Hate for Wikipedia comes from a few places.

The first and most important is that most people who have tried to edit Wikipedia have their first edit reverted, usually with good reason, because they don’t understand the procedures and policies. Unfortunately these procedures and policies are what maintains high quality.

Related is news articles and blogs about edit wars and less frequently that an article or group of articles is genuinely captured by one volunteer who will protect their own little fiefdoms and not allow anyone else to edit them. This happens but it’s pretty uncommon and the structure of Wikipedia means that it only really stands on fairly obscure articles.

It’s also true that Wikipedia does have an inherent western liberal bias. It’s subtle but it is there and results from the fact that for the majority of Wikipedia editors western liberalism is the water they swim in. Any claim that is counter to this ideology needs to be cited up the wazoo whereas claims that are confidant with it will often slide without citation. Those with a strong attachment to an alternative ideology often find it infuriating.

Finally there are individuals who would rather have the arbiter of truth be the powerful rather than a relatively democratic institution.

All that said Wikipedia is a remarkable achievement and an invaluable part of the internet.

Unfortunately a lot of sites have ditched support for RSS over the past 10 years requiring tedious work arounds if you can get it to work at all.

I hope it can make a comeback but I’m dubious.

We need to start letting people and organisations know that this isn’t acceptable. I’ve been guilty of just using an anonymous account or letting it slide but having a mailing list is not much effort for example, honestly having a basic website is pretty cheap and easy.

The Socratic method is used extensively in medical training to the point that I think most doctors wouldn’t think of it as the Socratic method but rather just as the way you speak to students and trainees.

I can’t imagine how it could work in a lecture hall, it’s best used one on one or at most small groups.

Someone told this to workers at a cafe I go to occasionally. They don’t usually have a particularly long wait which makes it seem insincere and a little ridiculous.

That’s what we call damning with faint praise

To be clear it has become popular as a substitute for (or adjunct to) smoking. As a quitting aid it isn’t especially effective, even if slightly more effective than NRT.

I must say in my practice I haven’t seen anyone quit using vapes, it just becomes a substitute.

Thankyou, I have been relying on an article I read several years ago, which in my memory was Cochrane also, I may be able to track it down. Turns out I’m out of date on that stat.

I stand by it having uncertain long term consequences when other forms of NRT are proven safe.

Vaping is about as effective as a quitting aid as other nicotine replacement methods but with an as yet undefined long term risk profile.

Buy them some gum or patches instead.

He leaves office to use his fortune to set up a charitable foundation leaving a JD Vance presidency

a chill person who knows how to find absurdity in a situation

I really like this definition. Being literally able to sense the humour in a situation

While I think that legalisation, or at least decriminalisation, for personal use is probably the right policy decision I agree with Elton to a degree.

Currently there is a fairly well established cultural belief at least in English speaking countries that marijuana is not addictive, not dangerous to health, and not problematic at all.

The belief that marijuana is largely harmless persists despite the fact that we all know people who smoke excessively to the point of making their lives worse and if they come to this realisation they find it incredibly difficult to stop.

Criminalisation of marijuana, especially combined with over policing of specific communities as occurred in the USA, is a disaster. But not recognising the very real harms that marijuana does to some peoples lives is also a disaster.

I think the debate on this issue is blown out of proportion.

First, giving a small amount of money to someone in need is a very direct and human act of compassion which makes it worthwhile, if you gift someone money it is their prerogative what they do with it and the idea that it is harmful is blown out of proportion.

Second, giving money to a local charity is also worthwhile, if you don’t feel comfortable for whatever reason.

The idea that one approach is good and the other is actively bad is at best a distraction and at worst an excuse to do nothing at all

The fact is that even in Australia, which by world standards has a not bad safety net, it is not possible for most people to get crisis housing and waiting lists for public housing are rarely less than 6 months, welfare payments can be cut off for trivial reasons and public mental health services are overwhelmed. These are the problems that successive governments have refused to tackle.

If you can make someone’s day with a small gift then please do.

I’m sad to say I have no advice for you but I feel for you, it must be a very hard time. Don’t be afraid to lean on those close to you for support.

Respectfully, I am very confident you are misreading this situation. The thought patterns displayed in the original post are almost textbook typical of major depression and would be extremely atypical of someone who is a genuine emotional manipulator.

Other posts here have given genuine good advice, unfortunately I have to agree that while I am sure you are well meaning, you are being quite unhelpful here.

Apricots, upside down pears, Easter eggs, those teeny tiny sealed shot glasses of UHT milk you get in hotels, those big marbles we used to call Tom bowlers in primary school, eye balls, a large toy ant(assuming 6 holes in the holder rather than 12, otherwise 2 large toy ants)

The possibilities are endless!!!

This is true, an egg won’t last long unrefrigerated after its opened ;)

It’s not a bad measure but I don’t think it’s the best, I’m currently working my way through Spirit Level and so I think some measure like the Gini coefficient would be important.

I think that median income, Gini coefficient, poverty rate and something like the human development index would give a decent overall picture. I don’t think a single metric really does the job.

In much the same way that almost no one has perfect physical health, almost no one has perfect mental health.

You don’t need to be a complete wreck to be able to benefit from paying attention to your mental wellness.

Eating well, regular exercise, mindfulness, forgiveness, good sleep practices are all worth practicing whether you feel unwell or not.

I’m a huge advocate of gardening. It gets you outdoors and active, gives a sense of achievement, you learn and improve over time, it’s popular enough that you can get involved in a community, if you’re growing veg it promotes healthy eating.

It should be mandatory.