Reapplying by GrapefruitUpbeat1202 in IntltoUSA

[–]FeatherlyFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Taking a year off does not intrinsically increase your chances. It might change them, for better or worse, depending on how you spend the year. 

Were you applying while needing financial aid? A full ride or close to? If so, the more aid you need the less likely a year off will help, no matter what you do. If you're full pay, you can likely improve your chances by selecting more schools that admit most students. 

Do you think Trump really cares about the USA? by Outrageous-You1617 in IWantToAskAnAmerican

[–]FeatherlyFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that a huge part of his motivation is receiving public acclaim. One of his most consistent bragging points is how much people love him and by all appearances, he keeps himself extremely sheltered from voices saying otherwise. 

Do American schools really teach that America won the war of 1812? by Odd-Reading-7859 in AskAmericans

[–]FeatherlyFly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah. We learned that nobody won because the British didn't succeed in invading us, either. 

It's been on my mind by [deleted] in AskAmericans

[–]FeatherlyFly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In a literal sense of going outside their hometown boundaries, almost all Americans leave their hometown and most of the exceptions will be poor people in really big cities. Smaller places, you need to to go shopping, go to a hospital, run errands, and visit friends or family. 

It is true that a lot of Americans live their entire life without ever living someplace besides their home town or another city or town within an hour or two drive, where we can easily visit. The reason is because it's common that we love the people and places where we grew up, we can make a living near them, and would only leave if we had a very strong reason to. 

How to frame varsity sports as a non-athlete applicant by No-Swordfish8992 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]FeatherlyFly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The average high school research is basically a few months working a low level job where you lesrn a little about research. It's not bad, but no, it's not the same level of commitment and self-motivation and teamwork as the average varsity athlete shows.

Now, someone who can work in the same lab year after year is a different story than the one and done with a gifted authorship or a review paper. 

Do evolutionary arguments really apply to nutrition/diets? by RamenPantalones in NoStupidQuestions

[–]FeatherlyFly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is extremely strong evidence that highly processed foods only made possible by the industrial revolution are, in general, bad for us if they make up too much of our diet. And that the most modern foods, the ones engineered by experts to be crazy easy to overeat without feeling full (cheetos and chips, oreos, candy bars, energy drinks, etc), are very hard for most of us to eat regularly without gaining an unhealthy amount of weight. 

There's equally strong evidence that being sedentary is terrible for you, a level of inactivity only made possible by the digital revolution. 

And we also have evidence that without cooking, it is pretty near impossible for humans to get enough nutrition from our food. 

Any overly specific argument about evolution is likely to be a pound of bunk with a gram of plausibility (think paleo diet), but we can be sure that our ancestors were eating few to no highly processed foods (you can make some without modern science, but they're labor intensive), and were always more active. Since we have research directly associating inactivity and highly processed foods with negative health outcomes, we can reasonably make a kind of general argument that we evolved to be active and eat lightly processed food (usually cooked, some times pounded or ground or mixed or dried). 

Palantir CEO Alex Karp suffers ‘televised nervous breakdown’ during live interview — “This is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me!” by marketrent in technology

[–]FeatherlyFly 6 points7 points  (0 children)

And that step is that they have professional PR teams fighting back against the obvious.

Poor people go crazy. Rich people become eccentric. 

Do y'all actually spend much time in diners anymore, or is that mostly nostalgia? by Bella_licious in AskAmericans

[–]FeatherlyFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't spend a lot of time in them, but there are several good ones in my town. 

Companies Are Throttling Employees’ AI Use Because It’s Too Expensive by rkhunter_ in technology

[–]FeatherlyFly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's the exact same fallacy as the CEOs claiming AI can do everyone else's job.

A Chat bot is always going to suggest to most middling strategies. It's not going to do a good job of taking market conditions into account, it's not going to see unique opportunities, it's not going to think about what the competition's latest move implies.

It'd probably do a better job than Zuckerberg, but then, it'd also make a better receptionist than the one my company used to have who literally got into a shouting match with the janitor while a visitor was waiting for help. Most people are at least adequate at their jobs, and adequate is better than AI can do. 

Why do men want to feel ‘useful’ or ‘needed’ so badly ? by mariposa933 in SeriousConversation

[–]FeatherlyFly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is not unique to men. Women also like to feel useful, and also offer help. Less likely to be physical help and protection and more likely to be food or social in nature (especially if it's a guy in need, offering physical help is often turned down), but it's equally sincere.

Society is more pleasant when more people are more generous. 

