Dear Americans (eclipse related)

Wisdom · August 21, 2017

Remember that if you are in the path to view a full eclipse today you have "eclipse privilege". As a person with "eclipse privilege" it is very insensitive to post photos of the eclipse as it makes those of us with "eclipse deficiencies" feel otherised and alienated. For the sake of inclusivity you should not post photos or express any joy about the eclipse at all!!
Proper etiquette in this case actually requires you to look directly at the eclipse to intentionally blind yourself as to express solidarity with us marginalized people, who through no fault of our own are also "blind" to the eclipse.
I know many of you will not take this step because of your ingrained bigotry and hatred which only proves that we have so far to go as a society still.....

joxer · August 21, 2017

Wait… You saying someone never saw an eclipse before and now the hell will break lose with pics of a mundane visual effect?
Geez. Am I seriously that old?

Caddy · August 21, 2017

Something something latest LGBT racism feminism satire clickbait something something Trump spam.

Wisdom · August 21, 2017

Caddy said:
Something something latest LGBT racism feminism satire clickbait something something Trump spam.

Close but not quite. Not sure how everything relates to Trump right now. But everything else is right

Lucky Day · August 22, 2017

I didn't see any eclipse. It was too dark and when I tried to check it out all I saw was this big green blotch that hurt my eyes. In fact, that's all I can still see.

Caddy · August 22, 2017

Lucky Day said:
I didn't see any eclipse. It was too dark and when I tried to check it out all I saw was this big green blotch that hurt my eyes. In fact, that's all I can still see.

104664803-RTS1CPFG-trump-eclipse.530x298.jpg

NewDArt · August 22, 2017

Someone please explain why things getting a bit dark is somehow more interesting here than any other day.

I mean, have you considered just standing outside at night?

If that's not good enough, may I recommend a pair of cheap sunglasses. The effect should be very similar.

pibbur who · August 22, 2017

NewDArt said:
Someone please explain why things getting a bit dark is somehow more interesting here than any other day.

I mean, have you considered just standing outside at night?

If that's not good enough, may I recommend a pair of cheap sunglasses. The effect should be very similar.

OK, if I understand you correctly, for you it's just about things getting a bit dark. Fine. But I guess that for others what's interesting is mainly the moon covering the sun.

pibbur who sadly won't see a total eclipse in Norway unless he lives to the age of 143 years.

PS. Mr Trump can, and rightly, so be criticized for a lot of things. But making how he initially looked at the eclipse a media issue is a bit far fetched, methinks. DS.

NewDArt · August 22, 2017

pibbur who said:
OK, if I understand you correctly, for you it's just about things getting a bit dark. Fine. But I guess that for others what's interesting is mainly the moon covering the sun.

pibbur who sadly won't see a total eclipse in Norway unless he lives to the age of 143 years.

For me it's absolutely nothing. I'm trying to figure out why it's interesting to other people.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when the moon covers the sun, it gets a bit dark as well, right?

I'm genuinely curious why that's more interesting than when the Earth rotates to much the same effect.

Is it interesting in itself that another object is blocking the sun? I mean, for the layman?

SirJames · August 22, 2017

In laymans terms,

The gods are angry and have taken away the sun. Without it the crops will not grow and it will become very cold. We need the sun to survive.

I will commune with the gods on your behalf, but I expect sacrifices will have to be made. The gods are very angry and you have been very bad.

pibbur who · August 22, 2017

NewDArt said:
For me it's absolutely nothing…

Ok.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when the moon covers the sun, it gets a bit dark as well, right?

Yes.

I'm genuinely curious why that's more interesting than when the Earth rotates to much the same effect.

Because it's a rare event (locally). Good enough for me.

Is it interesting in itself that another object is blocking the sun? I mean, for the layman?

For many it is. Definitely for me.

pibbur who is interested in astronomy and by this decides he has explained himself with nothing more to say about the issue.

NewDArt · August 22, 2017

pibbur who said:
Because it's a rare event locally. Good enough for me.

Oh, so it's the rarity of the event and not the event itself.

Sort of like the value of gold being higher than other chemical elements of limited practical use. See, I never understood that either

Seems like it's just a choice someone made that others agreed with for no particular reason.

I rarely agree with things that I can't make sense of. That's just me, though.

pibbur who is interested in astronomy and by this decides he has explained himself with nothing more to say about the issue.

It's not an interrogation. I was merely curious if you actually had an explanation that made sense

Being interested in astronomy makes it seem somewhat less strange - but I doubt that's the case for all the people going out of their way to see this.

SirJames · August 22, 2017

NewDArt said:
Someone please explain why things getting a bit dark is somehow more interesting here than any other day.

I mean, have you considered just standing outside at night?

If that's not good enough, may I recommend a pair of cheap sunglasses. The effect should be very similar.

I mean, really, this is one of the most obnoxious things you've ever said.

Myrthos · August 22, 2017

It is different from the evening, it is probably more like dusk, but the moon gets a nice halo, which is a nice sight. And it is a bit of a unique experience as it does'nt happen that often. And as with everything that doesn't happen to often it attracts a lot of people. I suppose people are triggered by things that are a bit unique and go out of their way to experience it themselves.
I would like to take pictures of the event, but not so much that I would travel the distance to see one.

pibbur who · August 22, 2017

NewDArt said:
....

