this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2025
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.

Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Which demonstrates why IGNORance can never be eliminated

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That is a hasty conclusion.

It can by eliminated via a meditation technique. The Buddhists call it vipassana.

It, like "paying attention", is a thing that you can do with your attention.

Yes, there are actually 2 things that you can do with your attention. The directing/focussing/concentrating etc of "paying attention" is just one of them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No meditation can enable the concious mind to be aware of all things everywhere. Always, something is ignored.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I have not yet encountered any hard limits.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Really? Next time you're meditating, take a look at what I'm doing IRL and then afterwards, come back here and post a description. Please include my residential address for confirmation.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

I can't today, but maybe tomorrow. Like I said, no hard limits yet.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 days ago (3 children)

There's a famous video (I think there are actually multiple ones with a similar concept) where you're asked to count the number of basketball passes and while you're counting, you don't notice a moonwalking bear

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Think it was a guy in a gorilla suit, but yeah

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

I think there were multiple versions of it, one with a gorilla and one with a bear

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Wowwwww I remember this was soooo popular when I was in highschool, was forwarded via email to everyone.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I believe it.

Replace "number of basketball passes" with the dozen really important things that we all must pay attention to as adult members of our modern society.

Replace "moonwalking bear" with the various species of ghost, elf, pixie, fairy, spirit and little people reported in ancient literature.

In stage magic they call it "misdirection". I suspect that it comprises the backbone of our reality.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

That’s why they calling “paying” attention. Like money, attention is a limited resource.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

That makes sense.

I think that the biggest thing about paying attention and ignoring is the invisibleness of habitual ignoring. You could have an entire skyscraper of habitual ignoring, rendering an entire universe invisible, and never know it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

When you ignore a thing it disappears. Like, you stop seeing it. It disappears from your reality.

Paying attention / ignoring can become a habit.

And habits are basically invisible. So if you had a bunch of attention-controlling habits, slicing and dicing your reality like this, you'd never know it.

In all probability this is the case.

So there could be a thousand elves and ghosts dancing around and you'd never know it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

That's why my dad bought a sports car

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Yes. Which is why there's enough cases of parents forgetting kids in the car to make it a visible issue.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And then there was ADD brain. If only...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

What are you talking about?

(I'm a sperg. Or post-sperg. I meditate a lot)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Yeah, if politics does it, it's called a "distraction".