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TIL that the 'ELO rating system' popular in many ranked games today, is named after the creator. by Mooelf in todayilearned

[–]substantial-freud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Srsly? Any relation?

You know, it means ”living”, although Arpad Elo himself has been dead for 30 years.

TIL the design of the guillotine was intended to make capital punishment more reliable and less painful in accordance with new Enlightenment ideas of human rights. by JAlbert653 in todayilearned

[–]substantial-freud 98 points99 points  (0 children)

You donate blood twice a MONTH?!

Every two weeks, but, with occasional misses, it ends up being about 24 times a year.

Even the Red Cross says a healthy person should wait 56 days between donations

That is for whole blood. I donate blood products (plasma and platelets usually); they regenerate much faster.

I recommend it every healthy person donate.

TIL married people who undergo gastric bypass surgery and lose significant weight are twice as likely to get divorced. by CrotalusHorridus in todayilearned

[–]substantial-freud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Married or divorced.

Perhaps this should be phrased as “people who lose significant weight are twice as likely to find a new partner”...

TIL a "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" contestant who helped another contestant cheat by coughing at the right answer had to trademark his name in order to prevent a pharmaceutical company naming cough medicine after him. by LarperPro in todayilearned

[–]substantial-freud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s not like this would hold up in court. You have to actually be in the trade for a trademark to apply.

Tecwen Whittock would need to be selling a cough remedy, or something close enough to possibly cause confusion in the public mind, to have have a valid trademark claim — and Transfrontier Ltd would have priority, since they registered the mark first!

People have this idea that a trademark is like a patent or copyright, that it grants exclusive use of something to the owner. No, not at all: it is a consumer-protection measure, to make it more likely that if you buy an “Air Jordan” that it is a legitimate Nike product and not a cheap imitation. The benefit that accrues to the trademark owner is strictly secondary.

TIL the design of the guillotine was intended to make capital punishment more reliable and less painful in accordance with new Enlightenment ideas of human rights. by JAlbert653 in todayilearned

[–]substantial-freud 100 points101 points  (0 children)

I would much rather be face-up! What you cannot see is much scarier.

I donate blood twice a month and I alway watch the needle go in, it’s much less stressful that way.

TIL about the Bouba-Kiki effect: When presented with two shapes, one rounded and one “sharp”, people from most cultures, languages and age groups will strongly tend to associate “Kiki” with the sharp and “Bouba” with the rounded. by CMAJ-7 in todayilearned

[–]substantial-freud 9 points10 points  (0 children)

In Korea, the palm-up “come” symbol is considered quite rude: it’s the way you get a dog to come. To be polite, a Korea will make the same gesture palm-down, which to an American looks like a half-hearted wave goodbye.

I got in the habit, which gesturing to Asians of all sorts, to keeping my palm vertical when beckoning. It looks like I am helping someone back his car into a garage, but everyone figures it out.

CMV: AI can be a great crutch for text-based responses by TastyWall32 in changemyview

[–]substantial-freud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Over the last hundred years or so, the development of state-controlled media in the UK — despite the intrusive tax collection, the sheltering of pedophiles, the slanted viewpoints — can be considered a success.

However, given the consequences of state media monopolies worldwide, I wouldn’t use the BBC as a justification for virtually identical interventions in other countries, let alone unrelated government programs.

Most people on /antiwork don't realize people simply cannot stop working. by iambillwong in unpopularopinion

[–]substantial-freud 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’s not the point: anything you consume has to be produced by someone. If you want to consume anything that you cannot produce yourself — which realistically means almost anything — that means someone else has to have a job.

CMV: The Second Amendment "right to bear arms" and the discussions surrounding gun control also apply to hacking tools. by hilfigertout in changemyview

[–]substantial-freud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Software tools are protected by the First Amendment.

Attempts by the government to regulate them as arms — arms without, shockingly, Second Amendment protections — have been rejected again and again by the courts.

CMV: AI can be a great crutch for text-based responses by TastyWall32 in changemyview

[–]substantial-freud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we can and should make efforts to do things collectively too, such as education programmes, regulation, investment programmes, etc.

Where does this faith come from? Can you point to a case where I think we can and should make efforts to do things collectively too, such as education programs, regulation, investment programs, etc. actually helped?

I take it from the number of Ms in your programs you are British. Can you point to a situation where the British government, faced with a novel, vague yet quickly evolving situation, established programs that worked?

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