1

General Science / Re: Why can't radio waves pass through the ionosphere, but a spaceship can?

« on: 05/08/2022 20:02:37 »

The clue is in the name - ionosphere. Ionised air is an electrical  conductor and acts to some extent as a "short circuit" to electromagnetic radiation, but to a solid object it is just "thin air".

Obviously most em radiation does pass through the ionosphere (hence sunlight, radiotelescopes, and communication with spacecraft) but at some frequencies and angles of incidence it acts like a mirror.

2

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Why has no Warp Speed Pill been invented to Stop Periods?

« on: 04/08/2022 21:24:32 »

A very few men are  so sexually insecure and socially inadequate that they feel a need or even a right to assault women. These are the people who need medical treatment, not all women.

3

Just Chat! / Re: Do British pubs typically serve restaurant quality food?

« on: 04/08/2022 17:56:01 »

There has been a massive change in my lifetime, following tighter drink-driving legislation. In my youth, pub food was a grudging addition to encourage lunchtime drinking. With decreasing consumption of alcohol, and increasing competition from supermarkets, the majority of pubs have at least increased the scale and variety of their offerings and a good many are now really restaurants with decent draught beer and a dartboard. My chef son produces Michelin-star food in pubs.

4

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Why has no Warp Speed Pill been invented to Stop Periods?

« on: 04/08/2022 17:36:12 »

Anyone with a brain would be in favor of reducing the population. The means to do so safely and cheaply has been around since 1960. As BC says, how you use it is a matter of choice, unless you subscribe to some bizarre superstition that allows dirty old men to determine your sex life and reproduction.

5

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Is the male anus higher than the female anus?

« on: 02/08/2022 22:34:12 »

When it comes to political speeches, the male anus is certainly louder and more often heard than the female, but the contents are indistinguishable.

6

Technology / Re: Can rechargeable 9volt in guitar?

« on: 28/07/2022 10:53:40 »

Not a sensible option in the first place. The current drain in a guitar is very small even when switched on, so battery life is determined by the self-discharge and corrosion characteristics of the battery - long-life alkalines are far better in both respects. I get about 2 years' worth of rehearsals and gigs from a 9V Duracell.

That said, the guitar should work OK even without a battery, though you won't get any boost effects. So if it doesn't work, it's possible that the electronics have been corroded, the pickup selector switch has failed, the battery connector has gone open-circuit (another reason for not using rechargeables - the connectors don't last too long if you keep taking them off!)  or that the output jack is broken. If the LED doesn't light up, the problem is in the battery - jack - on/off switch part of the circuit. or maybe the lad has tried to connect a NIMH battery back to front with the jack in place - that could indeed fry everything including the LED. Seen it all, in the last 70 years of playing.

7

Just Chat! / Re: It's too quiet: I'm seeking a recommendation for a thread to read.

« on: 11/07/2022 16:55:14 »

Ditto with my airsource heat pump.

I'm relatively pachydermous but along with my colleague and mentor the rhinoceros, I object to being labelled as a philosopher. That's an insult to a physicist! Scientists ask interesting questions in the hope of getting answers. Philosophers tell you that you don't understand the question.

8

Just Chat! / Re: It's too quiet: I'm seeking a recommendation for a thread to read.

« on: 10/07/2022 22:53:42 »

Hi.

[Quote from: alancalverd on Today at 00:50:18}
And why doesn't the new stuff contain even older rocks fossils and artifacts than the old stuff it has buried?

    I always assumed it did but we don't take enough care not to destroy the fossils and artifacts.
[/quote]

Not just us, but all the stuff that lies on top of trilobites and dinosaurs, and has done for millions of years. If stuff was being recycled from lower layers, you'd expect to find significant  anachronisms (e.g. trilobites above dinosaurs).

But all the evidence suggests - or at least is interpreted as - that new stuff just arrives from space and settles on the ground!

9

Just Chat! / Re: It's too quiet: I'm seeking a recommendation for a thread to read.

« on: 10/07/2022 00:43:05 »

You might have more fun by asking a question that interests you. Threads tend either to end quickly with a statement of fact, or to degenerate over time into a ritual exchange of grenades between entrenched positions, but a fresh question can provoke some good thinking and writing for a few days.

