I'm not really familiar to the concept but from what I've seen, I think it's ridiculous.
There are 2 genders: male and female, period. It's been proven, it's a fact, humans have lived thousands of years with that concept.

And now, for some reason people are making up more genders to fit into. Like, why?
And there are no rules or category to this gender identity thing either, you can be whatever gender you want without even having to change anything. How does that makes any sense? What if I say that I'm a man today, woman for tomorrow and then back to a man the next day? Would that still be acceptable?

I think that in the long run, gender identity would affect society negatively. Imagine going outside not knowing if a person is a man, a woman or a unicorn. How are you supposed to have a healthy relationship? What if a man says he's a woman just to retire earlier than normal? How do you divide toilets? It would be meaningless if a man says he's a woman and just walk into the woman's restroom. What about in sports? Should we accept biological man to join woman's teams?

------------------------

Same question.

Hmm.

I'm not exactly all that well-informed on the matter either, but I've looked into it a little and can see some of the reasoning behind it all.

I'd say I'm a little more accepting of it, though some skepticism still lurks. I've got a few friends that fall under the scope of this sort of thing, and I've learned a bit from my interactions around 'em, primarily, their stances, and the shit they put up with. A lot of 'em are pretty cool, and the mindsets and reasoning behind this whole thing can be kinda interesting.

A common way to clear things up seems to be the idea of the difference between biological sex and gender. Biologically, you're pretty much fixed to a particular sex, and the physical traits resulting from it are pretty obvious. Gender seems to be more of a mental thing, however. It's essentially what you identify as, who you feel you can best associate with. There's been some stuff regarding masculinity, femininity, and the concept that there's people that really just don't feel like they're either of the ideas of who's supposed to be "male" or "female". Biologically, they can't really do much, they're born as that sex, and if they were born with the XX chromosomes, they're pretty much set. Gender won't change any of that, and it seems it isn't something that is really intended to change any of it in the first place.

Point being, sex and gender are detached concepts.

For the first point-- "There are two genders, male and female, period". Riding along the mindset that sex and gender are the same thing, is it at least reasonable to question if there are only male and female humans? Who are these "intersex" people, then? I've yet to look in-depth into it myself, but it looks like it's possible to be biologically set with different chromosomes and physical/sexual characteristics than what's typically seen as strictly male or female. It might be worth some consideration, and I'm interested in getting familiar with the idea. It's not very common but certainly exists.

Second point-- "...for some reason people are making up more genders to fit into". With the consideration that gender's a mental thing regarding who the person associates themselves best as, it's a little easier for me to see why. Non-binary, for example. These are people who don't really find themselves to fit within what's seen in a "male" or "female". They don't associate themselves with any of it. I'm still confused by a lot of it. Again, I should probably do some further research.

A fair third point, in questioning the complicated nature of gender identity, and identifying as something only to switch between something else. I think it's pretty looked down upon even in the LGBTQ+ community. I'd doubt that the majority of those identifying as various genders would intend on doing something as such without decent reasoning, but it's not really fair to say it doesn't exist. I'd also think it's possible there are people who would mess around with this concept of multiple genders and don't really take it seriously, identifying as they wish for jokes, for fun, or publicity.

I'd say the surfacing concept of and culture surrounding gender identity has made things complicated. It's being made a little more well-known, for varying reasons, a lot of the time thanks to some drama of sorts. Conflict, conflict, conflict, amongst people who disapprove or even shit on others for identifying as something other than male or female, and the people who do indeed identify as some kind of gender from the multitude. It's kind of depressing.

To answer some stuff in the last paragraph, it should be somewhat simple.

Just ask. If you know someone and interact with them, and are unsure of who they identify as, afraid of having to assume things of them, ask.

But if that's kinda uncomfortable to do, then ehh, fair enough. It's also understandable to be conflicted regarding that decision, addressing them as they wish, considering that you may hold the reasoning that you find it ridiculous to disregard your own beliefs for the sake of their own whims, but it has seriously fucked with some people. I don't think it'd be a great idea to shit on others for identifying as they do.

So I dunno.

Best thing to do is research and develop a more solid opinion once fully informed, I suppose.

I still question it. But so far, out of the reasoning I'm weighing, a lot of it seems understandable. I just need to look at this further.

- - -

same question!

Same question since I'm only stating my opinions on this.

So I've done a little bit more research on the matter. And it would seems to me that this whole gender identity is more of a mental illness.
Statistically, transgender people has a 40% suicide rate regardless of surgery. Some people says it's due to the pressure of society, but it doesn't make sense to me. That reasoning could be valid 30 or 50 years ago but not now. People nowadays are really open minded and would treat others with decency regardless of their gender identity at least most of the time.

