[Malankazooie]

I remember in my sociology class at college there was a section about the behavior of mobs and collective mindset that occurs. It was fascinating discussion and provides me insight in to what is happening right now. It's not as cut and dry (and making broad brush statements) as - "people should peacefully protest and not set fire to and destroy businesses in their neighborhoods, they only hurt themselves when they do that."

[Malankazooie]

I like my local weatherperson to be a true meterologist, a person who can break down millibars like Homer Simpson can wax poetic about sprinkles on donuts. Someone you know, because they are so nerdy about weather, will be giving you the best weather forecast available. But dayum! some meteorologists are not just nerdy and nerdy looking, but also sort of creepy. At least a guy in my neck of the woods is creepy (creepy af in fact). Someone check that dude's basement or refrigerator for jars filled with....

[Malankazooie]

[...] Once the hurricane center assigns that last name on the list, it will move into the Greek alphabet. That's only happened once before. The hyperactive 2005 season wound up using six Greek names. [...]

There's only one name left on the 2020 list of hurricane names. Next up: The Greek alphabet.

[Malankazooie]

Does anyone know what the big announcement is that NASA will be giving about the moon tomorrow? Is it Nazis?

[Malankazooie]

Booooo! It wasn't Nazis, instead just water.

This post has been edited by Malankazooie: 26 October 2020 - 10:02 PM

[Malankazooie]

1 hour to go nerds! Ya watching? Probably not. I bet soup to nuts you don't even know what I'm talking about and had to google it. Lie to me and tell me you knew what I was talking about. Go on then, lie like that bad rug you have covering the meth cook mistake you made a few months ago, go on, lie, I dare ya.

[Malankazooie]

As you travel on your camels with your gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, your path should be well lit this year.

[worry]

And in case the embed doesn't work: https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1508837498465751044

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'A "beyond-quantum" equivalence principle for superposition and entanglement

[...] Both superposition and entanglement are described mathematically by quantum theory. But many physicists believe that the ultimate theory of reality may lie beyond quantum theory. Now, a team of physicists and mathematicians has discovered a new connection between these two weird properties that does not assume that quantum theory is correct. [...]

"We were really excited to find this new connection that goes beyond quantum theory because the connection will be valid even for more exotic theories that are yet to be discovered," [...] "This is also important because it is independent of the mathematical formalism of quantum theory and uses only notions with an immediate operational interpretation," [...]

[...]

The problem is that to find out you need to analyze superposition and entanglement in terms of some general–and as yet unknown–theory, without using the mathematics of quantum theory. How can you do that? [...] solved this puzzle by studying "general probabilistic theories," rather than quantum theory. [...]

[...] two physical theories exhibit entanglement when combined, if and only if they both exhibit local superpositions. This means that entanglement and superposition are equivalent in any physical theory, not just in quantum theory. They also calculated that in systems where this equivalence holds–whether quantum or beyond-quantum–the laws of the theory can be exploited for ultra-secure encryption. In particular, the team showed that a certain popular quantum cryptographic protocol, known as "BB84," will always work–even if one day it is found that quantum theory is not fully correct, and needs to be replaced with a more fundamental theory.

"It is somehow reassuring to know that cryptography is really a feature of all non-classical theories, and not just a quantum oddity, since many of us believe that the ultimate theory of nature will likely be non-classical,"'

A 'beyond-quantum' equivalence principle for superposition and entanglement


'New brain learning mechanism calls for revision of long-held neuroscience hypothesis

[...] one single neuron can realize deep learning algorithms, which previously required an artificial complex network consisting of thousands of connected neurons. This discovery is expected to have important implications on future AI hardware.

[...] the brain learns completely differently than has been assumed since the 20th century. The new experimental observations suggest that learning is mainly performed in neuronal dendritic trees, where the trunk and branches of the tree modify their strength, as opposed to modifying solely the strength of the synapses (dendritic leaves), as was previously thought. These observations also indicate that the neuron is actually a much more complex, dynamic and computational element than a binary element that can fire or not. Just one single neuron can realize deep learning algorithms, which previously required an artificial complex network consisting of thousands of connected neurons and synapses.

"We've shown that efficient learning on dendritic trees of a single neuron can artificially achieve success rates approaching unity for handwritten digit recognition. This finding paves the way for an efficient biologically inspired new type of AI hardware and algorithms," [...] "This simplified learning mechanism represents a step towards a plausible biological realization of backpropagation algorithms, which are currently the central technique in AI,"'

New brain learning mechanism calls for revision of long-held neuroscience hypothesis

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'Scientists Grow Plants in Moon Soil for First Time in Major Breakthrough

[...] first time that seeds have ever been sown in soils from an extraterrestrial body [...]

