1

Physiology & Medicine / Wintertime and Hand Washing. Whose Directions Do You Follow?

« on: 07/12/2023 19:59:41 »

Immunologist: was your hands frequently, especially in the winter, which is cold season. Dermatologist: don't wash your hands frequently. That will dry them out, especially in the winter.

So which one is right?

2

Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Do Animals Have A Sense Of Humor?

« on: 30/11/2023 13:37:23 »

I grew up with animals. My parents and I were all animal lovers. And I swear, they are almost human-like sometimes. And I don't think I am just anthropomorphizing them.

I grew up around dogs and cats, mainly. And I can vouch for the fact they have all the emotions humans do. Love, hate, compassion. Possibly even a sense of humor, believe it or not. Our sheep dog would tease our Siamese cat. Or sometimes when I went to get my dogs a dog biscuit and I stumbled a little, they'd wag their tail. Why? Why would they like that? It's because they thought it was funny? No?

Also, on a possibly unrelated note, I have heard dogs give off a sarcastic sigh from time to time. My personal theory is they have all of our emotions. Just none of our intelligence.

3

Physiology & Medicine / Does Your Brain Remember Everything?

« on: 23/11/2023 09:50:28 »

Interesting story. When I was a little kid, my mother told me, your brain basically holds onto every event or memory that you have. I guess she was trying to tell me its like a big computer recording everything.

Is that true? I know we are born with every brain cell we will ever have. And when we die, we have less brain cells than we're born with. So if your memory is encoded on a brain cell that dies, you'll obviously lose that memory. But what happens to every fact you're exposed to? Some day if we can access the information in people's brain, would we find everything that ever happened in their lives? Also, memory is affected by things like emotions, adrenalin, etc. And sometimes we just don't know why we remember some things better than others. Does that have anything to do with it?

4

Just Chat! / Re: The Timeless Message of Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice'...

« on: 16/11/2023 12:36:51 »

Sorry to resurrect a zombie thread. But I wanted to add this. Also, when you listen to the speech, it's interesting to see which words she puts emphasis on. They usually show the writer's true intent. For example, Portia emphasizes "pray" in "pray for mercy" in the end, because she is referring the the Lord's Prayer and "give us this day our daily bread". And when she puts emphasis on "twice" in twice blest, she's telling the audience that acts of mercy make you feel good. I recently read that on the internet. And it makes you a better person too. And she put emphasis on "above" in "above this sceptred sway" because in Shakespeare's time, people thought power was the most attractive thing of being a ruler. But mercy will always be above that, because power is fleeting. Mercy is what history always remembers you for.

Here are all the words she puts emphasis on (at the end is a link to the full speech in the 2004 movie with Al Pacino):

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest,-
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown,-
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,-
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself,-
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy,-
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSg601_b4mo

EDIT: This message board won't let me use accented letters for some reason. So I just bolded the emphasized words. (It also won't let me use apostrophes and dashed either.)

5

Just Chat! / The Star Trek Universe and Artificial Intelligence...

« on: 16/11/2023 12:24:45 »

People recently have started talking about the dangers of artificial intelligence, of creating a being more intelligent that we are. Could we trust it? And would it try to take over the world? They actually brought up this very subject in the Star Trek: TNG episode "Elementary, Dear Data". The story is unique. Because in it the AI character, Professor Moriarty is created bad, but chooses to become good. As I said, people fear things might go the other way around for us. Anyways, I have selected a few of the more memorable quotes from the episode here. I have a question at the end. But I put in here, in "Just Chat!", because the thread is mostly to share the ST quotes.



"He is still a fictional character, sir, originally programmed with nineteenth century knowledge."

-Data, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.



"Very strange. You're beginning to sound very different from the Moriarty I've read about."

-Dr. Pulaski, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.


"I'm a civilized abductor, Captain Picard. Civilized? but still dangerous."

-Moriarty, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.


"What are you?"
"If you refer to the arch you ordered, it provides computer control. Do you wish to input any commands?"
"Not at this time."
(Arch disappears.)
"It's dark magic, Moriarty!"
"The best kind, I'm sure."

-Moriarty, prostitute and computer, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.



"In programming Moriarty to defeat me?not Holmes?he had to be able to acquire something which I possess."
"What exactly?"
"Consciousness, sir. Without it, he could not defeat me."

-Data and Picard, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.


"My mind is crowded with images, thoughts I do not understand, yet cannot purge; they plague me. You and your associate look and act so oddly. Yet though I have never met nor seen the like of either of you, I am familiar with you both; it's very confusing. I have felt new realities at the edge of my consciousness readying to break through. Surely, Holmes, if that's who you truly are, you of all people can appreciate what I mean..."

