validation of getting them (at least from the cuties). But I do find it weird when they don't at least introduce themselves, and even weirder when I DM them with a polite request for them to tell me why they'd like to connect and they show no inclination to explain. It's a "request"; if you want to see it fulfilled, you've got to give me a reason.

[doctor shark]

So, I'm getting close to the end of my Ph.D., which means I need to start looking for the next position. And I would like to stay in academia, since I like the teaching aspects of it and the research work in general (plus the added freedom of being in academia).

The issue, though, is that me staying in academia and staying in Luxembourg seem to be diametrically opposed. I'm not set on staying in Luxembourg forever, but considering that I would only be 12 months away from applying for Luxembourgish citizenship, there's a part of me that wants to find a way to stay... though that's at the potential cost of derailing my academic career. (At least leaving Luxembourg wouldn't reset my clock for time needed to become Luxembourgish entirely, since only the final 12 months have to be continuous, but I'd be starting from zero again wherever I end up, and not having a European passport or EU permanent resident status makes things quite complicated.)

[Vijay]

I haven't been through therapy in years, but I'm starting (not for the first time) to consider going back into it. However, the last time I tried to get therapy, I made the mistake of not defining my goals clearly enough, and I still don't feel like I've done that. It's not like I'm in a terrible situation right now, either, nor have I run into any serious problems with my parents so far. It's just that a lot of minor things have happened, and I'm not sure I'm handling it all well. I'm not sure whether I'll feel better or worse soon. I know of an option for therapy that isn't expensive, but my finances are shared with my dad, and I'm not sure whether he'll be okay with the fact that we do still have to pay something for it or whether he'll understand that I have legitimate reasons for pursuing/considering therapy now.