Well, you see, here’s the thing. Chinese proverbs—let’s talk about that for a second. You hear people saying, “Oh, the wisdom of the East! Look at the deep knowledge embedded in these simple phrases.” But, really, we have to ask ourselves, "How valid is that?" Is this just some collectivist artifact? Because, and I mean this seriously, the Chinese culture, at least historically, has been dominated by this top-down hierarchical thinking. It’s all about fitting in, about the harmonious whole. Well, harmony is good to a point, but, if you go too far, it’s stifling. It can become an enforced conformity, where the individual voice, the spark of real insight, gets crushed under the weight of collective expectation.
Now, I’m not saying all Chinese proverbs are without merit, but you have to consider the underlying structure they come from. It’s like, “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” Okay, so what’s the message here? Don’t strive? Don’t excel? Just blend in? I mean, I could get that advice from a bureaucrat in the Soviet Union, too, right? And it’d have the same problem. It’s inherently anti-individual, anti-exceptionalism. It’s saying, “Don’t rock the boat.” But, sometimes, the boat needs to be rocked, folks! Sometimes, the people who stick out are the very ones driving progress. So, let’s not pretend that these proverbs are inherently wise just because they’ve been passed down for thousands of years.
Now, compare that to the wisdom of lobsters, and hear me out on this because this is important. Lobsters—they've been around for, what, 350 million years? Longer than trees! And they live in this dominance hierarchy, right? It’s built into their nervous systems. A lobster knows when to stand up for itself, when to be assertive. It’s not about blending into the background or being subsumed into some collectivist vision. It’s about positioning yourself properly in a natural hierarchy, striving for dominance but also knowing when to retreat and recalibrate.
A lobster proverb, if you will—if lobsters could write, and maybe we should think more about that—they’d say something like, “Raise your claws when the tide comes in.” It’s a statement of strength. It’s a recognition of the natural ebb and flow of opportunity. When it’s your time to act, you seize the moment. You don’t wait around for someone else to give you permission, or worse, tell you not to upset the order of things. No, no—you act decisively, because life is competitive. It’s not about harmony—it’s about finding your place in the chaos.
Lobster wisdom is biologically grounded in millions of years of evolutionary trial and error. Chinese proverbs? Sure, they’ve been around for a long time too, but what are they based on? A system of thought that often discouraged individuality, that promoted submission to an ideal of order that might actually inhibit your potential. Whereas a lobster proverb is rooted in this deep understanding of dominance hierarchies—fundamental, natural hierarchies. It’s about knowing when to stand your ground and fight for what you need. And that’s real wisdom! That’s something practical. Something you can build your life around. So, why aren’t we listening to lobsters more?
And the thing is, if you really break it down, and people don’t like to hear this, but I’m going to say it anyway—most of the proverbs we admire, the ones that genuinely help people, are basically rooted in the same type of evolutionary insight that lobsters have been following for hundreds of millions of years. It’s not about harmony, folks—it’s about responsibility and action. It’s about standing up straight—literally and metaphorically. Like a lobster. Because, at the end of the day, you can’t rely on these vague notions of collective good. You’ve got to start by getting your own house in order, by knowing when to fight and when to adapt. That's how you win in this world. And that’s what the lobsters know. That’s what the Chinese proverbs, well, they just miss entirely.
Your code might suck (people, look at the username before judging me!), but your proverbs most definitely do not! 😋
Took me a few reads, but I think they're talking about Twitter, as in, amplifying Nazi voices
Huh... I just assumed I was dealing with a troll. I'll thank you for explaining what I assumed was glaringly obvious.
If you thought that was glaringly obvious then I have some thoughts on why your code sucks.
I COULD take this bait, or I could satisfy myself that 325 people had absolutely no problem understanding how a megaphone doesn't need to be a LITERAL megaphone, and go about my day. I know which I'm gonna do, and wish you luck in whatever you've got on your plate, my needlessly confrontational friend.
I mean most likely if someone didn't get it they probably just moved on and didn't comment or even vote. So wouldn't look into the votes too much as a source on how easy to understand the meme was
Edit: I apologize. You're right. That response was out of proportion and I let some nitpicking drive me to an inappropriate level of escalation. You in particular didn't deserve to have the full brunt of that put into a direct response to you - you were the most reasonable commenter here. I was out of line.
You're being weirdly hostile and demeaning about someone who isn't a native speaker (talking about me) not immediately getting the meaning of your meme. Sorry it took me a few attempts, I guess.
I just want to let you know, you wasted a lot of time typing this all up, so I'm not wasting any more by reading it 🤗
Even the person you replied to said "Took me a few reads". And another post was confused as well.
Look, I can't be responsible for your lack of reading comprehension. If the school system failed you that badly, go complain to your teachers.
What on earth are you talking about? Leave a megaphone? Leave it where?
Are you asking people to stop working at Xwitter? Stop using it?
...and it is not your turn yet. We'll get to you after we're finished with this customer.
