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Heretic

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Everything posted by Heretic

  1. Thanks guys I really appreciate it. I haven't been posting much but I've been reading over the conversations and wanting to have something to add but not being able to even relate to half the posts. I'm reading the lectures now and so far so good, Zwiebach's book seems like a good place to head to after that. I plan on watching the youtube when my eyes get tired of reading. Hopefully I'll have something to add later this year. Wow those lectures are way over my head. I'm currently sifting through other articles just to understand what are seemly basic concepts. *shrug* wasn't expecting instant results I just didn't realize how far I really was from understanding it all.
  2. I was wondering what a good progression to grasping the ideas of string theory would be. I'm an educated layman... Not unfamiliar with the concept but generally I don't feel I could explain it adequately to someone else. That said what would be a good way to wrap my head around it fully. I'm got a basic understanding of Quantum mechanics but I'm sure I'd need a firmer background, would I not? Where should I start? Any suggestions on great reading material? (not journals, I read those, but actual books based on the subjects)
  3. I'm really beginning to wonder if all these "XTREME!!!!!11!" ads aren't just paid for by some cynical old fart who actively is trying to propagate Darwinism (not the real Darwinism, the kill off the stupid kind) by destroying and mangling all the misguided youths they can.
  4. Actually there are a number of recorded "no-hitters".
  5. Seriously though I would. What could be more fun then learning something new and interesting everyday. Then learning a new language and spending time at a university in a foreign country learning about their views on the same subjects. What an amazingly beautiful life that would be.
  6. A while back I was given a problem by a friend of mine. He told me that is was a supposedly a high school math problem (turned out it was). The solution was incredibly simple if I had the right equation. However since I wasn't taking high school math and didn't ever need to learn that obscure equation the problem seemed impossible to me. That's more then likely what is going on here. You'll need to find that obscure equation that is only useful for this exact problem.
  7. I think spunnery just has velocity and acceleration confused. Velocity (generally speaking) is the speed at which an object travels. Acceleration is the change in velocity. So if an object is moving at a certain velocity and maintains that velocity then there is no force acting on that object.
  8. Listen you show me one other solar system with 9 planets (well I guess 8 now) with only one of them having a severe elliptical orbit and the rest (for the most part) circular. I might believe that life COULD form there similar to ours. But I won't say intelligent life. The fact is we live in a messed up solar system that is unlike any other we've seen, on a planet that's nothing like the other 8 (or 7 or whatever) in our system and we're the only highly intelligent life-form out of the millions (an approximation) of species that have come and gone from our planet. Put that in your Drake equation and give it a spin. Our existence is one big WTF after another.
  9. I'm sorry but I have to ask. Exactly which religion do you believe has an "omni-benevolent God"?
  10. I think if anything this thread proves the common misconceptions about fusion. I believe many posters are confusing the common fission reactors with fusion reactors. Which is sad because they are pretty much opposites. The worst part is it seems the article was only fueling this rift. Right now I pity every poor science student who was thrown out of class for arguing with their teacher about this article.
  11. Could you please elaborate?
  12. Sure of course the system would kick in, but when? Is it before or after the damage is done? If you blackout from lack of oxygen from holding your breath too long have you not already caused damage? I imagine if your heart was beating at a level that caused insufficient supply of oxygen to important systems that the brain would not react until a blackout or enough damage was done to initiate the response. If in fact your body can pre-emptively detect that it will be damaged then I retract my initial statement.
  13. Just dark matter. There must be a reason for the gravitational distortions we're observing but I don't believe dark matter is the reason. I hope that this study allows us to further probe into what the cause might be. Whenever I hear dark matter I always think of a really really fat woman adjusting a scale to -300 lbs before she steps on it and then saying "SEE LOOK I ONLY WEIGH 110 POUNDS!" The problem is with the equation not with our ability to detect matter. Though I do believe there is matter we are not detecting, the amount of supposed dark matter is far too high to be anything more then human error.
  14. One day scientists are going to look back on this and laugh.
  15. Not long ago there was a health ad for Jaundice. It read: I didn't know there was a difference between men who had sex with men and gay men. Apparently there is.
  16. Heretic

