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Standoff (mander.xyz)

submitted 3 weeks ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] imPastaSyndrome@lemm.ee 83 points 3 weeks ago

So what you're saying is we have orcs and elves, And... We are the demigods?

Oh Lords. When we pour the liquid metal into an ant colony to get its shape?

Man now I kind of want to run a campaign treating the gods as if they thought of us as literal ants and termites.

And... That gods that work with clerics and stuff are etymologists... And such...

[-] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 59 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Do you mean entomologists rather than etymologists?

Credit

[-] CrazyLikeGollum@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

The typo kind of makes sense though. The Gods are etymologists who study the language of the bugs. It's why they understand prayer. Entomological etymologists.

[-] lennivelkant@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 3 weeks ago

Entomolinguist

[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 weeks ago

i suppose insects are entomonolingual

[-] rikudou 11 points 3 weeks ago

Entomologist: From French entomologie, from Ancient Greek éntomon (insect) + -logie (from Ancient Greek -logía (from "lógos" - explanation)).

[-] F04118F@feddit.nl 10 points 3 weeks ago

Exactly as asked. The etymologist to explain the etymology of entomologist.

[-] imPastaSyndrome@lemm.ee 2 points 3 weeks ago

[-] imPastaSyndrome@lemm.ee 5 points 3 weeks ago

[-] Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Of course there's an xkcd for everything!

[-] imPastaSyndrome@lemm.ee 55 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

You know how we like put shoes on ants right feet and it makes them go around in circles because they don't understand what's going on. Like "Normally when I walked like this I get home just fine "

Now That's a fun curse

Seems almost Fey.

As you walk home your mind drifts to thoughts of what you want to do when you're home. And of your previous battles, you walk the path that you've walked everyday since your childhood.... You end up miles to the West

[-] smeg@feddit.uk 58 points 3 weeks ago

Here's a relevant post

[-] lennivelkant@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 3 weeks ago

It mises the "good enough" human approximations of the "true names" when the latter is impossible for humans to pronounce: it doesn't have to be the exact correct pronunciation. If the Ants can't make the -lk- or -nt- sounds of my screen name and chant "Lennivekat", It's close enough that I get they mean me. I might try to teach them the correct pronunciation, then probably give up and ask what they actually want.

[-] NeatoBuilds@mander.xyz 9 points 3 weeks ago

It's like that movie vivarium or the show from, you keep driving trying to leave but keep passing the same houses after hours of trying

[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 weeks ago

honestly i feel like an even more fey curse would be always ending up only slightly to the left of where you intended, cursed to never enter a doorway successfully.

[-] imPastaSyndrome@lemm.ee 2 points 2 weeks ago

Really really like that very true.

[-] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago

That's a story element in Babylon 5. Some of the ancient alien races had evolved to the level of gods. One of them guided several alien races, in our case creating the myth of angels.

[-] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 18 points 3 weeks ago

Piquing a demigods's curiosity, returning to your home city and finding it's been turned to metal and everyone is fused into the walls/floors.

[-] tdawg@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago

shows the cruel indifference of many of the gods

[-] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;
They kill us for their sport.

[-] flora_explora@beehaw.org 3 points 3 weeks ago

Just that so far no gods have materialized in our world to study or even interact with us :/

[-] imPastaSyndrome@lemm.ee 2 points 3 weeks ago

Beyond our understanding! Fifth dimensional!

But yeah

[-] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 38 points 3 weeks ago

Franz Ferdinand one of them, let's see some carnage

[-] Jumi@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

Here you go

[-] whotookkarl@lemmy.world 34 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

We used to have hominid cousins living at the same time as modern humans like neanderthals and denisovans. I don't think there's a consensus answer on what wiped them out, ecological changes over the last ice age reducing the availability of resources that they couldn't adapt to maybe, or prehistoric wars maybe and only the most vicious and violent hominid group survived, or some combination of changes and fighting and being absorbed by other dominant groups that they couldn't adapt to quickly enough.

[-] Neon@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I think it's widely accepted that it's a mix of:

Changing environment + being less competitive than homo sapiens (not sure "war" is the right word) + intermingling (Nenaderthals and HomoSapiens bred together into the modern day human) (yes, you're the analogue of a half-elf.)

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago

Ok, but this is more like if one of those was a bird.

[-] daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 weeks ago

Giving human history of treating humans of the same species with slightly different genetic features... I'm almost glad of not knowing what we would have done to a whole different species.

"It's the humans rights declaration, not the hominids rights declaration"

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago

what we would have done to a whole different species.

Well, humanity has about 6% Neanderthal in their genome.

[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 weeks ago

and we have genetic evidence of an individual that was a smooth 50% neanderthal and 50% denisovan, it's either just an innate trait in hominids/primates, or all animals will just default to horni when able.

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Oh, it's true. The Neanderthal even migrated to Denisova.

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 weeks ago

Yes, but all from the same line. Less like fantasy and more like Rimworld.

[-] stevedice@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago

Europeans fucked them into extinction

[-] thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

I think we also interbreed some of them out

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

The ants seem to be at a significant disadvantage here.

[-] subgoose@lemm.ee 13 points 3 weeks ago

ok but who would win?

[-] F04118F@feddit.nl 34 points 3 weeks ago

In the long run? The colony that avoids open conflict unless it's absolutely necessary to spare lives and energy. Guessing that's how these two ended up like this.

[-] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

I would say the ants.

Termites would be the equivalence to a hippo in or out of water (wood, for them) while the ants would be hyenas. One on one, the termite would win, but ants tend to have the numbers and their bodies are more built for tearing tearing apart flesh/exoskeletons. With termites, it only really the soldiers that are capable of attack/defense while most ants in a colony are capable of such.