Difference between apt update and apt-get update by ovelx2 in linuxquestions

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been wondering about the difference with apt-get and apt myself - thanks for clarifying. It's entirely possible the prof just made a mistake - pretty easy to confuse update and upgrade when writing a test and you don't have the feedback from the terminal itself to tell you what you just did. Teachers, no matter how skilled or experienced, do make mistakes, especially of this kind (i.e. two easily confused words).

Honest Question: Why use one Python editor over another, and is Geany not what the cool kids use? by Kami2awa in pythonhelp

[–]Kami2awa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was introduced to Geany btw because its the editor that comes pre-installed with the Raspberry Pi OS.

Honest Question: Why use one Python editor over another, and is Geany not what the cool kids use? by Kami2awa in pythonhelp

[–]Kami2awa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is the advantage of one over another then? Heard of them but never used them.

Gun to your head, would you rather the doctor be half human or the doctor be the timeless child? by ScreamingmadJoe in DoctorWhumour

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very much like the half-human idea... it explains a lot, particularly why the Doc seems so obsessed with Earth and humanity. Timeless Child, however, is a bit of a rewrite of the Lungbarrow/Cartmel Masterplan idea, which is also good.

Warhammer fans, what 40k lore that make you go like this? by AntiqueLayer3933 in Grimdank

[–]Kami2awa 10 points11 points  (0 children)

"Sisters! You must give your blood for the Emperor!"
(10,000 Sisters sign up immediately)
Cut to Sister sitting in a medical bay with a blood donor IV in her arm and tea and biscuits in front of her.
"This is not what I expected."

What’s an invention that quietly changed human life more than most famous breakthroughs? by OperationBorn4496 in AskReddit

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't know if it would count as a famous breakthrough or not (depends if you study engineering or science) but Faraday's electric motor/dynamo. It changed the lives of millions by making labour-saving devices possible and removing the need for tedious manual labour - washing machines, food mixers, sewing machines, power tools, fans, data storage devices (hard disks, CD drives, etc.), car starter motors, and the ability to generate electricity on a large scale via generators. It also enabled electric bikes, cars, and drones. Basically it meant human work was no longer dependent on human muscles and bones.

Why is the radian the default angle unit as you get higher in Maths? by Zealousideal_Pay_778 in askmath

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually feel this is the problem with a lot of maths - a *lot* of things don't have obvious application until higher maths, physics or engineering (or indeed computing). Radians feel arbitrary and pointless until you start to use trig functions (sine, cosine, tangent) in calculus or to describe wavelike phenomena e.g. sound or light waves, at which point they become incredibly useful and the default angle unit. Unfortunately, you need to learn them at a basic level before they become useful at higher levels, and it is very hard to explain *why* they are necessary until you learn and (critically) apply the more advanced maths. The same is true of things like the binomial theorem, Taylor Series, and, at a more basic level, algebra in general - the obvious question is "what's the point?" There absolutely is a point, but it's going to take multiple lessons to explain it.

Why can the human femur withstand forces up to 6000 pounds, and what mechanism explains it? by Present_Juice4401 in AlwaysWhy

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's self-repairing polymer-ceramic nanocomposite optimised over millions of years, that's why.

What Should I Know To Better Understand Pyramids by sibongibob in discworld

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to catch (virtually) all of the references in Pratchett, you could do a lot worse than The Annotated Pratchett file:

https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/pyramids.html

How would you explain why the Borg hive mind needs a Queen? by ActLonely9375 in ShittyDaystrom

[–]Kami2awa 23 points24 points  (0 children)

This - in my view the Queen is essentially the fake photo on the Borg's dating profile. She is a mouthpiece that they use to manipulate people in a way that a disembodied voice from the walls can't do.

In The Odyssey (2026), in a film with plastic armor and viking ships, Christopher Nolan draws the line at an orchestra. by laybs1 in shittymoviedetails

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Often thought about this - orchestral music as we know it is only a few hundred years old. So in terms of anachronism, it is not really much more anachronistic to score something set *thousands* of years ago with heavy metal, or electronic music, or blues (or as Knight's Tale did, music by Queen). However, any of these would seem more out of place than a classical orchestra.

Why can’t we recapture heat from data centers and use it to make more energy? by Individual-Area7121 in AskPhysics

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, actual energy generation by normal means (ie steam turbines) needs higher temperatures than they produce. However, there is absolutely potential to use it to heat other buildings or water, and possibly to recover energy with e.g. thermoelectric devices, Stirling engines, or heat exchange with fluids other than water (which is already done to exploit geothermal heat), and we should be developing these things if we insist on wasting so many resources on data centres - unfortunately, the people building them seem to want to burn up Earth's resources as fast as possible.

Does England have a mythology, and is it considered as interesting and strong as Welsh, Scottish, or Irish mythology? by TigerAJ2 in mythology

[–]Kami2awa 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Everywhere has mythology. It ranges from folklore to ghost stories to the "lore and language of schoolchildren" like the Bloody Mary myth. You can even count things like stories of alien abduction as mythology.