    Spelling

    THE TOPIC IS SPELLING NOT GRAMMAR
  17. Actually this is completely false. Neurons do not fire backwards and forwards. They all do not join, to be blunt, you are wrong. Some nerves carry signals forward and backwards since they consist of several neurons. Please do not post assumptions of neurobiology until you understand simple, basic, action potential. The brain is not a random mess of wires, it is a fine tuned device. And just so you know, we've got a damn good idea of how it works.
  18. Can't remember the name of the study, but I watched it on Discovery. It had people strapped into a chair and they controled the speed of a train using their heart beats. Within weeks every individual had learned to control their heart rate. Some had more control then others but it was amazing to see that you can force your brain to perform tasks that can be bad for your health.
  19. Okay finally my expertise! I can't believe I get to be useful! It's so rare someone asks an ear question! Okay, this feeling is more likely then not fluid inside what's known as the middle ear. It's right behind your eardrum. The reason it makes things seem more sensitive is pretty simple actually. There is a huge impedence between the air outside your head that carries sound and the fluid in your inner ear (cochlea). This would prevent you from hearing sounds clearly except that the bones in your middle ear amplify sound using leverage bascially. When your middle ear fills with fluid these bones can no longer move properly and your eardrum also cannot do its job since it's movement is also restricted. What you are hearing is refered to as bone conduction. Since the bones in your skull can resonate sound into the fluid inside your inner ear it can allow you to perceive sounds even when your hearing bones (I'm doing my best to keep this layman) are missing or damaged. The problem is it's also vibrating the fluid inside your middle ear which can be uncomfortable and also that fluid will then vibrate the fluid inside the cochlea causing a sort of echo or amplification. Don't worry fluid in the middle ear may not be normal but it can be dealt with easily. You have a tube that runs from your middle ear to your throat to help balance the pressure so your eardrums don't burst. Simply chewing on gum will help massage this tube and slowly remove the fluid from your ear. If you've had a cold recently it's probably a related occurance and you have nothing to worry about. Stay away from loud noises as with all that fluid a loud bang could cause serious damage. However if you have been swimming or use Q-tips (which is a big no no your ears are naturally clean) you might have burst your eardrum. Even then perforations can heal over time but I'd see an ENT (Ear Nose and Throat Doctor) just in case you've really hurt yourself. Best of luck hope this helped!
  20. I personally find I learn best when I listen. Find anyone and discuss a topic with them. You won't find as much solid factual evidence as a book might provide but you will open your mind up to several points of view. I think seeing the big picture is more important then knowing exactly how many creases the blade of grass in the middle of the picture has.
  21. Firstly I would like to apologize for being blunt, BUT in the christian circles we have a word for people like your wife: CRAZY! Most christians DO NOT take the bible as a literal text. More as a guide. It's been re-written so many times it is no longer the word of god it once was. We do still worship it as such, but only for the sake of ritual and community. Using the bible to prove a point is irrational and I wouldn't suggest it.
  22. That is too funny. Here's mine, not too long ago. http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showpost.php?p=279664&postcount=3 Unlike the rest of you I appear to be getting more and more stupid.
  23. I kept mine simple... I just want to stay in touch with everyone. I have too many friends that I don't return their calls, not to be rude simply because I have other things to finish up first. So basically I'm going to put pleasure before business for the first time in my life.
  24. Yes that would be the end result. I'll show the the article that got me interested in the whole topic. http://www.sciamdigital.com/index.cfm?fa=Products.ViewIssuePreview&ARTICLEID_CHAR=514FF474-C5FD-439C-9F89-9283BC5BE83 I was wondering exactly what benefits the private and health market have to gain and consequently how data gathering of this kind could affect society.
  25. Hey folks, I'm currently looking into the viability of collecting genetic materials. More so from a security, or marketing stand point rather then a genetic engineering standpoint. I'm sure someone here has done research on a similar topic and I was wondering if there was any paticular scientist or maybe an article on the subject you rather enjoyed or found informative. I'm not asking form movie or book titles, though they are welcome (as I do enjoy the occasional Sci-Fi read) but I'd like to try to keep it to scientific articles. Even one dealing with the morality would be nice. Thanks in advance for any help you can muster. EDIT: This is not business or school related merely curiousity.
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