And so it would be more reasonable to think that it's more of a mental disease, and to some people, a social trend.
But the thing is, I don't think having multiple gender identities would help transgender people in anyway. Since even now, with a better, more open minded society and with gender identity, the suicide rate didn't dropped. It stayed still.

I have a cousin and he had depression and got into drugs. Years of drug abuse made him mentally ill. I visit him from time to time and sometimes he would act reasonably sane but one time he kept telling everyone that the bed he's sleeping on is breathing and the ceiling is talking to him, telling him to steal bars of soap.
Should I then tell him yes, the ceiling is talking to him and his bed is breathing? How would that help him?

I feel the same way with transgender people. I don't think changing facts about biology would help them in any way.

I have no problem with people identifying as whatever gender they want. But I will not change how I perceive facts because of them.

I don't know and I don't care. You do you.
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Train or plane?

T r a i n.

Does liking traps make you gay?

Yes.

-----------------

What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?

The answer to everything we can see around us? Look at a wooden chair. Where did it come from? The forest? And where did the trees come from? It's a game of connect the dots that will trace back to the creation of the universe and we won't come close to finishing in our current time as there are many undiscovered and unexplained phenomena that scientists still find stunning and unfathomable. As for our lives, it's really a matter of what you see it as. Life is indeed a question. Why do we have it, what are we doing and so on. For me, answers will vary due to the different interpretations of life and it's typical formula and processes (doing well for yourself in your family, education, profession etc), but it's too soon for me to give my opinion as I'm still a student. I do apologize if I have not answered your question. I myself haven't put much thought into my life yet, I'll work on it closer to adulthood.

What was your favorite part of primary (or elementary) school?

my favorite part were these marathons where all the classes got together to walk in just a giant circle, every lap you would take got you closer to a goal, people also dressed up in their class colors and music played like you were at a party, pretty fun but also very tiring and hot since it's california

what place would you like to visit outside of the country you're currently living in?

I kinda really want to visit LA, but also Brussels in a professional sense

Sq

In terms of flying, I've been to Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo. I'm going to Ipoh in 3 weeks as well. I'd like to go to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Iceland or Los Angeles. I haven't really decided on other locations, I'll need to find out more about what different countries have to offer.

What sports or other outdoor activities are you good at? I'm best at football. Stuff like gardening isn't common here in Singapore because 90% of people don't have gardens.

Table tennis and softball, participated on both of them during high school days (School intramurals or sports festival on anime???)

Same question

Though I'm not really a fan of sports, I've gotten pretty good at both Dodgeball and Badminton. They're somewhat enjoyable and I'd definitely play it with a real life friend if we were looking for something to do in out leisure time, provided that I cared enough to try something different.

- - -

Your best experience last year?

Everyday best day

Sell me some sleep

not a question.

sleep deprivation sucks though.

realistically, there's not much i can do to help as i'd be shitty at life advice or anything in terms of motivation for your health, so just uhhh

sleep. take care of yourself.

- - -

Achromalia wrote:

Your best experience last year?

Probably just taking home my great results from school. Your second year in high school here is tense because you need to do well to have a higher chance of choosing a good class for your last 2 years in school. You get to pick what subjects you'll take at the O levels, and those that do well get first dibs. I'm in my ideal combination and I'm still doing well in school now.

What is/was your worst subject? If you're still in school, are you trying to get better at it? If not, how do you feel about it now? For me, I was never really good at literature because I didn't read enough books to understand much of writer's craft. Fortunately, as stated earlier, I get to pick what I want to take, and I've dropped literature entirely.

Best subject is Programming. I'm venturing on my own and learning from books and tutorials much more than what my teacher gives me.
Worst subject is Filipino, my own language. I'd rather not.

Do you remember me?

Academically speaking, I struggle most in English thanks to the fast pacing that I can't seem to keep up with for the life of me. I'm essentially a grammar nazi, so the practical aspects, being grammar, punctuation, and other shit like that, are not a big deal for me. When it comes to reading comprehension, I'm fine, but if you're asking me to write an opinionated argumentative or persuasive essay on a topic I don't give much of a shit about, I'm going to really fall behind. I struggle with forming strong opinions, as I constantly look for new information to add before I can finalize my thoughts on something.

Am I trying to get better at it? In a sense, yeah, but considering the difficulty in fast-paced learning environments here in assignments where I'm inclined to take my time and be meticulous, I'd find it pretty stressful.


Great. I get ninja'd less than a minute before I post.

