r/InsightfulQuestions 18h ago

Is there a difference between living a meaningful life and simply convincing yourself that it was meaningful?

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r/InsightfulQuestions 21h ago

What is a good life? What is a life worth having lived?

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In your personal opinion


r/InsightfulQuestions 1d ago

Is being kind to yourself a real concept, or is kindness solely you do for others?

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Can internal kindness exist? Like when people say "be kind to yourself." Like taking a self care day, doing something that makes you happy, etc. Are you just practicing the external "traits" of kindness on yourself. Does kindness have to be altruistic? If i am kind to myself by taking a day off, I reap a selfish benifit (not in a negative way like im depriving someone of something but still) so is that "kindness" or just, meeting my needs.


r/InsightfulQuestions 17h ago

If meaning emerges through the resonance between consciousness and experience, can two people ever truly encounter the same reality—or does every conscious perspective necessarily create a distinct version of what is real?

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I’m interested in whether reality is something consciousness simply perceives, or something partially constituted through the act of perception itself. If every perspective reveals something unique, what—if anything—makes our experiences genuinely shared?


r/InsightfulQuestions 22h ago

Ok so I don’t really know where this should go but it’s kinda like weird

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So when I was like 10 I sleepwalked 3 times and i haven’t since and the first time I was at my step mom’s house and we went to bed then i remembered waking up to her asking me why I was trying to get in her closet and i said idk she got mad because she thought i was lying but has anyone else experienced this??? I saw someone say they did on YouTube in a video😓


r/InsightfulQuestions 1d ago

Does karma really exist?

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Does karma really exist? .......why some people rude and hurt ro others,and still live in a good life?


r/InsightfulQuestions 1d ago

Is depression common? Like bedbound or repeatedly comes back.

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r/InsightfulQuestions 1d ago

How do you define contentment?

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I have always thought of contentment as a positive thing. Yet I have seen people using it in a negative way, saying things like "contentment is the enemy of achievement." It makes me wonder if some people are defining it differently than me.

Do some people think contentment means settling for something you think is just okay? Like something that is maybe not all you hoped for, but good enough.

To me, contentment is a deep appreciation of what you have. It is a very deep feeling of being happy and at peace with your life. That feels so much bigger and more important than having a higher level of achievement.

Am I missing something here? Maybe I am not talking about the same thing as them? Maybe this feeling I call contentment should be called something else.


r/InsightfulQuestions 1d ago

Protecting your peace vs giving back

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Which one is “right” when it comes to a parent who made your childhood very difficult, where you’ve had to work through all the pain they’ve caused and you’ve essentially had to parent yourself (and them) growing up?

Or is there an in between to both? How do you find the silver lining?


r/InsightfulQuestions 2d ago

What’s something people pretend is a choice when it mostly isn’t?

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r/InsightfulQuestions 21h ago

When someone dies and they are on a drug does their ghost still feel out of it? NSFW

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It may not be that the drug caused the death. Such as when someone is shot.


r/InsightfulQuestions 22h ago

When sadness is a part of life , why do people try to enjoy small moments of happiness ? Are they fooling society , others or themselves?

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r/InsightfulQuestions 1d ago

What does a Utopia look like to you?

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I've been trying to brainstorm ideas for a story involving a planet where all inhabitants live in a maximally utopian society.

So I was wondering what redditors here would consider a utopia.


r/InsightfulQuestions 1d ago

2-Minute Survey: Driver Visibility & Blind Spots (Drivers) (Car Owners)

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Hey everyone, I’m a student working on a small research project about driver visibility, blind spots, and how things like rain and road spray can affect visibility and driving.

I’m looking for people who drive to share their driving experiences through a quick anonymous survey. It takes around 2–3 minutes.

Would really appreciate the help if anyone has a few minutes!

https://forms.gle/BFLNYxtrd3y3UPfX7

Thanks!


r/InsightfulQuestions 1d ago

Dunlirnom Siege Hypothetical - V4

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DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A STANDARD SIEGE HYPOTHETICAL. THE SCENARIO IS DESIGNED SO THAT STANDARD, DIRECT / HEAD-ON SIEGE SOLUTIONS WILL NOT WORK. THINK OF IT AS AN INDIRECT SIEGE: LOOPHOLES ARE ENCOURAGED. READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION.

Picture this. You’ve just been made the commander in chief of the military of a nation called Gorlesia, which is currently at war with another nation called Voswuinia. To be clear, this is a war in a pre-industrial era, and you represent a secretive change in command following some other commander in chief. 

Whether this change is the result of the Gorlesian nation’s sovereign lead (either a king, a council/senate of some kind, or both) being fed up with the previous commander’s incompetence making the war take longer than they’d like and thus pushing their frustrations onto you or the previous commander’s death, you are not told definitively, but you are told, and everyone else around you to some extent aware, that you are not the first to succeed the command of the Gorlesian army in this war, though how many times the Gorlesian sovereign(s) have reappointed the standing commander-in-chief to land on you is unknown to you, thus creating suspicions that the war is intended by your higher-ups to be swiftly won, or at least swiftly ended, under your command.

Furthermore, you have just been ordered by your higher-ups to prepare your army for a siege against Dunlirnom, a major Voswuinian stronghold city (the seizing of which could potentially serve to start a domino effect that may slowly starve the Voswuinians’ campaign of resources), that is slated to occur starting in approximately 4 and a half months, regardless of the necessary inconveniences regarding travel necessities, by which time the seasons will be beginning the transition to winter from autumn. Regarding how much time you have for your siege following your mandated arrival time, you have nine months to seize control of Dunlirnom.

On top of this, Dunlirnom is almost 1 thousand and a quarter thousand miles away from where you and a major portion of your available troops are. Specifically, Dunlirnom is located at the intersection point of the foot of a mountain and a river basin, where the terrain is dominated by smooth hills. Dunlirnom’s main defenses consist of a 20 to 40 foot tall and 10 foot thick defensive stone wall (with the primary gatehouse marked by portcullis and a retractable thrust bridge made up of giant wooden planks held together by logs underneath), a lack of trees within a 25-to-40 foot perimeter of the wall, and an around-the-clock unit of guardsmen.

The Voswuinians also have an unusually large amount of siege weapons behind the wall for Dunlirnom’s relatively moderate defensible area, with the total weaponry consisting of over 50 ballistae, ~40 mangonels, ~30 counterweight trebuchets, and ~20 bombards.

With regards to the guards, they arm about a quarter of them with a Verla de la Gorlen as their primary weapon and an arming sword as their sidearm, the Gorlen being a Bardiche/Halberd-hybrid polearm with a beak, spearhead and bardiche-blade, as well as a large counterbalance that allows it to be swung around, almost like a quarterstaff, to devastating effect,

Another third of these guards are armed with unique single-edged swords, known on an individual basis as a ‘Velron’, as their primary weapon and a one-handed sickle as their sidearm. For the Velrons, these blades are very unique: they are flared, possess single-fullers, a curved blade and handle, and a half crossguard that includes both an upward sweep and a knuckle bow, forming a thin crescent-shaped guard that acts to both catch blades and block attacks.

Another sixth of the guards are armed with relatively standard bearded axes as their primary weapon and a combat dagger as their sidearm.

An eighth of the guards are on the wall and are armed with bows and/or crossbows in the warbow range and quivers that can store up to almost 25 fire arrows each (the fire arrows work by using a special combination of cloth and twine and a flammable liquid mixture that relights by rapid kinetic compression on impact, but require that an ember remains in the cloth) as their main weapon, and arming swords as their sidearm. Furthermore, these guards in particular have the ability to quickly access a series of chests and barrels that can be used to store hundreds of arrows (both fire and normal) in them.

The last eighth of the guards are lightly-armored dragons wielding a type of aerial thrust-centric spear used in an equivalent manner to a horseback lance. 

The last of Dunlirnom’s defenses is its people’s ability to make much of their own food and weaponry, as Dunlirnom has both a mine and farmland inside the wall, though not enough to be fully self-sufficient. As such, attacking supply routes to starve Dunlirnom is not an entirely viable strategy on its own.

As for the size of the armies involved:

  • Voswuinia has an army consisting of approximately 45,000 soldiers, of whom approximately 1,400 are part of Dunlirnom’s guard, an air force consisting of approximately 21,000 dragons, of whom about 180 are part of Dunlirnom’s guard, and a navy of 12,000 sailors and 325 ships.
  • On the other hand, your army consists of approximately 39,000 soldiers, an air force of approximately 19,000 dragons, and you have a strong navy of approximately 15,000 sailors and 422 ships. However, only a very small portion of your army (approximately 2,000 to maybe 3,000 total soldiers, including about 500 to 800 dragons) will be worth attempting to gather to this siege, due to your army being fairly scattered from the war effort.

