1 hour ago, Otto Kretschmer said:

Today I learned that box occupancy behavior is scale invariant within the Felidae family.

But have you learned that if you put strips of tape on the floor in a rectangular/square pattern, your feline companion will happily lie down within the perimeter of the tape, as if it was a 'box' ?
Or even on a rectangular sheet of paper/magazine you might leave on the floor ?
( yes, I had two cats for about 17 years, and my niece had a baby tiger for almost a year when she lived at my other house )

12 minutes ago, MigL said:

But have you learned that if you put strips of tape on the floor in a rectangular/square pattern, your feline companion will happily lie down within the perimeter of the tape, as if it was a 'box' ?
Or even on a rectangular sheet of paper/magazine you might leave on the floor ?
( yes, I had two cats for about 17 years, and my niece had a baby tiger for almost a year when she lived at my other house )

I have heard of that but haven't tested it empiricaly... sadly.

"baby tiger"? Is that a hyperbole?

Not Hyperbole.
My niece, Alex, is a magician at the Greg Frewin Theater in nearby Niagara Falls.
Last year she made two appearances on Britain's Got Talent

The theater used to keep tigers and when one tiger abandoned its newborn because of a broken leg , she nursed it back to health at home ( until it started looking at her like food ) and it is now in a zoo north of Toronto.

Edited December 13, 2025Dec 13 by MigL

26 minutes ago, MigL said:

Not Hyperbole.
My niece, Alex, is a magician at the Greg Frewin Theater in nearby Niagara Falls.
Last year she made two appearances on Britain's Got Talent

The theater used to keep tigers and when one tiger abandoned its newborn because of a broken leg , she nursed it back to health at home ( until it started looking at her like food ) and it is now in a zoo north of Toronto.

Oh, now it makes sense.

2 hours ago, MigL said:

My niece, Alex, is a magician at the Greg Frewin Theater in nearby Niagara Falls.
Last year she made two appearances on Britain's Got Talent

I am speechless! And in need of duct tape myself* before I say something excessively flattering about your niece. But really, that is serious talent, and skillful prestidigitation.

* Not that duct tape is terribly effective at stopping keyboard use.

I'll let her know you appreciated her performance.

Today I learned that in the UK there is The Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers.

Yes - they like very small art.

I've just reached a conclusion that everyone (myself included) is actually an infinite idiot.

If there is an infinite number of universes (the multiverse), then there must be an infinite amount of knowledge in said universes. Thus, any living human possesses only an infinitely small amount of that knowledge.

I feel a bit humbled.

Edited December 16, 2025Dec 16 by Otto Kretschmer

2 hours ago, Otto Kretschmer said:

I've just reached a conclusion that everyone (myself included) is actually an infinite idiot.

If there is an infinite number of universes (the multiverse), then there must be an infinite amount of knowledge in said universes. Thus, any living human possesses only an infinitely small amount of that knowledge.

I feel a bit humbled.

One could distinguish between knowledge and information, however. Infinite universes would require infinite information to describe every particle, field, and state, yet that could be reducible to a finite algorithm. This gets into Shannon's information theory and probably for another thread.

With recursion and looping, it could be in principle a possibility that all those universes of knowledge could be compressed to some lines on a single sheet of paper. Whenever you wanted to turn your attention on, say, Percival Shmeebly in Universe #3456790, you would just run the algorithm and then decompress the resulting Shmeebly History string. So there could (again, in principle, not necessarily in reality) be vast inhuman minds somewhere which can in principle become Percival Shmeebly whenever they cast their attention that way and want the full realistic Shmeebly experience. Basically you don't have to know everything all at once in order to attain infinite knowledge.

Sincerely yours,

Percival J. Shmeebly

TIL that Bill Nye the Science Guy is on Youtube with full episodes:

21 hours ago, Otto Kretschmer said:

If there is an infinite number of universes (the multiverse), then there must be an infinite amount of knowledge in said universes. Thus, any living human possesses only an infinitely small amount of that knowledge.

But, there being an infinite number of universes, with infinite possibilities, there is a possible person with ALL the knowledge of the universe.
Hopefully today you have learned that you should never use infinities to make a point, because, just like Physics theories, when infinities arise, your point ceases to be valid 🙂 .

Today I learned that Sir Isaac Newton actually dabbled in medicine and tried to create a remedy for the bubonic plague, namely the following recipe:

1. You take a live toad and hang it by its legs in a chimney for three days.

2. The toad, under extreme stress, eventually vomits up "earth with various insects in it" and dies.

3. You collect that vomit on a dish of yellow wax, grind the dead toad into a powder, and mix them together.

4. You form this into "lozenges" (essentially amulets) to be worn on the affected area to "draw out the poison."

Given his vast intellect, this remedy surely must have worked as reliably as his laws of motion!

Edited January 11Jan 11 by Otto Kretschmer

Newton also dabbled in alchemy.
How did that work out ?

I guess we're all human, and even geniuses have their faults.

9 hours ago, MigL said:

Newton also dabbled in alchemy.
How did that work out ?

I guess we're all human, and even geniuses have their faults.

I’m less inclined to attribute this as a fault in an era where they simply didn’t know much (in this case, about atoms, nuclear structure and isotopes) - there was no valid existing theory behind most of what they were investigating. We know now you can change lead into gold but it’s not a chemical reaction and that you’d need a particle accelerator

TIL they actually did it at the LHC

https://home.cern/news/news/physics/alice-detects-conversion-lead-gold-lhc

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01501-5

11 hours ago, MigL said:

Newton also dabbled in alchemy.

Yep, and theology.

Overview:

Newton's diverse range of interests is seen in his library, which contained 1,752 books that could be identified. A large portion consisted of works on theology (27.2%, or 477 books), followed by alchemy (9.6%, 169 books), mathematics (7.2%, 126 books), physics (3.0%, 52 books), and finally astronomy (1.9%, 33 books). Ultimately, books related to his famous scientific work made up slightly less than 12% of the total collection.

Italics by me.

Today I learned that one could get a free computer as early as 1972:

On 3/19/2017 at 11:04 PM, CharonY said:

Possible and rather typical for what effectively is fusion food (but less pretentious). Incidentally, food is for me one of the best arguments for immigration.

I must have been busy 9 years ago so I missed the opportunity to post this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaGdwfykYGY

On 1/12/2026 at 5:49 PM, Otto Kretschmer said:

Today I learned that one could get a free computer as early as 1972:

Ahh, fond memories of Hollerith pinch card machines from the mid 70s.
And a stack of cards about 6 inches high, each with one line of FORTRAN IV code, solving for the energy levels of the Helium atom by numerical methods.

Tedious and frustrating, but I would gladly do it every day again, if I could be 21 years old again.

Today I learned of white rainbows and how they can be formed.

Today I learned that people in the past used to believe that vaccines will turn them into cows:

NPR

A Cow Head Will Not Erupt From Your Body If You Get A Sma...

The eradication of smallpox was arguably one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine. But people had crazy ideas about the vaccine when it was created in 1798. A new exhibit tells the story.

Edited January 19Jan 19 by Otto Kretschmer

Today I learned that "Today I Learned" can also be used to discuss whether I actually learned something or not.

On 12/17/2025 at 8:16 PM, MigL said:

Hopefully today you have learned that you should never use infinities to make a point, because, just like Physics theories, when infinities arise, your point ceases to be valid 🙂 .

🫠 Cheers!

On 1/14/2026 at 5:42 PM, OldTony said:

Today I learned of white rainbows and how they can be formed.

Very interesting, and impossible to watch from where I stand. Thank you.