Someone I know once said he has much more respect for a vet and would rather be diagnosed by one. Consider: a vet's patient can't say what's wrong, the vet needs to figure that out himself; also, a vet needs to know a multitude of body plans, not just one.
But I don't think he has put his words into practice yet.....
My grandparents emigrated from Germany before WWII, and although I have never held citizenship of any European country and have never lived in Europe on any permanent basis, I still speak German and have a German name & surname.
In school, it was always automatically assumed that I was sympathetic to nazi views. Had to listen to a lot of stupid schoolboyish concentration camp jokes....
But what really irks me is the reaction of Jewish people. It's really as if I have some genetic disorder.
The most recent event went something like this: I met a young person the other day that upon seeing my name asked whether I was German. Answering affirmative, he proceeded to tell me that he always wanted to learn German, but was prohibited by his father. Then, as if this explained the father's action, I was informed that his father was Jewish. (Strange, isn't it, since I've never felt any objection against learning Hebrew and in fact know a few words and phrases.)
It's as if Jews come from some far-off planet where they are not allowed their own objective opinions, but are rather taught all their lives to pass off the community's antiquated groupthink as objective.
On the subject of german radio clocks: A well-meaning, elderly german friend or relative of my mother once sent her a radio clock as a christmas present. Since you have to be within about 2000km of Frankfurt/Main to receive the signal, and since it would not run without at least a first boot-up signal, this was not a very practical present, seeing that my mom lives in South Africa. I think she sent it back to someone else the following xmas.
I wouldn't mind a clock though that picks up its signal from the GPS satellites. Or Galileo, once it becomes operational, but probably not both, since which one is correct?;-)
Numerous modes of thinking posit that we are alone, or not, and those modes will receive solid underpinnings instead of speculation.
I hate to point it out, but only one "mode of thinking" will "receive solid underpinnings": that we are not alone. There is no point for the other mode at which we say: that's it, it's proven beyond doubt that we are in fact alone. There will always be "speculation" that if we haven't found ETI yet, maybe we haven't looked hard enough or in the right places.
I'll wager my ZA citizenship that this is another example of the old maxim that says that as soon as you invent someting foolproof, Nature produces a better fool.
Let's just call it Murphinian Evolution or something....
I'm from ZA (as the e-mail addy might show) and one of the languages spoken here is Afrikaans (related to Dutch and Low German). A first Bible translation for the language was completed in 1935, before that the Dutch "Statenvertaling" was used. So the person who was the main driving force behind the translation, SJ du Toit, inter alia suggested that Genesis 1:2 be translated: "and the earth BECAME empty and void" (i.s.o. "WAS empty" etc.), which according to him was quite consistent with the Hebrew language used in the original text, and would also not place religion and science at odds. (He also suggested doing away with the quaint and superstitious practice of substituting "LORD" wherever Yahweh's personal name occurred in the Hebrew text.) Unfortunately he was overruled on these points by the church, who wanted the translation to conform to the Dutch translation and tradition.
Point is, almost nobody in the world translates Bibles from scratch. It most always is based on previous translations and of course may not contradict established theology. And it should be the other way around, shouldn't it: as we gain a better understanding of the scriptures, we should adapt our theology to it, not so?
(OK, this is a mild rant aimed at nobody in particular, perhaps only the religious establishment).
As a Swedish citizen, I feel so lucky that all my communications will be monitored by a government I can not influence through voting!
Is that the government of the USA you're talking about, or that of your own country? I know a lot of countries where one's vote (when trying not to go the sheeple route) does not count for enough to make a difference to the outcome.
Not really. Even people in the same household sometimes don't understand each other. They claim to use the same language and it would surely seem that they use the same vocabulary and grammar, but the devil is in the semantic details and the inability to convey what you mean using your language of choice.
If you don't have a metal/ceramic container to boil your water in, another method suggested involves heating stones in the fire, then placing them in the water. Repeat until water boils (long enough). It's supposedly even possible to boil water held in platic bags this way.
Disclaimer: Or so I've heard. Never tried it myself.
The researchers haven't yet developed a high-volume way to manufacture the devices. They envision ultimately printing sheets between rollers like newsprint.
And for them to know that this particular galaxy (when it eventually comes around) is bigger than all others, they'd have to compare it to all others. In an infinite universe, this will take, like, forever. Luckily for them the merger will not be completed anytime soon.
