I was going to post something about giant hogweed, too. Never felt its wrath, thankfully, but some stories I've read are horrible.

On an Etch-a-Sketch I can tell it that it's aware of itself...doesn't mean it actually is.

you probably claim to be aware too.

> In the 1960s, a man named Angus Barbieri fasted for over a year under medical supervision and suffered no ill effects afterward. Unless you want to believe the whole thing is a hoax and he was secretly snarfing donuts on the sly, he is proof that humans don't NEED carbs.

Read a little about this on Wikipedia, that's insane! I'm still being stubborn and halfway refusing to believe there were no bad side effects, though lol

But this could be a strange form of baseball that only has two innings. No one knows for sure either way.

I think the main difference is digital vs physical goods. I know it's minor since a card is just a cheap piece of cardboard, but it's still something tangible (unless the game cosmetics also include a physical item, in which case...I'm dumb).

When WotC first offered digital cards, they had a system whereby you could redeem a complete set for its physical equivalent. At the time this helped convince naysayers they weren’t giving money for nothing. Twenty years later, with their latest online offerings, nobody really cares. I’ve certainly spent more money and had more fun with online Magic, and when I wanted to build my own cube I just got proxies printed anyway. I think the “collectible” part fell away a long time ago and now you’re happy just paying for an experience.

If something isn't digital today it isn't as real.

A physical photo in my hand is sooo limited compared to the same photo in my hand via the screen on my smartphone. Same with a DVD or CD or Disc - all antiquated tech.

> "as they were running a bulletin board and an early ecommerce company."

Right...but I didn't realize they were allowed to do that.

“Allowed” is determined by The Elders of the community. Also, this does not go against the Amish ethos - they were not dependent on this for living. The day-to-day would have still been off-grid. Someone noticed they could make some extra money off The English and it was acceptable.

Ah, gotcha. Yea, it depends on the sect/group/'denomination'. Some are ultra-strict about electricity/tech, others have certain guidelines (i.e. keeping something like a landline in an entire different structure). It can vary even within the same county.

> It can vary even within the same county.

I went to a mennonite wedding once several years ago. One thing that I had no appreciation for before that was how splintered the overall community was. LOTS of tiny little "denominations" as you put it, eac based off of what seemed to this outsider as the most minor of differences. The wedding itself was a Big Deal in the larger community because it the bride & groom were from communities that normally were barely on speaking terms due to their faith differences.

I thought this was absolutely fascinating considering how the outside world barely understands the larger differences, like amish vs mennonite, and tends to lump the entirety of the Anabaptist community into a single bin.

It's always fascinated me how tenets of faith influence persistence of movements.

E.g. the far fewer adherents of religious sects that promote not having children vs those that promote not using birth control

The virality of various movements is often directly encoded in their scripture.

Survivorship bias?

No but beating yourself up over whether or not you've accepted it won't help.

As someone who got grey hair in their 20's and doesn't have to deal with it thinning, I am aware of my good fortune.

Soul power.

Are you a bat, by chance? Maybe a tortoise?

No. Just a programmer. Sorry to disappoint!