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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/19/21 in Posts

  1. I walked into a coffee shop one day, where some guys were having an interesting conversation, so I joined in the conversation. I got something out of it, and I gave something back. I've since returned to this coffee shop every day, met the same people, and had interesting coversations/discussions about many subjects; as long as I keep getting something out of the discussions, and my imput is welcome, I'll keep coming back. Why should I care who originally built the coffee shop, or what its intended purpose was ? Don't overthink it; it's just a discussion forum.
    2 points
  2. Indeed. A pair of plumb bobs will not be parallel on Earth, but will be in an accelerating ship. In the inertial case, a plumb-bob in the no-gravity case will not point anywhere, but off-center in an orbiting space station, they will. So there are very much differences. The most basic test: Create a 3D arrangement with 4 balls (stationary relative to our small orbiting lab) arranged in a tetrahedron (in a vacuum so air currents don't move them around). The movement of the balls will show the direction of the source of gravity, or at least the axis of it.
    1 point
  3. Yes sorry, I understood it as such, but I also wanted to comment on the fact on accountability which is also vulnerable in democracies. I kind of conflated the issues in my mind, sorry for the confusion. Or animals (birds, for example) or food. And considering how connected the world has become it is silly to assume that we can effectively control outbreaks, especially those with long incubation periods via border control. Unless of course you can see a way to lock borders the moment someone on the planet sneezes. I mean for Christ sake, most infections from the US came from Europe. Your arguments are basically undoing all the lessons we learned from this very ongoing pandemic. What chance do we have in a few years from now if the next one hit?
    1 point
  4. Well neither does the US. There are reports of at least attempts to manipulate data and one data scientist was allegedly removed for refusing to do so. But that is not the only issue. Whether you trust info from a particular region or not, global collaboration is absolutely needed to have any chance of combating outbreaks. Dictatorship are of course suspect but it does not mean that we can ignore them in the face of global threats. Again, it is based on the erroneous assumption that catastrophe somehow care for political borders. I will add that many African nations seem to be coping surprisingly well. Not fantastic in some cases, but at least most took serious efforts and until recently they outperformed expectations. A part of it is actually having some pan-African responses and plans, which curbed the first wave but has shown to become brittle during the sustained onslaught.
    1 point
  5. There is a formula for this, it is the same one used to find synodic periods for planets etc. (for example, how long it takes between Earth and Mars passing each other as they orbit the Sun.) The formula is T = 1/(1/p1-1/p2) Where p1 id the time it takes for one plane to complete is orbit and p2 is the time for the other planet to complete is orbit. In this case we are not given times, so we will simply give B a complete circuit walking time of 1 time unit and thus A has a complete circuit walking time of 1/2 time unit. Thus for when they are walking in the same direction T = 1/(1/(1/2)-1/1) - 1/(2-1) =1 Meaning that A passes B every time B has completed a complete circuit. This works out to 5 times if you count the last time they meet up again at the end of the walk (4 if you don't. For when they walk opposite of each other you make one of the times negative, giving T=1/(1/(1/2)-1/(-1)) = 1(2+1) =1/3 A and B meet when B has completed each 1/3 of his complete loop, and since B makes 5 complete loops, they meet 15 times if you count the last meeting ( 14 if not). So Give Jon O'Starr a star.
    1 point
  6. Works fine. Tap the gray heart and release. The green upvote and red downvote buttons then appear next.
    1 point
  7. For me, as someone who aligns deeply with your central point that we should learn for the sake of learning and self-improvement and strive for continuous improvement throughout our lives (kaizen), the issue is better framed in terms of the system itself. Those who are honest and work hard are not receiving the same benefits from the system as they did in the past. For too many millions of people, hard work and knowledge alone are no longer sufficient to maximize the chances of a good life and the avoidance of suffering. For many, the only way to advance sufficiently is to game the system... to get the best grade... to avoid any and all red marks on their record and public transcript... to get that better job, that better performance review, that better paycheck, that better chance of comfortable retirement. If we keep playing baseball or football the same way even when the umpire or referee has begun calling the game differently... marking things as fouls that previously would've been inbounds... then the onus falls to us to begin playing the game differently to align with what the enforcers are doing. I say all this as someone who doesn't cheat... who avoids lies... who believes in learning as its own reward... and who teaches his kids these values as best I can... but I also recognize that the system itself has evolved and the sad state described above has sadly become more common. As I think is obvious by this post, my thoughts on this subject are only at best half formed... but in a world where it matters more WHO you know than WHAT you know, it's really not much of a surprise that kids are picking up on and acting upon different cues and paths to success.
