That finding is pretty mind blowing!

Calories in - calories out is true, but people often have the wrong idea about it. It’s very much not ‘what you eat’ - ‘exercise’. Like you say, being a tall young man probably indicates a decent base calorie expenditure.

Most people are aware that maintaining muscle mass spends more calories than maintaining fat stores (whose purpose is to provide calories during a famine!) but for many people the main uses of the calories they consume is to maintain body temperature. There’s indications that who are obese maintain a lower core temperatures during the day, which uses up less energy.

How many calories are spent on maintaining body temperature varies between individuals by up to 600kcal. So it possible that you and I eat the exact same diet, and you go for a two hour walk every evening while I scroll my phone on the couch, and I’ll lose weight and you’ll gain it.

And even in a sedentary lifestyle there’s a large variety of energy expenditure. Studies on esports are not conclusive yet, there’s some pretty dumb stuff sponsored by gaming companies that say shit like “one hour gaming = 1000 situps”. But more reputable studies suggest a more modest 50-100% increase in calorie expenditure compared to just sitting (so, the same as standing up or perhaps a gentle walk). And just fidgeting, changing posture and shifting in your seat can use up 350kcal

So it’s perfectly possible for OP’s brother to not do much obvious activity, and still use up the equivalent of a couple of big macs or 7 cans of cola, compared with a less fidgety friend with a more ‘efficient’ metabolism.

But that’s the difference, the actor’s face is meant to tell you how their character feels. You’re free to be amused, inspired or upset by the fact they’re crying because they taken a banana cream pie to face. The laugh track or music (generally) is jot diagetic, it’s specifically there to colour your interpretation of actors and images.

The app clearly explains that there are two options: a free version with ads and tracking or a paid version with no tracking or ads. Myself and lots of other users are happy to pay the developer for their work, and enjoy Boost with zero tracking or data selling.

If you prefer other apps, or if you only use FOSS, then don’t use Boost. It is not and has never claimed to be FOSS. But for me, it’s a great app, and having tried 10+ other lemmy clients, I was happy to pay for Boost. I just much prefer the ui and don’t think it’s wrong to pay a few bucks to a developer who makes an app I like.

That sounds super interesting! I’d love to hear more about middle earth magic as law, if you can be bothered saying more (or if you know of any articles or videos) about it. I assume by legal standing you mean how gandalf’s authority (once returned as ‘the white’) is what grants him power over saruman, and such. Is that right? What do you mean by precedent?