A quotation from Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Categorizing is necessary for humans, but it becomes pathological when the category is seen as definitive, preventing people from considering the fuzziness of boundaries, let alone revising their categories.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
The Black Swan, Part 1, ch. 1 “The Apprenticeship of an Empirical Skeptic” (2007)
Sourcing, notes: wist.info/taleb-nassim-nichola…
Why do people DM me instead of responding to to my posts? For the record and such, I would rather people not DM me. In fact, I would rather hear from you or you or you in public... a DM from someone I have never met presumes too much... let's not presume...
It's Monday. Hope y'all are having a day! ("Have a good day" seems like a lot of pressure in these times.)
I wrote a thing about
euphemism
the Left
doge
Musk
the destruction of the commons
and trauma.
Here's the first part:
the Lack in the Left
https://courtcan.com/2025/04/10/the-lack-in-the-left/
#euphemism
#theLeft
#doge
#ElonMusk
#theOther
#theLack
#thePublic
#theCommons
#trauma
#boundaries
The #Planetary #Boundaries framework indicates that humanity has transgressed multiple critical Earth system processes, placing us outside of a safe operating space.
Recent studies show that a majority of the nine planetary boundaries, including those related to climate change and biodiversity loss, are now exceeded, increasing the risk of irreversible environmental changes.
These might look #lazy, but are actually reasonable strategies:
- resist pointless #tasks to create time for deep thinking,
- set #boundaries at work to avoid #burnout,
- say “no” to tasks, resisting that we should always strive to #produce more,
- automate #repetitive tasks to free up time for #creative tasks.
https://theconversation.com/why-being-lazy-at-work-might-actually-be-a-good-thing-248955
Some people are so _poisonous_ that not even understanding them is an effective _antidote_.
(3 of 3) Your #relationships should uplift you, not drain you. Choose connections that nourish your soul.
You can be #assertive and #kind simultaneously when you address concerns like these.
A considerate and Emotionally Intelligent friend will respect and understand you (they may not agree with you) and they will try their best to accommodate!
I want to hear from you. How are you protecting your peace? What boundaries have you set? Share your wisdom in the comments! Let’s create a community of empowered individuals.
#Friendship #Boundaries
“Along the Line: Writing with comics and graphic narrative in geography”.
NEW BOOK out soon with EPFL Press, the result of my long & slow border walk, archival work, and painstaking drawing. Will be available open access & direct from the publisher. Distributed internationally from September via Chicago University Press.
(My comic “Bornées”, published in French, was first written in English)
What to do if bullying? Try consistent boundaries
1. do not writhe or waver. (Movement attracts the bully)
2. do not attempt to appease. (Any offer is interpreted as weakness and obtains thrust)
3. flee to a safe position that you could hold with support
4. then stand still. Set limits on how others treat you. Affirm boundaries (The bully will redirect attacks eventually)
5. connect: turn to a trusted person, reach out only to someone you feel well about
6. offer backing, foster, become accomplice, enjoy
Some of you probably know I'm in the process of poking at how I, er, relate to relationships (using that term broadly here).
As part of that work, I'm coming up with a list of relationship boundaries. These are the sorts of things I would expect anyone more than an acquaintance to respect if they want to interact with me. Some of these things are common sense: respecting my autonomy, no tolerance for abuse, that sort of thing. Others are tied to my identities: being a few different types of queer means I don't approach relationships like most people. Yet others are practical: I'm married, so my wife gets a say in a lot of legal/financial decisions pertaining to me. These are just a few examples, not a complete list of what I've come up with so far.
I'm curious: What are some things you would put on your list of boundaries for relationships?
A straightforward online tool generates a GeoJSON file of any administrative polygon derived from OSM data #boundaries
@spamned -- If you look closely, the thing that binds this all together are #Boundaries
And if you haven't been keeping up, it has been proven that trauma is linked to virtually all mental illness.
And mental health across the board is linked to boundaries.
If I could help non disabled people understand one thing about being disabled, it would be how important maintaining a baseline is.
When you’re chronically ill, your baseline is everything.
Even minor setbacks can be catastrophic, so we have to do a risk analysis before literally ANY activity
If you’re asking a disabled person to use valuable spoons… be prepared to hear “No”.
It’s not because they’re rude or they don’t like you or they’re “not trying enough”.
It’s because they know their body and they’ve assessed the risk of a setback to be too high.
When this happens, please respect their choice.
Imagine how hard it would be for you to constantly have to say “No” to people.
To pass up fun activities because you know you need to prioritize a medical appointment or things like cooking and cleaning.
That’s our reality. We’re working with such a small amount of resources that we have nothing extra to spare.
Boundary setting is incredibly hard, don’t make it harder for us by gaslighting and guilting us.
It’s impossible to understand until you go through it, so please take us at our word.
We’re the ones who suffer the setback. The ones who lose hard earned gains when we push too hard.
Support us, believe us, and let us say “No”
#Acceptance is the greatest gift we give ourselves, and full self-love as a #TransgenderWoman also means appropriate #boundaries to our lives. Read Stephanie's story on #GenderIdentityToday:
Breaking up is never easy, but attempting to weaponize guilt after I've clearly and honestly explained my reasons?
That's emotional manipulation, plain and simple.
When someone shares their authentic feelings and rationale for ending a relationship, the respectful response is to listen - not to try making them feel worse.
My boundaries are valid. My feelings are valid. And guilt-tripping is never an acceptable response to honest communication.
A later in life lesson but if I do anything this year it'll be to set way more #boundaries
No one is going to protect your baseline the way you will.
No one else has to live with the consequences of a setback. No one knows how it feels to be inside your body, coping with constant pain and fatigue.
So no one has the right to tell you what you can and can’t do.
The holidays can be a difficult time for folks dealing with chronic illness - because we’re often expected to put on a smile & push our bodies for the comfort of others.
Never forget that you get to set your own boundaries.
Tips for holiday season 
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/a-chronic-illness-christmas
EVERY SINGLE DAY in parenting groups, I see posts that say "[family member] knowingly exposed us to an illness! What do I do?"
We literally learned AN ENTIRE SET OF SKILLS FOR HOW TO HANDLE THIS DURING A MULTI-YEAR PANDEMIC THAT NEVER ENDED.
But now that everyone is "back to normal," I guess they have amnesia about masks, pods, and explicit conversations about illness and exposures?
Fae of the Starlight 
