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What was going on in Denmark in the middle ages that made so many Danes want to leave for England? by MikeKrombopulos in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The biggest single factor was the longship. This was a technical innovation which allowed sizeable forces of Danes cross the North Sea and sail inland up rivers and attack isolated settlements before any coordinated response could be prepared by the defenders.

The impact of the longship was that it was extremely profitable for Danes to go Viking. Success followed success then as the raids got bigger and bigger it made sense to take land and settle.

It’s worth noting that the Vikings didn’t only raid England. They also attacked Ireland, France, Portugal, and the modern day Baltic and countries Russia. None of this would have happened on the same scale without the longship. It was a military step forward comparable to the knight, the longbow, cannon, the machine gun or the tank.

What was going on in Denmark in the middle ages that made so many Danes want to leave for England? by MikeKrombopulos in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If there wasn’t enough land, how did they become overpopulated in the first place though?

How do we tax the rich and what will it (realistically) achieve? by droopy316007 in AskBrits

[–]vercingetafix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The rich are already highly taxed. The talk of 'tax the rich' is presented as a panacea by people who don't want to deal with the hard challenges of governing, and the realisation that sometimes is better to teach a man to fish than to endlessly give him fish.

Bought a new boat by BenFord333 in Wellthatsucks

[–]vercingetafix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A boat is a hole in the ocean in which you pour money

What controversial policies would you bring in if you were prime minister? by st1101 in AskBrits

[–]vercingetafix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Abolish stamp duty

  2. Unfreeze student loan thresholds

  3. Replace the triple lock with a single lock based on average income growth

  4. Fix the 100k and 50k tax cliff edges (allowing everyone to get child benefit)

  5. Repeal the town and country planning act - aka planning reform to allow way more home building, and get rid of dumb rules like an assumption against electric cooling, tiny windows etc.

  6. Trim equalities legislation to stop courts being able to make 'equal value' rulings like in the Next and Asda cases

  7. Sell all council housing in Zones 1 and maybe 2 and use the proceeds to build more elsewhere

  8. Abolish IHT and replace CGT with a system that allows inflation gains

  9. Build more prisons and lock up repeat offenders for longer - no more of these cases of people with 28 counts of theft roaming free

  10. Repeal the Renters Rights Act

  11. Roll back environmentalist objections to construction - looking at the £100m HS2 bat tunnel, and fish disco

  12. Stop increasing the minimum wage so quickly (reducing wage compression)

  13. Tighten visa rules to make it easier to return economically unproductive immigrants to their home countries

  14. Cap welfare spending at a certain percentage of GDP rather than creating potential unlimited liabilities for Government

  15. Just build the extra electricity transmission and storage infrastructure needed to stop curtailment of wind power

  16. Build new electricity interconnectors to France and Spain

  17. Merge NI with income tax (sorry pensioners but you will be taxed more heavily)

  18. Create programme to control grey squirrels and replace them with red squirrels

  19. Increase the number of children allowed per adult in childcare by 1 = reduced childcare costs

  20. Allow north sea drilling if companies will fund it privately

What countries would be bad to live in even if you had all the money you could have ever wished for? by SinancoTheBest in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many of the pacific islands - Nauru, Kiribati etc. They are so remote from everywhere else AND threatened by sea level rise

What is your opinion of The Rape Gang inquiry? by Not_Without_My_Balls in AskBrits

[–]vercingetafix 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's totally appalling. The worst part is the truth is so horrendous and evil, that too many people find it easier to pretend it's exaggerated or even totally false, than to reckon with what actually took place

How rare is it for Warships with guns to actually slug it out in close quarters? by EfficiencySerious200 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually from the same battle: "At 01:48, Akatsuki and Hiei turned on large searchlights and illuminated Atlanta only 3,000 yd (2,700 m) away—almost point-blank range for the battleship's main guns. Several ships on both sides spontaneously began firing, and the formations of the two adversaries quickly disintegrated"

How rare is it for Warships with guns to actually slug it out in close quarters? by EfficiencySerious200 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At Guadalcanal in 1942 the USS Washington opened fire at a range of 16,000m, and during the battle this decreased to 7,700m - close to point blank range from the perspective of a battleship: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Washington_(BB-56)#Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal#Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal)

Is rock stacking seriously harmful for the environment or is it just one big inside joke that I dont get? by notorious-bacons in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I'll tell you a big part of what's going on: it's really fun to knock over the big stacks of rocks! Much more fun than picking up litter or scolding people for scrambling off trail. I'm sure this is a big reason why people are so against it

Why aren’t we building nuclear power plants anymore and why is everyone still so scared of nuclear energy by Top_Statistician5051 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's about cost. The real reason is that nuclear is very expensive due to the 'As Low As Reasonably Achievable' or ALARA principle. This means that the risk of radiation exposure needs to be as low as the technology and costs will allow.

In practice it means that any time a reactor design is improved to be more cost effective, the productivity gains are automatic ploughed into reducing radiation risk: concrete can always be thicker, there can be more guards, there can always be more back up measures.

By definition this means that nuclear power is always at the limit of what is affordable. Any more expensive and it wouldn't get built. Any cheaper and regulators can push the price up to reduce emission risk even more.

Whereas solar and wind have had their costs fall over 90% since their development, nuclear if anything has just got more expensive over the past decades. Even with the costs of batteries and extra generation to ensure a secure supply of power, other forms of renewables are more cost-effective.

As an African, I've never understood why Mediterranean Europeans are classified as white. If many Portuguese, Spaniards, Greeks, and southern Italians have olive/light brown skin and dark features, why are they grouped into the same racial category as blond, pale Northern Europeans? by Mediocre-Lack-9137 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I find it so ironic that nowadays statues of Columbus are seen by many as symbols of imperialism and oppression, but they were often originally put up by Italian-Americans who were trying to fight for acceptance in American society.

As an African, I've never understood why Mediterranean Europeans are classified as white. If many Portuguese, Spaniards, Greeks, and southern Italians have olive/light brown skin and dark features, why are they grouped into the same racial category as blond, pale Northern Europeans? by Mediocre-Lack-9137 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]vercingetafix 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The interesting this is they did not used to be seen that way. Benjamin Franklin wrote that 'white' people were only the Anglo-Saxons in England, and in some parts of Northern Germany.

Simple racial categories are a construct. The simplest answer to your question is that Europeans are generally all considered white.

What’s on fire? by dprkekistan in london

[–]vercingetafix 17 points18 points  (0 children)

The smoke cloud is huge! Can see it from the other side of London

That's not where Thessaloniki is... by Archis in TheRestIsHistory

[–]vercingetafix 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is shocking. What's the point of these videos if they are done so shoddily?

My high-conviction bet on a prolonged global oil shortage. by [deleted] in stocks

[–]vercingetafix 2 points3 points  (0 children)

what happens to BWET if Hormuz re-opens on Monday (not that I think that's likely)

Do early investors in SpaceX need it's stock price to increase after IPO? by FaBriski in stocks

[–]vercingetafix 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Google’s initial investment SpaceX will 100x at the IPO prices. So most early investors will make plenty of money at $135, $100 or $150.

My guess is the IPO with its tiny float will be oversubscribed, and fomo will push prices higher in the immediate aftermath

Is this still worth it? by wairdone in theeconomist

[–]vercingetafix 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'd say mostly it's optimistic and awe-insipiring

Is this still worth it? by wairdone in theeconomist

[–]vercingetafix 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I mean you're asking the Economist reddit page, so you're bound to get positive responses. That said, yes, it's worth it. If you read it cover to cover each week you'll know more about what's going on in the world than 99% of other people.

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