I think the Sunni and the Shia might want to have a word with you with whether or not Islam can be interpreted in different ways.

That being said, when we see strict interpretations of religions, it’s usually in particular sects or denominations (unless it’s a very new religion, such as scientology - which is a cult and a religion, of sorts). The Amish and the Shakers might be examples of particularly strict sects within Christianity.

And in the case of the article, I think the situation is impacted strongly by governmental corruption and lawlessness. The way children are treated in Jordan and the way children are treated in Iraq are very different, even if they might both be majority-Islam countries.

By limiting ourselves in only thinking what cultures are “good” or “bad”, we will severely hamper our abilities to protect children and uphold justice. This is how we end up with people thinking banning niqabs or burkas in France will somehow prevent child marriage.

I think there are cultural differences that we ought to tolerate and be mindful of our biases on (how you prepare food, the clothes you wear, difference in manners, accents, language, etc.) and there are things which are universal evils (murdering children for not marrying).

It is unfair to ascribe the latter to all people belonging to a particular culture (the “you people” comment), since “universal” evil goes both ways - all people should consider it evil, but it is not unique to a particular people. A strange duality. Reminds me of the dad who “accidentally” shot and killed his daughter in Texas after an argument about Trump and was never investigated.

Ooo, that list is super useful and it’s getting bookmarked

Woah, that looks surprisingly in-depth for an rpgmaker game! I will have to give it a go

Oh gee, I hadn’t heard of books before.

In seriousness, this came about from visiting a museum and wishing that there was an easy way to revisit it through some sort of 3d simulatio.n And then thinking back on how I enjoyed Carmen Sandiego growing up.

Obviously neither is ideal for learning (focused books are a more effective tool than walking through a museum with a bunch of disparate exhibits), but I wouldn’t discredit the educational impact of the experience. Humans are very visual and tactile creatures.

That being said, I don’t spend my downtime attempting to do things as efficiently as possible. I’m not on a deadline, so there’s no reason for me to pick up a textbook and write essays for the most efficient learning possible. It’s OK to enjoy the experience.

I think the main difference between original trilogy and KOTOR series would be whether or not the Force has a will - original series treats the Force extremely closely to the concept of Tao (Lucas being a methodist buddhist), without any particular ‘agenda’

KOTOR2, especially Kreia, treats the Force more sapiently, and as something that can be killed - which seems to contradict Obi-Wan’s original description of it in a New Hope (if the Force is created by living things and binds the universe together, then surely you could only “destroy” the force if the universe and living things in it are gone).

OTOH, you could easily say that Kreia is unreliable, which would make this interpretation simply Kreia’s perspective, rather than KOTOR2 trying to adjust canon. Or you could also say that Obi-Wan is simplifying things greatly since he doesn’t have much time, and he isn’t exactly truthful about other things, either. (And it’s been a few years since I played the KOTOR games so I could be misremembering)

It’s also fair to say that George Lucas doesn’t always follow George Lucas’ original vision… (i.e., midichlorians, which certainly depart from original buddhist inspirations). Personally, taking the “original vision” and cleaving to whatever was made first isn’t important to me, so long as you can tell a good story I don’t mind what retcons/worldbuilding changes happen.

Probably falls under same case law with Sony’s VCRs being able to record cable TV way back when https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corp._of_America_v._Universal_City_Studios,_Inc. Though this predates use of internet for streaming/piracy/etc, supresupreme court could interpret differently now

I think DS9 works if you consider it more as a “show about star trek” rather than just as “star trek”. E.g., it’s a good deconstruction of what is “necessary” for a utopia, or for looking at the limits of how a utopia van operate in practice.

DS9’s characters and their dynamics are my favorite amongst any star trek show, but I think it’s fair to say that the show does not stick to the core world building “pillars” of star trek. However, I think it would be unfair to dismiss it as simply edgy for the sake of edginess.

(Similar to KOTOR and star wars - really cool how the game turns the idea of the Force on its head, but definitely not in line with George Lucas’ vision. I would still want to see a movie about this anyways)

I agree that it’s too early, but disagree that it would never be possible. If the EU can successfully move away from Microsoft like they’re trying to do now, then I think that will provide an excellent model for moving away from other tech monopolies.

Personally, I prefer social communities to not be so heavily monetized. On the other hand, it would be nice if Frendica ran a bit better, but I can hardly complain if I’m not giving any time/money to that project to make it so.

Ghibli might be a more interesting case study - Miyazaki repeatedly said that he did not write his stories with an audience in mind besides himself, but his movies quite clearly have universal appeal. His stories are quite clearly grounded in his own culture, but they touch on universal human experiences.

However, there are definitely stories with a specific audience in mind that do not have universal appeal (e.g., Transformers smut fanfic) though generally authors are aware of this.

I think there are also folks who write stories with an idea in mind of universal appeal, but do not understand themselves enough to actually do so - things they take for granted as “common sense” may not actually be human universals. Or, because they fail to say anything at all in their work, it ends up fading into the background. (I don’t believe in sociopolitically “neutral” works, we are all shaped by our beliefs and cultures).

These works aren’t necessarily bad, either- I think Andy Weir has said a few times in interviews that his works aren’t meant to be “political”, but the two that I’ve read (The Martian, Project Hail Mary) are both a sort of “sci fi optimism” about people from different nations coming together to solve a problem. That may be “common sense” to some people, but it is certainly NOT a universal (even if I do share the outlook that people of Earth should work together to help each other regardless of national boundaries).