Kao wrote:

Do you remember me?

You seem somewhat familiar, I'd say I do. I haven't been around for much longer than 2 years though. Probably saw you around a few times at some point.

- - -

What sort of conversation topics do you despise, like politics or religion, for example?

I don’t really care about the topic, but it depends on the situation and atmosphere. For example, I like discussing about politics, but not on a first date where we’re getting to know each other. I’m also pretty open with taboo topics as well, but not while we’re in a formal setting. Wow, reading this makes me realize how particular I am. Bottom line, I don’t mind the topic(however morbid or disgusting it may be) but I do mind when and where you bring it up.

Are you physically healthy?

Besides my systolic blood pressure being on the high side recently, I would consider myself just fine. I don't feel weakness in my body or anything like that. Well, I also seem to have trouble sleeping. Sometimes I'll sleep for less than 5 hours a night. In spite of all this, I've done pretty well in school. Maybe I just need to set aside more time for exercise if I can.

Same question, as I, for once, don't feel like thinking of another question to ask here right now.

I guess I am healthy. Although I am pretty weak physically.
I was always weak ever since I was a kid, I would get exhausted or sick pretty easily.
It's gotten better as I grow up and I don't get sick as easily anymore but I'm still physically weak compared to other people my age.

-------------------

Same question.

to an extent I suppose, I don't normally get sick on regular occasions. i often fell fairly well. the only problems I really is my stamina when doing normal everday excercize. I do intend on doing tennis practice over the summer so it might help a bit. other than that I would say i'm fairly healthy

same question I guess

I'm average, I guess. I don't have any noteworthy diseases and I'm not overweight, so that's nice, actually went down two pants sizes recently.

What would you consider to be your biggest accidental blunder?

Flipping off an... Aunt?
I don't even remember the connexion between my parents and the couple. Maybe it's the wife of one of my father's brother.
(I'm pretty sure my mother isn't related to any of them, which leaves my father as the only hint.)

Well, for the context, I was a child, doing some mathematics with them in their(?) shop. ("Vacation trip", "Playing around"...)
Can't remember what I was calculating, but I guess it was a substraction, since I counted down, but in quite an irregular fashion (I mean, I ended up with only the middle one, standing . .)


Is it great to not live in the capital of a country? (Trying to have you promote yours.)
If you live in the capital: how is it?

I live near to London, and have been there a few times. I don't like the crowds, but there are some interesting places. I've been to a place I don't like though - London Dungeons. It's a great place, if you're into that sort of stuff. Amazing acting and setup. You really feel like you're there. But it's not the sort of place for me. I loved going to the museums. However, I haven't been there very much. Maybe three times?

It's great for tourists, but I wouldn't like to live there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Same question

no idea. it's on the opposite coast, and i'm not aware of things over there.

as far as anything i can say, i'm really just comfortable where i am.

- - -

did you ever have a real interest in going to a college or university? what affected or contributed to that?

I've always heard Asian students complain or "joke" about their parents pressuring or forcing them to attend a top-tier university. When I hear of the stress and pressure involved from my relatives, I actually find it thrilling. The more hardships and goals I have, the more I naturally thrive and push myself. The only gripe I have with attending an university is if I have to stay in state. I want to get away as far as possible.


What is the extent of emotional pain one could feel?

Dunno, I'm no expert

How to kill boredom

stalk meah and watch cyst vids

how2stayawake?

Drink caffeine before you get tired

Best conversational topic to get to know people?

I hadn't really figured it out.

So far, it's started often from my art or music, when it comes to school. It gives others something to talk about, I suppose. I normally don't initiate, so... yeah.

- - -

SQ.

Start it with "i love you"

If a cockroach falls into water with soap, will the water be dirty or the cockroach be cleaned?

top 10 things science cant answer

do you think that men and women shouldnt be equal?

in what sense? well, can't do a whole lot regarding biology, but as far as rights 'n' stuff, as would be with any other human, then i'd certainly support the idea of equality. not sure about other stuff like pay and such, considering that i've got fuck-all knowledge of how all of that works in the first place.

for what i'd see as ideal, any human being with work should get their pay as anyone else would, which should be merited by what they do and the quality of their work, as opposed to their identity. and of course, pay varies with varying scales of businesses and the whole competitive market thing in our capitalist society. complex stuff ;w;

i hear some of this inequality has to do with caring for children, and who it is that primarily spends time with household labor, shit like that. hmm.

might be a bit dodgy, but i'm throwing around my thoughts. thing is, it seems to kinda depend. factors that can't be changed, like genetics, are pretty much fixed as things are right now. a lot of situations are involved when you pile men and women together in this sense of equality. i haven't had enough time to consider everything that's regarded in all of that.

but yeah, in order for me to form an actually well-formed opinion, i would probably have to do more research. this has never been a focal point of my interests, since i'm still mostly concerned with music and art.

so that's about all i can say regarding it, i guess.

