[throesofincreasingwonder]

Anyway. Sorry to be an English major on main but yes all stories have meanings and say things

[imsobadatnicknames2]

The fact that there's an actually functional website for the library of Babel is one of those things that fucks me up more and more the more I think about the implications.

[imsobadatnicknames2]

So, if anyone hasn’t encountered the concept of the library of Babel, the idea comes from a story of the same name by Jorge Luis Borges, which is set inside a seemingly infinite library which contains every possible combination of letters, periods, commas and spaces that fits within 410 pages.

So like... It isn’t THAT out there that someone was able to make a digital version of it. Making an algorithm that randomly generates every possible combination of those 29 characters within that space and making a website that lets you explore those combinations are things that are pretty squarely within the scope of things you’d expect someone to be able to make a computer do.

But it begins to get pretty out there when you start thinking about all the things that are technically contained there (and that someone randomly browsing it could THEORETICALLY stumble upon) just by virtue of being one of those possible combinations of letters, spaces, commas, and periods.

Somewhere in that website there IS a book that specifically mentions me by full name before giving an accurate, excruciatingly detailed, 410-page long physical description of me. There’ also many more books that SEEM to be that but are actually factually inaccurate. There’s also versions of all of those containing every possible combination of every possible typo, spelling mistake, and grammatical error.

Somewhere in that website there IS a book that’s a perfectly accurate prediction of how and when I will die narrated in third person over the course of 410 pages. There’s also a book that contains the exact same events narrated in first person. Not only for me, but for every person in the world. There are many more that claim to be that but are actually inaccurate.

Somewhere in that website there IS a book that’s completely blank except for the world’s funniest dick joke written right at the end of the very last page.

But chances are no one browsing that website is EVER going to see any of that because for every book we would consider useful, interesting, or even intelligible there are millions upon millions upon millions more that are just completely full of gibberish from cover to cover.

[imsobadatnicknames2]

Every single thing I will ever write (barring punctuation marks that arent periods or commas and the letter ñ) is already contained somewhere on that website.

[sevensmallgummies]

I have a volume from the Library of Babel! it's one of my most treasured books.

on the second to last page, about halfway down it reads "OH TIME THY PYRAMIDS" a singular grain of order in the sea of chaos.

The library of babel contains every book to ever exist and moreover it contains all information that can be encoded in a finite string of characters from its alphabet.

I cannot overstate how much I love the Library of Babel. it's wonderful, it is my heart and soul.

[fipindustries]

at last we created the perplexing nexus, from the novel "wouldnt it be weird if there was a perplexing nexus?"

[lobotomyscars]

"everybody experiences that" says mother who has the same symptom of the same mental illness

[anistarrose]

children outside screaming: annoying but ultimately for the greater good. children need Going Outside and Screaming Time for proper emotional development. an auditory burden I am willing to bear

neighbor with his car he made louder on purpose: jail for neighbor. jail for ten thousand years

[duckdotcom]

would you put a discarded fruit sticker on my forehead in whimsical jest yes or no

[lauraannegilman]

TV Executives: “if the strike goes in, you won’t get new episodes of your favorite shows! You won’t get new movies you were looking forward to! Isn’t that terrible, what the writers are doing to you?”

Me: Bitch, that might have been an effective threat in 2007, but we have since survived a Covid shutdown and discovered ways to amuse ourselves while we waited, we can outwait this shit, too. I got a pile of shows saved I haven’t even watched yet, and a Mt. TBR waiting for me.

Compensate (and respect) your writers for their work, assholes.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

It's just hilarious that they're trying to pull this whole "but your favorite shows!" nonsense.

Oh, you mean the shows you cancel after the third season no matter how good they're doing to avoid paying writers residuals? The shows that get produced and then never aired because you found a nice tax writeoff? The shows whose writing suffers because the writers' room got six weeks to write before getting booted and making the showrunner adapt all their scripts? The shows you straight up pulled from your streaming service to scam their crews out of rewatch money?

I will happily sacrifice my shows for the writers that gave them to me, no questions needed, but if anyone tries to say that the blatantly terrible way streaming treats its writers is somehow beneficial to shows, remind them of Infinity Train and Batgirl. That's the ideal they're pushing towards if someone doesn't say no, and we should be thankful that the writers are doing that for us.

[diane-nguyen-watches-cartoons-d]

Asserting dominance over my cat by slapping the red dot and turning off the laser pointer. I can kill it just fine, sounds like a skill issue little buddy.

[soberscientistlife]

Ban assault rifles not tiktok Ban assault rifles not books Ban assault rifles not voting rights Ban assault rifles not reproductive rights Ban assault rifles not health care Ban assault rifles not trans rights Ban assault rifles not gay marriage Ban assault rifles.

