PumpkinDrama

I believe I heard something about Maria Teresa not treating his patients and telling them pain were caresses from the lord or something like that and moving donations to private accounts.

I think even a bad translation is better than no translation at all, but for some reason the majority of books don't seem to get translated. Why is that?

You know that feeling when something gets said so many times that people just start treating it as fact, no matter how shaky it was in the first place?

Like, Santa didn’t make the cut, but God sure did.

What are other examples of things that basically became true through repetition alone?

I’m looking for perspectives on which countries most effectively combine high quality of life with low social and economic inequality.

I keep seeing data showing that a huge share of people around 30 can’t afford their own home anymore, not just in the US, but in parts of the EU as well. It seems like homeownership at that age used to be normal, or at least achievable, but now it feels almost out of reach for an entire generation.

What’s strange is that, for decades, we were told that communism was terrifying because you would supposedly “own nothing,” yet it increasingly feels like the people who can’t afford anything today are those living under capitalism. And at the same time, mainstream messaging keeps telling us we’ll “own nothing and be happy,” as if that outcome is now simply expected.

If people can’t afford a home, how are they supposed to start a family? And without stable conditions for forming households, what does that mean for birth rates, future labor force size, and the long-term sustainability of pensions, healthcare systems, and public infrastructure? Are countries going to end up relying almost entirely on immigration just to maintain population and tax bases?

Curious to know what people think. How do you feel about all this, and what are the long-term consequences if these trends continue?

I'm thinking of reading a book on rationalism and critical thinking. Where do you usually go first for recommendations?

People are losing trust in mainstream media because of perceived biased coverage of the Gaza genocide. If that erosion of trust is real, why isn't it prompting wider public re-examination of historical cover-ups and contested narratives — Watergate, Iran–Contra, Iraq, even shifting beliefs about who “beat” the Nazis? If we don't question how past information was shaped, what’s the point of preserving evidence (e.g., Gaza genocide evidence recently removed from YouTube by Google)? Won’t this all be forgotten in a few years, the same way all those previous events are no longer discussed?

What’s stopping a sustained, constructive public inquiry into these parallels between past cover-ups and current information control? Where are good, constructive places to discuss these issues without falling into unproductive conspiracy spirals?

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/53555823

How would I build a Python bot that automatically reposts or highlights statistically outlier posts from my Lemmy subscriptions—like anything more than one standard deviation above the average? I’m looking for a general approach covering data retrieval from the Lemmy API, outlier detection, and reposting mechanics.

It feels like many Lemmy instances end up trying to be “Reddit replacements,” which results in dozens of very similar communities with overlapping topics. I wonder if it would make more sense for each instance to focus on a broad topic, like sports, literature, or technology, and then have communities for the subtopics within that.

What are your thoughts? Do you prefer many general instances, or would you rather see topic-focused instances?

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/52386265

Right now, big communities dominate the feed. I’m wondering what sort algorithm could level the field so niche or hobbyist communities have a fair chance to get seen.

There’s a good related post: Niche Communities won't be able to reach their true potential until Lemmy adds a sort that takes engagement into account. It puts it well:

“If Lemmy is to truly start having active hobbyist communities instead of being 95% lefty US politics, Shitposts, and some tech stuff, it needs a sort that takes into account the user’s engagement.”

What do you think should be the default sort for a more balanced Lemmy?

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/52170566

Curious, what are your go-to spice blends? Curry, garam masala, Cajun, or something else? Vote below!

This should show the post in a similar form to !polls@reddthat.com so people can actually go there from their instance.