- - -

sq.

That's a very broad question.

But in my opinion, men and women was never equal in the first place, nor is anyone equal to anyone else. We all exist as individuals and we're all different and unique in our own ways.

I don't think we should be striving for equality, since equality will not always results in fairness.
For example, if men and women are equal then women are expected to serve their country in battle in times of war just like men.
But that is unfair for the women, since women are more physically incapable than men. Women has needs that they have to tend to that men doesn't have. Men are better at enduring pain, they're more capable of living in unsanitary environment. Etc.

So as to answer the question, in short I'd say that in my opinion, no one should be equal to anyone else but themselves.

------------------

What are the philosophies that you believe in and/or find interesting. (Doesn't have to be all of them)

There's too many to write or even summarize, I'll pick just one.

Let's take a trip down Descartes lane. Ever read Descartes meditations? Well, if you haven't, it's where the phrase "I think, therefore I am" comes from. Fun fact: He never actually says that. It's just a summary of his ruminations. He basically made the argument that it's idiotic to live your life without understanding the fundamentals of reality around you. I liken it to building a house. You want to build your house on strong fundamental supports. If your base foundations are shit, your house is pretty easy to break or destroy. Nature might even tear it apart. So better build your shit with good fundamentals.

Anyway, fundamentals of reality. He decided to go back and anaylze what things are; to get a fundamental understanding of reality. Well, he very quickly encountered a problem. You can't know *shit*. Just - you can't. Your senses are deciavble, and that is easy to prove. He used 2 examples - dreams, and wax. In dreams, your brain believes them to be reality. Wax appears solid, but when heated, it melts into a liquid. In other words, you can't trust your senses. Because you can't trust your senses, you can't actually know anything other than you exist. The only reason you can know this, is because you're thinking. Everything else? Out the window. Other people? How can you know they're real? You can't really know anything is real. The only thing you can know is that *something* exists, because you can think. But who knows what that something actually is?

Well, that's an interesting thought. I have an argument based off of it. If we know something exists, we can postulate that... well... things exist. Here's my question: If something can exist, can *nothing* exist? I argue it can't. Non-existence is a fundamental clash with existence. You can't have both.

Well, if we just go along and assume that's true, there's a lot of suprising stuff you can conclude from that. If nothing can't exist, than everything must exist. Because if something didn't exist, that would be a form of non-existance. So I argue that because you know something exists, you can determine that everything exists. From that, I argue that you can say that all of reality is an interconnected, infinite whole. As in, it's all 1 thing. It's not 2 things, it's not 3 things, it's not a gajillion things. It's all 1 infinite whole piece. Any definition of something you then make (like an apple, say) is then an arbitrary definition that is really not something seperate or different from yourself. You just decide it's different. All it really is, is an iteration of a larger infinite fractal. I argue that's why you can divide something infinitely and never reach 0. It's because infinity is inifinity, and if this reality is infinite, then there never is a 0. It doesn't exist in a physical sense. You can reduce forever, and increase forever.

So yeah, that's cool.

Question:

What's your favorite keyboard?

Edit: Typos and stuff.

Well, shit. I should've gotten to the other question earlier, but don't really think I'd be able to say anything among the likes of Puzzle. So uh...

...yeah.

As for keyboards...

I'm pretty sure I can assume what was meant, but I'd rather opt for the keyboards that you play. I have more experience with those keyboards as opposed to all these "membrane" and "mechanical" keyboards that I've got no interest in. If it's relatively comfortable and easy to work with, and well, types out whatever I need to type, then I'm fine.

So, yeah. Keyboard synthesizers.

I don't remember the brands or models. Shit.

So this is probably one of the least satisfying answers I can give.

Uhhh... I suppose my laptop's keyboard is good enough.

- - -

Any topics you happen to have a depth of knowledge in?

Achromalia wrote:

Any topics you happen to have a depth of knowledge in?

Science, in general. I don't really know specifics of math behind stuff but I understand a lot of theory about... sciency stuff. Chemistry and biology I'm not so hot on, but if it involves cosmology, astrology, physics, and theoretical physics, I can probably talk your ear off about it. I even have a couple of my own personal theories and was writing a scientific paper for awhile; though I doubt that'll ever get finished - let alone published.

