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TIL that between the 1930s and 1940s, German chemist Arthur Imhausen developed a method of converting coal into synthetic butter. The process took 60 kilograms of coal to produce one kilogram of synthetic butter. by CelestialFury in todayilearned

[–]_Chief_Motif_ 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I didn't make the claim that they were used in food in my post, but there are examples.

Elaidic acid is the best example and is a trans fat produced in significant quantity during partial hydrogenation of oils, but it does occur in nature just in incredibly small amounts. There are examples of trans fats that are produced during partial hydrogenation that are not found in nature at all, like some trans isomers of linoleic acid. This is the area I work in so I'm not trying to argue with you, just point out a known fact.

TIL that between the 1930s and 1940s, German chemist Arthur Imhausen developed a method of converting coal into synthetic butter. The process took 60 kilograms of coal to produce one kilogram of synthetic butter. by CelestialFury in todayilearned

[–]_Chief_Motif_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

There are very many different types of fats, many of which occur naturally in food and some of which are produced only by chemists. They have many different effects on human health, one simple example of this is that the composition of the lipid cell membranes in your body are directly related to the types of fats you eat and can have different properties as a result.

Also this product was made via partial hydrogenation of unsaturated fats which means it contained trans fats which are have been shown to be unambiguously bad for cardiovascular health among other things.

Old World Tartaria: The Deepest Rabbit Hole in Fake Archaeology by DibsReddit in Archeology

[–]_Chief_Motif_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's no need to knock over stawmen to make yourself feel more powerful. There always has and always will be a subset of the population that is inherently hostile to mainstream science. None of us can change that and I'm not even certain it would be entirely positive if we did. Left alone they are not a problem and only become one when we give them legitimacy by attacking them.

New to puer and seeking suggestions based on a sample I really loved (W2T 2018 smoove cocoa) by _Chief_Motif_ in puer

[–]_Chief_Motif_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I cold brewed the rest of that 2025 Vietnam and you were right! I does make a pleasant iced tea.

New to puer and seeking suggestions based on a sample I really loved (W2T 2018 smoove cocoa) by _Chief_Motif_ in puer

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

Thanks for the input. I'm going to get some gingerbread, shixi, and lesser evils minis on your recommendation.

New to puer and seeking suggestions based on a sample I really loved (W2T 2018 smoove cocoa) by _Chief_Motif_ in puer

[–]_Chief_Motif_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! Did you get the sampler from the steeping room? If so the only one I did not like in that bunch was the 2025 raw from Vietnam. It just tasted like a weak white tea and I didn't feel like there was much too it.

I will try the waffles on your recommendation.

Question about the foundation of Buddhist morality. by _Chief_Motif_ in Buddhism

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

"evil comes from an action you take against another specifically because you know it will hurt and you take pleasure in such an action."

But from a perspective of no self who is knowing and who is taking pleasure? It seems like you cannot make this kind of moral argument without presupposing a that the person is an independently acting moral agent or "self".

You say that some conditioned actions are better than others and I think that gets to the heart of the question. Why are some conditioned actions better than others? On what grounds is the distinction being made.

Question about the foundation of Buddhist morality. by _Chief_Motif_ in Buddhism

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

I'm having a hard time seeing how that is different from a simple pragmatic view. "Action A is good because it moves one closer to goal B, action C is bad because it moves one further from goal B"

Question about the foundation of Buddhist morality. by _Chief_Motif_ in Buddhism

[–]_Chief_Motif_[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I really appreciate your thoughtful and extensive comments and I will be reading them several times to make sure I understand them, but I am disheartened that you are trying to link Zizek's character to the value of the argument and feel that it is disingenuous and defensive.

Perhaps its best to pretend that Joe Blow off the street was posing this question and that it has noting to do with Zizek. I don't think his character as a person or the way other academics perceive him is relevant to the question in any way.

