Definitely. I also think that this specific sock case is pretty innocent and a good excuse to have a stimulating discussion with the kiddo about it. I also don’t get why the parent appeared to have just given up, because I do think that one of the most fun conversations I have ever had have been when I talked with kids about how the world works and they ask me questions where I have to think before answering.
And I am completely agreeing with you that it is worth talking about if people are in good faith. It was just never something I came across in the wild a few years back. It was, as you said, always used as a way to end a discussion and actually to get people to not question anything. It’s a social construct, ergo it is bad and questioning why it’s supposedly bad makes you a bigot. So I just have a very ingrown adverse reaction to that term whenever I see it.
Sucks that your inquisitive nature was dampened, but honestly, I think it’s one of the great things we can do for ourselves in adulthood - keep asking questions and find the answers ourselves. I went through a weird knowledge-gathering phase for a few years while working on a worldbuilding project. Got into things I would have never thought about otherwise. Just constant questions about how this and that works, what is this, what is that? Why are things like this? Who does this and that in society? How are continents formed? Where does coffee grow any why? Do dreadlocks remain dreadlocks as they grow? (They do) How were languages formed? How were alphabets formed? How are parasites beneficial to the ecosystem? Can you surgically change a person’s eye color? (You can) How did the Ottoman Empire fall and why? Would gooseberry lollipops be popular with kids? How long does it take to bake bread in a volcano? How old is the oldest tree in the world? (That’s how I learned about Prometheus and the infuriating end to a 5000+ year long lifespan because one stupid university graduate decided that cutting it down for science was more important than letting it live).
Yadda yadda yadda. Honestly, it becomes kind of addictive once you get going with these types of questions. It’s a lot of fun.
I hope you still ask questions, my friend! Don’t let that part of you die 🤗
I’ve never really had many techy friends/family members so that’s where a large amount of my own research/rabbit holes usually go lol.
Like a few months ago I did a whole home server/homelab setup with proxmox several LXCs etc just from a desire to learn. I found Linux way back at age 12 but didn’t really dig too far beyond being able to sit in the corner of our empty house so I could reach my neighbors shared wifi and watch anime/Yt (laptop literally did not function on windows XP when it was gifted to my dad for comparison lol)
Powerautomate for work has been a great time sink and a ton to learn there still and I’m learning how to do sysadmin and web coding things as well.
For like rando interesting facts, it’s hard because without a trigger I can’t usually just come up with a fact even though I might have gone down a 20+tab Wikipedia rabbit hole in a subject haha
Man, all that sounded like a different language to me, but I am also a tech-imbercile 😅 sounds pretty impressive, though that you built your own server. To me that basically sounds like magic when people tell me how they build tech related things. It is so cool.
I completely get what you mean with needing a trigger for researching! I’m like that too. I just cannot get into anything if there isn’t some sort of purpose to it. Currently, my worldbuilding project is in hibernation so I went from basically going to self-learning school every moment of the day for three years to a potato. It’s a bit annoying that you can’t just deliberately trigger a thirst for knowledge or have a normal, steady stream of knowledge gathering. It’s either full fucking throttle or it is dead in the water. At least it’s like that for me.
I’m not diagnosed, but my spouse is convinced I have ADHD. He doesn’t believe I have autism, but who knows. Based on some things I have read I do think I kinda display some symptoms from both but I would need to see a professional to have any of this confirmed. And as it stands I just can’t. My first attempt at getting a referral ended with being told by the GP that I couldn’t have ADHD because I have a degree, a job and a partner. Which I thought was very insulting to people with ADHD, but whatever. The second attempt ended with me getting a referral and the GP telling me to go find a psychiatrist myself because he believed I’d be very capable of that. Turns out I’m very much not, lol.
So eh. Now I’m just living my life like I always have. I do what I can to hold on to routines and structure and the only thing that has changed is that I beat myself up a bit less than I used to when I fuck things up.
Have you gotten an official diagnosis? And if so, how was the process for you? 🤗
Definitely. I also think that this specific sock case is pretty innocent and a good excuse to have a stimulating discussion with the kiddo about it. I also don’t get why the parent appeared to have just given up, because I do think that one of the most fun conversations I have ever had have been when I talked with kids about how the world works and they ask me questions where I have to think before answering.
