1 line
16 KiB
JSON
1 line
16 KiB
JSON
|
{"topics":[{"id":"52f9bb8a6368725648060000","topic_id":"5161dd617f123bd25900013d","body":"\"@SeraphimDawn\":/dis/the-time-wasting-thread/post/52f9ba6c6368724af4d80200#post_52f9ba6c6368724af4d80200\r\nwell I'm just pointing out that if Europe had not suffered a dark age it would presumably be more advanced and dominant.\r\n\r\nAnd I'm wondering if there is anything in China's history similar to that.","author":"4fe16df67f123b13e400003f"},{"id":"52f9bbd563687252e9340000","topic_id":"5161dd617f123bd25900013d","body":"I have a complicated relationship with fringe beliefs. On the one hand I love stuff like UFO lore, bigfoot, ghost stories and secret societies, but on the other it pisses me off when I see people making money by cynically exploiting people's genuine if absurd belief in these things.\r\n\r\nI also tend to get mouth frothingly furious when people bring truly horrific events into their conspiracy theories. The fastest way to piss me off to the point of physical violence is to claim that 9/11 was an inside job. I have, no joking, hit people in the mouth for that horse shit.\r\n\r\nAnd yet more than anything else I adore secret society conspiracy theories. I will read anything about the Illuminati, that shit is like catnip for me.\r\n\r\nThinking about this statement, I realize a lot of it also applies to my view of religion. I like the imagry and the lore, and if you've got a story about the really batshit parts of the Bible then I am all over that, however I get furious when people use religion to try to impose their occasionally monstrous moral and political views on the populace at large, or who interpret their world view entirely through a narrow religious lens. I also despise people who make a fortune exploiting the faith of others.\r\n\r\nI some times think that there is a part of me that really, really wants to be a believer. I miss the certainty that came with being one, but a larger part of me cannot be, not because of my intellect, which is nothing to write home about as anyone who has interacted with me for any length of time can attest, but because I just can't believe anymore. In anything. There isn't really an ideology left in me anymore, I'm too aware of my own ignorance.","author":"4f41ee04945b701c41002af7"},{"id":"52f9be8963687253712b0100","topic_id":"5161dd617f123bd25900013d","body":"\"@Whatevs\":/dis/the-time-wasting-thread/post/52f9bb8a6368725648060000#post_52f9bb8a6368725648060000\r\nEvery time a dynasty falls, ther would be chaos, civil wars, factionalism, and even lawlessness until a new dynasty reinstates order. Of course. But we never broke as a culture and people like what happened to the Romans. Chinese explorers sailed to \"Indonesia, India, and and Southeast Africa couple hundred years before Europeans did\":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He#Expeditions. They were ahead until the scumbag Ming Emperor decided to close off the nation and restrict explorations and trade, due to fears of outside cultures.","author":"4fde5cee945b700a970060fc"},{"id":"52f9bf1d6368725317830100","topic_id":"5161dd617f123bd25900013d","body":"Of course, China was well within range of Indonesia and India. It's basically the Chinese front and back yards, respectively.\r\n\r\nThe Africa bit is the Asian equivalent of Lief Ericson, and a few Morroccon expeditions into the middle of the Atlantic, basically getting half way to the Americas.","author":"4fe4bf947f123b175b000001"},{"id":"52f9bf3163687253178a0100","topic_id":"5161dd617f123bd25900013d","body":"\"@SeraphimDawn\":/dis/the-time-wasting-thread/post/52f9be8963687253712b0100#post_52f9be8963687253712b0100\r\nCorrect me if I'm wrong but didn't Japan follow a similar policy until the dutch essentially forced their way in?","author":"4f41ee04945b701c41002af7"},{"id":"52f9bf5c6368725518750100","topic_id":"5161dd617f123bd25900013d","body":"\"@AaronMk\":/dis/the-time-wasting-thread/post/52f9bf1d6368725317830100#post_52f9bf1d6368725317830100\r\nThe Chinese have controlled the sea route to the Spice Islands for quite a while until the Dutch took over.","author":"4fde
|