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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2946 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 21, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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There's certain content -- certain types of gore, certain furry content, etc -- that gives me "the ick".

Sometimes I remember that many people get the same "ick" feeling from anime art in general, particularly the type of anime art that gets criticized as "overly-sexualized".

What are some times when you were reminded of the unbridgeable gap between different modes of perception?

I'm not sure what you mean by "different modes of perception" but since I've been watching photography youtubers while being down with the cold, macro photography is one I personally just ran into. Some people love high res closeup photos of insects whereas I get a very strong urge to hit ctrl-W the moment I see a blown up photo of almost any insect.

It's a bit of a problem because I'd like to see if I might like other kinds of macro photography but current enshittified algorithms make it damn near impossible to succesfully search for macro / closeup photography that doesn't feature insects.

I've always felt the way Mulder describes it in War of the Coprophages on the X-files about most insects that are big enough to fully make out their body parts. Zooming accomplishes the same effect.

Mulder: No, no, no. I’m not afraid of them. I hate them. One day, back when I was a kid, I was climbing this tree when I noticed this leaf walking towards me. It took forever for me to realize that it was no leaf.

Scully: A praying mantis?

Mulder: Yeah, I had a praying mantis epiphany and as a result, I screamed. And not, not a girlie scream, but the scream of someone being confronted by some before unknown monster that had no right existing on the same planet I inhabited. ... The mysteries of the natural world were revealed to me that day but instead of being astounded I was repulsed.

Yeah. It's a "kill it with fire and nuke the entire site from orbit just to be sure" type of feeling.

I have no problem with closeup photos of plants, eyes, amphibians or lizards but as soon as it's insects or arachnids (and probably some arthropods), I nope the hell out.

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