[...] paves the way toward lunar gardens that might support future human crews on the Moon, [...]

[...] growing plants in [...] the loose material found on the Moon and other rocky bodies[...] clear stepping stone toward a more sustainable human presence on the lunar surface, and beyond.'

Scientists Grow Plants in Moon Soil for First Time in Major Breakthrough


'Planetary scientists suggest a solution to the Fermi paradox[...]

[...] it seemed unlikely that Earth alone would harbor intelligent life. So Fermi famously asked "where are they?" [...]

They began by studying how human civilizations rose and fell [...] Next, [...] the history of large cities[...] most grew to a certain point and then collapsed. [...] such rising and falling by alien space civilizations would lead to one of two scenarios. In the first, the civilization would come to realize they were growing too large and would cease traveling to or colonizing other worlds. In the second, they would not recognize their folly and would therefore collapse. [...]

[...] describe their hypothesis as superlinear scaling—where a civilization grows exponentially, colonizing other worlds until they became unable to sustain the energy demands of their constant encroachment. Eventually, if they did not take action, they would reach a singularity—a point of no return, at which they could not save their civilization from collapse. They note that were it not for the vast distances involved, we would likely easily spot evidence of an alien civilization on the point of collapse because it would be emitting enormous amounts of energy.'

Planetary scientists suggest a solution to the Fermi paradox: Superlinear scaling leading to a singularity


'Behold, the Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy





[...] black holes are, by definition, invisible. So the photo released today doesn't show the black hole itself. Astronomers have captured Sagittarius A* in silhouette. The image reveals the shadow that the immensely dense black hole casts against the glowing, super-hot gas swirling around it. Like the black hole in M87, Sagittarius A* resembles a donut. In fact, it bears an uncanny resemblance to the fruit danishes served at the press conference that astronomers held in Washington, D.C. to reveal the result.'

Behold, the Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'"[...] study showed that extreme heat stress in summer could be halved with around 40 percent cover of greenspaces in the built environment, including grass lawns, green roofs and green walls[" ...]

A variety of greenspaces is important for the urban climate

[...]

To avoid negative effects of climate change on human health, greenspaces must be planned strategically to ensure that they can also effectively reduce heat stresses in high-density urban areas.'

The role of vegetation in reducing thermal stress in urban areas


IDK if other options for roofs/walls/ground could be even better for reducing heat---possibly while transferring that heat into usable energy? Then again there's the absorption of CO2, and stress reduction from being around natural greenery (for many people at least).



'What will it take to make our electronics smarter, faster, and more resilient? One idea is to build them from materials that are topological.

Topology stems from a branch of mathematics that studies shapes that can be manipulated or deformed without losing certain core properties. A donut is a common example: If it were made of rubber, a donut could be twisted and squeezed into a completely new shape, such as a coffee mug, while retaining a key trait—namely, its center hole, which takes the form of the cup's handle. The hole, in this case, is a topological trait, robust against certain deformations.

[...] scientists have searched for more topological materials with the aim of building better, more robust electronic devices. Until recently, only a handful of such materials were identified, and were therefore assumed to be a rarity.

[...] "We found there's a ubiquity—topology is everywhere,"'

Is it topological? A new materials database has the answer


'A topological quantum computer [...] is much more stable.

Small, cumulative perturbations can cause quantum states to decohere and introduce errors in the computation, [...]

[...] but such small perturbations do not change [...] topological properties. [...]

[...] experiments [...] indicate these [...] may be created in the real world'

Topological quantum computer


'New research suggests an unseen "mirror world" of particles that interacts with our world only via gravity that might be the key to solving a major puzzle in cosmology today—the Hubble constant problem.

The Hubble constant is the rate of expansion of the universe today. Predictions for this rate -- from cosmology's standard model -- are significantly slower than the rate found by our most precise local measurements. [...]

[...] discovered a previously unnoticed mathematical property of cosmological models which could, [...] allow for a faster expansion rate while hardly changing the most precisely tested other predictions of the standard cosmological model. [...]

"In practice, this scaling symmetry could only be realized by including a mirror world in the model -- a parallel universe with new particles that are all copies of known particles," [...]

"This might seem crazy at face value, but such mirror worlds have a large physics literature in a completely different context since they can help solve important problem in particle physics," [...]

[...] researchers are also wondering whether this Hubble constant discrepancy could be caused in part by measurement errors. [...] the discrepancy has become more and more significant as higher quality data have been included in the analyses, suggesting that the data might not be at fault.

[...]

