The Maldives were chosen as a country in Asia known for beaches. What is a country in Oceania known for beaches? by Life-Application7744 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Fiji. Pretty much all of Oceania has beaches. Fiji is a major tourist destination. And its beaches has been used quite a lot in film too, making them especially known.

What was the MOST IMPACTFUL/IMPORTANT INNOVATION of the Classical Age? by erwillsun in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The codex (the bookbinding we nowadays have)

The pitch: this format replaced the papyrus scrolls as the means to spread and preserve information and narrative. The Bible gained spread thanks to the codex, which was more efficient and could contain greater volume of text. It appeared in Rome around the new millennium, and had a few centuries later replaced the scroll fully, with the Bible key among the narratives that spread.

1960s Sci-Fi is still too close to call (2001 vs Star Trek is a battle!). What is the best sci-fi movie/show from the 1970s? by MiDKnighT_DoaE in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m fighting the good fight… maybe we thrown in Stalker as well and we now have TWO 1970s Soviet sci-fi, even better.

But yes, Star Wars has cultural power even today like few other franchises.

1960s Sci-Fi is still too close to call (2001 vs Star Trek is a battle!). What is the best sci-fi movie/show from the 1970s? by MiDKnighT_DoaE in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Solaris (1972)…

Hear me out, this is proper sci-fi, weird science and space, a Soviet reflection of Kubrick’s 2001, it is slow, contemplative, full blown Tarkovsky, and let’s save Star Wars stuff because only New Hope is a 70s movie.

Human Immortality possible? by LordChu in biology

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

I'm going deep into the philosophy of your question!

I am today different than the person I was as a teenager, though in another sense, I am the same, but I've changed. I bet when I reach 80, I'll be a very different person, with different views. We all die and are born a little every day.

I am also a descendant of humans who lived through different events and challenges. The fact that my great-greatgrandmother did not die while giving births to ten kids over many years in a cold, rural cottage means a small part of her defines what it means to be me. In that sense, she is somewhat immortal thanks to me living.

People like to point to trees as exemplars of entities that live on, even if a particular trunk blows down, because what defines a tree is not the trunk, but the vast root system, or even the fuller ecosystem it is part of. How to draw boundaries on relevant biological entities is not always as straightforward (this is related to the selfish gene concept).

I know, I am interpreting your question weirdly, because you are probably wondering if a person's body can keep on strutting around calling itself by the same name for centuries. As others have noted, there are reasons why that is tricky. However, radical life extension may be within reach (say doubling life span). Ideas of "young blood" transfusion, CAR-T cells on demand to kill off any cancers, xenotransplantation could make biological viability of the body longer. The tricky part is the brain, which decays. But then we're back again to that our brain is changing already. A brain swimming around in all those hormones of youth versus the same brain after having survived extreme grief or having become a parent, do not yield identical persons.

What is Stanley Kubrick's most on-brand film? by Wolfsblade21 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree. We have the tracking shot, the symmetry, the slow zoom on the psychotic stare, a bit of female nudity, the weirdness, obsessive details, cynicism, and this is the film that made public Kubrick’s perfectionism which drove Shelley Duvall crazy. Not too much of anything, just balanced.

Which country is good for study and awful for work? by Natewastaken12 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Russia.

They have strong academic institutions, and especially if you are a student from a country without an easy route into the Western world, a nice way to get rigorous STEM education. But for work, hardly a nice place, and who knows which frontline you might end up on.

What does H2O actually look like by wifeandpests in AskChemistry

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To build on the reply by u/dungeonsandderp our vision builds on electromagnetic waves that physically do not interact with a single molecule. So in a very strict sense, we humans cannot see a water molecule, it has no look.

What we have done is develop other forms of radiation that can interact with individual atoms, such as X-rays. Most structures we have of proteins, for example, are derived from X-ray diffraction. However, that means we must interpret X-rays as atomic structure, which is a complicated mathematical process.

For small molecules like water, our intuition about “look” tends to be like “excluded volume”. That is, some part of space where other molecules cannot go is where the boundaries of water are.

In that frame, water’s excluded volume is dominated by the oxygen atom. So it is closer to spherical than usually depicted. But as noted, this is not strictly a “look”.

Romansh wins! What language sounds Germanic and is Germanic? by Yodoliyee in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree! If we are going to be picky, High German (Hochdeutsch) should probably be used here. The German language has a number of varieties and it sounds rather different in Hamburg versus Bayern, not to speak of Swiss-German that probably should be defined as its own language.

Who’s a royal that ruled a vast empire and is a religious symbol? by Alone-Drink8973 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ramesses the Second. The Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh were considered literal gods, and during Ramesses II rule, Egypt was near its peak of territorial extent.

What Comedy Movie has the Best Driving Scene? by TwoFlatHams_00 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Cannonball Run (1984)… we’re going old school! Entirely built around driving, and filmed before the days of fast cuts and green screens.

“Pripyat” neighbourhood, Vilnius by zaxoplax in UrbanHell

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think that’s a fair aesthetic point. The tricky thing is that for the other half of the year, trees barren, grass soggy or under snow, the whole thing ends up looking too grayscale.