[porterdavis]

[troublepunk-ldn]

Petition: Reverse the decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

I want the Government to reverse their decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, as this legislation contains importa

hey if you're a UK resident can you sign this petition and if not please rb to spread the word

this is an official UK government petition that they have to respond to if it reaches 10,000 signatures

[rhube]

So, this one is actually a lot more important than reporting and blocking spam bots. That post has 20,000 notes rn, so it would mean a lot to me if you could give the same treatment to this as you gave to that (@neil-gaiman if you're listening).

If the petition gets 100,000 signatures they have to consider it for debate in parliament.

It's a crime that Gender Recognition Reform was blocked in England, but Scottish MPs voted it into law and that the UK Parliament overturned that is in direct contravention of democracy as a whole.

It's a pretty serious big deal. Please sign, or, if you're not a UK citizen, please boost.

[whitepeopletwitter]

[psychictoastmaker]

People in the comments being all bitter. As if the arts aren’t out here giving you a reprieve from all the shit y'all go through. As if the arts aren’t out here making sure you live a little bit instead of just surviving.

[miranova23]

[beggars-opera]

grounding techniques, ok 5 things i can see. I see bricks, I see mortar, I see a trowel, I see a cask of wine, I see that asshole Montresor glaring at me over the top of the wall…

[casgirl]

It’s like wake up eat breakfast look into your phone to be blasted with non stop terrible news that makes you want to die go to your job eat lunch receive more news that makes you want to die etc.

[mrspider-deactivated20221213]

“supreme court has ruled-“ “supreme court has decided-“ “supreme court has overturned-“ can the supreme court turn up dead next i think itd be really american chic of them to die for the fourth of july

[thespongebobsquarepantsmovie]

just to be clear i am 100% pro-choice i support anyone who gets an abortion no matter the reason and no matter how many they already had or will have because bodily autonomy is a human right and i have no patience for people who believe it is not

[yamelcakes]

With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I need to let people know how dangerous the healthcare privacy climate is now. As someone that works with PHI (protected health information) I want to stress that HIPAA (the law that prevents your health data from being shared) does not apply to healthcare apps. These are incredibly dangerous to use, not only because law enforcement can procure a subpoena to access this information, but because these apps can sell your health data to any third party—potentially anti-abortion activists. Anyone with a uterus should delete not only period trackers, but mental health apps, because if you have a miscarriage or seek an abortion in a state that outlaws it, your mental health history can be used against you.

I would also discourage people from using online therapy apps like BetterHelp and Talkspace. Though BetterHelp says they are HIPAA compliant, that is a lie. They have shared data with Facebook. Their most recent privacy policy update says “We may share your information in connection with an asset sale, merger, bankruptcy, or other business transaction.” Any data breach could put your information at risk. Any health app could suddenly decide to change their privacy policies without notice.

Most responsible clinicians put your health data under (many times literally) lock and key. PHI software like Epic or Cerner have numerous failsafes to prevent data leaks. This is not the case for apps. BetterHelp and healthcare apps in general do not care about this. They only care about money. Do not trust any healthcare provider or app that operates strictly online. And for your own sake, use a VPN if you’re searching for abortion providers or advice.

[luulapants]

stop feeling hopeless, start getting ready

If you are in a red state, your state either has an abortion ban in place or is rated by the Guttmacher Institute as likely to enact a ban. Your focus should be on protecting yourself and others who need abortions.

stop using electronic period tracking apps or software

educate yourself and others about pregnancy prevention and join groups that are making preventative birth control more accessible

learn the nearest and most accessible routes to states where you and your loved ones can access abortion

contribute to mutual aid funds to help transport people over state lines if they are in need of abortion

consider joining The Satanic Temple so you can claim protections under the Religious Abortion Ritual if you are prosecuted for obtaining an abortion

keep a stock of by-mail abortion pills for yourself and/or others who may need them (you may need to travel out of state to obtain them)

form community provider networks and see if you or someone you know can be trained to use manual vacuum aspiration kits or a Del-Em

all of the above should be done in complete secrecy using verbal communication, end-to-end encrypted apps such as Signal, or a VPN

If you are in a yellow state, you currently have constitutional abortion protections but they are in jeopardy. Get active in local political groups NOW to fight back against constitutional amendments to ban abortion. Your focus should be purely on political action.

If you are in Michigan, you currently have a ban in place which is being challenged, and your governor is working to add abortion protections into the Michigan state constitution. Your focus should be on supporting the work that is currently under way.

If you are in a green state, your state has constitutional protections for abortion that are unlikely to be challenged. Your focus should be on helping others to enter your state for abortion care.

connect with abortion access groups such as Aid Access, Abortion on Demand, the National Network of Abortion Funds, or Just The Pill

volunteer to help people enter your state for abortion care, either with transportation help or letting someone crash on your couch

if you live in a green state with no current or predicted primary routes from other states for abortion access, you can focus your efforts on supporting political action in other areas

If you are in a purple state, your state currently has no constitutional protections for abortion but is unlikely to implement a ban. You have two focuses: pushing for constitutional protections AND helping others to enter your state for abortion care (see green state list).