Comic for Monday, Aug 21, 2023

[Darth Fluffy 302]

Well, Mist looks like a potential Darwin Award competitor.

So, apparently, with a future 'king' among them, no one is in charge, and they vote on all decisions. Hmm.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

 

Is this to make us think this team is incompetent, then they suddenly become become overwhelming when they face the opposition? 

Do we know yet if these guys are good, bad, justified or other?

[Darth Fluffy 302]

26 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Is this to make us think this team is incompetent, then they suddenly become become overwhelming when they face the opposition?

We do not know their capabilities, but I suspect one magic staff is not going to be overwhelming. On the other hand, they came to the EGS side knowing they knew little of the EGS side (remember Virginia's ignorance), so they must have a plan of sorts. They appear to have a number of misconceptions, expecting the government to be much like their own.

 

30 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Do we know yet if these guys are good, bad, justified or other?

It does not seem that they are fully evil; note statement by Mist that he would buy, not steal, a skateboard. They seem to be generally bad news, though, at least on par with Magus.

Liam does not come off looking good in this, so far, as he enabled them. Early indications were that he was trustworthy, but Dwight wasn't wrong to be suspicious of him, he was spinning tales.

They are at the very least loose cannons who will cause trouble.

Justified? A refuge family flees an oppressive regime, justified? Their teen age kids apply their prejudices to their new home, commit rape of a 'harlot', and foment hatred and backlash. Is the hatred and backlash justified? The parents didn't want their kids to be indoctrinated by the new host culture. They adopted an insular approach to raising them, which produced offspring that were detached from the norms of the host culture. Justified? Foolish? Both?

I expect Lavender to play a big role in the resolution of this arc. She will at some point be the voice of reason.

 

[Amiable Dorsai 70]

7 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I expect Lavender to play a big role in the resolution of this arc. She will at some point be the voice of reason.

Probably, just as I'm fairly sure all the stuff with Lavender and projections was to let us know that Tedd can see through them. Wacky hijinks for sure, anyway.

These guys probably aren't as inept as they seem, but their ignorance of this side of the world has already caused problems. Ignorance is not the same as stupidity, but the results can but just as hilarious.

[ijuin 572]

The problem is not being ignorant per se, but rather disregarding one’s own ignorance—they assume too often that they already know all that they need to know.

As Socrates is claimed to have said, “The wise man knows that he knows nothing.”

[Darth Fluffy 302]

12 hours ago, Amiable Dorsai said:

 Ignorance is not the same as stupidity, but the results can but just as hilarious.

Ignorance and stupidity are similar on the surface, but are in fact quite different. Ignorance is more focused on a single symptomatic concept, stupidity is much broader, encompassing a plethora of related tropes.

We are all ignorant. We are born ignorant, and we will die ignorant. The best we can hope for is to mitigate our ignorance with a thin veneer of competence to function from day to day at the most common of a nearly endless set of possibilities demanding that we face them. We function as adults in our cultures by discerning what competencies are most relevant and give us a reasonable result bang for our investment of time and attention bucks, until we eventually run down, unwind, an perish; but drop us in an unfamiliar setting and our ability to cope can quickly unravel. Even such contrived 'entertainment' as Survivor, which purports to do exactly that, relies on a significant support infrastructure, and incorporated a rational framework to keep things from getting to weird for the participants to cope with.

Note that one can be quite knowledgeable in a field, such an individual will still be broadly ignorant; knowledge is vast. Even someone who, for instance, blows away Jeopardy scores would flounder in a truly unfamiliar culture and setting.

'Ignorance' is to vast a thing to cure, but culturally urgent ignorances can be mitigated through education; however, jump to the political thread for why this has limits. Specific ignorance can indeed be mitigated, especially if the ignorant individual takes ownership of their own research and education. Even then, there is a broader perspective that an individual accesses with great difficulty.

Such is our human condition. With our big brains, we can aspire to be aware of our own ignorance, a thing that it would appear that our animal companions do not share. Or as injuin said:

10 hours ago, ijuin said:

The problem is not being ignorant per se, but rather disregarding one’s own ignorance—they assume too often that they already know all that they need to know.

As Socrates is claimed to have said, “The wise man knows that he knows nothing.”

 

Stupidity, on the other hand, . . .

My working definition of 'stupid' incorporates a recognition of a willful component, a choosing to reject knowledge (again, see political thread for examples).

An article I read recently, within the last several months, defined stupidity in terms of failing to act even in self interest; causing some kind of damage to everyone's detriment. On example that stood out was people tipping over balancing rock natural wonders.

In a forum, I read an account by a teacher of a former student who epitomized stupidity; while hitting on both of the two prior mentioned cylinders, this person was also a master at denying the obvious, "No, I didn't." when the whole class, including the teacher, had observed the behavior. Worse, maybe, it appeared to be a family trait. The mother, called to conference, would routinely show up at the wrong school. The rather lengthy post strained credulity, except I've met such people personally. Thank God, they are rare, perhaps not rare enough.

