Eh, not really. The fence monster hasn't killed the guy in 10 days, so now both he and you think it's harmless. This us much like how many people view real-life problems as harmless simply because they haven't personally seen any alarming indicators of danger in some arbitrary amount of time. Just look at climate change - I'm still hearing people joke about how a day of snow proves it's bogus.
The point is that many things cause irreparable damage on a time scale that goes beyond our naturally evolved sense of immediate danger, and we stop worrying about them as a result - a fact that those in power have learned to exploit to make us complacent in the slow decline of society. A danger doesn't stop being a danger because 10 days have passed without incident, but most people will certainly lose their sense of fear about it regardless.
Interestingly that's how cults pull in new joins until they're in too deep to extract themselves, and then they start slowly heating the water to a boil.
I don't know, the monster is 5x the dude's size and has sharp teeth made for mawing and sharp claws made for shredding meat off of bones. His forward-facing eyes imply predatory instincts/behavior. A boy's gotta eat, after all.
If that's stereotyping, then call me a bigot 🤷 heuristics are a survival mechanism, you know...
To illustrate further, conservatives can act like nice people on the surface, but if they're wearing the red hat then I know they support fascism. I'm not going to say "well actually I have no indication that he's anything but harmless. He was nice to me, afterall!"
Yes but it's still a visual queue from which we can make an inference. It still requires an intuition which connects a representation to its meaning.
Maybe it wasn't the most suitable example for this context for the reason you point out, but the perceptive/cognitive phenomena at play are the same in both situations from the viewer's perspective
I mean they aren’t very common. It also depends on the bear type. Where I live we only have black bears, which are kinda like big hungry dogs. They are generally skiddish as hell and run off when they hear you.
If it’s brown, lay down, if it’s black fight back.
If it’s white, say goodnight. Or have a shotgun handy.
It was a reductio ad absurdum. Natural disasters aren't that common either (although they're becoming more frequent), but that doesn't mean they aren't real and serious matters.
In other words, the monster in the comic was a good metaphor even if he's not actively attacking the guy.
If it’s brown, lay down, if it’s black fight back.
If it’s white, say goodnight. Or have a shotgun handy.
Nahh, just offer some nose scratches and it will roll over for belly rubs. People approach everything from completely the wrong direction (i.e., "everything is a threat to me, therefore I must be the bigger threat"). Animals can be pretty chill when you're not screaming and punching them.
They're built to survive a fight with another bear, so you'd need at least a little luck along with that shotgun. I can imagine that all you'd do is make it angry.
Unless you’re in their den or between the mom and her cubs, black bears will run if you act aggressive. Grizzlies will chase you and are faster unless you have wheels (and even then you better have a head start).
Global warming. Covid for a while. Threats of nuclear destruction. The asteroid thats definitely going to probably hit us. WW3 gearing up. Microplastics. The rise of The Machines. Mass extinctions. Superbugs.
The list goes on really. You're still gonna have to go to work tomorrow.
29 replies
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END.
2012: OMG, please NOOO!
2026: Are we doing this or not?
Amanda 😢
Tragic
The fence monster seems harmless in this comic, which messes with the message somewhat
Eh, not really. The fence monster hasn't killed the guy in 10 days, so now both he and you think it's harmless. This us much like how many people view real-life problems as harmless simply because they haven't personally seen any alarming indicators of danger in some arbitrary amount of time. Just look at climate change - I'm still hearing people joke about how a day of snow proves it's bogus.
The point is that many things cause irreparable damage on a time scale that goes beyond our naturally evolved sense of immediate danger, and we stop worrying about them as a result - a fact that those in power have learned to exploit to make us complacent in the slow decline of society. A danger doesn't stop being a danger because 10 days have passed without incident, but most people will certainly lose their sense of fear about it regardless.
Yes the Turkey illusion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_illusion?wprov=sfla1
Interestingly that's how cults pull in new joins until they're in too deep to extract themselves, and then they start slowly heating the water to a boil.
But we have no indication to think the fence monster is anything but harmless. The only thing that would make people think its harmful is a stereotype
For the problems you described, we have more information, even if more abstract; you cant just assign ill intent on someone based on their appearance
I don't know, the monster is 5x the dude's size and has sharp teeth made for mawing and sharp claws made for shredding meat off of bones. His forward-facing eyes imply predatory instincts/behavior. A boy's gotta eat, after all.
If that's stereotyping, then call me a bigot 🤷 heuristics are a survival mechanism, you know...
To illustrate further, conservatives can act like nice people on the surface, but if they're wearing the red hat then I know they support fascism. I'm not going to say "well actually I have no indication that he's anything but harmless. He was nice to me, afterall!"
That is a choice, not something they are born with; a choice that is associated with fascism
Other than that, yeah, you are right
Yes but it's still a visual queue from which we can make an inference. It still requires an intuition which connects a representation to its meaning.
Maybe it wasn't the most suitable example for this context for the reason you point out, but the perceptive/cognitive phenomena at play are the same in both situations from the viewer's perspective
It's like the exam scene from men in black
"I went hiking in the woods and didn't get eaten by a bear, therefore bear attacks must be a hoax!"
I mean they aren’t very common. It also depends on the bear type. Where I live we only have black bears, which are kinda like big hungry dogs. They are generally skiddish as hell and run off when they hear you.
If it’s brown, lay down, if it’s black fight back.
If it’s white, say goodnight. Or have a shotgun handy.
It was a reductio ad absurdum. Natural disasters aren't that common either (although they're becoming more frequent), but that doesn't mean they aren't real and serious matters.
In other words, the monster in the comic was a good metaphor even if he's not actively attacking the guy.
Nahh, just offer some nose scratches and it will roll over for belly rubs. People approach everything from completely the wrong direction (i.e., "everything is a threat to me, therefore I must be the bigger threat"). Animals can be pretty chill when you're not screaming and punching them.
Yes, this is also a metaphor for geopolitics.
They're built to survive a fight with another bear, so you'd need at least a little luck along with that shotgun. I can imagine that all you'd do is make it angry.
Unless you’re in their den or between the mom and her cubs, black bears will run if you act aggressive. Grizzlies will chase you and are faster unless you have wheels (and even then you better have a head start).
This unfortunately
This is also known as slowly boiling the pot with a frog in it
The fence monster has actually been biting an inch off of his dick every day. They explain it in the expanded universe comics.
o no
Well, yeah. If John Monsterton isn't actually hurting you or something, then you're just being rude to react that way.
He also told me that my neighbour is eating cats so I should probably listen to Mr Monsterton
yeah, but Jon Monstersen needs to be dealt with
?
Global Warming amiright?
Global warming. Covid for a while. Threats of nuclear destruction. The asteroid thats definitely going to probably hit us. WW3 gearing up. Microplastics. The rise of The Machines. Mass extinctions. Superbugs.
The list goes on really. You're still gonna have to go to work tomorrow.
This creature is no where near as visually appaling as Trump, Putin or Netanyahu.
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