RE: https://wandering.shop/@cstross/116126128460258409

Please tell me this is a THEY HAVE PLAYED US FOR ABSOLUTE FOOLS meme?

Because if not, I DEMAND a refund for this goddamn century (it is brain-damaged, probably from hitting itself in the face with a hammer)

@cstross I have no words. 💀🔨
@cstross when Pterry came up with retrophrenology, he gave people too much credit.

@cstross I'm sorry, but the Millenialists were Right.

The world ended at Midnight 1999-12-31, or 2000-01-01T00:00:00.666Z.

I'd say you have to blame the Empire, but you may very well have already done so.

@cstross didn't Terry Pratchett invent this? "Reverse Phrenology", get a bump here for a more confident personality.

@cstross

*blinks*

I’m out.

@cstross Are you betting *against* people being stupid and self-destructive? I mean, that's a thing you can do but I'm not entirely sure that's a bet I'd ever take.
@cstross Seems like classic 4chan "manufactured internet trend" that got traction IRL.
They should all try the "Jake Paul" method of jaw realignment.

@cstross

Sadly, sounds entirely too plausible. A friend's teen niece underwent very expensive* cosmetic surgery to extend her jaw to "look better" bc she had wanted to be an actor from an early age with "a deep & abiding passion." (Wound up ditching that career path & going into law instead.)

DIY seems a not unlikely modern development...?

(Yes: definitely a cursed timeline.)

* & surprisingly to them traumatic; I mean, based on the description, it would •of course• have been traumatic...??

@cstross

Biology will let you grow lumps on a bone surface if you hit it hard enough---but not so hard that the surface cells die. Then you could create a pit. ☠️

@cstross last century gave us trepanning with power drills so I'm not sure humanity is all that different
@cstross this is a thing, the looksmaxxing stuff is very big with some kids in my teenager's class and it comes up in our conversations a lot. It overlaps with a lot of social anxiety and body dysphoria stuff.
@cstross this is a thing, the looksmaxxing stuff is very big with some kids in my teenager's class and it comes up in our conversations a lot. It overlaps with a lot of social anxiety and body dysphoria stuff.
@heretohinder @cstross That's horrifying!

@GinevraCat @cstross It's definitely worrying, but think it's more of the usual rightwing on ramp stuff that is now something you just have to look out for as a parent.

The extreme online folk are doing what amounts to self-inflicted plastic surgery, but that's not accessible to followers for the most part. You just have to help kids avoid getting sucked into the alternative reality, and help them find healthy ways to get past the insecurities that the influencers try to exploit.

@cstross
This reality is too unrealistic, I want my money back.

@cstross

here's some context about the world of looksmaxxing (it's all heinous)

https://soundcloud.com/qanonanonymous/the-brutal-framemogging-of

The Brutal Framemogging of Clavicular (E360)

Liv is back this week with the latest update in looksmaxxing content, specifically, the rise of Clavicular - a 20 year old self help influencer that has become a prominent figure in the world of the f

SoundCloud
@cstross now i am hearing “Bonesmashing” to the song “Night Clubbing” as sung by Iggy Pop
@MedeaVanamonde @cstross Similar for me, but I'm getting it to the tune of 'Seal Clubbing' by Half Man half Biscuit!!!
@cstross It is a phrase that if you look closely you can see an anagram for morons

@cstross The kind of plastic surgery that alters your bone structure isn't cheap.

People do self-destructive things for status, and it works, just because it proves they can survive it.

@graydon I could certainly give it a bash. Half price.

@cstross

@graydon @cstross I remember my American dentist complaining about when she used to work on a marine base and it was considered the manly thing to do to refuse anesthetic when having teeth drilled or extracted.

@cstross Maybe looksmashing is a craving brought on my reading the news. I’ve sure felt like I got hit in the head by a hammer some days.

It’s a workaround until nanotech lets us program our morphology.

@cstross Next up, autotrepanation.

@cstross Given what people have done in the past, I'm not gonna dismiss this as a hoax or joke offhand. I'm just going to hope it's a self-correcting trend.

"You know how stupid the average person is? Well, by definition half of 'em are stupider than that."

@cstross I blame brain damage from repeated COVID infections.

Err, no, you're doing facepalming the wrong way...

@cstross I'm not sure how to feel about this - with something this desperate, there has to be some degree of body dysmorphia in play...

... or maybe I am overthinking it and "looksmaxxers" really are just stupid.

@ratsnakegames @cstross

Third option: the assholes that run social media algorithms don't stop them from boosting self destructive shit because they're conducting class warfare against the proles?

@cstross Frankly I am sad. I already ordered the tennis shoes and 1-piece suit. I also put an online order for a 10mx10m print of 3I/ATLAS with the words: "I am ready. Take me home." And have begun my fasting eating nothing but small pebbles and bone broth boiled with rusty hammers.

Why do people have to keep playing with our emotional ontology?

@cstross Looksmaxing? Hmm, I need my lawyers to look into this trend for possible copyright infringement due to my "invention" of walking into door frames and low hanging beams over the years (due to my autistic proprioception issues) resulting in a process I call Looksminning .

It's far too similar to be a coincidence 🤔 😉

I often get mistaken for Sloth from the Goonies ;)

@cstross It's so depressing; Da yoof of Today! Not satisfied with a 2x4 with a nail through it like we were when I were a lad...🤣
@cstross
Uh!?? Words fail me.
@cstross
I've always said if you see someone hitting themselves in the face with a hammer just step away, the problem will take care of itself. This was meant figuratively. Hyperbole. It was not intended as real-life advice ..
@cstross jesus christ!!! i want to disbelieve people do this to themselves… and also vote for a refund
@cstross
I couldn't find this in my saved screenshots, but I found it on the internet again: