u/BasisPrimary4028

Hear me out.

Everyone treats Ted's origin as "kid wishes on a shooting star, magic happens." But John never actually wishes on the star. He just makes a wish, and a shooting star happens to be passing at that exact moment. So what is actually answering him?

I think it's Zeus, and here's the case.

1. The bear in the sky. There's an existing fan theory that the wish was granted by the Little Dipper, which is Ursa Minor, the "little bear." In Greek myth, the two bear constellations come from Callisto and her son Arcas, who Zeus placed in the sky. A lonely kid wishes for a bear friend while Zeus's bear constellation is hanging overhead. That's a lot of coincidence for one night.

2. Thunder Buddies. The whole friendship is built on the thunder oath. "Thunder Buddies for life." Thunder is Zeus's brand. The most sacred vow in the entire franchise is basically a prayer to the guy.

3. Lori's wish works too. When Ted is torn apart, Lori wishes on a shooting star and he comes back. A mortal makes a sincere request, the sky answers. That's how Greek gods operate.

4. Ted's lifestyle. He drinks constantly, chases women, and faces basically zero consequences. That's Zeus behavior.

5. Ted 2 seals it. Ted and Tami-Lynn adopt a kid and name him Apollo Creed Clubber-Lang. Apollo is a Greek god, and in the myths he's Zeus's son. Ted spends the whole movie fighting to be recognized as a person, then names his kid after the son of the god who made him. Even the surname he picks for himself comes with a thunder-flavored fighter's name.

The one real hole is that if Zeus is behind this, he's responsible for Ted's entire personality. Honestly, that checks out.

I know this is a stretch, but nobody can tell me why the bear constellation, the thunder oath, and a Greek god's name all show up in one franchise by accident.

What am I missing? Does anyone have a better candidate god?

But hey, it's just a theory, A FILM THEORY

What is everyone diving into this week? Whether you are grinding out certs, catching up on the latest Marvel/DC runs, or deep-diving into a new sci-fi series, drop it below.

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What is everyone diving into this week? Whether you are grinding out certs, catching up on the latest Marvel/DC runs, or deep-diving into a new sci-fi series, drop it below.

* What are you currently reading, watching, or playing?

* Any new tech setups or projects you are tinkering with?

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Keep it civil and share what is keeping your brain busy.

What is everyone diving into this week? Whether you are grinding out certs, catching up on the latest Marvel/DC runs, or deep-diving into a new sci-fi series, drop it below.

* What are you currently reading, watching, or playing?

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Let's say you make your point clearly, carefully, and politely. But rather than address your argument, the other person says, "You would think that because you are a man." Or they say something like, "Well, you would say that because you are young, or you are a teacher, or you are a mother." Or whatever.

In 1941, C.S. Lewis gave a name for this trick, and he called it a Bulverism. And it starts with a story: Imagine a young boy called Ezekiel Bulver watching his parents debate some geometry. His dad makes a point, and the mum says, "Well, you would say that because you are a man," and in that moment, Ezekiel realises that he doesn't have to argue somebody's point. He only has to assume that they are wrong, and to explain why they are so silly. It's a kind of ad hominem and genetic fallacy rolled into one.

I'm sure we've all seen Bulverisms everywhere. Every comment section, every political row, every classroom debate. It's whenever somebody stops debating the facts, and when people start diagnosing why the other person believes something based upon their class, their age, their gender, their whatever.

Lewis points out that explaining why somebody may or may not believe something tells you nothing about whether it is true or false, right or wrong. Arguing in good faith is when you tackle the content of what somebody is saying. If somebody attacks your character, they haven't won the debate. They haven't even had a debate in the first place.

Aristotle argued that being good at messing about is a moral virtue. In a world that is sometimes serious and sometimes a bit dull, it's important to enjoy lightness. And so being able to have a laugh and being able to enjoy life is a virtue known as 'eutrapelia'.

But as with all virtues, eutrapelia is a virtue with vices on either side. When taken too far, eutrapelia becomes buffoonery. The buffoon is somebody who laughs at everything and doesn't know where the line is. They will mock what shouldn't be mocked, and they will not pause their laughter to actually do any deep thinking. But too little eutrapelia becomes boorishness. This is the person who never tells a joke, rarely laughs, and will find fault in everyone and everything.

Eutrapelia matters. Humour matters. Because laughter is what pierces vanity, it's what softens tension, and reminds us that life, for all its seriousness, is not something that we are meant to endure, but to enjoy.

The virtuous person is not simply funny, but they are funny in the right way. They will tell a joke without it being cruel. They are irreverent without being thoughtless. They will laugh easily without being cynical about everything. In a world that confuses grimness for being wise, Aristotle says that being light-hearted and full of wit can sometimes be the greatest kind of wisdom. So laugh, be playful, tease a bit. Don't let solemnity take over the world.

Suppose that somebody insults you at a party, they call you boring, or stupid, or irrelevant, and for days afterwards you can't stop thinking about it. You replay it over and over again. You are hurt, and then you are angry, and then you are hurt again. The stoic philosopher Epictetus would ask you this question: 'Why have you given this person so much power over your mind?'

Epictetus argues that an insult is just words that come from one person's mouth and go to your ears, and what happens next is entirely up to you. You can choose to take the words in, examine them, and let them fester, or you can choose to let them pass like a breeze on the wind. As he wrote, 'If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation.' The insult didn't make you angry. You made yourself angry by accepting the words were important, were true, and worthy of your attention.

Epictetus knew great cruelty in his life. He was enslaved, beaten, and disabled by his master. And yet he insisted that nobody can touch his inner freedom so long as he prevented them from doing so. For Epictetus, resilience wasn't having a thick skin, or denying that words can be hurtful, it is recognizing that you have the power to prevent people from entering your inner fortress, and deciding how you will deal with what people say.

Because, as the ex-spy Evy Poumpouras put it, 'If you're easily offended, you are easily manipulated.' They might have said the words. They might have intended to hurt you, but you decide if they can do so. You decide if the words mean anything to you at all.

What is everyone diving into this week? Whether you are grinding out certs, catching up on the latest Marvel/DC runs, or deep-diving into a new sci-fi series, drop it below.

* What are you currently reading, watching, or playing?

* Any new tech setups or projects you are tinkering with?

* Hot takes or debates on recent releases?

Keep it civil and share what is keeping your brain busy.

What is everyone diving into this week? Whether you are grinding out certs, catching up on the latest Marvel/DC runs, or deep-diving into a new sci-fi series, drop it below.

* What are you currently reading, watching, or playing?

* Any new tech setups or projects you are tinkering with?

* Hot takes or debates on recent releases?

Keep it civil and share what is keeping your brain busy.

What is everyone diving into this week? Whether you are grinding out certs, catching up on the latest Marvel/DC runs, or deep-diving into a new sci-fi series, drop it below.

* What are you currently reading, watching, or playing?

* Any new tech setups or projects you are tinkering with?

* Hot takes or debates on recent releases?

Keep it civil and share what is keeping your brain busy.

What is everyone diving into this week? Whether you are grinding out certs, catching up on the latest Marvel/DC runs, or deep-diving into a new sci-fi series, drop it below.

* What are you currently reading, watching, or playing?

* Any new tech setups or projects you are tinkering with?

* Hot takes or debates on recent releases?

Keep it civil and share what is keeping your brain busy.