Story time! As I think I've mentioned, awhile back I set my Chromecast (which I kind of just leave on all the time) to display photos from my travels and photography hobby. Best decision. I constantly have a background of reminders of things. ANYWAY. Story from my Norway trip. /1 Part of that trip was a four day road trip. My first stop after leaving Oslo was the Borgund Stave Church. There are 26 intact medieval stavekirken in Norway, this one is the most complete. You've probably seen photos of it. (I took this one) /2

So I'm reading "Debt: The first 5000 Years" by anthropologist David Graeber and it's kind of blowing my mind. A lot. We all knew money was a construct but turns out it is one in a totally different way than we even thought. /1 Almost all history of money starts with "In the beginning, there was Bartering." Adam Smith, whose "Wealth of Nations" invented economics, starts with this. Joe has a cow and needs shoes, Tim has shoes but needs a cow, etc. This was cumbersome, so money was invented. /2

Here's a fun story. I hope. When I was in college, I directed a bi-college student musical theater production of Fiddler on the Roof. One night after rehearsal I being driven home by Josh, the guy who was playing Tevye. 1/ The guy who was playing Lazar Wolf (whose name I sadly can't recall) was dating a woman who was also in the show, in the chorus. Josh says to me: "Lazar calls his girlfriend something I've never heard before. Have you heard him do that?" 2/

This is a thread about how the much-discussed devaluation of expertise that's plaguing this country is a manifestation of white patriarchy. Ready? Here we go.1/ There's a well-known phenomenon in which professions that women enter in significant numbers become lower-paid and lose social capital. Biology, education, pediatric medicine. This isn't a vague impression, there have been multiple economic studies about this effect. 2/

I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, so there is inevitably talk about victims' rights (which is a whole Problematic Thing, but that's another thread) and how "criminals have all the rights." Well, good, because that's exactly how it needs to be. 1/ Criminals and the accused need the MOST protection of their rights. People seem to think that this is because we all want to protect the pwecious widdle criminals (or something), but this is not to protect criminals but to PLACE CONSTRAINTS ON THE STATE'S POWER. 2/

Hey so I've had some friends/fam ask me, a Science Person, how the new vaccines work. I am not an immunologist, but I speak the Science Language and I'm pretty good at explaining stuff, so here goes. 1/ The new COVID vaccines are not like traditional vaccines, which use dead or denatured infectious agents (viruses, mostly) to prompt the immune system to mount a defense. They're mRNA vaccines, which is a vaccine tech that's been in development for awhile now. 2/

Lately, I've seen several discussions online involving people wondering how and when to comment on someone's weight loss. If you're interested in THIS fat girl's perspective, the answers are: DON'T and NEVER. 1/14 "But it's a compliment!" From your point of view, sure. But let me break down how this frequently lands on us, the fat people in question, which is hopefully what matters to you. 2/14

Hey, anybody want some Friday night half-baked amateur sociological theory that I believe explains the world in general's total inability to deal with Donald Trump? Pull up a chair, space friends, and lemme bend your ear for a tic. Strap in, this gon be long. 1/25 The societies in which we live operate under a complex series of social codes in order to run smoothly. In fact, these codes exist in a hierarchy defined by necessity of compliance, and the severity of consequence for violation. 2/25

Yesterday, I understood something about Greta Thunberg that I hadn't quite grokked before now. She didn't start this because she, personally, wanted to lead a climate revolution. She spoke out hoping to get the attention of people in power. 1/7 She was calling attention to a global problem so that we, the adults, the people with actual power to do something about it, would take up the task. That is not what happened. 2/7

When discussing Universal Basic Income, inevitably the retort comes: "So you just want people to not have to work, is that it?" Accompanied by a smug smirk, expecting me to backpedal and hem and haw, say "Of course not, that's silly." Except...yes. Yes, I do. 1/11 People shouldn't HAVE to work. People should WANT to work. Sharing in the labor of building and maintaining a society because it benefits everyone should be desirable, not forced. It shouldn't be something we do because we'll die otherwise. 2/11

As an avid reader of advice columns, there is an inescapable pattern in questions submitted by women. A great many of them, no matter the ostensible topic, boil down to a variant on "How do I deal with [toxic/unworkable/uncomfortable situation] without upsetting anyone?" 1/10 Why is "not upsetting anyone" such a huge concern? Because I hate to tell you this, but a lot of the time addressing a situation in which someone else is causing you distress without causing them any is not really an option. Why does theirs matter more than yours? 2/10