bbctol

18 ms·

181.
by bbctol 10y ago
The question of why humans cry is always fascinating, since it's such an instinctive behavior we don't seem to realize how bizarre it is. I tried a little to develop a deliberately insane theory to submit to BAHfest (SMBC's f
182.
by bbctol 10y ago
I think we really are at the beginning of video games as a medium, though I hope some of us will be alive long enough to see a real masterpiece. People watch movies made 60 years ago and appreciate them on their own merit; they rarely watch
183.
by bbctol 10y ago
I have been fascinated for many years by the website of math professor and puzzle-maker Erich Friedman; I can still spend hours looking at the optimizations of interesting packing problems. http://www2.stetson.edu/~efriedma&
184.
by bbctol 10y ago
Programming language development is extremely different from scientific experimentation. I honestly don't know why you'd even compare them; the authors of this paper certainly aren't making a general statement that the existe
185.
by bbctol 10y ago
My favorite (even more insane) extrapolation of this is the Dene-Caucasian language family, which proposes a common origin for Basque, Caucasian languages, Yeniseian languages, Chinese, Sumerian, and Navajo! https://en.wikipedia.
186.
by bbctol 10y ago
What postmodernist works have you read?
187.
by bbctol 10y ago
Well, the government has defended you from foreign threats, protected the monetary system that lets you earn in the first place, provided for your public education, established your infrastructure, and been a check against your home burning
188.
by bbctol 10y ago
There's a lot of talk with respect to the US Democrat/Republican split on how Democrats are terrible at highlighting when government helps people (because it seems to cheapen the process or some silly issue.) http://dem
189.
by bbctol 10y ago
2016 was the first year I've lived through where I thought to myself "This is a year people will list in the history books." In the same way people know dates like 1929 or 1848; I don't necessarily think things will turn
190.
by bbctol 10y ago
Or rather, to short their stock, if you want to make some money off it.
191.
by bbctol 10y ago
This is a highlight reel of the more successful fellows; has anyone done a broad survey of all fellows to see where they ended up?
192.
by bbctol 10y ago
Sure, but waste doesn't mean we're "creaking under their load," especially when it comes to entitlement programs. If we just wanted to double the amount we spend on science, energy, and the environment, we'd have so
193.
by bbctol 10y ago
In a weird way, that's sort of the reason to read Taleb. It's about 90% posturing and sophist bullshit and 10% legitimate insight, but at least the insight is "90% of the time intellectuals are just posturing and spouting sop
194.
by bbctol 10y ago
IIRC, surgeons show an incredibly high rate of psychopathy and low empathy, while general practitioners show the opposite. Cutting people open is one part of medicine where you'll be much better off if you see the body as a problem to
195.
by bbctol 10y ago
It's more like if a guy went to Vegas and came back with thousands of dollars, and decided to tell his friends he's a master poker player, not that he got lucky. Interesting findings happen in scientific experiments, and it's
196.
by bbctol 10y ago
Well... most studies are conducted by a lab run by someone with tenure. Most people doing the experimental design and research do not have tenure, but are trying to get there. Most people doing the actual grunt work of running tests, drawin
197.
by bbctol 10y ago
The journal I work for just rolled out a new methods format; the big change is requiring all resources to be listed, with their origin (a major problem is that Chemical A or lab rat subspecies B might be very different from one company or a
198.
by bbctol 10y ago
The underlying issue is that while decentralization makes one more stable and less susceptible to unexpected crises in the long term, centralization is almost always stronger and more efficient in the short term. Diverse food supplies, sepa
199.
by bbctol 10y ago
It's hard to say "looking presidential" isn't related to race or gender when ~98% of presidents have been white men (assuming you're talking about the United States president!)
200.
by bbctol 10y ago
In Iliad 12, the Trojans wish for the Achaeans to die unremembered; in the original Greek, literally "nameless." This map is a good reminder that the level of detail in the Iliad is no accident, it's an integral part of what
201.
by bbctol 10y ago
The dagger or obelisk symbol often indicates death, and can look like a cross in certain fonts. This symbol was actually initially developed by the ancient Greeks to mark up Homer's manuscripts, so its use here couldn't be more ap
202.
by bbctol 10y ago
Of course this is what he was hoping for, that was obvious at the time. The particular article was almost certainly not given any weight during the case, it's just a restatement of their general argument.
203.
by bbctol 10y ago
So's speeding. This isn't a particularly controversial reading of history, most historians acknowledge a lot of same-sex encounters between people who considered themselves heterosexual.
204.
by bbctol 10y ago
Urbit's not meant for mere mortals, it's meant for the philosopher-kings of a bizarre neoreactionary future.
205.
by bbctol 10y ago
From googling around: looks to be based in England, and focused on books about the Sikhs, or Punjab generally.
206.
by bbctol 10y ago
Look, I would never say that everyone has to formally study philosophy. But if you're going to talk about philosophy as if you've studied it... you really have to actually study philosophy.
207.
by bbctol 10y ago
Did you look it up before saying "look it up"?
208.
by bbctol 10y ago
To be fair, we dealt with Germany through conventional warfare, but that "we" included the Soviet Union, and required millions of deaths on both sides.
209.
by bbctol 10y ago
Yes; I'm worried about those in power on the American side. The fact that China would lose a war against the United States doesn't mean it would be a good thing for the US; the best we could do is lose less.
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by bbctol 10y ago
I wish I could be more sure that people in power saw that as a bad thing.

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