They are interested in the arthropod head problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod_head_problem
it is a long-standing zoological dispute concerning the segmental composition of the heads of the various arthropod groups
User: Junnn11
51–60 of 106 posts
Re: User: Junnn11
#52Wonderful illustrations! Whenever I see someone that is interested in a very specific niche and obviously expends a lot of effort towards it, I'm always in awe. How did they become interested in the topic? Why choose this specific thing? How do they keep their motivation to continue with it? I've personally never really felt like I've cared enough about anything this much. Because of this, I've always felt like I'm m…
Probably through academia? If you get a PhD you can spend years working on a very specific topic.
Possibly but not necessary, the more important element of a PhD is its effect on your environment. A PhD is legitimizing your niche interest vs how we treat those with niche interests who don't have a PhD ("obsessed"/wasting time). It's a very powerful effect, and minimizes a lot of the external stress of a niche interest that causes many to lose hope and move on.
Re: User: Junnn11
#53The image tags on that page need `loading="lazy"`. This made me curious what contributing to the wikipedia application (not articles) is like. Anyone have any insight/info on this?
The application is called MediaWiki. https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/How_to_become_a_MediaWiki_hac...
Spoiler alert: you need to write PHP.
Re: User: Junnn11
#54That is cool!
Someone has a lot of time on their hands…
Re: User: Junnn11
#55Wonderful illustrations! Whenever I see someone that is interested in a very specific niche and obviously expends a lot of effort towards it, I'm always in awe. How did they become interested in the topic? Why choose this specific thing? How do they keep their motivation to continue with it? I've personally never really felt like I've cared enough about anything this much. Because of this, I've always felt like I'm m…
People obsessed with niche subjects and go all out on that are the backbone of society. My mind goes to the guy that packaged 1/3 of all Arch packages in the official repo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqMf6XFacR8&pp=ygUKZGlzdHJvd...
Which is terrifying.
Re: User: Junnn11
#56This is a pretty cool user page.
Re: User: Junnn11
#57Whenever you see organic forms, it's interesting to realize the extent to which they are all "programmed" by their genetics into their structure. In their segments, you see the "for" loops of form. In the same manner this art compresses the forms into their essential mechanical geometries, so too does genetic code create essential abstractions that allow the laws of mathematics to guide their structural harmony.
These analogies do work sometimes, but biologists struggle to fit "computer code" based analogies into what they are studying. As it turns out, biology is rather unlike computers in a lot of ways.
Some interesting videos for laymen:
Michael Levin - Cell Intelligence in Physiological and Morphological Spaces https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLiHLDrOTW8
SubAnima - How NOT To Think About Cells https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPhvic-eqbc (this channel has a lot of other great explainers)
Re: User: Junnn11
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally, I much prefer having the images all download on page load. Lazy loaded images never seem to download before I scroll to them, so I have to keep waiting for them to come in as I go through the page.
You can configure your browser either to ignore loading="lazy" completely or to increase the distance below the viewport where images load. Search for "lazy" in about:config if you use Firefox for example.
Sadly I don't think there's any such option in Chromium or mobile Safari, the two browsers I use.
Re: User: Junnn11
#59Wonderful illustrations! Whenever I see someone that is interested in a very specific niche and obviously expends a lot of effort towards it, I'm always in awe. How did they become interested in the topic? Why choose this specific thing? How do they keep their motivation to continue with it? I've personally never really felt like I've cared enough about anything this much. Because of this, I've always felt like I'm m…
> I've personally never really felt like I've cared enough about anything this much. Because of this, I've always felt like I'm missing something in life. I would love to be passionate about something as much as Junnn11 is about Arthropods. I myself have tried to force myself into one (or more) passions. Never works. I'm 34 now and part of me is just (radically) accepting my ADHD. That's not to say I cannot cultivate…
Yeah, same. I'm just not cut out for the kind of sustained intensity needed to be on a first-name basis with all the arthropods. I really appreciate it, but I cannot match it. I'm ok with that, though. The world needs many different kinds of people.
Re: User: Junnn11
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
People obsessed with niche subjects and go all out on that are the backbone of society. My mind goes to the guy that packaged 1/3 of all Arch packages in the official repo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqMf6XFacR8&pp=ygUKZGlzdHJvd...
We all have weird interest, it's the long tail. Magic happens when you find someone with the same weird interest: emulation brings innovation through iterations! Maybe someday I'll find someone interested in running Excel through wine rendering in Sixels within a terminal :) And before you ask, yes I've enjoyed way too much reading about https://github.com/taviso/123elf and the history behind it!
This is an interesting observation because when I thought about it, I realized that it has basically been the antidote to social media burnout for me.
Most social media (IG, Twitter etc.) - a find to be a total shitshow and I subscribe to the idea that they cause depression, anxiety and tend to make your life worse.
What can be good though is a small and well moderated community that's focused on a particular interest which everyone in it shares. These can be really rewarding to participate in.
In a somewhat different way, the phenomenon also manifests in the shift from public social media to private online e.g. Telegram chat groups - those don't seem to be as soul-sucking as IG or Twitter, either.