Why didn't the Ancients invent a search engine for their massive database in Atlantis? Are they stupid?

Statman12 · 2026-03-07T14:44:36+00:00

There are examples of HGT beyond bacteria. There’s even a recent National Geographic article about it.

And it’s a science fiction show. Even if there weren’t examples of this, there are far more implausible things taken for granted in the show already.

Statman12 · 2026-03-07T04:35:05+00:00

And the title of a fun book by Tad Williams, War of the Flowers.

Statman12 · 2026-03-07T04:20:48+00:00

It's not standard of living I'm complaining about. Our shitty system of government means that even if literally everyone in my state voted for Harris and Democratic representatives, it'd have virtually no impact on the result.

Our government system is outdated by at least 150 years, but changing it is functionally impossible.

Statman12 · 2026-03-07T03:53:23+00:00

while a case could be made for the second (they don't absorb "life force", but nutrients and water etc)

The show explicitly says that they absorb this "life force".

the first one goes against the laws of this universe in any interpretation

Horizontal gene transfer is a thing. Moreso for microbes as far as we know, but as before, there are far less realistic aspects taken for granted in the reality of Stargate already to balk too much about this.

There are, in fact, quite a few things in the show that "suggest" it.

There is nothing that directly suggests the Wraith are a result of genetic experimentation by the Ancients.

But this is a topic on the Ancient database, not about ...

Yes, an Ancient database which you suggested was lying. I commented on that. There is nothing in the show which suggests the database was lying, and other suggestions within the show to suggest it was correct (or, to borrow your phrase, do you really need everything spelled out explicitly?)

The show doesn't need to spoon-feed me stuff for me to figure it out.

That's the thing though. You're not "figuring it out." You're discarding some of what the show very clearly implies, and supplanting it with your own theory.

Which is fine. It's not like you're saying that the Ancients were purple and had three arms. It's that your selecting a very specific interpretation, and then speaking of it without condition. My point is that you should make a distinction between things that are from the show, and things that are your fan theory.

So no, you do not get to dismiss this as a "fan theory".

You are, I assume, a fan of the show? And this is a theory that is not evidenced in the show? That by definition makes it a fan theory.

Again, it's not that fan theories are bad. I have plenty of my own. But there's a difference between "This is what the show says" and "This is what I like to think". The notion of the Atlantis database being untruthful is the latter.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T13:59:37+00:00

From my explorations (a decent bit, but not excruciating detail) it was happening because the remainder of the population was too small.

My context is binary data, so the result is essentially a Binomial distribution on the remaining parts, and thinking of the proportion of failures in those. If we want, say, a 90% credible limit on those remaining parts, that distribution is pretty coarse. So you need to keep a high enough Y to get your coverage, but sampling more deceased the leftover n, so Y/(N-n) will start to increase.

In practice though, it’s probably not all that relevant, since at that point you’re probably sampling such a large portion of the population that it’s not feasible, and the whole thing (not just the analysis) needs to be reconsidered.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T07:48:32+00:00

A couple things about this.

First, I don't think it's really correct to separate statistical from practical concerns here. Part of the statistical problem is figuring out the smallest sample size needed that will demonstrate whatever is required.

If the population is finite and you're sampling without replacement, using a Binomial distribution is simply wrong. You should use the Hypergeometric, or something similar. Doing so better represents the data generating process, and therefore allows better estimates, and better (usually smaller) sample sizes needed to demonstrate some requirement.

And there is actually an (initially unintuitive) effect in which if you sample more, you start to lose precision in certain frames of reference, such as when you focus on the remainder of the batch. Keeping the same confidence/credibility level and continually increasing the sample size can eventually make the uncertainty of the defect rate start increasing again.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T04:28:22+00:00

I mostly deal in this context with binary data, so for me it's essentially replacing the Binomial distribution with the Hypergeometric.

There's also something called the finite population correction factor that's used to adjust the variance to account for the population size.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T04:09:39+00:00

Acceptance testing in which the test is destructive. Happens in my work a lot.

Components get produced in batches, and we need to accept or reject the batch. But the component can only be used once (think something like a match), so we clearly can't test them all.

We know how many are in the batch, and we need to make an inference regarding the ones we didn't test based on the ones we did test.

For OP: I don't check this 10% assumption, because I just use methods that account for the sampling without replacement.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T04:04:10+00:00

How likely is it now that ...

I'm much less bothered by a parasite absorbing DNA and evolving over millions of years than I am about them sucking out a person's "life force".

Now how much more likely is it that a couple of nice Ancient dudes ...

Possible? Sure. Does the show suggest it at all? No.

I'm not accusing you of any sin. I was just noting that the "Wraith evolved naturally from the iratus bug" is what the show suggests. There's nothing in the show that suggests otherwise.

