Interesting Stuff Thread

oscarBravo

recedite wrote: »

I gave up trying to find Ireland on that map.

I'm guessing you gave up after an exhaustive (and exhausting) three-second search, which is how long it took me to find it.

I suppose some people just don't have the ability to see the world any other way than the way they've always seen it.

Thargor

robindch wrote: »

And this month, an article on "The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion" - an article which Jerry Coyne takes strong issue with.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160422-atheism-agnostic-secular-nones-rising-religion/

Amongst other alleged issues, the article says that the non-religion is mostly while, mostly male, mostly privileged. And that the "most visible figures" are misogynist:

I dont think Ill be renewing my subscription this year, not just for this (although putting any money in Murdochs pocket grates), the quality just isnt there anymore, its just a bland boring magazine now compared to the reading highlight of my month when I was younger, I absorb 20X more interesting stuff with a quick tour of my favourite Reddits and other sites compared to reading the magazine now, its become completely irrelevant to me.

Turtwig

Thargor wrote: »

I dont think Ill be renewing my subscription this year, not just for this (although putting any money in Murdochs pocket grates), the quality just isnt there anymore, its just a bland boring magazine now compared to the reading highlight of my month when I was younger, I absorb 20X more interesting stuff with a quick tour of my favourite Reddits and other sites compared to reading the magazine now, its become completely irrelevant to me.

Such a sad post to read - yet more disappointing to say I agree. National Geo is a pale zombie imitation of its once great self.

pauldla

Turtwig wrote: »

Such a sad post to read - yet more disappointing to say I agree. National Geo is a pale zombie imitation of its once great self.

They're currently showing 'The Story of God with Morgan Freeman' on their TV channel. Great, I thought. But on watching it, I realised that it is actually 'The Story of God, with Morgan Freeman', which is not quite what I had hopped for. At least it's not another show about fishing, I suppose.

recedite

Modern gadgetry employed in the age-old clash of civilisations. A "suicide drone" homes in on its target. Christian fights Muslim, while Jew makes a few quid selling to the highest bidder.
This yolk can be remote controlled, or it can self-select targets by homing in on electronic transmissions.

robindch

Ever see the fabric of spacetime? Well, now you can:

http://futurism.com/videos/visualizing-fabric-spacetime/

Includes an answer (the right one?) to the question of why all the planets orbit in the same direction.

Thargor

robindch wrote: »

Includes an answer (the right one?) to the question of why all the planets orbit in the same direction.

I was wondering about that myself, surely its because that was the direction the protoplanet disk was spinning and the planets just carried on after they formed? He makes it sound like all the counter-clockwise objects were destroyed, I think he was wrong there but happy to be corrected.

robindch

Thargor wrote: »

I was wondering about that myself, surely its because that was the direction the protoplanet disk was spinning and the planets just carried on after they formed?

I thought the same, but I suppose it depends on how the accretion disk was formed - the existence of gaseous planets suggest to me that the accretion disk was enough. Not my area though

robindch

Science bounds in where the gods haven't trodden for two millennia:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36101786

Shrap

Ok, this is interesting but make sure your tea has settled in first. Human modular prototype; lives, breathes, ekes it's way around a table....... Bye bye god, hello science.

recedite

Looks freaky. But tasty. You'd need a frying pan with a lid to cook this thing though.

silverharp

recedite wrote: »

Looks freaky. But tasty. You'd need a frying pan with a lid to cook this thing though.

....why was I programmed to feel pain.

recedite

Pain, but no skin... "Why did they not give me skin?"

silverharp

might have a bearing on how some christians come up with stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puJpSz21Ru4

Shrap

recedite wrote: »

Pain, but no skin... "Why did they not give me skin?"

Good Sci-Fi though. Makes you think it could be done....but from the same website that can sell us the "In Vitro Meat Cookbook", I'm thinking it's a way off yet http://shop.nextnature.net/collections/frontpage/products/the-in-vitro-meat-cookbook

recedite

Its an interesting concept. Reminds me of this classic clip....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1nxaQhsaaw

Hotblack Desiato

A cow, not a pig.