    1 point
  8. Looks like you need someone with an iPad. Just checked on my Android phone and the grey circle with a heart in it is there and I can choose to vote up and down. If you have an iPhone, have a look on that and if it's the same as the iPad, it's probably an Apple software issue.
    1 point
  9. Lol 😁 Im on iPad. I hit the circle and no matter where I hit it, it goes green. Not that I want to down vote anyone, just curious.
    1 point
  10. 1 point
  11. That Pope Francis. What a guy! Always pipping me at the post.
    1 point
  12. @CharonYThank you for your response. That's quite sad. I went to university because I wanted to learn; acquiring a degree was almost a side issue, related more to an inherent competitiveness and the possibility, if the degree was good enough, I could go on learning for longer. But that was against a backdrop where tuition fees were paid by the state and, because of the meagre financial status of my parents, I recieved a full grant (not a loan). The only person I would have been cheating, by cheating, would have been myself. I have difficulty getting my head around the concept of cheating. You mentioned laziness. Laziness is a different matter. I rather favour laziness. To me laziness involves using the most efficient method of learning things. That means understanding the principles, not parrot fashion, but at a deep level and furnishing oneself with enough examples so that the principles can be discerned in novel situations. I find one has to work really quite hard at being lazy.
    1 point
  13. As @John Cuthber delicately suggests in his preceding post, the meaning of your post is not at all clear. I think what follows is what you meant: Rather than looking directly at theist versus atheist, lets look at attitudes generated by theism versus attitudes generated by atheism. When we do this we may find fewer differences than imagined. It may even be the case that atheists have attitudes and behaviours not unlike those of a theist, because such attitudes and behaviours arise from the basic character of the human mind, not from the professed atheism or theism. Does that match your meaning? If not can you attempt to clarify? Thank you.
    1 point
  14. If the acceleration was large enough, and the rocket able to withstand the forces involved, then you could make this happen in principle, since the air in the cabin is not rigidly connected to the rocket. In practice though it is unlikely that any kind of real-world rocket would survive this kind of acceleration. But regardless, your understanding of the basic principle is correct. No, because acceleration isn’t the same as velocity. A plane may go reasonably fast at cruising altitude, but it takes time to reach that maximum velocity, so the rate of acceleration involved is comparatively small - which is fortunate for the passengers, since otherwise they’d get crushed into bloody puddles during takeoff
    1 point
  15. I have not checked literature, but my own experience would suggest that cheating might be increasing and it is also dependent on the system. In North America, studying is viewed by most students as a financial decision. Especially among medical students there is a strong incentive to achieve high grades by whatever means. Students are also better informed than they used to be. They are much less afraid of potential repercussions by their profs and have developed strategies to maximize grades with the least effort. They are also more cynical and have less qualms of finding ways to (in their minds) beat the system. You have the weird situation where based on performance you might think that a student is lazy or stupid, but has the surprising ability to play the system to their advantage. It is incredible how many for example file doctor's note claiming to have ADHD, dyslexia or other conditions requiring them to have more time than their peers. And most are premeds!
    1 point
  16. Did you read that through before you posted it?
    1 point
  17. This is good for a beginner: https://www.w3schools.com
    1 point
  18. I think :- When they walk in opposite directions, A crosses B 14 times and they meet when A finishes. When they walk in the same direction, A overtakes B 4 times, and catches up again at the end.
    1 point
  19. I need to get my marijuana where you get yours.
    0 points
  20. What's with the grey circles? Are we not allowed to down vote anyone anymore.
    -1 points
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