10

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Why can't i understand the andromeda paradox?

« on: 05/07/2022 17:08:38 »

 

as far as Brenda is concerned, when she passed Paul and said "Hi!"  the invasion from Andromeda has been launched.   Meanwhile, for Paul the meeting to decide whether to invade Earth or not hasn't finished yet.

When did you become a Downing Street spokesman? 

11

Just Chat! / Re: The coronation of "eternal student", why was i not invited?

« on: 05/07/2022 11:09:04 »

Yes, folks, merit and effort are recognised even under a hereditary monarchy.

12

Just Chat! / Re: What is the value of spam?

« on: 05/07/2022 11:05:43 »

Years ago I swore never to buy anything whose television adverts belittle men. That immediately reduced the impact of TV advertising by 50%, and everything else seems to be aimed at women who want to stink, children who want to take distorted photographs, or people who would rather wait for a delivery than open a can of beans.

13

Just Chat! / Re: The coronation of "eternal student", why was i not invited?

« on: 05/07/2022 10:53:01 »

Suspected republican.

14

Just Chat! / Re: What is the value of spam?

« on: 04/07/2022 18:02:20 »

It has fed armies and unfortunate schoolchildren for a few generations. Its principal value has been to make people appreciate good food, when the spam runs out, and it can be used as bait for various inedible fish.

15

Technology / Re: What Question Could You Ask To Determine Sentience Of An AI ?

« on: 01/07/2022 17:28:28 »

Today I encountered an x-ray machine exhibiting boredom and possible suicidal ideation. Halfway through a clinical exposure, it decided it had had enough and switched off. Rebooted, it cut off even earlier each time. Clearly fed up with studying human anatomy. Next week I'll pack a dead rat in my toolbox and see if a change of subject might perk it up a bit.

16

Technology / Re: What Question Could You Ask To Determine Sentience Of An AI ?

« on: 30/06/2022 17:25:14 »

So here's a good question:

"Who's a pretty boy, then?"

That should sort out the self-aware parrot from the dumb chipset.

17

General Science / Re: How much of me is original?

« on: 30/06/2022 17:19:41 »

So apart from bits of brain  (not teeth - they all fell out and were replaced when you were a child!) and I think a few nerves, what is "you". Is the lump of stuff that people call by your name, really the same person as on your birth or marriage certificate? If not, how can anyone be held liable for past actions? Is a 10-year passport really a  valid document?

18

Technology / Re: What Question Could You Ask To Determine Sentience Of An AI ?

« on: 28/06/2022 14:54:28 »

All depends on your definition of sentience.

It seems to me that there are two current definitions:

A. What people have but machines don't

B. What machines and people have.

AFAIK the only distinction between machines and people is that people make mistakes that aren't traceable to a hardware or instruction fault, so the question doesn't matter. If you use A, then any question will do  because eventually the human will get it wrong for no discernible reason. If you use B, you can't tell the difference, by definition.

Now there are two useful definitions of intelligence:

A. Constructive laziness

B. The ability to surprise a challenger.

Basic hill-climbing algorithms or content-addressable memory satisfy A, and the answer to B just depends on how stupid the challenger is.

So my answer to the OP is that the question is undefined and the answer is anything you like. 

19

Just Chat! / Re: Erectile Dysfunction And Its Solution

« on: 25/06/2022 11:35:24 »

OK, Paul, here's a detumescive response to your rampant wit.

AFAIK (not IIRC) Sildenafil does not induce spontaneous or sustained erection: stimulation is also required.  Ergo no pandemic of priapism.

Pedant? Moi? Now where's that damned tongue-in-cheek  emoticon?

Switch-mode power to your elbow, my friend!

20

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Why where the native Americans so vulnerable to disease?

« on: 24/06/2022 11:44:35 »

Eurasia was genetically very diverse and had suffered innumerable plagues and pestilences by the time Columbus left these shores, so what was left of the population (after a very high rate of perinatal and infant deaths) was fairly resistant and understood some methods of quarantine and treatment for the diseases they exported. But they didn't export the treatment.