Sharing this post from mildyinteresting Community because I think you’ll be interested in it over here in the solarpunk community

Sorry if I have accidentally reposted it

  • tias
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    11 months ago

    There are differences, obviously, but I don’t know which of those differences would make one of them natural. Nature didn’t create either of them; they are both man-made constructions.

    • Platomus@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      But using your intuitions, which one do you think the person responded to above meant as more natural?

      Probably the one that doesn’t use electricity, right?

      It feels like being obtuse for no reason.

      • x4740N@lemmy.worldOP
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        11 months ago

        You are correct

        I used the words “natural technology” because it felt like the best word to describe natural solutions like the air tower in the image

      • tias
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        11 months ago

        So, electricity is unnatural and hence bad? Is that the point being made here? Because the original opinion was that we should focus on natural solutions over artificial ones, and I asked the question in an effort to understand why they would say that.

        Instead of arguing against a guess (or “intuition”) of what they mean, I think it’s constructive to find out exactly what they mean first. That way we’re not just talking past one another in the typical, polarized internet fashion.

        • x4740N@lemmy.worldOP
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          11 months ago

          That’s not what being said at all

          Electricity is a form of energy but its created using other forms of energy and there are losses from conversion becsuse we don’t have 100% efficency so it would be better to use other forms of energy that are naturally present when possible to avoid losses of energy from converting them to electricity

          Then you only need to use electricity as necessary

        • Platomus@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          Where did I say any of that?

          I’m not arguing for good or bad anything. What do you think this conversation is?

          Reread this discussion. I was exclusively talking about how it’s blatantly obvious that a tunnel with water to chill air is more natural than an AC unit - and you’re pretending to not understand that.

          Stop trying to fight and we wouldn’t be taking past each other.

          OP didn’t even say one was worse or better. He just said to look for lower maintenance and energy use. And again - that’s blatantly obvious between an AC unit and a TUNNEL WITH WATER.

          • tias
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            11 months ago

            I’m not claiming you said anything was good or bad. The very top comment, which is what I responded to, said “we should really use natural technology first amd supplement it with artificial technology”. That’s not your comment. And then you got into the discussion with all these non-answers to my question, implying that something is “blatantly obvious” instead of actually answering my simple question. It only needed to be a single plain answer, but here we are knee-deep in noise and passive-aggressive attacks.

            • Platomus@lemm.ee
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              11 months ago

              Can you honestly not tell which is more natural between an AC UNIT and a TUNNEL WITH WATER? You really can’t tell?

              P.S. You 100% said I was arguing that electricity was bad.

              You: “So, electricity is unnatural and hence bad? Is that the point being made here?”

              • tias
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                11 months ago

                Again, in that instance I wasn’t talking about what you are arguing. The only thing I’ve wanted to find out since the beginning of this discussion is what the original comment meant. This isn’t about you.

                And no, to me “natural” means created by nature and “artificial” means created by humans. So neither is natural. But that’s not relevant because we’re not talking about my definition of natural. We’re talking about what they meant.

                Do you not see that my whole point of asking is to understand the other person’s view instead of adding my own assumptions? That words do not mean exactly the same thing for everyone? I don’t know why this makes you so upset. Is it bad to try to understand the other person’s ideas before arguing about them?

                • Platomus@lemm.ee
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                  11 months ago

                  I’ve never seen someone other than my middle school students resist critical thinking this hard.

                  My first comment was asking you what you THOUGHT THEY meant. And you said I don’t know. You couldn’t even try to work it out? When it’s blatantly obvious. When they even explained it in their comment? They literally outlined what they wanted in their comment. Why did you ignore that part of it to focus on natural vs unnatural?

                  You’re also already arguing about them - even after you said you don’t know. Its getting real fucking obvious you’re just looking for a fight. That’s why you had to push an argument onto me - that you then pretended you didn’t do.

                  • tias
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                    11 months ago

                    Yikes. Putting someone this rigid and unempathetic in a teaching position makes me worried for society. These kind of values are what makes people polarized and unable to understand one another. It’s the opposite of what we need right now.

                    You’ve gone to doing exactly what I was trying not to do with OP, i.e. to put words in my mouth. Somehow you now think your assumptions about what I meant are more valid than what I say I meant. I don’t see a point in continuing this conversation since I’d just be a hostage to your interpretations. Bye.

            • Platomus@lemm.ee
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              11 months ago

              I want to to write out, so it’s in a permanent record on your account that you don’t know which one of those two is more natural.

              Copy and paste this if you truly can’t tell: “I, tias, have no clue what’s more natural - an AC Unit or a tunnel with water.”

              Because that’s what you’re saying right? You can’t tell right?