Daniel Dvorkin @medigoth@qoto.org

He's not wrong.

Fortunately we can look serenely back across the gulf of Deep Time and know that thanks to human intelligence, ingenuity, and awareness, we're safe from such disasters today.

Uh ... hello? Is this thing on?

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/marine-biological-responses-to-abrupt-climate-change-in-deep-time/AA2E06A402AF8344F44FDF3EEF44E3D0

Can you imagine this happening here?

I sure wish I could.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/14/asia/south-korea-yoon-second-impeachment-hnk-intl

Alt text:

The picture shows lean, shadowy, vageuly wolf-like animals running. The caption is "the things i would imagine running alongside the car when i was a kid". Other users comment:

"This is gorgeous and I need a pack of them so we could run through the woods together hunting."

"The Runalongs are rare in worlds without fast transportation. It seems they are brought into being when someone, bored by a journey, looks out to watch the countryside go by. They daydream of a creature that follows their path (guarding? Or hunting?) and suddenly, without fanfare, it appears.

"Runalongs have little in the way of ecology, but they are known to eat other dreams. Sometimes if the one who called them is particularly lonely or afraid they will get closer and even speak in humming voices without opening their mouths. But the second you stop moving, the creatures turn and vanish behind themselves, disappearing to wherever fantasies come from.

"A Runalong can also have other forms; a humanoid figure (without distinct features) is common, and these may also ride things that are supposed to be horses. If only we were better at imagining, then they might not look so terrifying."

"WAIT. OTHER PEOPLE DID THIS???????!!!"

"Mine were large cat-like creatures"

"I forget what mine were but I imagined this too! I like the name Runalongs."

"Please, I'm nearly 30 and I still have Runalongs join me on long, boring car journeys. They must be able to sense people who are in need of their presence, for company, for entertainment, or are just so used to them being there."

"When you put your hand palm down out the window and it jumps and sways in the speed, the pressure you feel, not quite solid but not quite air is the ghostly backs of the runalongs arching up for a pat."

I particularly love the idea of #supernatural #beings brought into existence by #modern #technology.

Last time I got #carded, the clerk looked at my #ID and said in shock, "You're older than my *dad*!"

"Clean living," I replied, and walked out with my goods.

Sum up 2024 in one bad #movie line. I'll start:

"Somehow, #Palpatine returned."

@Bernard Mainly I'm tired.

STŸRÄCÖSÄÜRÜS

Calling anyone except yourself "#triggered" is an insta-block. Just so we're clear.

Seen in the wild: "Well, whatever he used, kudos to him. Being able to clear #malfunctions in the heat of the moment is an important skill when working to lower #healthcare costs."

Seen in the wild: "He’s out of network for any sympathy from me".

So you're saying it's the perfect vehicle for #flatEarthers?

"But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."

Just leaving that there in case, you know, it has any relevance in the coming months.

The article suggests there may be not just thousands, but *tens* of thousands, of unrecognized #protein-coding #genes in the human #genome. As a fan of the #ENCODE approach to a broad definition of "#gene," and a skeptic of "#junk #DNA," I'll take a great deal of satisfaction if this pans out.

https://www.science.org/content/article/dark-proteome-survey-reveals-thousands-new-human-genes

@MasterScorp I'll allow it.

I have stopped trying to parse #Poe's #Law and my life is better for it.

We are invested in our #evolution in a way we aren't in just about anything else's: the idea that there was a moment in our development when the lightbulb came on appeals to our egos. But really we're subject to the same constraints as every other critter.

https://neurosciencenews.com/evolution-brain-size-28153/