In other words, whereas Voswuinia has more total people (78,000 total soldiers), you have a stronger navy and almost as many people (73,000 soldiers, 15,000 of whom are sailors spread across 422 separate ships), though only a small fraction of your army will reach the siege on time. 

Furthermore, the dragons in this setting have severe limits that you will undoubtedly run into:

  • An average dragon in this setting has a body height about 50% larger than a modern horse but with the addition of expanded shoulder muscles and a set of wings. In particular:
    • Dragons in this setting are 7.5 to 8.3 feet in height at the shoulders.
    • Dragons in this setting are 20 to 35 feet in length from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail
    • Dragons in this setting have a 30 to 45 feet wingspan
    • Dragons in this setting can weigh anywhere between approximately 1,900 and 2,500 kilograms.
  • An average dragon in this setting is strong, especially on the ground, but they are only as strong as they can be for their physiology: they cannot lift more than they weigh, both in flight and on the ground, and they can they can only really use their body weight to shove objects if the object isn’t too far above their weight.
    • An average dragon in this setting cannot ‘airlift’ objects in excess of 550, maybe 900 at max, kilograms for any significant duration of time without starting to impact maneuverability in flight. Furthermore, given they are equipped with a gambeson, much of their capacity for airlifting would already be in use.
  • Due to their size, an average dragon in this setting can only fly at moderate speeds, specifically topping out at approximately 25 to 35 miles per hour when soaring / gliding. However, they can reach higher speeds in two situations: when diving, where they top out at approximately 80 to 110 miles per hour, and when pivoting / changing direction mid-soar, where they top out at approximately 65 to 85 miles per hour.
  • No dragon in this setting is impervious to physical damage. Their scales, while a form of natural armor, are highly vulnerable to various forms of damage. Of these, blunt force (achievable via a handheld mace, handheld hammer, or long-range rocks from counterweight trebuchet or sling), sharp, heavy-handed chops (such as those achievable via weapons like axes, machetes or falchions), and draw cuts are especially effective. Piercing damage can work too, but this is not as effective and most likely will not be as easy to deal against a live dragon as the other options unless you’re using arrows, thrown spears, or perhaps something like ballistae (all of which would absolutely work, though the arrows may take time).

That said, the dragons are also just as intelligent, biologically-speaking, as you, the Gorlesian army, and/or the Voswuinian Army. In other words, the dragons are soldiers in and of themselves, without handlers.

In summary, the scenario is as follows:

  • You are a commander in chief of a pre-industrial army at war.
    • You represent a change in command, and are, at bare minimum, the third commander in chief to be given command of the army in this war, though you may represent a later commander in chief even than third.
    • You have higher-ups (a monarch, council/senate, or both) who are not telling you everything about your position and who have been becoming increasingly impatient with the war effort over time, leaving you with limited time.
  • You have been ordered to siege a major city being used as a stronghold by the enemy army, which is extremely heavily defended and partially self-sufficient, and in a period wherein the autumn-winter transition will be beginning to occur.
    • You will have only ~2,000 soldiers at your disposal during the siege, whereas the enemy’s stronghold defense will have ~2,140 soldiers.
  • Both your army and the enemy army have a navy and dragons.
    • Dragons in this setting have limits.
    • Dragons possess sapient-level intelligence.
    • In addition to natural armor, the dragons on both sides of the conflict have varying degrees of light armor (i.e. gambeson or brigandine), wield giant aerial spears / lances, and possess innate biological limitations that, despite still allowing them to be formidable, render them far below ‘magical’ classifications and place them in the realm of conventional biology.

Given all the provided data, how do you use tactical engineering to make the siege of Dunlirnom a success?


r/InsightfulQuestions 2d ago

If it were possible to measure the happiness of whole humanity, has that peak already passed? Or is it yet to come?

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If it has already passed, when was that? If it is yet to come, when will that be?

I understand there is no universal measure of happiness. I simply want to hear your free opinions.


r/InsightfulQuestions 2d ago

What do you think of the concept of quiet grief?

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Is it a necessary evil or is it common or uncommon or what do you think?


r/InsightfulQuestions 2d ago

Is there a link between porn and development? NSFW

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This is a bit of a clickbaity title, so let me explain what I am asking.

I am wondering if there is any evidence that can prove a theory I have that I think about on and off. That theory is that I think people who didn't seek out sexual gradification while going through puberty, might be suffering from a developmental dely.

What I mainly noticed in my teen years as a student in a predominantly Christian school, is that the ones who stuck heavily with "purity" and often talked negatively about sex, were also very childish in different ways.