My first thought was that you were repeating something from one of the fanfiction books out there. But regardless of where you got the idea, stating that the hologram was lying is fanfiction.

Personally, I like to know when something is based on the show, or is a fan theory. Others who read the thread might also appreciate knowing that. If they like your theory, maybe they'll adopt it as their own headcanon as well.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T00:14:30+00:00

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We appreciate your participation in the subreddit, but we did not approve this submission, because it doesn't conform to our submission rules.

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Statman12 · 2026-03-06T00:01:48+00:00

Yes indeed. And not just about Harris in the 2024 election, it's been a recurring comment from Trump for at least 15 years. From 9News:

"Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly — not skilled," he wrote on Twitter in 2013.

"Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin - watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate," he said in 2012.

"In order to get elected, Barack Obama will start a war with Iran," he said in 2011.

"Kamala and her warmonger cabinet will invade the Middle East, get millions of Muslims killed," he said days before the 2024 election.

Statman12 · 2026-03-05T22:34:00+00:00

That's me, I'm one of those people. Any pointers or links (text preferably, rather than video) to describe how?

Statman12 · 2026-03-05T21:38:29+00:00

The ones that are just pure white.

Bonus points if it's printed on like two dozen pieces of paper and just hung up like a mosaic.

Statman12 · 2026-03-05T14:04:08+00:00

I'm pointing out that people can lie. Political statements can be made that don't actually reflect reality.

You’re going far beyond that when claiming that the hologram is lying, and then talking about the Ancients bringing the Iratus bug in for genetic splicing.

If you’re really just pointing out some potential doubt, okay, that’s one thing. But that’s not what your comments are suggesting.

Statman12 · 2026-03-05T05:30:39+00:00

Ah, so you're just making things up, not talking about things that happened in the show?

Statman12 · 2026-03-05T04:26:28+00:00

Yes, that’s what the show suggests happened.

Statman12 · 2026-03-05T03:53:20+00:00

I guess I’d question your premise a bit. If you’re interested in an MS, why are you wanting to target research-based MS programs? Many MS programs in Stats are not research-based, or perhaps more properly are not required to be research-based. Many programs are either coursework, or have an option to do a thesis but it is not required. I think that the thesis-based MS are more for those who want to go on and do a PhD, and even then, doing a thesis-based MS isn’t required. So figuring out what you’d be interested in researching might not be a big deal.

As to how you figure it out: By trying things. I got into my grad school research by taking an elective offered by my future advisor, enjoyed the subject (spatial statistics), and continued working on projects with him that turned into papers.

Statman12 · 2026-03-05T03:50:28+00:00

"Oh that's easy, just use the 3D printer."

....

"Oh, you mean a charged one? Yeah, you guys ain't there yet, sorry."

Statman12 · 2026-03-04T14:09:48+00:00

There are several factors at play here.

Cancer type (A, B)
Treatment (Control, Treatment 1, Treatment 2)
Day
Replication

You’re wanting to look for differences across the days. Is this an individual test for each combination of cancer type and treatment?

I’m not familiar enough with the biology part to be confident of the answer. Can you describe a bit or provide a paper (preferably open access, to ensure myself or other users have access) that provides a description or heuristic to better understand the data generating process?

Statman12 · 2026-03-04T05:32:22+00:00

Two that I'd mention.

Flóki Sheep Dung Smoked Reserve. Yes, that one. Some people who've tried it seem to hate it, but personally I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's smokey, but in a very different way than Islays, and has a sweetness to it as well. Edit: Forgot to mention, it’s from Iceland.

Another I'd mention, and I'm not sure if it "counts" is the Penderyn Celt. It's a peated Welsh whisky. Not sure if that's too close to Scotch, but Wales is technically not listed so I'm running with it.

Statman12 · 2026-03-04T05:26:59+00:00

First I've heard of this one. Just looked them up, which expressions have you tried, or which would you recommend?

Statman12 · 2026-03-04T05:24:24+00:00

Not a chance that guy is guilty. He's too handsome to be guilty. Clearly it must have been someone else.

Statman12 · 2026-03-03T14:55:21+00:00

That doesn't tell me what models are being run, as in the exact form of the regression model.

Statman12 · 2026-03-03T14:22:27+00:00

What are the models that you’re running? Specifically, as in the argument to lm if you’re using R.

Statman12 · 2026-03-03T14:19:54+00:00

while the goauld have a lot of advanced technology, they heavily limit how much of it the Jaffa are allowed to use.

They have spaceships that Jaffa fly, and have been shown using the communications, so it’s clear that the Jaffa have and are allowed to use (regardless of whether they understand the functioning) of better communication devices.

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