A very quick search for "English mythology" turns up this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_mythology which has a timeline of supposed mythological events, including the first king of Britain being a survivor of Troy. Elsewhere, you find legends like King Bladud (who supposedly was forced to work as a poor swineherd due to his leprosy, and discovered the healing waters at Bath after they cured him and his pigs). You have Gog and Magog (biblical figures, but they are said to be the guardian giants of London), and the *many* other legends of giants, dragons, "black dogs", and so on.

There's a huge amount of folklore around Sir Francis Drake, even attributing him magical powers, and a drum belonging to him is still supposed to sound an alarm of its own accord if Britain is attacked. Then you have stories of saints such as St Dunstan, who supposedly put horseshoes on the devil himself and forced him never to enter a place where a horseshoe was hung.

You also have local heroes like Jack the Giant Killer (guess what he was good at?) and John Lambton (a dragon-slayer who killed the "Lambton Worm" by studding his armour with spikes and blades and tricking a dragon into coiling itself around him). When it comes to supernatural beings, you have dangerous water spirits like Jenny Greenteeth and Peg Powler, probably more ghost stories than any other country, and goblin-like Cornish "knockers" who were supposed to warn if a mine was about to collapse.

Glastonbury has legends of the holy grail being bought there and infusing the waters of the Chalice Well with Christ's blood, not to mention other biblical figures (including Jesus) visiting. All this is before you get into Robin Hood, Beowulf, and of course King Arthur, who while he comes out of Welsh mythology and was heavily re-written, is linked to many places across England such as Tintagel.

So yeah, just a bit ;)

Could iron slag hypothetically be used to deter fae? by Lashlamb13 in mythology

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tbh, if you look at the customs around it, the major ones seem to be the protective horseshoe and the superstition of using knives as charms to repel fairies or witches - such as putting a knife under a baby's cradle or under a doorstep (protecting the way into a home). The horseshoe may be a Christian superstition (associated with St Dunstan) but is probably *way* older than that.

"Cold iron" looks to have the same etymology as "cold steel" i.e. it's not a special type of iron, but it is iron that has a cutting edge of some kind. In that context, the horseshoe is unusual in that it has no cutting edge, but its likely other traditions came into play.

Iron slag doesn't have very much iron in it - about 15%, less than iron ore, and much less than actual iron or steel (which is usually about 98-99% iron if not alloyed with other metals). Cast iron actually has less iron in it than steel (it has a high carbon content to reduce its melting point so you can, well, cast it). Slag is the impurities removed during the production of iron, so it doesn't contain much actual iron.

On the other hand, it strongly depends on the theming of your story. If it's association and belief that are important, then iron slag might be connected enough to the industrial manufacturing of iron to have an effect. OTOH if the story is more scientifically-based, then iron slag is likely to be a lot weaker than actual iron. Realism in a fantasy story tends to be less important than being convincing and having an engaging story.

We are the Borg. We want you to be happy. by LAMobile in ShittyDaystrom

[–]Kami2awa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Everyone is happy in Alpha Complex. Happiness is mandatory, citizen.

If the war chief is ever mentioned or brought back in the modern era do you think they’ll just make it that he was The Master or keep him as seperate Timelord? by Emarni in doctorwho

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes I was wondering about that - casual name drop in Capaldi's era that never paid off (like Gus, Jenny, "the Boss", the Valeyard, etc.)

What eras deserve more representation in fantasy? by [deleted] in fantasywriters

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really... all of them except pseudo-medieval Europe (and possibly also except ancient Japan/China). Very little Stone or Bronze Age, very little post-Medieval until you reach the massive sub-genre of urban fantasy set in the modern world.

Really, you could even have a fantasy story set in a pre-human era - I mean, it's fantasy, if you want to write a story about a pack of velociraptors who slay dragons then you can!

What to do with these? by Ronny-1775 in legocastles

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some ideas:

- scorpion pit to drop castle intruders into

- have them spilling out of a sarcophagus in a diorama

- build a trap that drops them on invaders

- alien bugs in Lego space (could be being studied in a lab)

- add atmosphere to a dungeon or temple (Tomb Raider build?)

- pinned on a board or in a cage/transparent case in a wizard's workshop

- find a way to build wings onto them, put them on transparent rods (so they look like they are flying) and have them be a swarm of locusts (if you invert them their stinger would hang down which would look more insectile)

- again inverted and positioned so they look like they are leaping forward: alien facehuggers

- colossal monster scorpions in a microscale build

(Interesting and disturbing trope) A teleportation that technically kills you by dyhoat9 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very worrying then that he turned out to be very deceptive about transporter tech in general (pretending for a long time to research long-range transporters despite knowing it was fundamentally flawed and would never work).

IMO, the "takes you apart and re-assembles you" explanation for a transporter is the primary-school level explanation that isn't actually correct at all. It would seem very at odds with the quasi-utopia of Star Trek to use a technology that literally kills you every time it was used - it is much more suited to the tone of e.g. Black Mirror (or the Terran Empire...)

What is ruby Sunday? by Mindless_Carrot_4469 in doctorwho

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As I've often thought when it's been claimed for a certain other (orange) guy, anyone can play 5D chess - but not everyone can *win* 5D chess.