Even up to 18 they would act like 10 year olds, not following orders, misbehaving in class for attention, and throwing temper tantrums.

It really felt like they were developmentally delayed, where other students were just, normal. Ones who were neutral or positive to sex, never acted like this, even if they misbehaved like that as children, because they matured.

Similarly, as an adult, I still meet people who state they never masterbaited as a teenager, or aren't going to have sex until they are married, and they just act like kids.

It's kind of like these 20-somethings are stuck as 14 year olds with all that 14 year old edgelordness, and it's a lot worse because now as we talk about politics or taxes or housing or job hunts, as adults do, they don't take it seriously.

And yeah, this is me vaugeposting about real people I know, specifically two men, one of which who I'm sure never came to an opinion past the age of 8.

I'm just curious, I suppose.


r/InsightfulQuestions 2d ago

Definitions of Humans v. Monsters

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It's my belief "To define someone as a human or a monster, put a label on someone, perhaps without a thorough understanding who they are, perhaps without knowing the experiences in your life - even down to the minute. I personally define humans as people who have feelings like doubts, fear, happiness, and anger - who think and feel all the things that other humans feel.

A monster is the kind of person who does not care for other people's feelings and does not have empathy or is simply cruel and selfish for the sake of it. And of enjoyment out of hatred that argues on how we want to define ourselves and the people around us, regardless of how easy or how hard the definition comes about. If you want to define yourself, go ahead. But I would not put a label as easily on other people - humans or mosters (as I have put my own opinion of them here) as you would have put such a label on yourself.

And thus, I begin to wonder: How do people generally define themselves and others?

In my opinion, not easily. I pride myself on my own determination, but what I actually do with it is surprisingly little. Mostly due to a lack of knowledge and determination to be able to move forward, even at all. I define myself as "A somebody," regardless of how little or far I get in life. And maybe that's just all I need to stay grounded.

As an open discussion, I hope to invite constructive criticism on pretty much any kind of wisdom as well as hear fair opinions from both philosophers & psychologists (yes, there's a difference, but I think I don't know half of it).


r/InsightfulQuestions 2d ago

Is it fine to feel average

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I’ve been an above-average student since childhood, always expected to achieve something big. But lately, I’ve started craving a simple, peaceful life, average income, a loving partner, a cozy home, and work that doesn’t consume my entire life.

Is this because I’ve watched too much slice-of-life anime 😂, or am I just overwhelmed seeing my friends becoming achievers while I feel like I’m quitting?

Maybe I’m afraid of the rat race. The constant pressure to earn more, achieve more, and prove yourself.

But is it really okay to never chase something extraordinary? Is wanting a “normie” life settling for less? Or is it okay to simply want peace and happiness?

And honestly… what will people think of me? A loser? Someone who wasted their potential?

I genuinely don’t know if I’m giving up on myself or finally figuring out what I actually want.

Would really love to hear your thoughts, especially from people who are older. Did you ever feel this way?


r/InsightfulQuestions 2d ago

Obsession(Nikki is broken)

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If Nikki from Obsession can’t die as long as Bear is alive, and we’ve already seen her regenerate after smashing her head, could she theoretically survive attacks from characters like Goku or the Thanos with full stones on hand , if Bear were sealed somewhere completely unreachable but kept alive?


r/InsightfulQuestions 3d ago

Question to those with lived experience...

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If you are past the age of 60 we'd appreciate your participation. If you know someone past the age of 60 feel free to ask them and share their answer here. 

Here's the question: knowing what you know now, what would you prioritize when you were younger? If you had nothing holding you back, freedom to focus on whatever you want. What would you do differently? Or what did you do that you'd be sure to do again? 

The reason we are asking is because we can't see our future so we'd like to have the perspective of some who are already in their futures. 

Thank you for sharing your perspective!


r/InsightfulQuestions 3d ago

Why some people complain that you don’t want to befriend them ? Is it emotional manipulation?

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I had to do group work at uni, and one of the people i was set to do group work with started whining that i didn’t make an effort to befriend them contrary to someone else and that’s why she was choosing her side during an argument as opposed to mine.

No one is obligated to befriend anyone wtf ?
Those were 3 other girls too.


r/InsightfulQuestions 3d ago

What topic can turn a perfectly peaceful family gathering into chaos within five minutes?

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r/InsightfulQuestions 3d ago

What are ways to spot someone with a saviour complex

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What are signs someone has a savior complex ?