Random Thought of the Day

On science news this week, the score stands at:

Hologram 0
Solid Reality 1

I think Simulation gets to play the winner :)

Funny, they never mention the obvious military applications.

that video really sucked if you asked me. It never shows what the camera that was set up actually sees [IMO it couldn't be what was shown]

Quote: odiousgambit

that video really sucked if you asked me. It never shows what the camera that was set up actually sees [IMO it couldn't be what was shown]

Sorry, that was what they provided. : )

I didn't include one of the articles.

http://phys.org/news/2015-12-amazing-camera-corners-video.html

Quote:

researchers at Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh recognised, there is a way to tease out information on the object even from apparently random scattered light. Their method, published in Nature Photonics, relies on laser range-finding technology, which measures the distance to an object based on the time it takes a pulse of light to travel to the object, scatter, and travel back to a detector.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-12-amazing-camera-corners-video.html#jCp

I can buy the idea. A regular light source could also tease information out of a corner too, but a laser light probably has the ability to keep it less scattered, even when it too has been scattered. But the video cheated, showing it too perfect. Things like that bother me too much, sorry to stomp on your post ... it was interesting

Do cats really have nine lives. I witnessed our cat fall 18 feet from the railing upstairs in the house onto the tile floor in the game room on the bottom floor last night. It broke her collar which came off on impact. The cat ran away and hid for the next couple of hours but seems to be fine now. It was frightening to witness.

Quick philosophy primer:

Metaphysics: the nature of the world and existence
Epistemology: the nature of consciousness, the nature of knowledge and the means of acquiring knowledge
Ethics: the nature and purpose of morality
Politics: the nature of society an the nature and purpose of political organizations (cities, nations, parties, etc.)
Aesthetics: the nature and purpose of art.

Quote: Nareed

Quick philosophy primer:

Metaphysics: the nature of the world and existence
Epistemology: the nature of consciousness, the nature of knowledge and the means of acquiring knowledge
Ethics: the nature and purpose of morality
Politics: the nature of society an the nature and purpose of political organizations (cities, nations, parties, etc.)
Aesthetics: the nature and purpose of art.

The best thing about philosophy is there is very little defaulting to stone tablets or the like. (I said very little, because I'm not absolutely sure, just mostly sure)

Quote: rxwine

The best thing about philosophy is there is very little defaulting to stone tablets or the like. (I said very little, because I'm not absolutely sure, just mostly sure)

D'you know the joke of the college president complaining about the cost of the equipment requested by the physics department? He wishes they could be like the math department, "who only need paper, pencils and erasers. Or the philosophy department. They don't even need erasers!"

From time to time I get story ideas I don't really want to develop. They're free for the taking, in return for an acknowledgement and 5% of any movie or TV deal.

1. The Last Pope:

Pope Matthew XIII finally closes down the church for good after a) failing to obtain funding and 2) being served with divorce papers from his wife (also the last member in the College of Cardinals)


2. Untitled B5 Fanfic.

A Minbari Technomage (the only of her kind) visits Earth frequently in the 1980s. She makes friends with a red-haired police detective named Leela. Together they take down a Drakh, and face down a Vorlon who'd been secretly following Leela for years.

Quotable line from Leela "Hey Drakh! Your momma sucks Vorlon d---!"

Backstory for the Minbari Mage available by PM on request.