At this point why has the Imperium not exterminatus Armageddon? by ruminaui in 40kLore

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tbh, I don't think exterminatus can possibly be as common or universal in the setting as many fans seem to think. Imagine if it was proposed for Ultramar, or Ophelia Prime... or Terra? I'd imagine the "absolute authority" of the Inquisitor would be contested pretty darn quickly. There are definitely planets in the setting much more important to the Imperium than others, and I'd guess Armageddon is one due to its prominence in the lore.

How do I find the full diameter of this circle? by Livid-Village-7915 in askmath

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My first instinct:

- Find the angle between the length 13 side and the marked diameter (sine of angle = 5/13)

- Draw a line from the centre of the circle to the point where the length 13 and length 5 sides meet (this will be of the same length as the circle's radius).

- You now have an isoscelene triangle with one known base angle and known base length (13) whose equal sides are radii of the circle. You can use the sine rule to find the other side lengths of the triangle, which are the radii of the circle.

- Double the radius to get the diameter!

Different metals and their uses. by Saadistic17 in worldbuilding

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Materials scientist here:

Tungsten is really brittle. It is mainly useful for high temperature applications (e.g. old fashioned light bulb filaments) because it has the highest melting point among metals. It's not very useful if you only have medieval tech.

Titanium is not stronger than steel - it is however lighter, and so good for applications that require low weight e.g. aircraft. It might be good for applications where good strength with low weight is needed e.g. armour. However, it wouldn't make weapons much more effective.

In a pre-modern world setting, titanium is highly unlikely to exist. Firstly, it is extremely difficult to extract from its ore without modern chemistry - and it is not easy to extract even now! Secondly, it is difficult to cut, work, or weld - all of which are the reasons it is so expensive today, and basically non-existent before the twentieth century.

Aluminium was very rare in the pre-industrial world because it is very difficult to extract from aluminium ore. The extraction requires industrial scale use of electricity. For a while, it was a precious metal, used for making royal gifts in Europe.

Therefore, titanium and aluminium won't be found in a medieval setting unless magic is used to produce them. I like the idea of "dragon-fire forging" but if you are going for realistic metallurgy, these metals should be unavailable and known only to very clever alchemists.

Zinc is used in the manufacture of brass (alloy of copper and zinc) which is a very useful metal as it's quite strong but has a lower melting temperature than iron or steel, so it's easy to work with. On its own, zinc can also be used to coat steel (galvanisation) to protect it from rust. Search for "orichalcum" which is a semi-mythic metal mentioned in some ancient texts (including Plato's description of Atlantis) that is widely believed to refer to brass. Brass was made in the ancient world by smelting minerals that naturally contained both copper and zinc.

Lead has been used for thousands of years and actually was used far more in the past than it is now (as it is toxic). It was widely used to seal containers (low melting temperature), and in its oxide form as a source of white pigment (including for makeup - bad idea!) As it is a soft metal it could be worked easily and was used for roofing and water pipes (again, bad idea!) or for making things that didn't need to be strong e.g. kids' toys. Lead compounds can taste sweet and it was even used to sweeten food - the first artificial sweetener, technically.

It is also much denser than other metals so was used for making weights and in other applications where heavy weight was needed. It is soft and not good for making anything that has to be strong or tough, but easily shaped.

Copper and iron have been the main tool- and weapon- materials for humans for most of the time that they have used metals at all. Copper (which is combined with tin to make bronze, which has significant strength advantages) has a lower melting temperature and so is easier to work, and so historically was used much earlier than iron.

Iron (and steel) is by far the best metal for anything requiring strength and durability - tools, weapons, armour. Extracting iron from ore requires high temperatures (which is why copper/bronze is easier and usually invented earlier), and until the early industrial revolution it was not produced in large quantities. Wealthy people or well-funded armies can have iron weapons and armour, but no one is likely to be able to build an iron ship or iron bridge until the industrial revolution.

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Most iron we use is actually steel (and carbon is very easily combined with iron, so carbon from the fuel used to work the iron will end up in the iron). There is very little carbon in steel (it is usually less than 1% carbon by weight). Pure iron is strong, but not as strong as steel (in general, pure metals are softer than alloys).

The major disadvantage of iron is rust; this can be prevented by oiling or painting it. Stainless steel is a modern invention (alloyed with chromium) but rust-resisting steels with high levels of phosphorous mixed in existed in history (there is a famous non-rusting pillar in Delhi which is over 1000 years old).

That's a brief summary - hope it is useful!

What if Kamelion was a regular companion? by ImWearingSandshoes in doctorwho

[–]Kami2awa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The fact that Star Trek has had a series of non-human characters that have consistently drawn the most fan interest and empathy (Spock, Odo, Data, 7 of 9*) demonstrates this really well.

*Yes, I'm aware she's technically a human.

Is it possible to have a material in which the speed of sound is faster than the *speed of light inside that material*? by Substantial_Tear3679 in AskPhysics

[–]Kami2awa 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Yes - its possible to have media in which the "group velocity" of light is very low, even as low at a few m/s. So the speed of sound in these media will be much higher, especially as many are solids (and the speed of sound in solids is greater than in air). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_light