TheVat

I don't know anyone who has used GFI protection with a mower. Nor have I heard of anyone being electrocuted by their mower. It's difficult for me to imagine how your body, gripping the plastic handle and deadman switch, could find itself as the current pathway. That said, How Can I Electrocute Myself with my Lawn Mower sounds like a great thread topic at SFN. 😀

Your assertion seemed to be that Einstein had a larger than usual brain (you said "braincase" which implied larger contents of said case). I provided evidence rebutting that assertion. If you are wrong about a fact that could be easily checked, then this causes doubt on your other assertions.

At 1230g, his brain was actually on the low side of normal. https://www.science.org/content/article/closer-look-einsteins-brain#:~:text=One parameter that did not,of average for modern humans. Surprising that you missed this, given your incredibly high IQ and expanded braincase. I sometimes shout "viola!" because I'm dyslexic.

Repulsion + propulsion = maglev train. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev They occasionally have to scrape Bond villains off the tracks.

Based on his/her output so far, I think she/he could receive payments from the many people who would prefer she/he stay silent. "Hush money," so to speak. That's my slightly tongue in cheek answer.

Wait, what? Moontan has been communicated with by aliens?? How did I miss that? The OP didn't seem to specify that such probes would need to communicate to us. The default mode, for the security of any civilization, would seem to be "observe first, say hello later." Regarding the "they" - IIRC Moontanman's pronoun is he. And I'm not just alluding to his forum nom de plume. I'll tag him, in case this needs correction... @Moontanman

Yes, it seems more like an anecdote to spur someone to possibly consider real research. Much of the excerpts I saw seemed like that: it was impossible to tell if behaviors were a function of gender or racial dynamics, or just the personalities that certain individuals in the group happened to have. If I sounded dismissive of these branches of social science earlier, it was because of the methodology concerns that you expressed. Not only the small sampling and muddy causality, but also the subjectivity and lack of definitional rigor that seems to contaminate almost every aspect of these studies. My experience of racism, in the US great plains, was more like a heavy metal poison poured into my ears on a regular basis. My adult life has incorporated a regular chelation therapy which slowly has removed some of the toxic buildup. As with many people, the most powerful treatment has simply been knowing real human beings, who are always so much more than their demographic labeling. I've noticed the most intractable bigots are often the ones who have basically never really sat down and had a conversation with someone in their most-loathed group.

There is the Dark Forest scenario, where a civilization assumes contact risk is too high, so it might design probes only for covert surveillance. (though UAP reports would seem to indicate an epic failure on that mission as well)

There is possibly a topic shift there. And one that has an ironic quality, given the OP. Let me see if I can illustrate: I want to change my judgmental reflex and feel less contempt for others. Now, let's discuss those people who get degrees and think they know everything, and arrogant scientists who can't ever be wrong. 😀 Maybe one should ask, is it possible to be critical in a useful way, and without contempt for the person? I remember how distasteful I found American politics when Obama was president, and there was a segment of society that couldn't just disagree with his policies or suggest better ones - they had to attack him, constantly, as "arrogant."

I think it was clear you were replying to Ogon, but it doesn't hurt to clarify. I have a friend in Toronto who is an artist and has quite a bit of her work at DeviantArt, some of it deals with women and how their self-image is influenced by modern culture. I agree Ogon might fit in there nicely. @Genady - is there any of your daughter's art that can be seen online? Forgive this question, if you prefer not. I know many people limit or compartmentalize their web presence. (anyway, that would be another thread, as this one is Ogon's "show")

Moving away from such habits of being judgemental and uncharitable would only serve to lengthen lifespan and improve health, IMO. A lot of negative harsh judgements come from not really understanding someone's whole story, and you can often get to a more positive view by an effort to understand them. There are exceptions of course - people who are so damaged and twisted that it's not possible to really avoid being critical - but in that case you can opt to not dwell on them. We have had public figures here in US who one must, at some point, just stop reading about them or watching them on media. Best not to give them oxygen.

@MasterOgon A couple of the earlier ones you posted in 2021 also had retro touches that made me think of Fritz Lang's Metropolis and other early sci-fi art. Very evocative.

I remember your flying saucer designs at the now defunct sciencechatforum. Glad you made your way over here. I like the surreal aspects, and also how some show influences of old Soviet Era poster art. The eroticism of "Space Values" was intriguing.

Were you helping the Fijians deal with climate change? 😀

I've played it on pf. Worked all day at it, just got deeper in debt. Do you play marimba, xylophone or vibe, also? I can imagine the "hammer" theme of the song would sound cool maybe on marimba, with its lower range and deeper timbre.

Officer-related shootings, and resulting mortality, is tracked by the FBI's National Use-of-Force Data Collection but that is too recently started to be much use. (2015) The Law Enforcement Epidemiology Project has a little over two decades of data. https://policeepi.uic.edu/data-civilian-injuries-law-enforcement/facts-figures-injuries-caused-law-enforcement/ This group, run from the CDC, has been tracking violent deaths for a couple decades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Violent_Death_Reporting_System As for finding data on fat cops, good luck! Maybe some industry clearinghouse tracks doughnut consumption in specific areas? 😏

As several have noted, how much inflation depends on what proportion of a business overhead is labor. And how much is inflation from a MW increase offset by increased disposable income of workers. If inflation raises all goods and services ten percent, but average wages increase fifteen percent, then workers gain. It also matters how other pay grades, above minimum, are stepwise affected by the MW increase at a business. And it also matters where the inflation hits hardest. If it's nonessential goods and services (non-rent/food/utilities/transit), then people can scale back to meet their budget. Essentials, OTOH, are harder to scale back - it's hard to negotiate paying 80 percent of your rent and utlities, or skip meals, or walk to a job that's 20 miles away. So maybe MW should be set at state and municipal levels, and calculated to meet the cost of living in that area, with the standard being: can afford essential goods and services. I think most people at the bottom wage level would gladly endure a pricier burrito at Chipotle, if it meant they could pay rent and groceries every month. You can make a burrito at home. You can't chop 200 square feet off your apartment and ask the landlord for a rent discount. Chipotle would not likely have to lay off burrito assemblers for the simple reason that, for every MW worker who skips lunch there due to a rise in prices, another one who got the pay bump (and happens to have a good rent deal, with roommates, or lives with extended family, say) would start eating there more often. Not a practitioner of the Dismal Science, so take all that with a grain of salt.

Too many social science branches rely on faux-scientific analysis that can masssage data into any shape desired. For every paper about white domination of seminars I am sure you can find one about male domination or capitalist domination or dog owner domination or whoever's silhouette is hanging up there in the ideological shooting gallery.

One cause of organisms to change is when there is some selective pressure in those environments - flight developed not because it was inevitable but because some species gained a reproductive advantage in developing the ability to become airborne. For such reasons as escaping predation or better location of food or traversing rough terrain or a combination of factors. So it's a matter of complex pressures in a particular ecosystem. So, as others point out, there is a variety of different wing configurations. A dragonfly and a condor have quite different wings. And (per @Genady pointed question) we have snow high in the mountains and yet no species growing skis or snowboards. (only a snowshoe hare, which is really just having large back feet)

Are we sure this is not a spoof paper? If not, it is profoundly silly. Even the teapots should continue to have calm weather.

Why he paints in the nude, I have no idea. Perhaps it saves on his laundry bills?