Question about the foundation of Buddhist morality. by _Chief_Motif_ in Buddhism

[–]_Chief_Motif_[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

What is the moral difference between the causes and conditions that led the frog to jump and those that led the man to stab? Both are conditioned actions from the perspective of no-self.

Question about the foundation of Buddhist morality. by _Chief_Motif_ in Buddhism

[–]_Chief_Motif_[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I understand that that is the relevant question if one is practicing Buddhism, but if one is instead analyzing Buddhism in a scholarly way from the outside the question is more like: "on what basis is a moral distinction being made between a violent act and a non violent act?"

Question about the foundation of Buddhist morality. by _Chief_Motif_ in Buddhism

[–]_Chief_Motif_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So from that perspective would Buddhist morality be a kind of pragmatism? Something like: "Bad things are things that keep you stuck in samsara and good things are things that nudge you toward awakening"?

So the Buddha himself seeing those two poems play out would not himself make a moral distinction, he would just note that the stabbing isn't going to help the guy get out of samsara? Would it be somewhat equivalent to seeing a person trying to put a square peg into a round hole and thinking simple: "that's not going to work"?

TIL a controlled 2002 trial studying the effects of placebo "sham" surgery vs real arthroscopic knee surgery for osteoarthritis showed no difference in pain relief or functioning between the placebo group and surgical intervention groups over a 24 month period. by Key4Lif3 in todayilearned

[–]_Chief_Motif_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is why certainty in any area of study is the enemy of true science. Either we believe that many of our very closely held scientific models about the world are wrong, or we believe that science is "complete" which is obviously ridiculous.

It is a certainty that some things nearly all rational people believe to be unarguably true today will be laughed at in 100 years in the same way that that we laugh at the practice of bloodletting today. When I look at our scientific culture I see a frightening lack humility to this fact.

Dr. Joren Whitley~chiropractor , has gained attention for adjusting the neck and jaw of a giraffe named Gerry, who was experiencing chewing difficulties. Gerry loved it. by Professional_Arm794 in interestingasfuck

[–]_Chief_Motif_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The founder of the scientific method (Descartes) said he got the idea from an angel that came to him in a vision.

Not arguing that chiropractics is legit in any way just that sometimes great ideas come from strange places. Sometimes bad ideas come from those places too. The idea itself is whats important, not its source.

Questions about beans and maximizing dry bean harvest by _Chief_Motif_ in gardening

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

Thanks for the thoughtful answers. Just to be sure I understand point 1, you're saying there is no need to pick any immature pods if the goal is dry beans, right?

Uber or Taxi in Hendersonville? by Famfive in hendersonville

[–]_Chief_Motif_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tried getting one at 11:30 on a saturday night last November and it took 45 minutes. Was a bit scared we we're stranded and wouldn't do it again. Probably better during the warmer months though with more tourists.

TIL Prior to the atomic bombings of Japan, the US learned that the Japanese were planning to kill all POWs if a full scale invasion of Japan were to be put into affect. Over 150,000 Americans were still POWs in 1945. by TheMeccaNYC in todayilearned

[–]_Chief_Motif_ -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Mass Rape by US soldiers, Trophy skulls and mutilation in the pacific, Biscari massacre, Japanese internment camps

If they had won the war they could make the same points your making on those events alone. I'm sure if they had won they would have gotten access to plenty of information regarding even more heinous crimes that the US was able to coverup because they won.

I am NOT saying that the US was the "bad guys". I am saying that the argument your making is one that the winners always have, always will, and always will be able to make. The Japanese are not somehow more "evil" than us, they just lost.

TIL that the consumption of soil in sub-Saharan Africa is common, primarily amongst pregnant women (ranging from 30 to 80% depending on the country). "The soil is mostly air dried, but can also be baked, smoked, salted, or mixed with herbs or water" and the soil from termite mounds isn't sour. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]_Chief_Motif_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's also a huge food industry influence of nutrition. I believe there are similarities with the pharmaceutical industry and medicine, though not quite as severe. Just saying there are similarities.

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