1

New Theories / Re: Universal Utopia? What's The Universal Terminal Goal?

« on: Yesterday at 23:17:59 »

Letting the predator die in starvation is an instrumental goal for the prey.

No.You are assuming that the prey knows the nature of every possible predator, and that the predator only has one prey species.

I'm commenting on your specific example, which involves a specific prey and a specific predator.

No, I said ANY predator and prey - nothing specific at all. There's an implicit  philological point that you can't have one without the other, but plenty of species (dogs, foxes, eagles...) prey on rabbits, for instance, and each of the predators probably has a broad spectrum of prey (mice, insects, birds...) other than rabbits.

2

Just Chat! / Re: What do you think of copout 28

« on: Yesterday at 17:54:13 »

Ah, the pleasure of rational global government. Meanwhile, on this planet, the government of Morocco or wherever requires a usurious rent from any foreign power or company attempting to export electricity from a solar farm* and the governments of France and Spain charge rent for the pylons that carry it. So once again the UK consumer is at the mercy of foreigners.

On the other hand if I wanted to set up a new manufacturing plant, I'd be tempted by a country that could offer free electricity in addition to the usual benefits of a serious unemployment problem and negligible workers' rights.


*It's our oil sunshine! - Where have you heard that before?

3

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

« on: Yesterday at 17:38:58 »

Apply small amount directly to soiled hands

4

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: why do a lot of people confuse between interference and diffraction?

« on: Yesterday at 17:35:53 »

It's all perfectly true, if a bit simplistic. What's your problem?

5

The Environment / Re: The link between global warming and world population expansion.

« on: Yesterday at 17:27:41 »

We no longer have a recognisable democracy in the UK, just a series of unelected presidents. As long as you can sell your policy to the Daily Mail and Telegraph, or just the 80,000 people who select the next president, it will become law.

Only an idiot (or a Tory government) would abolish benefits for people who already exist.

In the unlikely event of any alternative government being formed, they would simply introduce the non-pregnancy payment, and abolish benefits for any child born more than 21 months later. 

I pointed out in another thread the obvious fact that the people who will suffer most from climate change aren't born yet. So why make more of them than could live comfortably? 

6

The Environment / Re: The link between global warming and world population expansion.

« on: Yesterday at 14:33:47 »

There's a huge difference between compulsion and persuasion.  To implement the policy in the UK, we simply pay every woman UKP500 (why no sterling pound sign on this site?) every 6 months if she isn't pregnant, and abolish all child benefits. UKP1000 per year for doing nothing seems like a good offer to any teenager and 20 years of selfimposed poverty seems like an unacceptable alternative.

The Chinese experiment was confounded by an underlying cultural preference for male children,. which led to all sorts of infanticides and hidden children.

Whether anyone else follows suit is up to them, but the advantages should be obvious. It didn't take any persuasion to get the rest of the world to adopt the steam engine, jet engine, penicillin, pneumatic tyre, worldwide web......

There's no great hurry. The climate will become unacceptable  for most folk within the next 100 - 500 years, but a significant reduction of population will at least mitigate the harm for our successors and in most cases will lead to a sustainable economy that is not entirely beholden to foreign scum. 

7

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

« on: Yesterday at 11:58:33 »

Worth reading the instructions on the tin. Once the Swarfega has emulsified the barrier cream, you wash it off. Basic principle of surfactants. Problem is that practically everyone uses far more surfactant than they need, which is good for detergent manufacturers but not for the skin or the environment.

8

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Has E=mc2 been proved practically?

« on: Yesterday at 11:55:12 »

Not "we", just you. Inventing absurdities does not advance understanding: a basic textbook might.   

9

The Environment / Re: The link between global warming and world population expansion.

« on: Yesterday at 11:50:36 »

Beg to differ! The point is that people generally aspire to  something like a Western standard of living, with clean water on tap, adequate food safely stored and distributed, easy personal transport over significant distances, and control over indoor ambient temperature.

To  achieve this in a fertile, temperate place like the British Isles requires an average of 5 kW of "artificial" energy per capita. You might get away with a bit less in some subtropical coastal regions (say the north Mediterranean) but anywhere more continental, more polar, or more equatorial, demands up to twice that amount (see the date for Singapore - high rise buildings in a hot, humid environment need a lot of aircon).

Problem is that

(a) we cannot produce  400 GW sustainably in these windy islands

(b) even if you could generate an average of 5 kW per capita in the places where most people live, there is no storage and distribution infrastructure, industrial or transport powerplant for anything other than liquid fuels or coal.

But we can control the number of capitas that demand the power. By simply reducing births to one per female, you reduce the population by a factor of 5 in 100 years and everyone is better off.

10

Just Chat! / Re: What do you think of copout 28

« on: 08/12/2023 22:01:06 »

Morocco gets a fair bit of the Sun.