As we see life here on earth, life is a constant battle - an individual's death provides the nutrients for another to live, and so on in the food chain. Life means growth, which means competition for resources, which boils down to war. The idea of evolution is built on the very foundation of death of the weaker and survival of the fittest (weak and fit defined as by competition). War and violence is a necessary corollary of this process.
I perhaps don't really have enough imagination to dream up a world that followed a non-violent path to sentience and civilasation, but I would be glad to hear your ideas.
While I won't presume to be able to make generalizations, I did grow up in rural South Africa during apartheid (which I mention because "African" areas were of course separate from "white" areas and in the rural areas a largely "traditional" way of life was followed back then). Here are some (first-hand and therefore limited and not necessarily objective) observations:
The traditional African way to show off wealth (perhaps then similar to your SUV) was livestock (preferrably cattle). So in practice you would often see large herds of skinny and diseased cattle on overgrazed and eroded land.
What was always striking when driving from a "white" area to a "black" area or vice versa was the sudden transition from lovely african bushveld to an almost treeless wasteland, with most trees being chopped down for firewood.
Littering was always noticeable in "black" areas. (Now of course if your culture was to return your wastes (traditionally being biodegradable) back to nature for "recycling", then it would involve some observation and adaptation once you also produced wastes that did not biodegrade, so I can sort of understand if the culture had not yet adapted. Unfortunately, littering is still a problem and an eyesore today in largely urbanized and modern societies).
What I have noticed about the average American and European is that something far away from yourself is always idealized and romanticized, while they also tend to denigrate that which they know and is close to them. Why white westerners have this inherent self-loathing is beyond me. You would do well to travel a bit, spend some time in those far away locations, not as a tourist in an air-conditioned hotel room, but rather get to those out-of-the-way locations and see how people live there.
such cells would require less than half the surface area to produce the same amount of power as today's standard solar panels
But, what are the costs of manufacturing? If the new panel costs more than twice as much as "today's standard solar panels", what's the use? (OK, energy density is nice if you have a small roof area, but that's about it). Now, if the cost is roughly comparable per surface area, that would be great - twice the watts for the same money.
Europeans and Americans complain about such trivialities. Come live in a real banana republic for a year (and not in a high security, paid-for-in-Forex complex either - rather live just like a local middle-class citizen).
(And no, this is not to denigrate the concern about the gradual slide towards a global police state.)
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Someone I know once said he has much more respect for a vet and would rather be diagnosed by one. Consider: a vet's patient can't say what's wrong, the vet needs to figure that out himself; also, a vet needs to know a multitude of body plans, not just one.
But I don't think he has put his words into practice yet.....
My grandparents emigrated from Germany before WWII, and although I have never held citizenship of any European country and have never lived in Europe on any permanent basis, I still speak German and have a German name & surname.
In school, it was always automatically assumed that I was sympathetic to nazi views. Had to listen to a lot of stupid schoolboyish concentration camp jokes....
But what really irks me is the reaction of Jewish people. It's really as if I have some genetic disorder.
The most recent event went something like this: I met a young person the other day that upon seeing my name asked whether I was German. Answering affirmative, he proceeded to tell me that he always wanted to learn German, but was prohibited by his father. Then, as if this explained the father's action, I was informed that his father was Jewish. (Strange, isn't it, since I've never felt any objection against learning Hebrew and in fact know a few words and phrases.)
It's as if Jews come from some far-off planet where they are not allowed their own objective opinions, but are rather taught all their lives to pass off the community's antiquated groupthink as objective.
Mein Kampf almost starts to make some sense...
(Posted AC for obvious reasons.)
Does that mean I can now park in the parking pay for disabled people at the mall?
Even after repeatedly being told off?
Now we non-USAsians can get Achmed the Dead Terrorist with automated subscripts so we can make some sense of the gibberish he spouts.
I knew someone would come up with a char analogy sooner or later....
On the subject of german radio clocks: A well-meaning, elderly german friend or relative of my mother once sent her a radio clock as a christmas present. Since you have to be within about 2000km of Frankfurt/Main to receive the signal, and since it would not run without at least a first boot-up signal, this was not a very practical present, seeing that my mom lives in South Africa. I think she sent it back to someone else the following xmas.
I wouldn't mind a clock though that picks up its signal from the GPS satellites. Or Galileo, once it becomes operational, but probably not both, since which one is correct? ;-)
So perhaps that's where the phrase "making a killing" comes in? ;-)
I hate to point it out, but only one "mode of thinking" will "receive solid underpinnings": that we are not alone. There is no point for the other mode at which we say: that's it, it's proven beyond doubt that we are in fact alone. There will always be "speculation" that if we haven't found ETI yet, maybe we haven't looked hard enough or in the right places.