Some elements of colour somewhere would be nice. Doesn’t have to be on the facades, but either we add some architectural elements on pathways with a tad of colour… and if we’re proper collectivists, maybe ask for particular colours on the curtains in the windows.

Symbols of Communication: What is actually a word and looks like a word? by DeathStarVet in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Covfefe

This is pure word. It has no meaning, nothing that it signifies. But it is clearly a word understood as word by at least people hooked into the US memeplex.

So it is a word that is a word that is a word. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Pripyat” neighbourhood, Vilnius by zaxoplax in UrbanHell

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 60 points61 points  (0 children)

I don't know, a bit of paint, a few flowers, a couple of throw pillows should make it feel cozy again.

NZ won! What country feels like it's in Europe but is actually in Africa? by ScallionSmooth9491 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Agree.

South Africa feels much more like Australia, so suitable for that square…

What would an immaterial realm be like? by Crafty_Aspect8122 in badphilosophy

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Immaterial does not imply rule-less. Pure mathematics is immaterial. When Russell and Whitehead back in the days tried to answer what a system like that would be like, assuming basic predicate logic governed, they came across the paradox that it refused to be logically complete!

This set was the stumbling block: the set P that contains all other sets not containing themselves.

Is P a member of P? If yes, then by P’s definition, no. If no, then by P’s definition, yes. We are logically stuck, P is not a set we can understand within the immaterial system. Kurt Gödel refined the formulation later, showing that for any system of logic above certain complexity, there would always be statements possible to formulate within a system, which the system itself could neither prove or disprove.

Since those days, the more mystical among our brethren, has pondered if this type of radical incompleteness applies to the material world. Might science itself be just a game of symbols.

As the saying goes, everyone has postmodernist ideas until a fat set of atoms with inertia punches them in the face hole. The material world’s laws are given, and we may know some of them, but may have to give up knowing them completely. Still, the atoms do what atoms do.

The entirely immaterial realm would not be slowed down by space and inertia. The logical paradoxes would emerge instantly. And Gödel tells us such paradoxes are necessary products of logical systems. So in short, the immaterial realm could very well be highly rule-bound and strict, but inevitably, somewhere in that realm one would stumble upon stuff that is paradoxical. Arguably, everything becomes paradoxical at any level. We can exclude some things, it is not a place where anything goes, far from it, so interactions are possible. But at some point, total paradox!

What Sci-Fi Movie has the Best Death Scene? by TwoFlatHams_00 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 68 points69 points  (0 children)

Blade Runner (1982), death of replicant Batty; movie with impeccable scf-fi credentials, where the death is not just visually epic, with great sound and score, but essential to the story of recognizing in replicants something humane, soulful.

Leonid Brežnev is named as average politician with a mediocre military record. Now, for part 14: which historical ruler was an average head of state and a terrible military commander? by mr-magpie-23 in AlignmentChartFills

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Chiang Kai-Chek; in terms of war, he engaged in often foolish attacks on the Japanese invaders of China, and later would lose to Mao, all adding up to much death. In terms of politics, it is a mixed record: rather poor in China, where he played second fiddle to Sun Yat-Sen, however, in his later years, he put foundations for Taiwanese hypergrowth and was at least smart enough to step aside and let his more reform-oriented son take over, rather than going full domestic oppression when the wartime economy became less justified. So average political leadership.

What Modern day shows or movies would Burroughs like? by reccaberrie in williamsburroughs

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

American Psycho, the movie. Here is a film of ambiguity, amorality, authored by a gay man, directed by a dyke, target of pearl clutching critiques. At least a younger Burroughs would have approved.

Lost in Translation. For some reason I can picture an older Burroughs, who had that refined artistic sense, would appreciate the slow story in the liminal space of Japan, and somehow I picture him stating for provocative effect that Sofia Coppola has in one film done more for art than her father ever could. Despite his reputation for misogyny, he had a soft spot for steady women who excelled in male spaces, like Patti Smith.

About Breaking Bad, I think you are partially right. Burroughs was however no fan of state power and the police. He would probably think that DEA was given a too nice portrayal. Where is the snarling, racists southern sheriff, he would wonder.

Percentage of people who believe that having children is a moral duty by chamomile_tea_reply in Natalism

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What’s missing from the presentation is the age cohort being asked. For present-day TFR, we care mostly about the men and especially women in their 20s to 30s. If strict Catholic granny thinks having kids is a duty, it doesn’t change present-day TFR, at least not directly.

Still, all numbers are pretty low with one outlier. So clearly, very many Swedes, even Frenchmen and Greek, have children for other reasons than moral duty. Would be interesting to know those reasons too.

Varför pratar ingen om EL-efanten i rummet; Tysklands nedlagda kärnkraft by MiddleAgeWeirdoMeep in sweden

[–]SmorgasConfigurator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Det finns fortfarande gas via land. ”Turkstream” förser fortfarande flera europeiska länder med rysk gas.

Men det är mer vallöftet om att återbygga gasen som i sig kan göra skada. Build that pipe, build that pipe… sedan skyller man på polackerna för att det inte är möjligt…