-Moriarty, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.



"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Of course you do, madam. The more you proclaim your ignorance, the more you try to mislead me, the more I'm on to you. Your every silence speaks volumes."
"Good. Then if you know what I'm saying when I'm not saying anything, what do you need me for? Thank you for the tea and crumpets. I guess I'll be going."

-Dr. Pulaski and Moriarty, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.



"You'd be a big hit in London."

-Commander Riker and Worf, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.



"The Doctor was right. Finally, we have a game worth playing."
"The time for games is over."
"Professor Moriarty, I presume?"

-Lt. La Forge, Moriarty and Data, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.


"It's elementary, dear Data."

-Dr. Pulaski, "Elementary, Dear Data",
Stardate: 42486.3,
Original Airdate: 5 Dec, 1988.


Anyways, my question. Would artificial intelligence probably be bad? Or good? Some people think giving it emotions might come into play. But how? Do emotions make you bad or good? I was thinking, someone without human empathy might be capable of doing more evil. But someone ruled by their negative emotions would be more cruel and out of control on average. Actually, they talk about this last issue in the TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror". Spock famously says there "It was far easier for you as civilized men to behave like barbarians, than it was for them as barbarians to behave like civilized men. I assume they returned to their Enterprise at the same time you appeared here." That's is an old way of looking at the matter. Because we all know serial killers are often cunning and well able to hide their true intentions. "Mirror, Mirror" brings up another interesting point too. It is harder for a good person to pretend they're evil. Because then they may have to do an evil act. Like when Capt. Kirk had to destroy the Halkan city in the parallel universe.

6

Technology / Why Don't Smartphones Have Antennae?

« on: 09/11/2023 12:30:27 »

Why don't cellphones have antennae anymore? It must be an improvement in the technology. But why antennae? And what are antennas for anyways?

7

Physiology & Medicine / Anti-Violence Drug (With My Old Thread)...

« on: 02/11/2023 12:58:00 »

Anyways, as you can see, I brought this up a while ago on this board, a drug to treat violence: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=52123.msg439475#msg439475

Some posters there claim there are already chemical agents that do that. Actually, I see now that they may have meant like anti-psychotics and Ritalin. Those can deal with the violence sometimes associated with those problems. But I think on another message board, someone might have said there really is something that treats violence directly. I am still not sure what is wrong with Oxytocin. It creates warm, empathetic feelings. Isn't that what sociopaths lack?

Also, you know violence is part of our genetic make up. We used to use to protect ourselves and our territory. But we don't need it anymore. We don't our need appendix or tonsils. And when they cause a problem, they usually remove them.

Of course, as the movie A Clockwork Orange points out, actually we do still need to defend ourselves someday. IAE, my question is only is there a medicine like that now?

8

Physiology & Medicine / Do Germs Eventually Just Die of 'Old Age'?

« on: 26/10/2023 14:52:20 »

On non-porous surfaces, do germs just eventually die of old age? Like if you take out the garbage, and touch the door knob as you come back in the house. You really don't have to sanitize the knob. Do you? You should wash your hands. But that's different isn't it?

BTW, pictured is the "close stool" of King William III. He died in 1702. Would it still have some of his germs on it?

9

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / The Color of Atoms.

« on: 19/10/2023 20:57:04 »

I've always wondered. What color are atoms? And do they even have a color? And what shape are they? They're always depicted as spherical. That makes sense. Planets are spherical, raindrops are spherical. It's the default shape to take when nothing forces you into another shape. But are they?

10

Physiology & Medicine / The Old Medical Practice of Bleeding People.

« on: 12/10/2023 10:05:17 »

Starting in ancient times, people thought that human disease was caused by the imbalance of 4 bodily "humors" or fluids. Anyways, when you had a cold they seemed to always end up bleeding you. George Washington probably died from blood loss. He had a bad cold, and he told his doctor to bleed him a lot.

Anyways, didn't people realize it didn't work? Plus it probably made things worse. When you have a cold, losing fluids is probably the last thing you want to do. And you'd be losing nutrient too, wouldn't you? Bleeding (and draining other fluids) began in ancient times. And Wikipedia says it wasn't totally disproven until about 1850 with germ theory. Why did it take that long?

11

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Reckoning Sunrise And Sunset.

« on: 05/10/2023 18:32:15 »

Why does sunrise and sunset always begin when the center of the Sun is at the horizon? I think they both begin when the tip of the Sun is at the horizon. Because otherwise, it is usually daylight a few moments before and after it reaches the center.

12

Just Chat! / Producing Gold Artificially.

