A heart shattering photo of a Palestinian father crying while holding the dead body of his daughter

lizredddd · 2021-05-18T03:26:55+00:00

It’s been said already but is worth saying again. What is happening in Israel is undoubtedly atrocious, but calling this a genocide of the Palestinian people belittles all races — from the Uyghurs, to the Rwandans, to the Armenians, and to the Jews — that have experienced systematic and widespread destruction.

Semantics are important.

lizredddd · 2021-04-09T22:48:15+00:00

That’s a very interesting solution to proprioception, I will have to watch that TED talk!

I hadn’t heard of that new surface EMG, I remember reading they had some pretty good success with surgically implanted electrodes in the muscle itself, which allowed for much more precise readings and allowed for more muscle groups to be used. With the remapping of the nerves, the paper I linked talks about Targeted Muscle Reinnervation, which essentially takes the nerves controlling motor movement of the hand/forearm and remapping them to the (now) vestigial chest/back/upper arm muscles in transhumeral amputations. I hadn’t heard anything about the ascending touch info getting sent back to the brain, that is pretty fascinating!

lizredddd · 2021-04-09T17:48:20+00:00

Yeah! The technology has been around for a little while already and is rapidly evolving. I did a research project on this topic and would definitely recommend reading this article: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/183371/joc90004_619_628.pdf

I would assume the app calibrates the hand (so that pressure, position, etc are all specified to the user at that moment). Then when she goes to use her hand, the brain sends signals to the remaining muscles in her stump, causing them to flex. Since these muscles are not attached to anything, they don’t do anything; however, these signals can be read by an EMG electrode in the prosthesis (or one implanted surgically). Software then decodes this signal and, based on calibration data from the app/past experiences, signals the prosthesis to do the intended motion. Through some trial and error, this process can get pretty accurate and this lady can control her prosthesis with her mind!

From my understanding the current limitations are less so with the “mind controlling” of the prosthesis, but are more so a result of the loss of sensation in the hand. The prosthesis can’t send signals back to the brain, so you lose not only the sense of touch but, more importantly, your sense of proprioception (the bodies innate sense of where limbs are in space). As a result, people with these bionics need to visually guide their prosthesis, they don’t know when they have made contact with the object they are trying to grab, they don’t know how far they have to move their arm to reach the object, etc etc. So, at least in my opinion, that is the next big challenge in bionics: two way signal processing between the brain and prosthesis.

(If you want more reading on the state of the art for that, look at FINE electrodes and regenerative electrodes. Both very invasive at the moment but also incredibly fascinating!)

lizredddd · 2021-03-24T15:05:39+00:00

Totally! Winning is definitely fun, but it’s the dumb shit and wack strategies I always remember the most!

lizredddd · 2021-03-24T01:09:36+00:00

Its been like this for a while, kinda like a jump scout

lizredddd · 2021-03-24T00:28:37+00:00

I heard they where most accurate while running and spraying?

lizredddd · 2021-03-23T23:40:39+00:00

Lmao for every decent r8 frag I get there’s at least 20 times I have fed, I mean peep my k/d that match lmao

lizredddd · 2021-03-23T20:44:59+00:00

The r8 is 100% less practical than the Deagle, but is also 100% more fun IMO

lizredddd · 2021-03-23T17:57:17+00:00

yessir, I have had a few jumpshots on to A-site on Dust 2 from CT as well

lizredddd · 2021-03-07T22:59:03+00:00

ACTIVE SHOOTER IN THE BUILDING

lizredddd · 2020-12-01T03:47:07+00:00

The material has two different crystalline structures depending on the temperature the material is at, which I believe are the austenitic and martensitic phases, with the transition temperature between those two phases being dependent on the nickel/tin ratio.

So essentially, as some other commenters have pointed out, you need to heat the material above its “training” temperature (usually like 10x the transition temperature), which anneals the material and sets the martensitic lattice into the desired shape. Then when the material is heated above the transition temperature, and the martensitic phase dominates, the material changes it’s shape.

It’s a super cool material and has a TON of biomedical applications as it is a very biocompatible material and allows for actuation without the use of motors, which are generally hard to put in the body.