Perhaps the quote should be, “The wise man knows that he knows nothing, but does not embrace it.”

Stupidity incorporates ignorance. Stupidity does not seek knowledge, it belittles the pursuit of knowledge. (This sort of behavior should be a red flag.) Stupidity contributes to ignorance through disinformation, poisoning the well, so to speak. So, stupidity and ignorance are not at all the same thing, but there is a relation between the two.

I suspect that at best stupidity is only cured through much suffering, and is at worst a terminal condition.

Someone who has become quite knowledgeable in a field has overcome the initial hurdles of stupidity; a degree of success requires effort. Such a person will not at first glance appear to be stupid. However, we can acquire a kind of stupidity by dogmatically thinking our point of view is the only valid one, the only one that matters. Success can lead to its own kind of stupidity.

And in spite of Weird Al's general wisdom, evidenced by his spot on parodies, Daring to be Stupid is not a thing to aspire to.

[mlooney 3,417]

13 hours ago, Amiable Dorsai said:

Probably, just as I'm fairly sure all the stuff with Lavender and projections was to let us know that Tedd can see through them. Wacky hijinks for sure, anyway.

Tedd is going to freak out when he sees a unicorn.

[Amiable Dorsai 70]

On 8/21/2023 at 11:11 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

 

Is this to make us think this team is incompetent, then they suddenly become become overwhelming when they face the opposition? 

Do we know yet if these guys are good, bad, justified or other?

Been listening to a podcast about the American Revolution lately. It's quite good. I believe the revolutionaries of 1776 to have been justified, are these guys? I don't know, but they seem to be aiming less for equality than a takeover, Is Liam abetting them because he be believes that he and his kind will be better off?

[mlooney 3,417]

On 8/21/2023 at 11:11 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

 

Is this to make us think this team is incompetent, then they suddenly become become overwhelming when they face the opposition? 

 

 

[Darth Fluffy 302]

8 hours ago, mlooney said:

Tedd is going to freak out when he sees a unicorn.

Mist is a pretty disappointing unicorn.

 

[mlooney 3,417]

Just now, Darth Fluffy said:

Mist is a pretty disappointing unicorn.

 

Well, he's not Rarity or Twilight that's for sure.  Not even Izzy for that matter.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

Just now, mlooney said:

Well, he's not Rarity or Twilight that's for sure.  Not even Izzy for that matter.

Actually, for those, I'm thankful, even though I've heard the show is good.

The one unicorn we have seen in EGS was kind of an A-hole. The one in the shared dream.

[mlooney 3,417]

Just now, Darth Fluffy said:

Actually, for those, I'm thankful, even though I've heard the show is good.

The one unicorn we have seen in EGS was kind of an A-hole. The one in the shared dream.

That's the same unicorn as the wannabe skater boi

[Darth Fluffy 302]

Just now, mlooney said:

That's the same unicorn as the wannabe skater boi

I'm not picking up that vibe that the dream unicorn was any of the three othersiders. Is that from Discord?

[mlooney 3,417]

2 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I'm not picking up that vibe that the dream unicorn was any of the three othersiders. Is that from Discord?

He names it here (https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/parable-216) and calls it "mist" in the current comments

[Darth Fluffy 302]

1 minute ago, mlooney said:

He names it here (https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/parable-216) and calls it "mist" in the current comments

Interesting. Not exactly compelling, he calls it Mystucorn, but it does share the pointy head, which seems otherwise needless on Mist. Hmm.

So also unskilled socially, demanding, manipulative, kind of impetuous . . . lovely personalty . . .  I'm sure everyone is going to get along . . .

[mlooney 3,417]

1 minute ago, Darth Fluffy said:

So also unskilled socially, demanding, manipulative, kind of impetuous . . . lovely personalty . . .  I'm sure everyone is going to get along . .

He should get on like a house fire with Rich.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

3 minutes ago, mlooney said:

He should get on like a house fire with Rich.

He would fit in with Rich's 'aliens' theories.

[mlooney 3,417]

2 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

He would fit in with Rich's 'aliens' theories.

Not as much as the rest of their party does.  They have antenna.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

 

Ever since I learned Jackalope legends were inspired by ordinary rabbits with bony tumors, I've wondered if horses could end up in a similar situation.

 

 

[Darth Fluffy 302]

1 hour ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Ever since I learned Jackalope legends were inspired by ordinary rabbits with bony tumors, I've wondered if horses could end up in a similar situation

Well, obviously, anything could.

[mlooney 3,417]

Ah, Bloom County fan art.  Didn't think that there was much of it, don't know why, just never thought of it.