memfree

@memfree@beehaw.org

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Donors⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  It sounds like the donor had requirements. From The Tribune:

  The University of Chicago has received a $100 million gift from an anonymous donor to support free expression, marking what may be the largest-ever single donation to support such values in higher education, the university announced Thursday.

  And:

  Discussions surrounding the donation have been ongoing for over a year, according to a university spokesperson.

  From …suntimes.com/…/university-chicago-donation-free-… :

  The gift was ridiculed by advocates involved in the encampment that highlighted abuses against Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas War and torn down by the university in the spring.

  “It’s truly a slap in the face,” said Yousseff Hasweh, a U of C grad who’s diploma was withheld by the university for two months, allegedly for his involvement in the protest.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Audubon⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m fine with removing the Audubon name from any group – not because of John Audubon himself, but because the current Audubon Society seems to be an unscrupulous, anti-union, money-grubbing, greenwashing mess.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Queensland’s premier wants publicly owned petrol stations – is that a good idea?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Water/sewer systems

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨TIL about the 1968 Olympic 'Black Power Salute' and the white guy in that photo⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Could you fix a mistake I made? Near the bottom I inadvertently typed ‘Munich’ instead of the correct ‘Berlin’ games for when the Nazi salute was allowed. Source is Wikipedia and you can see there it clearly say ‘Berlin’. I was just reading too many Olympic details and didn’t even notice I typed the wrong city/game.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨TIL about the 1968 Olympic 'Black Power Salute' and the white guy in that photo⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Thank you both. You are both very considerate. I stumbled on one detail and then went down a rabbit hole of different aspects about that Olympic moment and wanted to share. I’m glad to see people are as interested as I was.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨TIL about the 1968 Olympic 'Black Power Salute' and the white guy in that photo⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Thank you for cross posting :-)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Scientist, after decades of study, concludes: We don't have free will⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve long held the belief that each of us ought to act as if we have free will even though we probably don’t. I doubt we’d get much done if we spent all our time thinking, “OH, I was fated to be this way” instead of deciding to work harder for our goals.

  Every great mind, star athlete, and general over-achiever motivated themselves to improve their talents. They say so in interviews, books, and things like commencement speeches. I’m sure that there are people who would never get as far as the famous greats despite trying just as hard – be it circumstance, genetic differences, nutrition, luck, or what have you – but those who try still end up more skilled than those who don’t.

  More importantly, I have renewed hope that perhaps we might have free will after learning that the universe is not locally real! Sure, our brain chemistry may still be fixed to react in one way or another, but what if we or something else can alter or diverge from the course set by our own chemistry through means we’ve not yet discovered?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Individuals with major depressive disorder tend to use ineffective emotion regulation strategies. This is not due to a lack of knowledge.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  An important research question is why depressed people use emotion-regulation strategies that do not help them experience more happiness. Though no consensus has been reached, perhaps the answer depends on the person and the nature of their mental illness. Having said that, here is a list of potential reasons:

  • Feeling undeserving of happiness
  • Fear of happiness (e.g., due to fear of loss or losing control)
  • Having a goal other than to feel better
  • The challenge of identifying the best regulation strategy in the middle of intense negative emotions
  • The belief that emotional control is impossible
  • The familiarity of negative moods
  • The perception of negative emotions as more self-consistent than positive ones
  • Ineffective strategies learned or reinforced by depressed family and friends

  That list seems ridiculously incomplete. I expected to see something like “fear of being unprepared” – which I guess could be part of “fear of losing control”, but I don’t think should be lumped under “fear of happiness”. More specifically, if someone is in imminent physical danger, such as from a hurricane or earthquake, they should not be spending their time ruminating on better times nor distracting themselves from threats. In such a situation, one does not fear happiness, but has a more pressing issue to address. I suspect a good number of depressed people feel like that all the time. It isn’t my field, so this is an uneducated observation from a small sample of friends and family, but the vibe I’ve always gotten is that the afflicted expect more bad stuff is headed their way and they feel the need to worry about it; to prepare; that ruminating on happy times would reduce their time and ability to cope with the coming threat. They feel they don’t have time for irrelevant fluff when every day leaves them battered and bruised. Like a sailor on a storm tossed deck, their energy is directed at trying to maintain steady footing lest the next wave knock them over. Again, though, I am not an expert so y’all can tell me if I’m way off base.