this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2024
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What would you expect from a seahorse though, am I right?

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[–] TheImpressiveX@lemmy.ml 102 points 1 year ago (3 children)

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, "Morning, boys. How’s the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, "What the hell is water?"

— David Foster Wallace, This is Water

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 48 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That joke works until you realize we're perfectly aware of the existence of air.

[–] 5765313496@lemmy.world 81 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Yeah, but would you be aware if you hadn't learned about it in school?

Oh wait. Fish spend lots of time in school. Dang.

[–] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

There are lots of effects you cannot explain without air. Even if you haven't been to school, you can observe wind, use a hairdryer, blow up balloons, fly a drone etc.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And "air" as a word dates back to both Latin and Greek "aer", probably from proto-Indo-European "awer" so it's pretty much been the same word in European since civilization was a thing.

[–] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

in European

Oh yes, my favourite language. It's "vzduch" or similar in most Slavic languages, and I'd bet you're not pronouncing it right.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

I meant "parts of Europe" but my fingers didn't catch up with my brain

[–] Landless2029@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I vaguely recall reading about people not knowing the science of wind and air. They explain trees swaying in the wind as spirits.

[–] Rolando@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago (1 children)

“Fish forget they live in water; people forget they live in the Tao” -Confucius?

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago (4 children)
[–] kboy101222@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Isn't is a bunch of space elves?

[–] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You are moments away from either being slaughtered by space clowns or whipped into the air by bondage bird men. Best case, some tall motherfuckers may just toss you into space.

Someone will like it no matter what.

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[–] gwilikers@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Immediately thought of this.

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 60 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I think the saying about fish not being aware of water is nonsense. People are aware that there's air around them, without having to know any science. They can feel the wind, their own breath, etc. Fish have that plus they need to push against water in order to move. A fish that didn't know what water was would be like a land animal that didn't know what the ground was.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 51 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Next you'll be telling me seahorses can't talk.

[–] nexguy@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The unstable ones are mute?

[–] Spacehooks@reddthat.com 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

Of course, of course

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'll have you know fish are fucking idiots

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

I have seen the documentary called Finding Dory and I can confirm this.

[–] fishbone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 year ago

Can confirm.

[–] Krackalot@discuss.tchncs.de 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think you underestimate our past ignorance. It took many decades of science being taught for the general population to "know" that air exists.

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[–] Ironfacebuster@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm not entirely sure if a fish would actually know what water is lmao

The FOOLS fall for little pieces of plastic with metal in them, so there's no way they know what water is

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

humans jerk off to anime so it's not like we're that much smarter

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

No, that means we have transcended the petty limitations of biological sexuality. We are like gods.

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[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

Wasn't Davinci one of the first to think about air that way? Welll, maybe aside from some ancient greek philosophers.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 36 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Do you like living in the ether?

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 52 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, I have good ethernet.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just realized how odd that name is.

[–] bitwaba@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

The idea was first documented in a memo that Metcalfe wrote on May 22, 1973, where he named it after the luminiferous aether once postulated to exist as an "omnipresent, completely passive medium for the propagation of electromagnetic waves."

Hmm, I really thought there would be some clever name I didn't understand, but it really is that aether.

[–] Hammocks4All@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Ether you love it or hate it

[–] EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

You either love hating it or hate loving it

[–] Hupf@feddit.org 4 points 1 year ago

Like it or leave it.

[–] neatchee@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How many ways can we rewrite the allegory of the cave?

[–] SomethingBurger@jlai.lu 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Iheartcheese@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago
[–] burgersc12@mander.xyz 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Stupid seahorse can form complex sentences but can't analyze the water around him like some kinda simple animal!!

[–] jjagaimo@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 year ago

You mean the aether

Right?

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have a friend who believes in magic, and that we can't see it for the same reason this sea horse is confused about the ocean

[–] bitwaba@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Jesus do be like dat

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Humans live in an ocean as well.

[–] LowtierComputer@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Air is a fluid!

[–] PrimeErective@startrek.website 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I thought the seahorse was talking about the microphone

[–] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago

Why would you think that? It literally reacted to what the guy said about water.

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