« on: 28/09/2023 08:46:55 »

You know, they taught us in grade school that there are elements in nature that can never be broken down. But then we learned in high school, that isn't entirely true. Elements themselves are made up of electrons, neutrons and protons. Getting them apart and recombining them wouldn't be easy. But it could theoretically be done.

That's when I got this idea in HS. Why not just make gold, from scratch? It seems simple enough. Just take a nearby element, like Osmium or Iridium, and bombard it with alpha particles. (Just looking at the periodic table now, I realize Platinum is right next to Osmium and Iridium. But back then I wanted gold for some reason.) It would be impossible for some reason, wouldn't it? Or would it? Also, I realized even in HS, Osmium and Iridium are rare elements themselves. Plus, there is very little gold on earth. Is that an accident? I know you could make individual gold atoms by smashing particles into each other. But I realized even back then, the costs for that would far outweigh the return.

You know, they actually cover this topic on the Twilight Zone in "The Rip Van Winkle Caper" originally aired on April 21, 1961 on CBS. It's interesting, because gold has many industrial uses. It would be wonderful if we could just manufacture it in large quantities.

So is it possible? Would it be cost-effective? And will it ever be? 

13

Physiology & Medicine / Songs That Give You Goosebumps...

« on: 15/09/2023 03:40:20 »

People often say that hearing their national anthem gives them goosebumps. Or a chill down their spine. Some people say religious songs do. Or even just some stirring classical tunes.

What is that? I know true goosebumps are your bodies reaction to cold. It used to make our proto-humans forbearers fur stand up, to hold in the heat. We don't have fur anymore. Also there's no reason those songs should make you feel cold. So what is it?

14

Physiology & Medicine / Prebiotics.

« on: 07/09/2023 13:16:50 »

Prebiotics are foods that foster beneficial bacterial growth in the gut.

My question is, don't all foods do this anyways? And is there any benefit to buying prebiotic products? Or is it just a way for companies to make more money?

15

New Theories / Two Types of Morality.

« on: 31/08/2023 08:50:21 »

This is a theory I've had for some time. And an observation. Did you ever notice with sexual morality and freedom, there seems to be two types. One that is androcentric. And one that is more egalitarian.

In the Middle Ages and early modern period, there was sexual freedom. But it all revolved around the man. He could almost anything he wanted. But women had a low status and few rights. Adultery, for example, could only be committed by the woman legally.

Then, and I think this may be more modern, there is a more egalitarian model. Everyone's rights matter.

I know this idea is a legal one. But is there a psychological reason for it? Maybe even something evolutionary? Especially for the first one.

16

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Quantum Entanglement and Interstellar Communication.

« on: 25/08/2023 09:52:44 »

Einstein called quantum entanglement "spooky action at a distance". I certainly don't understand it. Maybe people like Einstein really didn't either.

Anyways, it basically says one particle can affect another particle no matter how far away. One particle twists to the left, so does the other one, and vice versa. Instantaneously. My question is, could it be used to things like interstellar communication? Using just one pair of particles, you could have something like Morse code going. Or if you have enough particles working at the same time, you could have thousands, maybe millions of messages sent. Maybe they could all form pixels on a computer screen, or something like that.

But is it possible?

17

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Can You Overdose On Fiber?

« on: 21/08/2023 19:58:35 »

@Jimbee

Can you Please tell me a little more about Overdosing on Iron tabs?

You mean those RBC increasers, Right?

ps - no i ain't thinkin of actual lil iron balls.
(lol)

https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/injuries-and-poisoning/poisoning/iron-poisoning

18

Physiology & Medicine / Can You Overdose On Fiber?

« on: 17/08/2023 23:24:38 »

You can certainly overdose on things like painkillers and acetaminophen. And I'll bet a lot of people don't know you can overdose on iron tablets too. But what about fiber supplements?

If you or a family member went to the emergency room complaining you took too many fiber pills, what would they do? Would they just keep you there till all of it passed? Or would they have to flush it out somehow? Especially if you took a really big dose?

19

Physiology & Medicine / Why Does Almost Everyone Seem To Hold On To Their Ability To Speak?

« on: 10/08/2023 06:37:31 »

Why does everyone seem to always hold onto their ability to use language, even when there is brain damage? Most developmentally disabled people can talk. In fact the only for of brain damage that I can think of that might limit your language skills is a stroke. Is there some evolutionary reason for this?

I know the way we acquire and use language is complex and interesting. And there is only a small window of time when most people can become fluent in a language.

20

Physiology & Medicine / The Reason For Head Hair.

« on: 03/08/2023 17:29:55 »

Every human being seems to have head hair, or at least be born with it. What purpose does it serve? Does it have a practical, physiological purpose? Or like many things in human evolution, do we have it because we thought it was attractive at one point?