• @[email protected]
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    225 days ago

    While I love spoon theory I think it’s a poor metaphor to use for general audiences as it requires a lot of context. I guess this tweet is not really targeted at everyone, but just a rant to their circle.

    • Norah - She/They
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      105 days ago

      What metaphor would you suggest instead? At least in my experience, the term is becoming understood more and more by the mainstream.

      • @cAUzapNEAGLb
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        75 days ago

        Could’ve just said effort or energy and i would’ve understood the intent of this post, I am now clued into spoon theory now though

        • Norah - She/They
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          65 days ago

          Neither of those terms are quite interchangeable though. Everybody has low energy days, that’s relatively normal. But the word spoons is a shorthand for explaining a precious, and much more finite resource, as a way to distinguish the experience for disabled people.

      • @[email protected]
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        44 days ago

        I never heard of it before and while I did not immediately fully understand it, I did understand and empathize with its point. I guess what I am saying is this is an anecdotal story that supports your argument.

      • @DogWater
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        34 days ago

        A bucket full of a liquid. That bucket has a faucet over top of it that fills it at x rate constantly. For disabled people it fills more slowly than normal abled people so pouring energy out is more costly timewise and must be calculated carefully.

        • Norah - She/They
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          24 days ago

          While I do like this metaphor, I think it’s not useful as a shorthand. Once you explain spoons to people in your life, and they understand, it’s a useful tool to catch their attention and help them realise that energy isn’t an abundant resource for you.

      • @[email protected]
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        5 days ago

        If the original tweet was for the general audience, just replace with “energy”. That’s it. The term is more understood in our bubble only. You are suffering from bias.

        Jargon is usually used to make oneself feel “in”, but it by design excludes everyone else from the conversation.

        • @[email protected]
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          54 days ago

          I come from a mental health background and spoons is excellent for anyone. It needs explaining, sure, but neurodivergent people can use spoons to explain the cost of their executive dysfunction, people with depression can use spoons… hell, people free from illness can use this expression, too!

          I get being bitter about jargon but it’s an extremely versatile and easy-to-understand metaphor. I think the aim here should be to share it more, rather than try to label it as improper to include.

          • @[email protected]
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            24 days ago

            Yes, if you have the chance to explain. If you can’t, talking about spoons just confuses people.

          • @[email protected]
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            4 days ago

            I get that spoons are a tangable and limited resource, and that part provides for a better example. But the part that doesn’t work well is that spoons have a specific value and use case. Like, you could still operate pretty normally without a spoon.

        • Norah - She/They
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          15 days ago

          Go read the origin post I commented elsewhere in this thread. I think it helps explain why “energy” doesn’t work as well.