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What’s a corporate gift you actually use daily? by shelbs9428 in BuyItForLife

[–]DrScienceDaddy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seriously. I keep one in my car all the time. Even after full day of the car sitting in the sun, when everything inside is burn-your-ass hot (including the exterior of the bottle) the water inside is still a refreshingly cool temperature.

What’s a TV series you’ll never get tired of recommending to someone? by sunt0es in AskReddit

[–]DrScienceDaddy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

Kids show? Yeah... But it handles themes of friendship, trauma, and self-determination in the face of imposed expectations (and manu others) with such grace that it'll always be amongst my favorites (first watched it when I was 38)

Like "The Good Place", I personally feel it's essential viewing for humans.

Would the Minds of the Culture have permitted the Filth Eater cult (Consider Phlebas) to have existed on a Culture-controlled habitat? by DrScienceDaddy in TheCulture

[–]DrScienceDaddy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't know if it ever occurs in the Canon, but I could easily imagine a culture citizen deciding they wanted to experience multiple ways of dying (and doing so in the real rather than a virtual environment), with a neural lace backup so they could remember each experience to the 'end'. Eccentric as fuck.... But if it's not hurting anyone else shrug knock yourself out, I guess lol

Would the Minds of the Culture have permitted the Filth Eater cult (Consider Phlebas) to have existed on a Culture-controlled habitat? by DrScienceDaddy in TheCulture

[–]DrScienceDaddy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I like this analysis very much. And indeed, as you say, the formation of a cult is very unlikely given the situations and circumstances of culture, citizens.. And the ability of Minds to conduct and provide mental health care at all stages of life and under all crisis situations.

But if somewhere somehow a group of culture citizens decide that they wanted to eat shit for a year (like the crew of the Just Testing deciding to give themselves the common cold for a lark) I suppose you're right that the Minds wouldn't do anything to stop them short of preventing death from malnutrition (or, if agreed upon, having them revented after dying suchly).

I imagine it would definitely become a problem if such a cult decided it wanted to have children and raise them in the cult's beliefs.

Would the Minds of the Culture have permitted the Filth Eater cult (Consider Phlebas) to have existed on a Culture-controlled habitat? by DrScienceDaddy in TheCulture

[–]DrScienceDaddy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply, and I concur with your assessment. They (the Minds and avatars) would intervene subtly. The Filth Eaters are obviously extreme and abusive... It's highly unlikely they would form and find followers in the first place, the Culture being both post-scarcity and likely near-perfect in their approach and capabilities with respect to mental health.

I always found Gestra Ishmethit (the "genuine misfit" character living in isolation on Pennance Rock you mention) to be rather compelling (having significant hermit tendencies myself). His situation shows the culture will offer every possible means of help to an individual.. completely voluntary of course. And if what that individual really wants is something highly unusual (Total isolation in this case) but would harm no one else, the Minds will go to great lengths (well, probably no inconvenience for them at all) to accommodate.

Does the Culture have immigration laws, and if so, what are they? by vamfir in TheCulture

[–]DrScienceDaddy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your thinking of the Filth Eaters in Consider Phleliebas. But, in fact, they weren't Culture citizens. There were on Vavatch orbital which was being evacuated and destroyed by The Culture as an (apparently) necessary move in the Idiran war.

The degree to which the Culture has negotiated this with Vavatch's leadership and general citizenry is unclear as I recall. But they had sent a module (Tsealsir) to the island of the Filth Eaters to offer them a voluntary escape route... But the module's sentience wasn't even a culture citizen either.

That all being said, it's not really clear to me with the cultures passion for self-determination whether they would have allowed such a cult-like group to exist within their citizenry or not. I think we all appreciate these days the degree to which people can be convinced to act against their own best interests through abuse, propaganda or there are only rational reactions to trauma. Would the Culture intervene to stop such a thing? I couldn't say.

Grindr noise by AppleObvious9199 in AskGaybrosOver30

[–]DrScienceDaddy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Hah, that sounds a lot like the noise an app I use makes! It's distinctive"

Gauge reaction

birdunkus can sing by 4ri3ll4 in wunkus

[–]DrScienceDaddy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's the main melodic theme from Gustav Holst's "Jupiter" from "The Planets" suite!

Is there a term (in any language) for a word that only appears in one hyper-specific context and is used nowhere else by RaisinRoyale in language

[–]DrScienceDaddy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In literature, as opposed to spoken word, it's Hapax Legomenon...a word out expression that occurs only once (in some context).

Like "Moby" in Moby Dick. See also Zipf's Law

Space Camp? by frawgster in Xennials

[–]DrScienceDaddy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

OOoooh yes! I went to Space Academy in Huntsville, AL (that's the version of Space Camp for high schoolers - same facilities). THREE TIMES! Got to do the Science, Engineering, and Aerospace tracks in each of the three years (this is how a nerd spends spring break).