Only during daylight hours, which are pretty much the same as the UK. and if you covered Morocco with solar panels, the sensible next step would be to move all your manufacturing industry to  Morocco.

Tidal Wave energy has Potential.
Issue being Sea creatures.

There have been attempts to harness tidal and wave power for several centuries. Some tidal mills were reasonably successful at grinding corn but AFAIK  there are very few suitable locations for tidal generation of electricity and those that aren't commercial ports (not a good idea to erect a dam across Southampton)  would require flooding of vast areas of farmland to produce a useful amount of power. Wave power is less predictable than wind and involves enormous quantities of moving machinery being tethered in a hostile environment - again, very little  output from a huge number of failed projects over the last 100 years.

Nuclear waste isn't as serious a problem as the quantity of fossil fuel you have to expend to build and fuel up a nuclear power station. Back in the old days, the payback period was about 5 years but it is now more like 20 - 50 years and therefore commercially unattractive.

11

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

« on: 08/12/2023 21:46:14 »

Hi Alan, have you ever used swarfega on a regular basis? I have, after engine work, and it has a very severe defatting effect leaving your skin like cracked sandpaper.

Which is why we always started with barrier cream. The Swarfega just removes the barrier cream and all the  crud on top of it.

12

That CAN'T be true! / Re: What is "four times less"?

« on: 08/12/2023 21:44:28 »

 No. "Less" means "subtract". Look at this standard invoice:

Goods delivered as specified              $500

Less deposit received in advance       $200 

Total now due                                      $300

By your bizarre arithmetic you'd invoice for $500/200 = $2.50 and be out of business in a week.

13

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

« on: 08/12/2023 17:20:31 »

Food safety inspector: wash your hands after each operation and at least every 15 minutes even if you don't change station.

I haven't worked in a messy location for years - do people still use barrier cream? The idea is to coat your hands with a material that prevents grease, dirt and mild irritants (eg dilute acids) reaching the skin, and can be removed with a gel detergent  (Swarfega was the industry standard). 

14

The Environment / Re: The link between global warming and world population expansion.

« on: 08/12/2023 17:12:15 »

It isn't immediately clear why wealth is related to age, but you have hinted at the important point that in most western societies, the under-20's do not contribute to the economy, which is why reducing the birthrate  is the best way to respond to climate change.

There is a minor complicating factor in that Kuwait has lots of oil and Gaza has no significant natural resources.

15

That CAN'T be true! / Re: What is "four times less"?

« on: 08/12/2023 17:07:38 »

However you phrase it, 1 times less than Y  is obviously  Y - Y = 0, whatever Y may be, so 4 times less is Y- 4Y = - 3Y, which invokes the concept of negative scrubbing.

16

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Does Your Brain Remember Everything?

« on: 07/12/2023 08:47:22 »

My aunt and uncle lived in France for a while and became very fluent in their second language. My aunt later suffered a stroke and was unable to speak in English, but my uncle was able to communicate with her in French. It seems that learned languages reside in a different part of the brain from childhood-acquired language. I'd be interested to hear of any similar instances where the patient was brought up truly bilingual, like my childhood chum who spoke German indoors at home and English everywhere else (including in the family garden!) 

17

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Has E=mc2 been proved practically?

« on: 07/12/2023 08:38:22 »

In theoretical physics we need to try and explain what quantum energy consist of

It is energy, quantised. Energy is a conserved quantity. Nothing theoretical at all.

18

Just Chat! / Re: What do you think of copout 28

« on: 06/12/2023 23:03:10 »

As for renewables, the coldest UK days in the past week were (as always) those with no wind. And there is very little sunlight this time of year.

19

Just Chat! / Re: What do you think of copout 28

« on: 06/12/2023 22:56:15 »

Historically, global mean temperature in the last million years has had a range of about 12 degrees, rising rapidly to a sharp peak about every 100,000 years then declining slowly. The atmospheric CO2 concentration follows the same curve, a few years behind the temperature graph.

Civilisation as we know it began during the present rise as the ice retreated and humans moved northward. We should be nearing the peak about now or within the next 500 years.

The cycle has nothing to do with human activity and there is nothing we can do to control it. We can however mitigate its effect on society, but that demands significant remodelling of politics , the abolition of religion, and positive collaboration between all people everywhere. With careful planning and execution we could preserve the benefits of the last 20,000 years' research and development through the depth of the next ice age. The alternative is global war and the destruction of all civilised values and comforts.

20

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Does Your Brain Remember Everything?

« on: 06/12/2023 22:40:03 »

Just to prove a point, or maybe not, here's a verbatim from Captain Rex:

"What do you do when you are impeditus by a flumen? You jac a pons across it, lad." 

But can I remember his surname? No way.