/le sigh

robindch

What: “Beauty and Truth in Mathematics and Physics”
Who: Professor Arthur M. Jaffe
When: Wednesday 18th May 2016 at 7:00pm,
Where: Schrodinger Lecture Theatre, Fitzgerald Building (School of Physics), Trinity College

http://www.eventbrite.ie/e/beauty-and-truth-in-mathematics-and-physics-tickets-24625519592

silverharp

robindch wrote: »

What: “Beauty and Truth in Mathematics and Physics”
Who: Professor Arthur M. Jaffe
When: Wednesday 18th May 2016 at 7:00pm,
Where: Schrodinger Lecture Theatre, Fitzgerald Building (School of Physics), Trinity College

http://www.eventbrite.ie/e/beauty-and-truth-in-mathematics-and-physics-tickets-24625519592

what kind of audience is it pitched at? would a kid with a junior cert level of maths get anything out of it?

MrPudding

robindch wrote: »

What: “Beauty and Truth in Mathematics and Physics”
Who: Professor Arthur M. Jaffe
When: Wednesday 18th May 2016 at 7:00pm,
Where: Schrodinger Lecture Theatre, Fitzgerald Building (School of Physics), Trinity College

http://www.eventbrite.ie/e/beauty-and-truth-in-mathematics-and-physics-tickets-24625519592

Is that the lecture theatre where the students are both awake and asleep?

MrP

robindch

silverharp wrote: »

what kind of audience is it pitched at? would a kid with a junior cert level of maths get anything out of it?

I don't know - but it sounds interesting and if a kid has some basic interest in mathematics, it's something that might inspire him/her to the realization that there's a lot more maths out there, and there's a lot more to it, than what's on the state exams!

MrPudding

robindch wrote: »

I don't know - but it sounds interesting and if a kid has some basic interest in mathematics, it's something that might inspire him/her to the realization that there's a lot more maths out there, and there's a lot more to it, than what's on the state exams!

Banned.

MrP

Cabaal

This is one smart kid!

http://gizmodo.com/teen-discovers-lost-maya-city-using-ancient-star-maps-1775735999?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Using an unprecedented technique of matching stars to the locations of temples on Earth, a 15-year-old Canadian student says he’s discovered a forgotten Maya city in Central America. Images from space suggest he may actually be onto something.

I did not understand why the Maya built their cities away from rivers, on marginal lands, and in the mountains,” explained Gadoury in Le Journal de Montreal. “They must have had another reason, and as they worshiped the stars, the idea came to me to verify my hypothesis. I was really surprised and excited when I realized that the most brilliant stars of the constellations matched the largest Maya cities.”

silverharp

Cabaal wrote: »

This is one smart kid!

http://gizmodo.com/teen-discovers-lost-maya-city-using-ancient-star-maps-1775735999?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

that goes into the Humans are awesome category , brilliant!

Thargor

Sounds like it could be junk science unfortunately, then again the guy debunking it was a child prodigy about Mayan stuff so maybe he's just jealous:

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/canadian-teen-william-gadourys-discovery-of-mayan-city-debunked-as-junk-science-20160511-gosa26.html

But nah I thought it was a bit suspicious myself, it would have been discovered by now if they were using constellations to plan their cities, it didnt make any sense.

recedite

Well its right beside a lake, Laguna El Civalon, so it shouldn't be all that difficult to fly a helicopter in there and winch down two or three guys, a rubber dinghy and a tent.
Also there's a second rectangular pattern just south of it.
Only problem is, if it turns out to be only a field, its more likely to be marijuana growing there than corn. And those kind of farmers don't like strangers dropping in....

Must be about 15 years ago I saw a documentary on the BBC talking about something similar, think it was the Mayans though could've been elsewhere. Anyway, they went on at length about town plans and settlements following the stars and did the whole episode as if it was correct. Then at the end it turned out they were giving massive margins of error and that it was probably rubbish.
Would've thought since it was studied a lot back then that it would've been known one way or the other. Then again it's the media trying to talk about science.

looksee

There was a load of stuff about the pyramids being built on that principle too. I don't know that it has ever been taken seriously.

KomradeBishop

Ya there was a good documentary film + series that - heard they're making new ones too

Thargor

The Giza pyramids do line up suspiciously well with Orions Belt though, the offsets not just 3 structures in a straight line, good comparison pic in the Wiki article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_correlation_theory