The Lounge

Is it just me, or are most political threads just devolving into ridiculous childlike finger pointing and name calling? And I mean rapidly. A thread started about a potential presidential candidate devolved in just 1 page to complain about the failures and qualities of the current president. And moreover, there's a massive gap between two sides of the debate. If someone takes, and let us be real here it's usual conservatives vs liberals(not libertarians or something), a conservative standpoint they're immediately accused of supporting EVERYTHING that the conservative parties support. Likewise, if someone takes the liberal standpoint they're imm…

I kindda liked this site despite its shortcomings because there are some very knowledgeable people and a few real scientists. I don't have to say goodbye because of the incessant splitting of threads and disruption of conversations and, quite frankly, I wear my high negative rating like a badge of honor since so many of the negs came for my best posts. No, I'm leaving because I've essentially been banned for speaking the truth. It seems most people here only like to see truth when it agrees with their own understanding of science. Not even simple physics can be accepted when spoken by a "crackpot". Before I log out forever I do have one sugg…

Found it while I was working. A deformation on the side of the manderine. It is weird, looks like it wanted to grow a branch of its own. I named him Morangê.

Hi all, I'm going to be in London on Sat. 6th Jan 2018 with my wife. I'm looking for suggestions of interesting exhibitions that have a science/technical/engineering theme but don't require a BSc to appreciate. For example the Science Museum has its History of Indian Science, which looks like a good candidate. Thanks Ian

Speaking of money problems I was thinking a lot about suicide recently. I can't get a drivers license because of mental health issues and now I can't get hired for a well-paying job because of it. And most jobs require a driving license and I just can't have one and now I can't get a good job. I also have tons of health problems and I'm not feeling well most of the time and I also vomit very often so I cannot go to work because of my health problems. The way I see it is either to commit suicide or live in poverty or in a crappy low-paying job for the rest of my life and depending on others all the time.

Trying my hand at making Posca a drink primarily consisting of vinegar and water, reportedly favored by Roman soldiers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posca For the first run I went with a "Sweet Recipe", 2 cups simmering water with 4 spoonfuls of honey and 3 spoonfuls of vinegar. Surprisingly good. Was hesitant after getting a whiff of the vinegar, but it has a good taste to it. Other loose recipes variously suggest additions of salt, melon and/or ground coriander. Going to try whatever ones I reasonably can and see how it goes.

Hello everyone A small nitpick for those who love typography and typesetting and such. In my thesis, I indent the first line of all paragraphs but the first ones. However, I'm wondering whether I should indent the first line of new paragraphs starting under tables or figures, when the table/figure is aligned at the top of the page? It looks a bit silly when indented, but it might indeed denote the separation of this paragraph from the former one on the previous page, and might therefore be obligatory (as far as we can call something obligatory in typography). What would be your personal preferences? Thanks! Baccalaureus functionellus

I know there are a lot of notes of his around, but did he ever actually publish anything himself?

What's the best currency exchange app to us that might give me a better rate than a bank or exchange office?

Is a transparent metal possible?

In this page ----> https://www.theknifemedia.com/world-news/pentagon-funded-program-investigated-ufos-2009-2012/ There is a link ----> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/us/politics/pentagon-program-ufo-harry-reid.html Why is it always the same story, incomplete/shortened/truncated information ? Disclosing material in teaspoon dosages ? Is it on purpose to create curiosity and promote speculation ?

Hello forum, We engage in conversation with friends/co-workers/family every day and recently during a face-palm moment I was thinking about all the misinterpretation of accurate scientific papers by the media. I am not talking about pseudoscience or papers like the one that Maeder recently published regarding Dark Matter and Dark Energy. To give a few examples that I noticed/been a part of: "The God particle" - Just typing this makes me cringe because I remember all the moments people started talking about this with me. Heck even my mom had an opinion about it. Of course people who mention it don't even know what a particle is so I will just leave…

Is this something new or just more smoke and mirrors? http://abcnews.go.com/US/navy-pilot-recalls-encounter-ufo-unlike/story?id=51856514

Do people with solid background in science (physics and math) enjoy pop-sci books, tv shows etc. or do they have a "oh my head hurts so much from that BS/oversimplification" type of reaction?

How are these tallied? By wisdom? Complaints? By lack of cussing? For not being too obnoxious? Education? What else?

What explanations have been put forward for this observation we generally see in real life?

An advanced alien species visits Earth. Upon examination of our species and speaking with world leaders, they say they will offer Earth one of three choices to which they will help, and make our request a reality. The choices: 1.) -End Global Warming 2.) -Colonize Mars with 1 week transport, full living facilities, food, etc. 3.) -Cure all diseases on Earth choose one and explain why for your choice

I use to post on this forum under the forum handle In My Memory between 2005 and 2007. I know it's a long time ago and few people either know or care who I was, but I want to apologize for my behavior back then. In short, I was a compulsive liar and a relentless narcissist. Let me unpack this in detail: Any single statement I made regarding my education, occupation, life, family, hobbies, or experiences was false. At the time when I posted on this forum, I was not capable of telling truths whether big or small. I was fully and completely aware that I was a compulsive liar in the clinical sense of the term. The compulsive lying started when I was very young. With…

If married women live longer than single women but married women who marry younger men with significant age gaps in between live shorter lives relative to married women who marry slightly older men, how big does the gap between husband (being the younger one) and wife (being the older one) have to be in age for the benefits of being married for women to be equivalent as with single unmarried women?

What explanations have been put forward for this observation we generally see in real life? Women today are more obsessed about their looks than ever and with good reason. Employment opportunities are greater for people in general who are deemed to have a good body, seen to be attractive and generally possess a symmetric face. The plastic surgery industry is booming in South Korea, a nation where the average IQ is a whopping 108 points. In contrast, the average IQ in Australia is a mere 98. So, what does everyone here think, what evolutionary reason do we have for being the way we are today?

Why does the IQ bell curve in males have more outliers (i.e. extreme values) compared to the IQ bell curve for females where everything is more together?

What serious or humorous skill and/or trait do you think you most inherited from one of your ancestors and why?

How does it work? In some forums the number get raised by 1 anytime you visit a thread,even it is your own! Which I find rather strange. That is luckily not the case here. If I visit one of my threads the number of views remains unchanged, and I like it this way. But when happens when I visit somebody else's thread? Does the number get raised only the first time, or only if there has been a new post?

This was inspired by a recent incident in thread posting and takes the form of a competition to think of the worst case scenario. The scene a computer controlled situation where a user is offered an input box to input instruction, but the computer is programmed to substitute the requirements of the previous user. To start of here is a scenario. A guy goes into a robot surgery clinic for an ingrowing toenail. She wakes up to discover the previous user had a sex change.