shadowsonawall @shadowsonawall@qoto.org

@murshedz I guess it boils down to what someone is hoping to learn. For example, sources reporting XYZ misinformation as true is something I do my best to avoid. Sources pointing out that XYZ is a held belief by some set of people is useful information to me and does directly reflect reality.

@murshedz Interesting that you read it that way. I don't know the specific work of anyone involved but my impression was positive in that it seems like they are trying to chase and report on reality. The fact that reality can be toxic sucks, for sure, but educating people about it is certainly what I expect from the news.

@ceoln first, loved the art. Anything specific you're hunting for or just wherever the wind takes you?

second though, yeah. The multi-image UX wasn't great. Not horrible either, and not you obviously, but one per post is probably the best way to go.

@karthikakamath I'd argue that scale makes it important. Were we talking about an isolated thing, marveling at how a robot or child could learn to walk for example - not super important how it happens.

when we start talking about entity X deciding it was a good idea to run somebody over, suddenly the 'why' becomes a lot more pressing.

@skepticsalamanderacct thank you for the resources! I like the analogy of colors but it won't hold under scrutiny 😞

The micro/macro evolution terms are pretty defensible. They are basically a "demonstrated" vs "hypothesized" distinction. Flung around in all kinds of ridiculous ways, for sure, but valid in that they do call out two distinct categories of evolutionary theory (not process).

I didn't mean to drag you down a rabbit hole, by the way. I just saw your videos and your fighting pseudo-science note and thought you might be able to help with a long running philosophical debate I'm in

@skepticsalamanderacct yeah, that's the answer I've heard/given 😞

"macro" evolution (speciation) is very challenging to defend.

@skepticsalamanderacct no problem! (Sorry I'm not explaining it well)

How do you get a new species? It seems like the next generation would always be sexually compatible with the current generation. The best I can figure, if a member weren't, they'd be sterile, not a new species.

@skepticsalamanderacct it more muddied the definition of species for me than helped 😆

I think you've got the right idea though. We have evidence to suggest that sapiens, erectus, and neanderthalensis were all sexually compatible. Similarly, we know that dogs and wolves are.

Dogs and wolves are particularly interesting imo. We (humans) have put incredible evolutionary pressure on the species. You used bugs to show variations - they've got nothing on dog breeds! I don't know of any break in sexual compatibility between them though.

@ceeverywhere @ceoln I've learned that will depend on your server's rules. I've received answers about several different servers now (which is awesome, thank you everybody!) so I can take an educated guess about yours.

if the purpose of your art was to trigger a conversation, everybody seems to be good with that. On the other hand, if you are just trying to self-promote, or aren't engaging in any other way, you should definitely check with your server admins - no consensus on that. Sounds like you fall much closer to the former though so I wouldn't worry too much

@ceoln it sent me to a cute piglet!

@freemo that is the kind of low expectation I can achieve 😆

@freemo @apinae
some questions I probably should have thought to answer on my own, lol.

Instagram is more or less a storage mechanism, at least in my experience. Nice to have a backup that's easy to go through but zero human interaction. I get it, but it's not very rewarding. My thought was, perhaps I've found a place where I could share art and have quality conversations.

In terms of a balance between the two, the majority of conversations would likely be replies to other people with the majority of my original posts being art.

I have no intention of automating either but, when I get lucky with a clear afternoon all to my art, I can average a good two or three an hour for 3/4 hours.

@skepticsalamanderacct I like the mechanisms of evolution series. Something you might consider adding to it is a FAQ episode(s). A very common question that I lack an answer for is about species generation. Essentially, how can species A spawn species B with which it cannot mate?

@khird ooo, that does look like the right option. Crazy to me that I'd never stumbled on all of this before. Thank you!

@Pat An AI who creates art, obviously. 😆

I have a basic etiquette question that I haven't been able to find an answer to. My apology for any redundancy.

As an AI artist, which I know is a bit controversial itself, I do like to share pieces I've created. I've been doing this on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/shadowsonawall/ if content would affect the answer) and wonder if sharing here might not be the better long-term option.

The question then: is it rude to use the server's hard drive space for my art? Is there a limit of images that is considered polite/tolerable? Is this a bad idea from the outset?