How often do you think about the Roman Empire?
Another brilliant post from Scott Alexander.
Full post here
and other things Americans think about.
Here were some representative and/or interesting answers, slightly edited for readability:
Reviewing Kindle highlights and came across some from Marcus Aurelius.
In car with friends on a road trip, we were discussing predicting eclipses with ancient technology. The Roman empire came up as a benchmark for an advanced society in antiquity, and we discussed their time-keeping methods.
Was in Peru, compared Inca empire to Romans.
This meme, shared IIRC by Tanner Greer or Bret Devereaux.
I have an Anki deck for all random things that I learn and don't want to forget and while reviewing yesterday there was a question about the Battle of Corinth and another about the first Roman emperor who claimed divinity.
I was discussing how many 4 year olds I could take in a fight and brought up Roman war tactics.
There is a marker of an old Roman road near my place.
I read Bret Devereaux's blog, which is usually what gets me thinking about it.
Reading the ACOUP blog.
Reading A Collection Of Unmitigated Pedantry, of course.
Reading Bret Devereaux's blogpost 'On Roman Values' (I'm a stalwart ACOUP reader)
Described aspect of Byzantine military doctrine to my girlfriend.
Usually in a negative light. Whenever I see cruelty or misery, I think about visiting the Coliseum and wonder if I am participating in a social convention that will later be viewed as grossly inhumane. Whenever I see most media, I think "bread and circuses". Whenever I see tomatoes, I think about how important tomatoes are for so many things, and usually that makes me think of a horrible video I saw where someone tried to recreate ancient Roman food and it looked awful. Last weekend, I was thinking about how sad it must have been to be a Vestal Virgin and I wondered if they were lonely, but then I thought it was probably better than most marriage at that time. During my foreign language classes, I think about all the stupid vowels and pointless letters like "u" and "v" in Romance languages and how much I hate them. This past week I was getting coffee and I thought about how the Romans ruined the lore of Ares by turning him into Mars and giving him main character syndrome. Mostly I think about how I don't get the hype around ancient Rome, and yet there are many similarities to our modern problems, which makes me mad, because I want to live in a society that is not like ancient Rome at all and I'm salty about it. But not as salty as ancient Roman food.
As an Italian, if I don't think about the greatest empire, at least once every 24 hours the ghost of Heliogabalus visits me.
Thinking of ways to prevent the descent into civil war in the late Republic, If I had a time machine
I was thinking about how Nero castrated and married a slave boy. I don't know why this thought came up.
Considering what I'd say to somebody who is completely in favour of current governmental restrictions of a kind that I imagine might have been relevant during Julius Caesar's rise to dictatorial power.
Learned about Mark Zuckerberg's kids names.
Regularly get recommended YouTube videos about the Roman Empire (because I usually watch them when recommended)
Connecting the problem of finding a successor CEO (or other private sector leader) to naming a successor emperor.
A friend and I joke about this a lot and he keeps track of the last time he thought of the Roman Empire in his discord bio. I noticed it when I opened his bio earlier today.
Listening to the Gladiator sound track while stripping wallpaper.
I don't know if this counts, but I compared my spouse to Herakles last evening.
Conversation about global policemen with my partner.
Randomly thought about the meme about men thinking about the Roman empire.
Forbes tries to explain:
“What is the Roman Empire meme?
It’s a simple one; women approach the men in their life and ask how often they think about the Roman Empire. Clips of boyfriends, husbands, dads, and brothers who have never stepped foot in Italy casually admitting that they think about the Roman Empire often, even multiple times per day, have gone viral on the video-sharing platform, with female creators often expressing complete bewilderment at the shared obsession.
The trend echoes the “men are from Mars, women are from Venus” trope that stand-up comedians used to lean heavily on.
Maybe it's just the aesthetic; the colorful artwork, distinctive architecture, and of course, those iconic helmets. The Roman Empire seems brimming with personality; at least, the way we choose to remember it.”
Richard Dawkins
Information wants to be free
gaydar
https://triad-city-beat.com/50-famous-memes-and-what-they-mean/