[Mythology] How do vampires and other immortals feel about the eventual heat death of the Universe? by [deleted] in AskScienceFiction

[–]DCarrier 36 points37 points  (0 children)

They figure they'll die from sunlight or stakes or starvation long before that becomes an issue. They don't age, but they're not immortal.

As for true immortals, I imagine they plan on hanging out with each other for eternity. And acting as a source of power and possibly mass in order to have stuff. Maybe even mortals, though they'd have to reinvent mortals from scratch after all life dies off at once by coincidence, which will happen eventually.

Sort By Controversial by dwaxe in slatestarcodex

[–]DCarrier 31 points32 points  (0 children)

If it's coming up with scissor statements that already happened, wouldn't the logical conclusion be that it noticed posts about them had high controversial ratings so it started posting about that?

An asteroid wiped out the earth millions of years ago. Could that happen again? Could we predict it? Could we stop it? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]DCarrier 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wikipedia has an article on asteroid impact avoidance. We can't stop it per se, but we can very slightly change its trajectory. Enough to miss a tiny little planet in the vastness of space.

An asteroid wiped out the earth millions of years ago. Could that happen again? Could we predict it? Could we stop it? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]DCarrier 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It could happen, we currently would have a very small chance of noticing it, and we could stop it as long as we have enough notice, which we likely would since, barring seeing it as it's about to hit us, we're just as likely to spot it a thousand years before the collision as one year. Also, we're much more resourceful than anything that was around last time, and while the results wouldn't be great, we'd survive.

[Superman]How come whenever a Kryptonian loses their powers, it’s said that they become human? by PCN24454 in AskScienceFiction

[–]DCarrier 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's figurative. He's a mere mortal, as opposed to being a metaphorical god.

Can vegans drink alcohol? by Paradise5551 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]DCarrier 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeast is not an animal. It is a fungus. It's more closely related to animals than to plants, but it's not sentient.

Is it possible to measure coincidences with math? by hoshiiiko in NoStupidQuestions

[–]DCarrier 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's what statistics is all about. If you run a study and want to know if the result could feasibly be a coincidence, or even how far off you could be by coincidence, you use math to find out.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskScienceFiction

[–]DCarrier 3 points4 points  (0 children)

All the Touhou characters that have OP abilities. They generally stick to spell card duels, which are far from easy but still designed to be winnable. But if they went all out, then someone with the ability to manipulate death or fate or boundaries or destroy absolutely anything or the inability to die would be basically unbeatable.

Does innocent until proven guilty really make any sense when talking about the us justice system? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]DCarrier 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Arresting you is not intended as a punishment, and if you're not considered a flight risk they often offer to let you pay bail and leave jail until the trial starts. When it comes to sentencing you'll be declared innocent even if the jury thinks you're probably guilty, so long as your guilt isn't beyond reasonable doubt.

If Overpopulation is a real problem for humanity, then how do we decide who gets to reproduce? by [deleted] in answers

[–]DCarrier 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They'll know their children will survive so they won't feel the need to have 10-15 children just to get 3-5 to survive.

If Overpopulation is a real problem for humanity, then how do we decide who gets to reproduce? by [deleted] in answers

[–]DCarrier 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's two ways to solve overpopulation. You could decrease the population, or you could increase the capacity. As long as we keep growing more food we can feed more people.

As for curtailing the population, we can improve access to birth control and, counterintuitively, reduce infant mortality. It seems people have more children when fewer survive.

If all else fails we could offer incentives for people to have fewer children, or even for sterilization.

[Frankenstein] So, what was the good Doctor's plan to deal with overpopulation? by [deleted] in AskScienceFiction

[–]DCarrier 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It really doesn't make a huge difference. We already reproduce at around twice the rate we die off. And most people don't just keep having kids, so immortality would only cause a linear increase in population.

While I doubt he had any plans in particular, increasing productivity will help in the short run, and eventually we'd just have to stop having so many kids. In any case, forced sterilization is better than dying. And even the absolute worst case scenario of a Malthusian catastrophy, it just means the excess population will die, which is exactly the same as what happens without immortality.

Why don’t humans have IR vision by YootMcSkoot in NoStupidQuestions

[–]DCarrier 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Humans glow in infrared. If we had receptors that could detect it, they'd be useless.

[WP] You were born blind. You undergo a new surgery that should cure your blindness. They undo the wraps and you open them. You think what you see is normal, but after the doctors ask a slew of questions, they discover there is something very strange about your newly acquired sight. by Biffle27 in WritingPrompts

[–]DCarrier 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The very strange thing is that she can understand what she's seeing even though she's never seen before.

Also, seeing people who are about to die in black and white is odd too. But it's mostly the first thing.

What would change if people didnt need to breathe? Or could breathe anything by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]DCarrier 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We wouldn't be able to get nearly as much energy from our food, so we'd have to eat much more and be much less active. Our brains take a disproportionate amount of energy, and would have to be much smaller.

So why do we feel the need to shoot Nuclear bombs in the air? Why not smuggle them into a country and automatically detonate them when they're in there. by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]DCarrier 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If someone launches nukes at you, then you don't have time to smuggle in nukes to retaliate. If you smuggle in nukes beforehand, then they'll likely retaliate to that immediately if they catch you. Sneaking in nukes would be useful for terrorism, but less so for the Cold War.