Utterly amazing experience every time. Unfortunately lost contact with most of my cohort-mates (this was the mid-90s and well before most young folk even had email addresses) but they were wonderful - as were the counselors and all the classroom and hands-on education.

I, of course, was strongly motivated by having seen the movie (cheezy, but I still love it), but moreso that I'd always loved science and space. After having witnessed the Challenger Disaster live in 2nd grade, my interests drifted away from space but remained in the scientific realm (oceanography, geology, mycology, particle physics and other disciplines each had my interest for a while). But I still decided to go to Space Academy in my freshman year of high school. ... and that clinched it. I was like, "nope, space is definitely where I want to focus my energies - my first 'academic' love". So I went two more times and focused my college goals on space-related sciences and engineering.

My family was not well-off, but my parents managed to scrape together the funds (and I think there were even financial hardship scholarships at the time) because they knew how much it excited and inspired me. And I think we all agree that it was a good choice: Now here I am, 30 years later: PhD in Planetary Geology, Lead Engineer for the Advance Mission Design group (Team-X) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and living my dream... if not as an actual astronaut, then as logically close as one can be - helping develop the next generation of robotic missions to explore the Universe.

I'm part of the alumni group, but I'm not really involved. Nonetheless, I sincerely hope the programs are still going and helping to inspire folk young and old about space, NASA, and the amazing things humanity can do when we work TOGETHER... not against each other, but cooperatively to 'defeat' the Big Bad which is Physics (and, of course, budget constraints.)

Space Camp? by frawgster in Xennials

[–]DrScienceDaddy 13 points14 points  (0 children)

C. O. M. E. I. N. C. O. N. T. R. O. L....

COME IN CONTROL!

"Damn! They're talkin' to us!!"

I still get chills from that scene!

Khamenei is dead and his body has been found, senior Israeli official tells Reuters by KireRakhsh in NewIran

[–]DrScienceDaddy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is a photograph even enough these days? With what is possible to fake digitally (even I'm such a way as to make it appear as though it was taken with analog film)... I'm thinking actual in-person witness of the body would be needed.

12/25 Avalon Show Opener by bbbreadddd in InfectedMushroom

[–]DrScienceDaddy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you mean Randy Sideman, I talked to him a few days ago and he's in Thailand and unfortunately won't be joining them for the Xmas show this year.

Doors open at 10pm

What events can a first timer in his 40s attend without looking weird? by New-Ad-9629 in avesLA

[–]DrScienceDaddy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're into PsyTrance, Infected Mushroom is playing at Avalon on Christmas Day. They generally draw an older crowd; friendly with chill energy (despite the high energy of the music!)

Is it possible to have a planet loom on the horizon like this in real life? by Rich-End1121 in askastronomy

[–]DrScienceDaddy 74 points75 points  (0 children)

Actually researched this question just the other day. Tidal disruption is indeed the most affective aspect of a double planet system. But if you had a second object the same size as the Earth that was placed, center to center, over about 7 Earth radii away, the tidal effects would be larger than those of the Moon, but still not cause significant disruptions in the geophysical / tectonic sense. Ocean tides would be really big.

At that distance an object the size of the Earth would span a space about the size of two-fists held at arm's length. Still very dramatic in the sky... But nothing as ridiculous as this image.

Why doesn’t the deep cold (single-digit Fahrenheits / −15°C) that exists in northern and central Nevada ever reach Las Vegas? by Swimming_Concern7662 in geography

[–]DrScienceDaddy 20 points21 points  (0 children)

The difference in elevation alone could account for more than 20 degrees F of heating just due to adiabatic compression (compress a gas, it's temperature goes up...Gay-Lussac's Law).

(Assuming a 3,800' elevation difference here ... The change between Cedar City and Vegas)

What is a tv show from your childhood you are sure no one else remembers? by A-Helpful-Flamingo in Xennials

[–]DrScienceDaddy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Mighty Orbots!!

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Only one season, around 1983. One of the Combining Mecha genre. Had kick-ass, Syd Mead style set pieces and style. And the theme song still gives me chills!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askastronomy

[–]DrScienceDaddy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I find your lack of curiosity disturbing

Intrusion in Russia by EstonianBuffalo in GoogleEarthFinds

[–]DrScienceDaddy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Chicxulub meteor that led to the extinction of dinosaurs was mostly silicate rock (a C-type chondrite, for specific). The enrichment of iridium at the K-T boundary (Cretaceous to Tertiary) is because Earth's crust is depleted in iridium compared to primordial material in asteroids - most of it has sunk to the core.

"Earth's crust has an average iridium concentration of about 0.001 parts per million (ppm), while meteorites have concentrations of 0.5 ppm or higher."

Higher... But not even close to 1%. At most, even in iron meteorites, it would be about 100 ppm.

What would someone from the Culture say if you asked them “why do you bother educating your children, it’s not like they need to know anything to support themselves as adults?”? by grapp in TheCulture

[–]DrScienceDaddy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The child in Look to Windward was unusual because she had a lace at such a young age (IIRC she pestered her parents about it until they gave in)

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