I was going to say something, but Myrthos said it better.

pibbur

NewDArt · August 22, 2017

Myrthos said:
It is different from the evening, it is probably more like dusk, but the moon gets a nice halo, which is a nice sight. And it is a bit of a unique experience as it does'nt happen that often. And as with everything that doesn't happen to often it attracts a lot of people. I suppose people are triggered by things that are a bit unique and go out of their way to experience it themselves.
I would like to take pictures of the event, but not so much that I would travel the distance to see one.

I've never seen one myself - and the halo effect sounds interesting.

If it happened locally, I would probably check it out - because it wouldn't require an effort.

But I genuinely do not understand the appeal or what seems to be a somewhat hyperbolic interest.

Mostly a response to this being on the news for something like 3 days straight. I'm just sitting there wondering….. why?

My own personal estimation is that it's just an excuse to do something different - which I can certainly understand. I guess I just think coming up with an excuse to have a bit of fun is pretty easy - and shouldn't rely on rare astronomical events. But then, maybe it doesn't - and this is just one excuse among many

Unless, of course, you have a real interest in the astronomical nature of the event.

Pladio · August 22, 2017

I think there are several factors involved which add to up to something more.

If we remove the people who are genuinely interested in astronomy from the discussion as they are already doing more than the average Joe, the main points of interest can be summarised as follows (imo):

- Rare event: Total eclipses happen rarely. If you do not travel to see them, you are unlikely to see more than one in your lifetime --> Making this a unique experience.
- Unlike partial eclipses, which happen more often, the entirety of the sun will be blocked from view, except the halo, which in reality are the sun's flares and corona and cannot be seen with the naked eye.
- Some believe this is a beautiful event and do not care about the astronomy thereof
- Otherworldly experience: Having an eclipse is not exactly the same as nightfall as it happens in the middle of the day and makes it seems surreal
- Historically believe people believe eclipses to be omens. It still makes the experience interesting to understand why some ancient civilisations would believe dragons ate the sun during eclipses and the way to do it is to see one happen.

Those are some of the reasons I could think of. I am sure there are others, but I think what makes this special is the combination of two or more of the above.

NewDArt · August 22, 2017

Pladio said:
I think there are several factors involved which add to up to something more.

If we remove the people who are genuinely interested in astronomy from the discussion as they are already doing more than the average Joe, the main points of interest can be summarised as follows (imo):

- Rare event: Total eclipses happen rarely. If you do not travel to see them, you are unlikely to see more than one in your lifetime --> Making this a unique experience.
- Unlike partial eclipses, which happen more often, the entirety of the sun will be blocked from view, except the halo, which in reality are the sun's flares and corona and cannot be seen with the naked eye.
- Some believe this is a beautiful event and do not care about the astronomy thereof
- Otherworldly experience: Having an eclipse is not exactly the same as nightfall as it happens in the middle of the day and makes it seems surreal
- Historically believe people believe eclipses to be omens. It still makes the experience interesting to understand why some ancient civilisations would believe dragons ate the sun during eclipses and the way to do it is to see one happen.

Those are some of the reasons I could think of. I am sure there are others, but I think what makes this special is the combination of two or more of the above.

You could very well be right about all of those.

To me, it's like listening to someone talk about the virtues of fine wine.

I mean, there HAS to be a reason people pay thousands of dollars for certain bottles of wine - and I have to accept that they really think the taste can justify that price.

But, I'm also reasonably certain it's just beyond me. Something my brain can't quite decipher in terms of the effort involved versus the reward I can expect to receive.

On the other hand, I love a good sunrise or sunset - for instance. The beauty of those are magnificent.

Maybe this eclipse is similarly beautiful. That would sort of make sense - though I could never see myself travelling far to experience it

To me, every moment of every single day is a unique experience that will never come again. Every single variation of even the most familiar is unique - and you could potentially experience something utterly unfamiliar at all times - if you actually bothered to change your behavior.

So, I guess, this is just another one of those opportunities that doesn't seem to stand out in any significant way whatsoever.

Again, it's beyond me.

Pladio · August 22, 2017

NewDArt said:
You could very well be right about all of those.

To me, it's like listening to someone talk about the virtues of fine wine.

I mean, there HAS to be a reason people pay thousands of dollars for certain bottles of wine - and I have to accept that they really think the taste can justify that price.

But, I'm also reasonably certain it's just beyond me. Something my brain can't quite decipher in terms of the effort involved versus the reward I can expect to receive.

On the other hand, I love a good sunrise or sunset - for instance. The beauty of those are magnificent.

Maybe this eclipse is similarly beautiful. That would sort of make sense - though I could never see myself travelling far to experience it

Yes, beauty and taste are sometimes hard to comprehend if you do not feel the same way.

Like most here, I am unlikely to travel to see an eclipse, but if it were where I lived, I would certainly try and catch it.

Regarding wine, you also need to have the money to spend so much on the wine

I can afford £10 bottles, not £100+

NewDArt · August 22, 2017

Pladio said:
Yes, beauty and taste are sometimes hard to comprehend if you do not feel the same way.

Like most here, I am unlikely to travel to see an eclipse, but if it were where I lived, I would certainly try and catch it.

Regarding wine, you also need to have the money to spend so much on the wine I can afford £10 bottles, not £100+

I could potentially afford the occasional bottle of rare wine - but the taste would have to justify the price.

I've tasted a variety of wines - but the taste has never quite appealed to me enough to bother experimenting with very expensive ones.

That said, to be fair, I once found a bottle of wine that was a bit more expensive than what I would usually pay (around 30 dollars I guess) - that was absolutely delicious.

That said, I remain sceptical a wine could taste ten times better than that, let alone a hundred times better

Dear Americans (eclipse related)

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