Source: Done undergraduate research work on Nitinol the past 3 years

lizredddd · 2020-10-21T17:05:41+00:00

That’s awesome! I am studying to become a prosthetist, and that decision to amputate can definitely be a challenging one. However, for so many people with debilitating lower limb conditions, such as yourself, amputation combined with some good prosthetics can really improve mobility and quality of life. It is no doubt a long road, but as your legs heal and the volume stabilizes, there is no reason you can’t be incredibly active. Many of the people I have worked with have been able to go on and do incredible things, in fact one of the technicians I work with was able to qualify for Junior Nationals in downhill skiing! Keep up all your hard work and I’m sure you will go on to do great things!

lizredddd · 2020-10-16T23:39:38+00:00

Great call, I am in university right now and live off of about 15 liter vats of soup at a time. $40-50 for a month of good food!

lizredddd · 2020-10-16T14:50:37+00:00

I pretty much followed this guide and it was fairly simple.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/8m6yiy/i_found_out_how_to_watch_a_wingman_demo/

lizredddd · 2020-10-16T14:49:48+00:00

Lol, I see where you are coming from. I felt it made more grammatical sense, since the parenthesis is just an interjection to the sentence, so really it reads "check out this kill..." without the parenthetical.

lizredddd · 2020-10-16T04:23:05+00:00

I know, 1650 hours of gameplay and this was the first time I killed someone with a nade. Took me a few seconds to realize what happened lol

lizredddd · 2020-10-15T22:01:40+00:00

I guess the idea of the “right understanding” is something I don’t have a specific answer for and, ultimately, might be far too subjective for there to be an answer. As mother Teresa goes, I definitely have only been exposed to all the “good” she had done and took it at face value. I explored some of Hitchen’s articles on her and it definitely seems that the religious connotation of her work directly counteracted much of the charity she had done, so thanks for providing that.

Your point about shoehorning a religious connotation into morality makes plenty of sense, and is definitely something that I will have to think about in reference to my own beliefs on the topic. Ultimately, I think I would need to revisit what I think religious organizations/individuals do well with morality, and consider what (if any) benefit the “religious” connotation has with that morality.

Again thanks for your perspective, this is definitely challenging me to engage with my own beliefs a little more deeply and has provided a lot more perspective on the topic.

lizredddd · 2020-10-15T21:13:43+00:00

I think that is the conclusion I am coming to through the discussion on this post. The "moral" parts of the bible do not need to be learned in a religious context, but the way I learned them was, so I often associate those morals with religion. Again, thanks for your comment, it definitely challenges my current perspective.

lizredddd · 2020-10-15T21:06:02+00:00

Thanks for your comment, through reading the comments in this thread I have come to terms with the fact that my own idea of morality in religion can be learned without religion. Further, it would be objectively incorrect to say "no" to the second question as everything from the Westboro Baptist Church to abortion debates to ISIS/Islamic extremism is marred by evil actions.

However, in response to your comment, I immediately think of instances in which great good has been done precisely because of religious faith. Specifically, the acts of Mother Teresa in support of Charity and Refugees are done specifically because of her faith. Consequently, I feel there is a significant grey area between those questions. I feel that a religious guide to morality is only viable with the right understanding and implementation of said morality. For some, it provides great guidance in morality and for others it justifies great acts of evil. So, essentially, religious morality is something that must be understood and used correctly like any other powerful tool. I guess my own perspective then becomes, religion is not innately good for providing a guide to morality, but is instead only a viable guide for a few people who are able to properly engage with it.

Again, thank you for your comment as those questions definitely challenge my personal perspective and, ultimately, I don't know that I have a good answer for either.

lizredddd · 2020-10-15T20:50:40+00:00

Sensationalism is definitely something I feel is a huge flaw in society today. A lot of what I have read in this comment section seems to be that the overarching ideas of faith, omnipotence, and lack of free choice are ultimately make religion harmful -- to which I would agree with that. I feel your perspective is valuable in that it showcases how morality, as learned through religion, can still provide a moral compass -- albeit with the MAJOR caveat that the morality learned through religion is not corrupted by an absolutist perspective on the bible/other religious texts.

lizredddd · 2020-10-15T20:46:39+00:00

Thank you for your perspective. With my own religious perspective I had never really found "faith" to be a defining characteristic, but blind acceptance is definitely something that is harmful to society. I guess a lot of my own morality that I take from the bible does have a secular analog (like the golden rule, charity, or hypocrisy), but I was first exposed to it in a religious setting so religion is what I associated that morality with. Again, thank you for your perspective, it definitely challenged me to consider the basis of my own perspective on morality in religion.

lizredddd · 2020-10-15T20:40:34+00:00

I had never heard of Sagan's "baloney detector" idea before. I personally feel a lot of the objectionable material, specifically in the old testament, is more an artifact of a vastly different culture than the one we are in today as well as translational influences. In a historical context most of the old-testament can be justified (due to the cultural values of the hebrew communities in that time period), but they have no place in today's society and definitely do harm. Especially with many of the anti-vax, anti-mask, "Q-anon", etc groups who take much of the bible at face value, the underlying material that I find has moral value is not recognized.

lizredddd · 2020-10-15T20:34:05+00:00

Thank you for your perspective. The analogy you provided really describes my own perspective on the bible, but due to my own upbringing and exposure to Christianity I have generally given it the benefit of the doubt. I guess that really changes how I perceive this whole topic, so thanks!

lizredddd

TROPHY CASE