blix

13 ms·

91.
by blix 4y ago
If asking for scientific research to support claims is witch-burning, truly science literacy is in a sad state. And I'm not sure I would really consider a "Go Ask Alice" column as peer-reviewed research.
92.
by blix 4y ago
Titanium is a common biocompatible implant material, widely considered safe in this context. One of the primary benefits of titanium implants is that that they readily form a TiO2 passivation layer. TiO2 is also common in many topical lotio
93.
by blix 4y ago
> There are substantial differences among the language varieties that countries of the Anglosphere identify as "standard English" There is no One True Standard.
94.
by blix 4y ago
There ain't no such thing as 'Standard English.'
95.
by blix 4y ago
A projection of the 2D square lattice can produce the binary fibbonacci sequence. This picture I stole from some blog shows this projection: https://grahamshawcross.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/spots.jp... -- A 2D
96.
by blix 4y ago
If someone doesn't have enough cash to pay for the groceries they brought to checkout, it's already an awkward situation.
97.
by blix 4y ago
> Imagine a scenario where one the local officials you voted for is caught misusing city funds. When I was younger, two consecutive governors from opposite parties both ended up in prison for their activity as elected officials. The STOC
98.
by blix 4y ago
> In a democracy, citizens have a moral obligation to be informed enough to make a qualified decision at the ballot box. Even if you accept this is true, I have a hard time believing that 'following the news' actually achieves
99.
by blix 4y ago
> That's like demonizing computer manufacturers because computers are inextricably linked to cybercrime. Is the vast majority of computer use for the explicit and sole purpose of cybercrime? If so, this is news to me. It's more
100.
by blix 4y ago
Your own link makes a compelling case that herbicide resistance is ~by far~ the largest application of GMOs. The most commonly cited and largest impacts of GMOs derive primarily from hebicide application. They are demonized by proxy becaus
101.
by blix 4y ago
Herbicide-resistant GMO crops account for over 80% of total GMO crop area worldwide. There's a reason why people usually talk about both at the same time :)
102.
by blix 4y ago
> I'd like to think that we all want phones that don't exist Definitely, I begrudge every single moment I am forced to use my phone and intentionally don't bring it with me as often as possible. > ... other than as a c
103.
by blix 4y ago
Ancient Egypt's "bumps along the road" were several periods of almost total anarchy and state disintegration that each lasted for many decades. You're right that there's nothing comparable to the modern era: the mod
104.
by blix 4y ago
Does sacrificing food quality for quantity really save lives, or does it just allow for population increase, with similar levels of suffering at the margins? This is a controversial question. To pick a popular example, estimates of lives sa
105.
by blix 5y ago
Oops. Thank you. I need to be more careful.
106.
by blix 5y ago
I find some of this author's arguments... epistemically illegible. For instance, she criticizes James Scott's "Against the Grain" for using a different definition of 'state' than the first one she found on wiki
107.
by blix 5y ago
The notion of a 'Classical Object' in this particular framework of QM is an assumption, not a prediction. Since all objects are composed of quantum particles, all objects are quantum objects. So a complete theory of QM needs to be
108.
by blix 5y ago
Thanks for posting this. I came away from those criticism thinking Mearsheimer's argument hadn't taken much damage, though I'm still not sure I agree. It is interesting that even the realist author doesn't frame NATO&#x2
109.
by blix 5y ago
> If your microbiome was damaged by evidently useless antibacterial treatments, it could be malpractice. This is how I would describe the vast majority of applications of antibiotics. I'd like to be more charitable and say the peopl
110.
by blix 5y ago
> We knew there were serious consequences ... We had some minor inklings of the microbiome, but we were not aware of serious consequences. Unless you are accusing the all the governments and medical bodies of the world of gross malpracti
111.
by blix 5y ago
> The idea that "the body keeps it around" just completely flies in the face of reality. The fact is, the body doesn't really have a way of preventing it from staying there. This is a difference in semantics, not reality.
112.
by blix 5y ago
If that bias is so strong, why did people believe the appendix was vestigial for a 100 years? If the immue system does "whatever it can" to get rid of EBV, why is it happy to let EBV lie dormant in most people who have it? Most of
113.
by blix 5y ago
The first recorded appendectomy is in 1880. Probably the first major study conclusively indicating adverse consequences was published in 2014. It did hold for a long time, until it didn't because we found scientific evidence that said
114.
by blix 5y ago
As recently as 15 years ago we were 'almost certain' that the appendix had no function. Oops.
115.
by blix 5y ago
EBV is linked to many, many things. But why does it only have these effects in some people and not others? Why is the prevalance of weird EBV-linked conditions increasing with time? Until these question are answered I don't think it&#x
116.
by blix 5y ago
I'm not sure hunting down viruses that don't cause problems in 90% percent of people is a good idea. Maybe they have some positive effect that we haven't realized yet. We are only just now catching up to the idea that bacteri
117.
by blix 5y ago
The two main properties that make steel interesting are 1) cost 2) toughness. Toughness in a material science sense is the ability to absorb energy before failure. This has two major components, yield strength (energy to initiate deformatio
118.
by blix 5y ago
Nature is asking for a subscription, so here's a version on arxiv: https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2103/2103.13925.pdf
119.
by blix 5y ago
Probably not. Steel rebar is used because it is ductile, that is it stretches and fails gracefully, which complements the brittle nature of concrete. This material is likely brittle, probably similar in overall behavior to graphite.
120.
by blix 5y ago
It's hard to say without reading the paper itself, but in general one should be skeptical of claims that such-and-such material is stronger than steel. The properties that make steel interesting are not its elastic modulus or yield str

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