The Lounge

I'm curious about what people involved in science believe regarding Thor. Do you believe in Thor? Use any common defintion you like. No, I'm not talking about, "Yes, as a literary character," nor as "Sure, as a mythological figure in Norse culture." No, I'm asking "do you believe in Thor?" Why do we completely short-circuit our normal reasoning abilities and logic when the word "god" comes up? I'd be willing to wager my right testicle that the vast majority of you right now find this thread silly, yet it's SO very similar to the thread "do you believe in god?" What the hell is supposed to be the difference? I'm genuinely curious.

PBS is re-running the Nova episode on Intelligent Design next week, so I just thought I'd mention it here. Exact timing for American viewers depends on local listings. The entire two-hour episode is available for viewing online anyway, but if you'd like me and prefer watching on TV, you can check it out. We talked about it here at SFN before, if memory serves, and I think the general consensus was that it was one of the best programs on the ID debate and the Dover trial specifically. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/program.html

Ok, another ventilation post to make myself feel better about not fitting in the human race. There's really no reason to read this post. As much as I argue for free market capitalism, it has always been a bittersweet dilemma as capitalists have ruined the arts in America. Watching the grammys last night, I've never seen a room full of more pretentious children in my life. From what I could tell there were but a handfull of adults there to look after them. The funniest are always the rappers. Oversized hats and glasses, chunks of gold dangling from a chain, preference for gold teeth over natural ones, and incessant rambling on and on about how bad ass the…

which language do you think is the hardest to learn?

Here's a new chance to test your knowledge on bad science and learn some interesting facts: http://www.bad-science-quiz.info/

for us UKers, get your Free "Tree of Life" poster here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/darwin/ it`s at the bottom as the middle link, It`s to accompany the TV series` and Documentaries about Darwin that have been shown recently, and a Freebie from the BBC is jolly nice of them! needless to say I`v ordered mine and so should you.

One reason people believe they "just have to" convince science of the existence of the supernatural is possibly due to many a reporter's claim that scientists have disputed its existence, or are skeptical of it. However, I'm not convinced that many real scientists have claimed anything of the nature. The reporter probably either asked a wanna-be scientist, or did get a real scientist's opinion but presented it as a factual statement. Or the reporter may have colorfully tweaked the answer, so the scientist's claim has been totally altered. For example, a scientist's response might be "it's certainly not science" or "there is no evidence" -- you know, the typ…

Okay. Empiricism is our friend. There was a disagreement in the thread "Do you believe in God" and I'd like to clarify. If you voted in that thread, please vote here. When casting your vote about your belief in god in that other thread, were you referring to an Abrahamic/creator God (like Yahweh or Allah), a Greco-Roman god (like Zeus, Apollo, or Thor), or something else entirely (please explain)? My contention is that people at this site voting in that thread were implicitly referring to the monotheistic creator god based on abrahamic religions, and I wonder if the data will bear this out. Thanks.

Just came across this today and I find it mind boggling. I'm still slowly coming to terms with the fact that many people think a pen would float on the moon and that astronauts wear heavy boots to keep from floating away - but this really hurts my brain. http://failblog.org/2009/02/04/verizon-math-fail/ ...and to think people like this buy houses after diligently crunching the numbers and making sure they can afford to. Did I mention the hurt?

There's been an ongoing and frustrating debate with my roommate, one that hopefully you guys can resolve. He thinks a theory can evolve into a fact once it has enough evidence, and I think a theory will never become a fact because it explains the fact. Specifically, we were talking about gravity, he says it's a fact because we can see it, and I say there's a theory of gravity to explain that fact of gravity.

I'm sure this question will sound incredibly stupid to some, but until now, I've handwritten my assignments. I've started using LaTex, and I've already nearly finished an assignment, which looks fine, but... How do you insert breaks between sentences in LaTex e.g To determine the solution of <equation here>, we proceed as follows... <equation> <equation> I'm using MikTex, and the TeXnic center platform...however I keep using the \begin{flushleft} command to create a space between my equations...which isn't right. I've searched through the basic tutorials, and I can't find a basic command.

Would be cool if you could have glasses which let you see the greenhouse gases as they're released. And in other news (while on the topic of seeing the normally unseen) Google has added an "Ocean Bottom" viewer to its Google Earth app. (Wonder if one day it'll let us see the huge garbage trail encircling a huge swath of the ocean and making contributions to our dinner plates?)

http://iinet.net.au/customers/news/articles/741131.html How on earth did she not notice this?

The New Element - Governmentium (Gv) Recent hurricanes and gasoline issues are proof of the existence of a new chemical element. Research has led to the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A …

Is an induction heater basically an electromagnet with an alternating current instead of direct current? i'm finding descriptions a little vague

can anyone tell me the price per kg of PETE plastic? if it would be easier to put it in another measurement then feel free to do so. Merged post follows: Consecutive posts mergedbtw this plastic is also known as PET probably better known that way

So, as i've been practically living in the library for the past two weeks(i'm typing this in the library just now) i decided that i would venture down to the canteen and see what they have(gotta be better than the sandwiches i make from whatever's in the fridge, corned beef tuna and coleslaw isn't as good as it looked). well, my finds were that i'm not actually sure what they're selling. the only sandwich that didn't have some pretentous french name was 'bree and pickle' which according to wikipedia is a kind of cheese. being adventerous i picked a random one the looked as if it had a nice and chunky filling and hoped for the best(nearest shop where i can get a de…

Stick with it, it gets better: SOCIALISM You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbor. COMMUNISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk. FASCISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk. NAZISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you. BUREAUCRATISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away… TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income. AN AMERICAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You sell one, and force the ot…

The poll is simple, which of these do you consider to be gods (regardless of whether you think they exist -- atheists are welcome to participate). If you think you can, try to give a definition of what a god is as well.

can anyone tell me the value per kg of iron oxide powder? if yuo would like to give it in any other measurement that would be fine. Merged post follows: Consecutive posts mergedbtw its red iron oxide powder that i would like to know

could anyone tell me the value of solid sodium hydroxide per kg (or any other measurement if it's easier)?

I don't know what the deal is with scientists and sports, but I haven't seen a superbowl thread and I'm not entirely sure I should have started one... So, for those who care and dare to record your pick, who do you think is going to win? Pittsburgh or Arizona? All of the talk seems to be about Arizona's impressive offense against Pittsburgh's number one defense. Certainly Troy Polamalu is going to be exciting to watch against Fitzgerald (assuming that's the matchup). A select minority, myself included, think the decision maker in the game is going to be Pittsburgh's offense against Arizona's defense. However, I've learned to expect the unexpected in the…

Watch. Discuss.

what is the value of aluminium per kg? feel free to say the price per any other measurement if its easier

Long-legged spiders emit squeaks at maybe 2,000 Hertz. I have been a piano tuner and rebuilder for more than thirty years. Cougars scream about an octave lower, raspy but like a human. I find these things very interesting to say the least.