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User: Sique

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  1. Re:How does evolution work like this? on Jewish School Removes Evolution Questions From Exams · · Score: 2
    It actually does in some way. Each population has a wide range of variations, thus at first, you have a continuum of different ants of which some are more like the RockMonster ant and others more like the BigAss RockMonster ant. But for some reason the population gets separated into two different groups without any contact anymore (a new creek separating them after some flooding, some ants settling more and more far away and specializing in a different ecological niche etc.pp.). One population stays in the former habitat which doesn't change very much, so here the RockMonster ant in general stays at it was. The other population has a slightly changed environment, where the BigAss RockMonster ant has some clear advantage, so members of this population will look after some time more and more like the BigAss RockMonster ants.

    After some time, we describe both populations as different species.

    Some experiments of speciations were already performed. For instance, there was a long running experiment with E.coli (the wellknown bacterium from our indestines). As bacteria don't mate, there are other methods to difference between species, and one specificum of E.coli compared with similar bacteria is that E.coli doesn't metabolize Citric acid. But experimentators were putting some E.coli bacteria in an artificial environment which was rich with Citric acid. After many generations (about 40,000) they found that this strain of E.coli indeed had started to metabolize Citric acid. So from a classification point of view, this strain is no longer E.coli, but a new species of bacteria.

  2. Re:is there an xkcd comic for this? on The Rise and Fall of Supersymmetry · · Score: 1

    For all particles yes. But every version of SUSY seems to have at least one particle whose search space is already exhausted.

  3. Re:victimless crime on Child Porn Arrest For Cameron Aide Who Helped Plan UK Net Filters · · Score: 0

    Not everyone likes the idea of an image of Mohammed in a mocking situation being out there and other people laughing at it.

    That's why I wrote about being abused yourself and having pictures taken and made public. The grand parent called possessing child porn as a victimless crime, which is plainly wrong, as you can clearly see the actual victim in the child porn footage. As Mohammed is long dead, he is not a victim of mocking him now, because this doesn't cause him any psychic distress anymore.

  4. Re:victimless crime on Child Porn Arrest For Cameron Aide Who Helped Plan UK Net Filters · · Score: 0
    Not everyone likes the idea of an image of himself that was taken in an abuse situation being out there and other people masturbating to it.

    And not everyone likes the idea that there is a demand for those images which then leads to the abuse in the first place.

    As long as sexually abusing children is considered a crime, viewing footage of said abuse for your own satisfaction is not a victimless crime.

  5. Re:Not the first time on Scottish Independence Campaign Battles Over BBC Weather Forecast · · Score: 1

    The acimute projection is not distance true. It has the advantage that it is angles true, and that projections of circles are circles. On a local scale, the abberation from an hypothetical distance true projection is very small though. Also the Gauss-Krueger-Projection is not distance true, and it you use wider stripes (e.g. 6 degrees instead of 3 degrees for your cylinders), the difference to a distance true projection widens.

  6. Re:Not the first time on Scottish Independence Campaign Battles Over BBC Weather Forecast · · Score: 4, Informative
    The problem is that any projection of a map onto a flat surface is distorted. There are no un-distorted maps. A map contains serveral classes of important data on a map, and projections mainly affect distances, areas and angles. It is mathematically impossible to have a plane projection of the Earth's surface which correctly displays distances, but you can have a map that preserves angles and a map that preserves areas. You can't have a preservation of both area and angle in the same map though. But both angle-preserving and area-preserving maps are absolutely bad at displaying distances, so most projections in use today try to compromise between areas and angles and still have not too large distortions of distances. Northpole and Southpole, because they are uninhabited, are cut off most maps, which gives larger playroom for compromise-maps.

    But if you have a map, which tries a compromise between angle preservation and area preservation, and which does not show North- and Southpole, you will always have the areas of the northern and southern regions displayed larger than they are compared to those near the Equator. This is a pure mathematical necessity and not limited to the Mercator projection. The only way to not have this distortion is not to have the Equator being horizontal on your map.

  7. Re:rennet on Ancient Chinese Mummies Discovered In Cheesy Afterlife · · Score: 2

    Cheese is always ovo-lacto-vegetarian. It is the epitome of an ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet.

