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PaperclipPerfector  17d ago (text post)   3045 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 14, 2026

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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Halfway serious question:

We've all heard of coping mechanisms. But what seething mechanisms do humans have?

I think rumination, especially the type that does not lead to any resolution, insight or action, can be described as such.

At night, [Otto von Bismarck] slept poorly or not at all. Often, he lay awake until seven a.m., then slept until two p.m. Lying in bed he mulled over grievances. “I have spent the whole night hating” he said once. When no immediate object of hatred was available, he ransacked his memory to dredge up wrongs done to him years before.

Is this a case study in why we should all hate more? Seemed to have worked well for Bismarck. Hate can be a powerful motivator, after all.

If you compare the long term costs and benefits of sleep vs hate, I'm pretty sure sleep wins out.

Curious now that you mention it. Is there any other emotion that comes to us more naturally than hate? Hatred isn’t a hard won emotion at all but it’s damn hard fought over.

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