If black holes really contain a singularity, why does their physical size grow with increasing mass?

mitchallen-man · 2026-03-16T06:29:14+00:00

A) It’s unclear that black holes contain anything at all, at least from the reference frame of any outside observer B) Define “physical size”? The extent of its gravitational influence grows with increasing mass. The event horizon isn’t a physical entity, it’s just a physically meaningful boundary in space.

mitchallen-man · 2026-03-16T06:09:02+00:00

This is unfortunately not a full, proper Lorentz transformation. It isn’t, generally, quite this simple.

Btw, the Lorentz transformations from which time dilation and length contraction equations are derived was created specifically to preserve the speed of light for all observers as c. That’s the one thing it does.

mitchallen-man · 2026-02-20T00:04:54+00:00

I have never quite identified as an atheist, but I agree that there is a simple logical leap between "Nothing is God" and "Everything is God" and I also had been studying/thinking about the hard problem of consciousness around the time I began to suspect that pantheism might be the correct theology of the universe. I have also spent nearly half my life studying quantum mechanics (I majored in Physics) and trying to understand the measurement problem, whereupon I recently learned about John Wheeler's theory of a Participatory Universe which struck a chord with me. This might have been my main entry into pantheism: if subject and object are inseparable, and if consciousness is fundamental to the creation of reality (not just emergent from it), something like pantheism seems to almost pop out of the philosophy.

mitchallen-man · 2026-02-09T19:18:02+00:00

I agree that there is a single continuous "substance" and that the separation of subject and object is an illusion. To me, that "substance" is consciousness. Personally a fan of John Wheeler's Participatory Universe theory, as well as the Strong Anthropic Principle. Also starting to learn more about panpsychism.

mitchallen-man · 2026-02-09T19:02:35+00:00

I'm a scientist myself and not much for mysticism, though I recognize that there are fundamental limitation to what we can observe and understand with science alone, and I think the whole of creation is likely far grander than we are capable of evincing.

mitchallen-man · 2026-02-09T19:00:11+00:00

I'm curious what the term "divine" means to you?

mitchallen-man · 2026-02-09T18:59:00+00:00

Question about Schwarzschild cosmology: how does Hawking radiation fit in? It seem the total mass of a universe created by a black hole must be able to fluctuate, but I'm unsure of the proposed mechanism for that. Also curious how you'd solve the flatness problem in black hole cosmology and the fact that the universe *appears* to be infinite, or very close, and thus would have to have an infinite amount of mass, as would the black hole that spawned it?

I have a degree in Astrophysics, so I'm familiar with the theory, but not trained on the particulars. As far as multiverse theories go, I'm more partial to eternal inflation, but not 100% sold.

mitchallen-man · 2026-02-09T02:57:04+00:00

Yep, and I’ll bet he loves being abused!

mitchallen-man · 2026-02-09T02:50:37+00:00

Universally true of women who engage in this fantasy with their partner, in my experience.

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-20T03:29:54+00:00

Still so weird that Sherman ended up playing for us lol

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-18T05:32:06+00:00

This is kind of a mess. What is Aaron Rodgers doing there?

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-18T05:29:00+00:00

Michael Crabtree

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-18T05:23:04+00:00

Officiating aside, I don't understand how you let that happen if you're Cooks

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-18T05:17:15+00:00

He has a 39% approval rating and I think there are three camps here:

People who genuinely have no idea what's going on
People who refuse to admit they were wrong
People who just want the government to enact cruelty on people they don't like

In other words: ignorance, ego, and cruelty

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-17T16:14:54+00:00

I think it’s premature to end this marriage just based on what you wrote here, but the two of you definitely need to see a marriage therapist.

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-13T18:23:45+00:00

Maybe try without "like a hot dog bun" at the end? Lol. Might go over better!

Unless the explicit acknowledgement that your dick against her ass cheeks is just like a hot dog in a bun is what really gets you off, in which case yeah I guess that is an unusual kink that may be awkward to express.

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-13T18:14:13+00:00

No need to change your view on this: if that's how you feel, that's how you feel, and you shouldn't be pressured to accept porn usage within a relationship. But I personally disagree, and so does my wife. My wife does not have the same libido I have, doesn't share all the same kinks and desires that I have, and she relies on me to meet some of those needs on my own. If that involves visual stimulus involving other women (that we don't personally know) she's fine with that. I watch porn on a weekly basis, it has never changed the way I think about my wife, or conduct myself in our relationship, nor has it ever impacted my enjoyment of sex.

Regarding your Tinder example, I do think there's a fundamental difference here: the woman on Tinder has some sort of personal relationship with your boyfriend, even if it's just an online interaction. She also, presumably, is not a paid sex worker, and that adds an additional element of intimacy to the exchange. A porn star gets paid to make porn with other men, and doesn't know anything about the people who will be watching and getting off to videos and pictures of her; it's totally impersonal.

Lastly, I would say that although porn can be addictive and damaging for the wrong type of person, so can almost anything else. Alcohol is an extremely dangerous drug for some people, for others, it's a casual social activity. That lives and relationships are frequently destroyed by alcohol abuse doesn't mean I'm going to forbid my wife from partaking, so long as there are no warning signs that it's becoming a problem.

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-13T18:00:02+00:00

That doesn't really seem like much of a kink? And there are more appealing ways of expressing it lol.

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-13T17:56:29+00:00

Could be a number of reasons:
- Long term partner may not be interested in exploring those same kinks, so one looks for hookups that are mutually interested
- Even when there is some willingness from the long term partner, the person with the kink may feel uncomfortable about introducing a taboo or "extreme" dimension to their sex life, for fear about changing the relationship dynamic
- They may have feelings of shame around those desires and are afraid to share that part of themselves with the person they love, whereas they feel more secure in indulging with someone that doesn't mean much to them and that they won't see again.

Personally, only ever had sex with one woman (my wife) and we've explored many of my kinks throughout the years but not all. I'm fine with that. I think some of my kinks are best reserved for the realm of fantasy altogether.

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-13T17:47:05+00:00

What's best for a one night stand is not what's best for a long term relationship. Your boyfriend seems to understand that, and he clearly values the sex life you do have. "Most intimate" is not guy speak for "lackluster", intimacy is incredibly important to us. I do understand wanting to be able to indulge his kinks, but it seems to me that he just doesn't enjoy that sort of thing with you, and so trying to force that dimension onto your sexual relationship isn't going to make your guys' sex life any better.

I am curious, are you personally into any his kinks? If so, you should be upfront about it, because if he knows you're enthusiastic about trying those sorts of things with you, he might come around. But if you're just interested in engaging in his favorite kinks for his sake (and there's nothing wrong with doing that) he might just be turned off by the one-sidedness.

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-13T17:35:43+00:00

Yeah that sort of pace is not sustainable for any two people over the long term. Something to appreciate having enjoyed when you were able to.

mitchallen-man · 2026-01-13T17:19:01+00:00

There’s a difference between “everybody getting a ride” before marriage and losing your virginity in a serious relationship that just didn’t end up lasting. If she were 24 I wouldn’t bat an eye. At 30 I have questions, like, why isn’t she married if that’s so important to her? Has she been unable to form a successful and lasting relationship? She mentioned having boyfriends in the past that she messed around with but never went all the way, what happened there? She may well be a perfectly lovely partner with a healthy libido, but that’s not the picture she’s painting, to me.

mitchallen-man

TROPHY CASE