• @pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe
    link
    fedilink
    English
    16 months ago

    It’s not about them though, it’s about you, and you can’t expect science enthusiasts to submit to the will of ignorant bullies and hide who they are and what they care about to appease other people.

    In fact, people like you have fallen for the ruse that science has to submit to ignorant people in hopes of convincing them to not be ignorant, and you can’t see how deeply you’ve been manipulated. It’s a power play. They do it to emotionally blackmail you into not correcting them so they can have power over the conversation.

    I’ll take being called a know-it-all arrogant ass than allow obviously abusive, manipulative people to push your’s and society’s buttons in an obvious social dominance power play so they can do and say whatever they want without any consequences.

    • Apathy Tree
      link
      fedilink
      English
      2
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      You misunderstand my understanding that most people don’t care, for being deterred from doing it.

      No no. It’s a compulsion. I don’t have a choice but to share things, even at my own social detriment. I mean obviously I could subvert who I am fundamentally for the comfort of society, but that’s a lot of work I’m not willing to do when sharing is more fun, and more rewarding when it does hit. That’s why I got the science communication degree. To facilitate sharing whatever I know with whomever I meet in a way they can relate to. I take that skill very seriously. I was good at it before I got the degree.

      I know some people stop sharing when beaten down by society, but I’m not one. When things get awkward I say “my bad I’m a science communicator by trait and training and have trouble not sharing cool stuff as a result” to diffuse the social pressure to conform. It works well enough.

      It makes building real relationships more challenging than I assume your average individual has, but the connections that are made under those conditions tend to be really good ones so tradeoff I guess.

      • @pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe
        link
        fedilink
        English
        16 months ago

        Okay, you’ve got the right spirit. Just wanted to be clear.

        Most American intellectuals are beaten down through years of emotional manipulation and abuse they’re never educated on the true nature of, both because most people don’t truly understand it and those that do don’t want others to so they can’t be stopped.

        • Apathy Tree
          link
          fedilink
          English
          16 months ago

          All good friend. I wouldn’t call myself an intellectual, though… I’m just a person with specific interests like everyone else. Separating people by, essentially, educational attainment… is a mistake. I barely learned shit in college, I just got a piece of paper saying I was good at what I was already good at so I could get a job (which I haven’t yet, and it’s been a solid while becaue corporate bs is bs and heaven forbid you have gaps! but I can tell people what my degree is for and that’s enough for conversation).

          My life has been a series of traumatic events that forcibly removed most of my blinders, and I see things as clearly as anyone really can, washed with propaganda as we all are… and it’s fucking miserable enough to wish I was entirely ignorant. So much easier.

          But the rock has been the scientific method, it’s an amazing thing that gives us the tools to share things confidently! And I love telling people about the most recent thing I learned that was based on it. It is so helpful to say “hey what about this cool thing!” And when they go “hmm idk” you can describe the study and results, like being a living scicomm book, and then show them the actual study.