And I am completely agreeing with you that it is worth talking about if people are in good faith. It was just never something I came across in the wild a few years back. It was, as you said, always used as a way to end a discussion and actually to get people to not question anything. It’s a social construct, ergo it is bad and questioning why it’s supposedly bad makes you a bigot. So I just have a very ingrown adverse reaction to that term whenever I see it.
Sucks that your inquisitive nature was dampened, but honestly, I think it’s one of the great things we can do for ourselves in adulthood - keep asking questions and find the answers ourselves. I went through a weird knowledge-gathering phase for a few years while working on a worldbuilding project. Got into things I would have never thought about otherwise. Just constant questions about how this and that works, what is this, what is that? Why are things like this? Who does this and that in society? How are continents formed? Where does coffee grow any why? Do dreadlocks remain dreadlocks as they grow? (They do) How were languages formed? How were alphabets formed? How are parasites beneficial to the ecosystem? Can you surgically change a person’s eye color? (You can) How did the Ottoman Empire fall and why? Would gooseberry lollipops be popular with kids? How long does it take to bake bread in a volcano? How old is the oldest tree in the world? (That’s how I learned about Prometheus and the infuriating end to a 5000+ year long lifespan because one stupid university graduate decided that cutting it down for science was more important than letting it live).
Yadda yadda yadda. Honestly, it becomes kind of addictive once you get going with these types of questions. It’s a lot of fun. I hope you still ask questions, my friend! Don’t let that part of you die 🤗
Right on!
Luckily I ignored everyone telling me to stop and once I got the internet… Yeah similar to your paragraph lol the rabbit hole of how and why is deep!
So glad to hear it! And yes, oh God, how deep that rabbit hole goes! What are some crazy/interesting places you have ended up?
I’ve never really had many techy friends/family members so that’s where a large amount of my own research/rabbit holes usually go lol.
Like a few months ago I did a whole home server/homelab setup with proxmox several LXCs etc just from a desire to learn. I found Linux way back at age 12 but didn’t really dig too far beyond being able to sit in the corner of our empty house so I could reach my neighbors shared wifi and watch anime/Yt (laptop literally did not function on windows XP when it was gifted to my dad for comparison lol)
Powerautomate for work has been a great time sink and a ton to learn there still and I’m learning how to do sysadmin and web coding things as well.
For like rando interesting facts, it’s hard because without a trigger I can’t usually just come up with a fact even though I might have gone down a 20+tab Wikipedia rabbit hole in a subject haha
Man, all that sounded like a different language to me, but I am also a tech-imbercile 😅 sounds pretty impressive, though that you built your own server. To me that basically sounds like magic when people tell me how they build tech related things. It is so cool.
I completely get what you mean with needing a trigger for researching! I’m like that too. I just cannot get into anything if there isn’t some sort of purpose to it. Currently, my worldbuilding project is in hibernation so I went from basically going to self-learning school every moment of the day for three years to a potato. It’s a bit annoying that you can’t just deliberately trigger a thirst for knowledge or have a normal, steady stream of knowledge gathering. It’s either full fucking throttle or it is dead in the water. At least it’s like that for me.
I’m guessing you’re likely also somewhere on the ADHD/Autism spectrum like me.
I’m not diagnosed, but my spouse is convinced I have ADHD. He doesn’t believe I have autism, but who knows. Based on some things I have read I do think I kinda display some symptoms from both but I would need to see a professional to have any of this confirmed. And as it stands I just can’t. My first attempt at getting a referral ended with being told by the GP that I couldn’t have ADHD because I have a degree, a job and a partner. Which I thought was very insulting to people with ADHD, but whatever. The second attempt ended with me getting a referral and the GP telling me to go find a psychiatrist myself because he believed I’d be very capable of that. Turns out I’m very much not, lol.
So eh. Now I’m just living my life like I always have. I do what I can to hold on to routines and structure and the only thing that has changed is that I beat myself up a bit less than I used to when I fuck things up.
Have you gotten an official diagnosis? And if so, how was the process for you? 🤗