Boring. Wake me up when they find Elvis.
... especially at a time when most "people working for the South African government" seem to be having trouble reading, period.
....will Comcast blend?
I'll wager my ZA citizenship that this is another example of the old maxim that says that as soon as you invent someting foolproof, Nature produces a better fool.
Let's just call it Murphinian Evolution or something....
I'm from ZA (as the e-mail addy might show) and one of the languages spoken here is Afrikaans (related to Dutch and Low German). A first Bible translation for the language was completed in 1935, before that the Dutch "Statenvertaling" was used. So the person who was the main driving force behind the translation, SJ du Toit, inter alia suggested that Genesis 1:2 be translated: "and the earth BECAME empty and void" (i.s.o. "WAS empty" etc.), which according to him was quite consistent with the Hebrew language used in the original text, and would also not place religion and science at odds. (He also suggested doing away with the quaint and superstitious practice of substituting "LORD" wherever Yahweh's personal name occurred in the Hebrew text.) Unfortunately he was overruled on these points by the church, who wanted the translation to conform to the Dutch translation and tradition.
Point is, almost nobody in the world translates Bibles from scratch. It most always is based on previous translations and of course may not contradict established theology. And it should be the other way around, shouldn't it: as we gain a better understanding of the scriptures, we should adapt our theology to it, not so?
(OK, this is a mild rant aimed at nobody in particular, perhaps only the religious establishment).
Is that the government of the USA you're talking about, or that of your own country? I know a lot of countries where one's vote (when trying not to go the sheeple route) does not count for enough to make a difference to the outcome.
The first explorers are advised to bring pith helmets and machetes. Personally, I find a brolly quite useful too.
Not really. Even people in the same household sometimes don't understand each other. They claim to use the same language and it would surely seem that they use the same vocabulary and grammar, but the devil is in the semantic details and the inability to convey what you mean using your language of choice.
If you don't have a metal/ceramic container to boil your water in, another method suggested involves heating stones in the fire, then placing them in the water. Repeat until water boils (long enough). It's supposedly even possible to boil water held in platic bags this way.
Disclaimer: Or so I've heard. Never tried it myself.
Give me patience.... and give it to me NOW!!!
Yes, I believe it should have been Gedankeneksperiment, with a capital G.
Freundliche Grüße,
Your friendly neighbourbood grammar Nazi
And for them to know that this particular galaxy (when it eventually comes around) is bigger than all others, they'd have to compare it to all others. In an infinite universe, this will take, like, forever. Luckily for them the merger will not be completed anytime soon.
As we see life here on earth, life is a constant battle - an individual's death provides the nutrients for another to live, and so on in the food chain. Life means growth, which means competition for resources, which boils down to war. The idea of evolution is built on the very foundation of death of the weaker and survival of the fittest (weak and fit defined as by competition). War and violence is a necessary corollary of this process.
I perhaps don't really have enough imagination to dream up a world that followed a non-violent path to sentience and civilasation, but I would be glad to hear your ideas.
While I won't presume to be able to make generalizations, I did grow up in rural South Africa during apartheid (which I mention because "African" areas were of course separate from "white" areas and in the rural areas a largely "traditional" way of life was followed back then). Here are some (first-hand and therefore limited and not necessarily objective) observations:
What I have noticed about the average American and European is that something far away from yourself is always idealized and romanticized, while they also tend to denigrate that which they know and is close to them. Why white westerners have this inherent self-loathing is beyond me. You would do well to travel a bit, spend some time in those far away locations, not as a tourist in an air-conditioned hotel room, but rather get to those out-of-the-way locations and see how people live there.
But, what are the costs of manufacturing? If the new panel costs more than twice as much as "today's standard solar panels", what's the use? (OK, energy density is nice if you have a small roof area, but that's about it). Now, if the cost is roughly comparable per surface area, that would be great - twice the watts for the same money.
So who gets the fine, when it is paid? The government? Does the "nobody" that should not profit from crime also include the government?
Europeans and Americans complain about such trivialities. Come live in a real banana republic for a year (and not in a high security, paid-for-in-Forex complex either - rather live just like a local middle-class citizen).
(And no, this is not to denigrate the concern about the gradual slide towards a global police state.)