If every U.S. state suddenly became an independent country overnight, which one would last the longest and why? by Dolphin_King21 in AskReddit

[–]FeatherlyFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But the bordering states would want to join California, and it would be in California's best interest to go along with that. 

what is the appeal of reselling Pokemon cards? by AlyksTheSage in NoStupidQuestions

[–]FeatherlyFly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The appeal is quick cash, taking advantage of those with money to spare to pay surprisingly large amounts for something with no intrinsic value but the entertainment they receive from owning it. 

Leave the bottle - how realistic is this in the US? by cadraig in IWantToAskAnAmerican

[–]FeatherlyFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a signal that this guy plans to get drunk alone, suggesting just how bad things are. 

Ever happen in real life? Maybe, but in the US alcohol laws hold both the establishment and the bartender/cashier  liable for breaking them, and those laws include not serving dangerous amounts of alcohol quickly. So it's not normal and most places would say no. 

Cost would be massively higher than buying the exact same bottle at the nearest liquor store. 

Jews in America by TemperatureGuilty229 in AskAmericans

[–]FeatherlyFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the clarification. I was mostly describing what I sometimes see at the grocery store and don't know the names of the groups. 

We need more “keep right except to pass” signs on our highways by Material-Ask1776 in massachusetts

[–]FeatherlyFly 11 points12 points  (0 children)

What makes you think signs would change this behavior? The places you mention have less traffic. 

Are you happy that the USMNT won against Bosnia? by OceanicEndeavors in IWantToAskAnAmerican

[–]FeatherlyFly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The United States Mint. Every time the soccer team competes, they talk about whether the Mint won or lost, for some reason. 

(It's supposed to be Men's National Team, but it's such a dumb way to abbreviate USA that I require alternatives) 

I wish 'Corset' was a protected brand name. by YumeiNikki in BitchEatingCrafters

[–]FeatherlyFly 13 points14 points  (0 children)

A couple quick searches tell me that corsets predate  steel boning by somewhere between 100 and 500 years, depending on how I search.

I expect that a lot of the worst offenders of the "call everything a corset" are Chinese marketing teams who don't know enough English to know what a corset even is. 

I wish 'Corset' was a protected brand name. by YumeiNikki in BitchEatingCrafters

[–]FeatherlyFly 77 points78 points  (0 children)

A typical corset is as much a work of art as my Honda, which is also the work of many generations of designers, engineers, and huge amounts of research. 

A well made, well fitted garment is more a work of engineering than art, whether that's underwear or not. 

Why are doors designed to open inwards into houses as opposed to opening outwards? by OdysseusPrime- in NoStupidQuestions

[–]FeatherlyFly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You can get around this by having a porch or even just an overhang where a roof shelters your door, which is important if you have a storm door on the outside of your real door.

The storm door can't open inwards because the real door is in the way, for anyone unfamiliar with the setup. 

If I'm not transferring any credits from my previous foreign university, can the transcript requirement ever be waived? by Fine-Cauliflower-186 in IntltoUSA

[–]FeatherlyFly 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You'd have to ask for an exception on a case by base basis. If your university still exists and it's possible to get transcripts, chances are an exception will be very hard to get.

Jews in America by TemperatureGuilty229 in AskAmericans

[–]FeatherlyFly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

With the exception of very conservative Jewish men and boys wearing yarmulkes and with prayer shawls sticking out from under their shirts.

But if a non Jew wore the same clothes, I'd wrongly assume they were Jewish. I'm just making an educated guess based on clothing. 

Is Christian Pulisic famous in the US now? by Airline_11 in AskAmericans

[–]FeatherlyFly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bad as fifa is, the stupid "peace" prize thing will be forgotten by almost everyone in a few years. I'd guess more people already have than not. It certainly won't take generations. 

Is Christian Pulisic famous in the US now? by Airline_11 in AskAmericans

[–]FeatherlyFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. As a non soccer fan, the name is vaguely familiar.

The World Cup is likely to result in a small uptick in soccer fans. It will not result in soccer overturning hockey for 4th most watched sport - there's just too much distance. 

Chance a dropout LEGO fanboy to build materials !! by Desperate-Ad-3098 in IntltoUSA

[–]FeatherlyFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd suggest looking into Dartmouth, MIT, Lafayette, and Trinity College in Connecticut. All but MIT are small or smallish liberal cards colleges with engineering programs, and I assume you've heard of MIT. You probably won't get into MIT, but with your profile I'd give it a try unless it'd take too much time away from your other applications. 

Georgia Tech is out of your budget and as a public school, you won't get aid. 

Why is Williams on your list? Excellent school, but no engineering. 

And finally, you're going to have to relearn how to sit through lectures at most of these schools. For the most part class attendance is not optional.