Gn

Seasnon 2, Episode 4 - Joe Pera Guides You Through the Dark

Seattle gay pride March led by literal children.

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"Smoke signals?!?! Keep your city slicker high tech nonsense outta here,eh... Fuggin guy"

We are in an era of rapid urbanization. More than 83% of Americans now live in Urbania, and the world’s urban population has grown from 30% of the total in 1950 to 55%, and is projected to continue growing to 68% by 2050. So, it's worth examining whether this trend aligns with human nature. Contrary to what we might expect based on the trend, the two prevailing metaphysical frameworks of Western thought—Christian theology and scientific materialism—both understand human nature in a manner which suggests that people would find greater fulfillment in less populated areas rather than urban centers.

Christian theology presents God's intention for humanity in the Genesis narrative. The Garden of Eden represents humanity's ideal habitat, where direct communion with God and nature was possible. The subsequent development of cities, epitomized by the Tower of Babel, is a departure from this divine plan. Thus, less populated settings offer a way to reconnect with God's original design for human flourishing.

Evolutionary science corroborates this view. According to modern scientific theories, humans evolved in natural, sparsely populated environments for the majority of our species' existence. Our physiology, psychology, and social structures were shaped by life in small groups within natural landscapes. Cities, with their high population densities and artificial environments, represent a significant deviation from the conditions that shaped our species. This mismatch contributes to the well documented lower life satisfaction among urban peoples.

Both perspectives converge on key points. Non-urban areas more closely resemble our natural habitat, resonating with our innate preferences and biological needs. Less populated regions also align better with our cognitive capacity for social interactions, as suggested by the theory of Dunbar's number—the idea that humans can comfortably maintain about 5 loved ones, 15 good friends, 50 friends, 150 stable relationships, 500 acquaintances, and 1,500 people they recognize. Our natural capacities are more closely aligned with life in small communities rather than the overwhelming social complexity of large cities.

Additionally, from both viewpoints, the slower pace of life in rural areas is more conducive to human well-being. Scientifically, it better suits our circadian rhythms and stress response systems, which evolved without constant artificial stimulation. Theologically, it allows for more contemplative time and a closer connection to the natural world, which is a means of communing with the divine.

The mass migration to cities in recent centuries raises questions about its underlying motivations. It's probable that many individuals moving to urban areas are not consciously engaging with questions of human nature or metaphysical frameworks. Economic opportunities and cultural attractions may overshadow deeper considerations about what environment truly suits human flourishing.

This disconnect between our metaphysical heritage—both religious and materialist—and contemporary urban living patterns challenges our notion of progress. What we often call "progress" in terms of urbanization is, in fact, at odds with our fundamental nature and well-being. The trend towards urbanization isn't progress, it's a march towards a degraded way of living that goes against and even violates our very nature as human beings.

Gn

Season 2, Episode 5 - Joe Pera Takes You to the Grocery Store

What cool footage!

UP rap videos are the best rap videos.

Gn

Season 2, Episode 6 - Joe Pera Goes to Dave Wojcek's Bachelor Party with You

But if I don't make six figures, how will I be able to afford...

*Checks notes*

Height boosting surgery that cripples you?

Gm

I fish because I love to; because I love the evirons where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly; because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape; because in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience; because I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip; because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters; because only in the woods can I find solitude without lonliness; because bourbon out of an old tin cup always tastes better out there; because maybe one day I'll catch a mermaid; and, finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are eqally unimportant-and not nearly so much fun.

- Robert Traver

Tfw a headline makes me feel like a centrist... Weird.

Purposefully showing up 10 minutes late is a sign of terrible character and folks who do that should be publicly flogged.

Having "zero tolerance" is stupid. On rare occasions, things happen that give valid reason for lateness. Tardiness is a problem when it becomes a pattern.

Clocks are a mistake
Return to sundials
(theyre cheaper)

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

- Matthew 6:24-34

Nobody tell them...