"[...] why are these measurements discrepant? [...] We just don't seem to understand what the universe is doing today."'

Ghostly 'mirror world' might be cause of cosmic controversy

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'Forget table manners, eating with your mouth open makes food taste better – says research

[...] chewing with an open mouth helps more aromatic compounds reach the back of the nose – which kick-starts the olfactory sensory neurons and heightens our experience of eating.

"We've been doing it all wrong," [...]

He also champions going in with our hands, too – rather than a knife and fork.

"Our sense of touch is also vital in our perception of food on the palate," [...]

"The research shows that what you feel in the hand can change or bring out certain aspects of the tasting experience."

"Feeling the smooth, organic texture of the skin of an apple in our hand before biting into it is likely to contribute to a heightened appreciation of the juicy, sweet crunch of that first bite."'

Research says eating with your mouth open makes food taste better

[Malankazooie]

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

"there's no such thing as a fish" is a good meme to have around because most people do not realize that they're genetically closer to a tuna than a tuna is to a shark – and "no such thing as a fish" invites that inquiry.'

There's no such thing as a tree (phylogenetically)

'We Might Be Treating Schizophrenia All Wrong

[...] doctors treated the symptoms of schizophrenia[...] with antipsychotic medications. Prevailing theories suggest that elevated dopamine signaling in the brain leads to schizophrenia, so these antipsychotics provide relief by tempering dopamine activity. [...] these drugs impact other parts of the body and foster unwanted side effects including weight gain, constipation, and drowsiness. On top of that, more than nearly a third of patients don't even respond to two or more common antipsychotic treatments.

[...] new study run by researchers in Japan and published earlier this year in Cell Reports Medicine suggests that for at least a significant portion of patients, the immune system is mistakenly attacking a protein in the brain—which may be the real mechanism giving rise to schizophrenic symptoms in the first place.'

We Might Be Treating Schizophrenia All Wrong

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 26 July 2022 - 02:41 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Azath Vitr (D, on 26 July 2022 - 02:22 AM, said:

'Forget table manners, eating with your mouth open makes food taste better – says research

[...] chewing with an open mouth helps more aromatic compounds reach the back of the nose – which kick-starts the olfactory sensory neurons and heightens our experience of eating.

"We've been doing it all wrong," [...]

He also champions going in with our hands, too – rather than a knife and fork.

"Our sense of touch is also vital in our perception of food on the palate," [...]

"The research shows that what you feel in the hand can change or bring out certain aspects of the tasting experience."

"Feeling the smooth, organic texture of the skin of an apple in our hand before biting into it is likely to contribute to a heightened appreciation of the juicy, sweet crunch of that first bite."'

Research says eating with your mouth open makes food taste better

Tried this with roasted hazelnuts. Definitely tasted more flavors, but... those extra flavors seemed less pleasant, and detracted from my enjoyment. Could partly be lack of familiarity, though I'm generally very open to unfamiliar flavors, so probably not. Ambient anxiety about food falling out of my mouth and attracting flies---or flies entering my open mouth---could also be contributing....

[Malankazooie]

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Malankazooie, on 26 July 2022 - 08:49 PM, said:

He should open his mouth wide once he actually takes a sip and starts sloshing it around... if flies (or anything else---smoky flavors of the wild fires?...) should enter his mouth of course they're just additional flavors to savor....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 26 July 2022 - 10:35 PM

[Malankazooie]

Yeah, I think wine culture of the aughts era got the entertainment abbreviated version of wine tasting in that film. One of my sisters and her husband are total wine snobs. They used to be subscribed to a wine of the month type deal, but not anymore (expensive hobby, and they had just started a family). Anyway, the clip from the movie doesn't mention the 'legs' of the wine, which is something my sister's husband would proudly exhibit when examining the wine he had just poured for us. I believe the description of a vintage's legs is wine 101 type stuff. The film does get positive marks from wine enthusiasts though. Some of my coworkers are wine fans and they recall pleasant memories from the movie. I think it endears well with the wine demo that has traveled and done the California wine tours, which my sister and her husband have. The film is supposed to have done an excellent job in capturing the location and scenery of California wine country.

[Tiste Simeon]

This looks interesting... I've heard of Graphene before but never knew what it was...

BBC News - The super material reinforcing rinks, cars and buildings
https://www.bbc.co.u...siness-61913871

[Tsundoku]

Tiste Simeon, on 30 July 2022 - 08:08 AM, said:

This looks interesting... I've heard of Graphene before but never knew what it was...

BBC News - The super material reinforcing rinks, cars and buildings
https://www.bbc.co.u...siness-61913871

https://futurism.com/search?q=graphene