To an extent; philosophy.

Manga-style art. I've been drawing for a little over a year now, and while that doesn't sound like a long time, I'm a quick learner. I have some knowledge in that area then.

Psychology. I understand people really well.

Improving. My whole life has been centered around the idea of the pursuit of perfection. I feel like shit if I'm not doing something productive, and I'm very analytical. This has naturally led me to going through a long process of learning how to learn efficiently. I've been at it since I was like, I dunno, 14 or something. I'm 23 now. I understand it very well and it's probably the thing I'm most proud of and best at. Except for maybe psychology.

I forgot a question. I'm dumb.

Question: Whats your passion? What's the one activity you love to do? What thing do you want to become great at, for reasons intrapersonal or extrapersonal?

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I have a lot of activities I like to do, mostly by myself. I like to take short road trips, learn new things while traveling, and occasionally cook and burn a dish or two.
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I want to be able to fully develop my relationships. I shy away from most emotional displays, and I just don’t respond or try to change the topic when that happens. Unless I really care for them..but then again, I’d probably just try to nitpick at the situation and list what they could have done better. I realize how my flaws could hurt others, so I just stay silent or provide mediocre advice when others vent emotionally. I’ve garnered a reputation as an insensitive asshole for this many times, honestly.

Q1) Do you have any well-liked world figure you dislike, and why?

Alternative question that’s just been nagging at me:
What do people that believe in reincarnation think of the term “yolo?”

Puzzle wrote:

I feel like shit if I'm not doing something productive, and I'm very analytical. This has naturally led me to going through a long process of learning how to learn efficiently. I've been at it since I was like, I dunno, 14 or something.

Looks like we've got some strangely specific common ground. 14 was pretty much where I had become so trapped within my own thoughts that I contemplated my way out of shit. Even avoided suicide with a strangely dodgy and not-so-stable line of reasoning regarding how life and death seemed to be equally pointless as one another, and that ending myself wouldn't really... well, have a point. Rationalizing things can be a scary thing, just so happened that I kept myself alive by doing so.

I feel a need to be productive, though this primarily is directed towards both my art and music. If I don't think I've done anything worthwhile with my time, I'll definitely start feeling pretty shitty. It plays a pretty big part in my music, where i frequently experience creative blocks.

I'd say I'm rather analytical as well. I'm prone to research whatever comes across my mind if it happens to have my immediate interest. I'll normally try to stick to practicality. When it comes to music, I tend to explore the depths of various new genres, which has led me to discover and enjoy over a hundred musical genres that I'd very nearly be able to complete the English alphabet with. I recently got interested in personalities, so naturally, I wound up diving into the cognitive functions and the concept of the 16 personalities that arise from said functions, among some other related things.

May I add that you may have confused astrology and astronomy there? Unless you do happen to have an interest in horoscopes and zodiac signs, of course. Astronomy is the field of study regarding celestial objects and related phenomena, like black holes, or dark matter, quasars, supernovas, all that stuff. Probably what you meant.

- - -

OT: My main two passions are music and art. I'll enjoy listening to different genres of music, as well as sharing that music with others. I also enjoy exchanging thoughts with others in discussions, or even debates (though i'm not much of a debater and prefer to stick to what I know, otherwise I'll present little to no definitive stance, since I prefer to have whatever information I can get so I can develop a well-informed perspective from the amalgamation of other perspectives being considered).

I hope to improve in various things, though my passions take up a lot of that desire, so my main points of intended improvement are sound design and digital art techniques. The source of that desire seems to be a mixture of both intrapersonal and extrapersonal reasoning. I want to express myself better, and share some things that others can reflect on or even find solace in. I'd love to create something, not only because I really enjoy creating things, but also that I'd like to make something that others can look to for entertainment, and even as an escape from the stress they may be experiencing in their life. Maybe it'll help them out a bit like other creative works have helped me in recent years.

GOD DAMN IT. I GOT NINJA'D. ALL THIS TYPING. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

OT v2: I'm not sure what world figures I dislike right now as I frankly don't know very many I even care about at this point. I normally don't have very many people that I truly dislike or despise, that the majority of others would find likeable.

- - -

same question!

I used to look through OT without the intention of joining because I thought the arguments were extremely, and for a lack of better words, dumb. I joined OT officially around what 2 months ago? Don't remember, but I probably came here on a whim. I used to request graphics in the Art section, and would just browse through the osu! website. I think the only thing keeping me here atm is the lack of communication I'm giving irl. I'll probably leave when I'm bored or busy again.


To what extent do our mental representations determine our perception of things?