  8. Re:Is the settlement open for all ? on Lawrence Lessig Wins Fair Use Case · · Score: 1

    The RIAA has nothing to do with this case, as this was Liberation Records, an australian label, which is not a member of the RIAA.

  9. Re:isn't it used on violent prisoners? on The Science of Solitary Confinement · · Score: 2

    So we should better increase the real harm they will do on the society at large by treating them in a way that makes it nearly impossible for them to ever fit into society again?

  10. Re:Where to start? on GCHQ Intercepted Webcam Images of Millions of Yahoo Users · · Score: 1

    There is no point in using SIP over TLS, if the endpoints negotiate an RTP connect.

  11. Re:Risk? on Blood Test of 4 Biomarkers Predicts Death Within 5 Years · · Score: 2

    At least the VLDL seems to be more or less predisposed and is not easily changed by a diet change.

  12. Re:Settled science on Pine Forest Vapor Particles Can Limit Climate Change · · Score: 1

    Interesting thing: If the disaster prediction differs from the actual outcome just a few decimals after the period, scientist still will be told: "I said so, you were wrong from the beginning!"

  13. Re:Obsolete on ICANN Considers Using '127.0.53.53' To Tackle DNS Namespace Collisions · · Score: 1

    With the : between groups of four characters, you have to add 7 chars, and 32 becomes 39.

  14. Re:Settled science on Pine Forest Vapor Particles Can Limit Climate Change · · Score: 1

    Of course. That's why so many people demand cutting grants to climate scientists.

  15. Re:In before... on Google Ordered To Remove Anti-Islamic Film From YouTube · · Score: 1

    Luckily all the 32 armed conflicts of the year 2000 involved christians. We won!

  16. Re:In before... on Google Ordered To Remove Anti-Islamic Film From YouTube · · Score: 3, Informative

    If I made a movie making fun of the Bible today, how many death threats could I expect? Oh yeah. Zero.

    This is quite not the case. Life of Brian, Franca Rame.

  17. Re:I call bullshit on Find Along Chilean Highway Suggests Ancient Mass Stranding of Whales · · Score: 1

    What? Humans died before 1982 too? The Green River Killer must be innocent!

  18. Re:First blacks, on Apple Urges Arizona Governor To Veto Anti-Gay Legislation · · Score: 1

    Tell that to the hundred of thousands of runners in large marathon events. (And yes, I've run a marathon myself. I know of the pain, suffering, humiliation and trauma. And I will be running a half-marathon next.)

  19. Re:Creepy on YouTube Ordered To Remove "Illegal" Copyright Blocking Notices · · Score: 1

    It's called "contempt of the court" and is as penalized in the U.S..

  20. Re:Karma is a bitch! on Visual Effects Artists Use MPAA's Own Words Against It · · Score: 1

    "They will raise prices" is a fair argument if something affects all competitors in a given market. The prices at your local gas station will rise if the price for crude oil rises. It will also work if we are talking of an oligopoly whose prices are heavily influenced by public opinion or influence.

  21. Re:First blacks, on Apple Urges Arizona Governor To Veto Anti-Gay Legislation · · Score: 1

    Not necessarily. It also could increase the attraction to somehow overcompensate for the tort done to oneself. Reactions are often very ambivalent, they can swing both ways. Being betrayed once can turn you paranoid, or it can have you search for the ultimately trustworthy person and hoping to find it in the next best guy who didn't betray you at first sight.

  22. Re:Creepy on YouTube Ordered To Remove "Illegal" Copyright Blocking Notices · · Score: 1

    No, forcing a company to do something and then not being smug about it.

  23. Re:Welllll on YouTube Ordered To Remove "Illegal" Copyright Blocking Notices · · Score: 1

    It was me just a few minutes ago. Nothing happened.

  24. Re:First blacks, on Apple Urges Arizona Governor To Veto Anti-Gay Legislation · · Score: 1

    The whole Roman empire saw marriage as a civil act, a matter of contract.

  25. Re:First blacks, on Apple Urges Arizona Governor To Veto Anti-Gay Legislation · · Score: 1

    In most of Europe, there are only "common law marriages", e.g. only the marriages as civil unions are recognized. Churches are allowed to perform whatever ceremony they want. But to apply for any benefits connected to marriage like tax benefits, visiting rights etc.pp., the marriage has to be recognized as civil union.