npts2020

Here's what DARPA was doing with the same sort of thing 5 years ago. https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-tactical/darpa-remote-control-insects/ Interestingly, DARPA is also modeling AI after the neural networks of the tiniest flying insects for efficiency and more miniaturization. https://www.militaryaerospace.com/home/article/16709591/darpa-eyes-tiny-insects-as-models-for-artificial-intelligence-ai-computing Time to get out the tin foil hats before they start controlling human brains.... (just kidding)

In the US, anyway, it seems to matter little what any particular politician does or says so long as they can tie whoever their opponent is to something even less popular and it doesn't even have to be true. If the media is flooded with a given message cleverly enough and for long enough, it becomes true in the minds of many even if the visible reality in front of them is quite different. The average person can't afford to "flood the airways" so the media has a very one-sided narrative shaped by those who control the information stream. If Mr Farage was in the US, it would not be surprising at all to see him at the political forefront for a long time if he maintained the backing of those who can control or buy media. IMO the reason Mr Farage might fade away across the pond is because the British elite seem to worry far more about the underclass revolting than do Americans and may stop backing him.

I wonder if native Americans since the 16th century could relate to that happening?

That is the view of many religious fanatics (of which, much as I liked him, Mr Ali certainly was). I don't recall the topic of interracial marriage ever coming up in our discussion but I have been told his view on it had changed significantly since the 1970's to the point of at least being tolerant and not preaching against it.

Having been fortunate enough to have met Mr Ali twice, I would inquire what particular views you found repellent? The first time I met him was in Washington DC's Farragut Square in the early 1990's. I had seen him there or nearby a couple times previously but there was always a mob around him, this time he was by himself. I asked to shake his hand because I admired his willingness to go to jail instead of Viet Nam. This led to about a 10-15 minute discussion about ethics, morality, hypocrisy and religion, which except for the latter we mostly agreed upon. Apparently, the discussion left enough of an impression for him to remember having met 4-5 years later. Unfortunately, the second time we didn't get to do much more than greet each other because of the usual entourage and my having a deadline to be somewhere.

Good thing we got audio of them for our I-phone ringtone while they are still around. Eh? 🤪

IMO this is one of the biggest problems in American politics, I hear people complain strongly about places they have never even been to, much less actually know someone from, a lot. Given that, I don't see how you can have an opinion strong enough to bother complaining to the point of taking up time to enjoy life or talk about something you might actually be able to solve.

I'm not sure one can really define a single "American culture" in any meaningful way. The culture on Haight Street in San Francisco, California is vastly different from Main Street in Wheatfield, Indiana. It seems it mostly comes from the amount of conformity expected, there are many things that would be considered outrageous in Wheatfield that almost nobody in SF would think to be unusual. Therein lies the debate, which version is the "real" American culture and who gets to say what it is?

I would say welcome to Earth. How did you get here?

I'm not sure what is meant by "going down the tubes" because a lot of Americans say the same thing, yet we reside in a world that is pretty advanced in almost every area of endeavor when compared to the past.

Now you're complicating things. 😜 I would agree but it's not usually written all the way out like that other than someone actually performing the math. Even professional physicists frequently use the shorthand from what I have seen.

Well for me it's e=mc2. The only variables are e and m, the rest is constant and just tells you the proportion between the two that makes them equal. Simple concept. Only one operation. Just three numbers.

The illogical part is the reason for prayer, after that it makes perfect sense, so for anyone like you or me it IS a waste of time. However there are benefits to focusing the mind, like in prayer or meditation, so it might not be a complete waste of time for someone else.

I was beginning to think the gov didn't like some of the discussions on here and shut the site down. Very happy it's back.

The simplest equation means what? The one with the fewest numbers? The one that's easiest to understand? The one with the fewest operations? Something else?

I'm not British but it seems to me the US and UK are fairly similar when it comes to values and morals and we hear the same line about "eroding our values, etc...". However, there are some of us who don't care for the hypocrisy of, "might makes right" unless it is against us or the hoarding mentality of too much is never enough, that is endemic in both cultures, so maybe change is not such a bad thing. People complain about "sharia law" without even knowing what it is. Seems to me most of the complainants would like sharia law in the civil arena since it prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation and really isn't that much different from laws anywhere else. It's mostly in the religious part where practitioners have to be hypocrites to allah instead of god that they differ. Other than that it seems both want to impose their own fanatical beliefs on anyone deemed worthy of not being killed...

Well, if you make the boundries only real life possibilities, then you have set a limit from which to start; i.e. quarks, neutrinos or whatever the smallest measurable bit of reality happens to be. From there it should be possible to calculate the maximum for any size circle. I am unsure of the reality of infinity but it is a useful concept for certain applications, not so much for answering the question in the OP, tho.

I wonder if any of the studies take into account how the cabbies are paid or are all of them worldwide paid on a per fare + mileage basis? I remember as a bicycle messenger in DC being paid on a per delivery basis so there were guys who (rarely lasted more than a few months) would take ridiculous chances riding and I wonder if it could be similar with cabbies. We used to say, "There are old messengers and there are bold messengers but there aren't any old, bold messengers."

Kinda sounds like the way things are now. At least with scientists the outcomes are usually logical and have some sort of factual basis. Even legumes running things probably wouldn't be very much worse and you could always eat them if you didn't like the way things are going. 😀

Half an amanita phalloides (the most deadly poisonous species of mushroom) is a pretty substantial amount to ingest. A small one will measure 5 or 6 cm across the cap and I have seen ones approaching 20 cm. While it doesn't taste bitter, I can't imagine many people liking the taste enough to mistake it for other mushrooms that are edible. BTW, I don't recommend tasting fish to see if it's poisonous, they are much easier to tell apart than fungi.

I've often thought we would all be better off if scientists controlled the government. If it happened overnight, though, there would be a lot of unhappy people who'd be told they can't live the lifestyle they like because it is unsustainable.

Is it any coincidence that the US is infected as well, being directly descended from the Brits?

AFAIK there are few fish species that are poisonous and you can learn them in a few minutes since fish are generally pretty easy to tell apart. Like mushrooms, however, If there is any doubt don't eat it. If I am gathering mushrooms and don't know what one is, I will taste a very small piece. If it doesn't taste good I spit it out, if it does I might eat it on the spot. Even Amanitas won't kill you unless you eat a pretty big one or several, you just might wish you were dead for a while until the sick stomach and hallucinogenic poison wears off.

Mathematics was never one of my strongest subjects but unless you define a minimum value for C, wouldn't the number of circles always be infinite (as pointed out by DavidWahl)?

It seems to me there are usually some small number who profit from chaos and do everything they can to sow dissent and ensure that institutions don't work the way intended. Pretty strange since very few people I have ever met fall outside a pretty narrow spectrum of wants and desires but many think their worldview is vastly different from a significant portion of the human race.