« first day (890 days earlier)      last day (2612 days later) » 

Schwern
Schwern
4:14 AM
Is there any way to get the attention of a user? A new user just deleted their question while I was working on a big answer for it. I think they got discouraged. I'd like to ask them to reopen. It's this one: worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/72041/…
Or, can I get a bunch of folks to vote to undelete it? Seriously, I wrote 1000 words.
 
 
2 hours later…
dot_Sp0T
dot_Sp0T
6:36 AM
@Schwern welcome to WB.SE
 
Worldbuilding Meta
Worldbuilding Meta
6:57 AM
0
Q: How bout adding a "Broad" or "General" tag?

DurakkenThere are some questions that need to be pretty broad. They fit the site, they follow the rules, but their implications inherently make them too "broad" because answering a bit of it will lead into a chasm of answering a bunch of othe questions. For example, "What are the effects of higher gravi...

discussion tags
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
7:26 AM
@Schwern Yeah, I'm not sure we can get that question back once the user has deleted it. If you post whatever you remember about it to the Meta Sandbox, we can wrangle it into an acceptable question and get it posted, and then you can answer it.
 
 
1 hour later…
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
8:40 AM
Vote to reopen pleaseeee
7
Q: How to stop evil site moderators?

Pavel JanicekImagine internet site. And keep in mind we are in Worldbuilding, so everything you are going to read is completely imaginary, alternate world. This site is called ApocalypseBuilding and runs exactly like Worldbuilding does. People go there and discuss hypothetical questions how to take over the ...

apocalypse near-future secret-society
Did my best to narrow scope and keep humor inside
0
Q: Nuclear reactor control panels

InnovineI am looking for a detailed, close up photographs or diagrams of the panels in a nuclear reactor control room, like this: https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDzLQgvmIx1jf9EdBctD4rk4l2ABD_PhFuynY5GX1sX6i93Ik_ ... but close enough to read all the labels on the controls. It is ...

hard-science nuclear-power control
Fun fact. My friend works for police and when se was studying police academy, terrorism, she got A+ for obtaining blueprints of one of Czech nuclear power plant
Obviously, after presenting them, they made sure these plans are properly discarded
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
9:13 AM
@PavelJanicek - Updated question looks good to me. I'd certainly sign up for an ApocalypseBuilder stack
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
Cool. Now lets wait for reopening :)
This is as thrilling as waiting for moderator election results
 
 
1 hour later…
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
10:38 AM
@TimB hello :)
 
Tim B
Tim B
10:55 AM
hi
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
11:21 AM
So what are you planning today? Ruling the world?
 
Tim B
Tim B
11:35 AM
tried it already. People are stupid though so I gave them Trump and left them to wipe themselves out.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
True. So when are you going to rule by yourselves?
 
Tim B
Tim B
people are stupid. I'd have to kill too many of them, it would get tedious.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
After how many public killings does get it tedious?
Just hypothetical question
 
Tim B
Tim B
11:57 AM
no need to make them public. capital punishment doesn't work as a deterent
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
Really?
Well, I did once read that biggest deterrent is knowledge that you will get caught
(And punished)
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
I think it depends on the political reason for the capital punishments. In the French Revolution, the executions were theatre. In Mosul, something entirely different.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
And the type of punishment is irrelevant
Of course, people like to be entertained
@PavelJanicek It certainly doesn't belong on writers. Whether here is right I'm not sure but this does seem like a useful resource for anyone building a world with nuclear power stations in it so it doesn't seem terrible. — Tim B ♦ 20 mins ago
If anyone interested, I found simulator of nuclear power plant
However, it is fully in czech language
 
Tim B
Tim B
12:15 PM
@PavelJanicek No, getting caught is rarely a factor. People always think they will never get caught. Last time I looked the science was fairly conclusive that capital punishment doesn't work as a deterent.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
@TimB I agree with premise that death penalty is not deterrent
What I say is, that somewhere I did read is knowing the probability
But I maybe mix it with other thing which is Prague subway, tram and bus system
Yeah, it must be the other
Where if you are local in Prague, it is cheaper for you to ride without ticket and pay fine than to actually buy a tickets
 
Tim B
Tim B
yeah, people rarely act rationally though
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
@TimB That should be first sentence in book about huanity :)
 
JDługosz
JDługosz
1:05 PM
@Schwern I saw the Flag, and undeleted. Go ahead and post your answer. (I've had that situation myself before)
@PavelJanicek I had that on the Atari 400 (casette tape) back in the early 80s.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
Now I am Jealous
 
JDługosz
JDługosz
@dot_Sp0T a bit late, since he’s been here since the place opened!
@Schwern This seems to be a pet subject of @Schwern’s, so it’s especially interesting to have him finish. I suppose if the answer is a worthy showcase, than people can help the OP edit the question if necessary, rather than throw it out.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
1:25 PM
And I am live again :D
10
Q: How to stop evil site moderators?

Pavel JanicekImagine internet site. And keep in mind we are in Worldbuilding, so everything you are going to read is completely imaginary, alternate world. This site is called ApocalypseBuilding and runs exactly like Worldbuilding does. People go there and discuss hypothetical questions how to take over the ...

apocalypse near-future secret-society
Please do not kill me, allmighty mods
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
ahh, melodrama. Breakfast of champions.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
I love drama
Especially melodrama
 
Green
Green
@PavelJanicek It's so over the top!
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
(I personally don't like that question ;p)
or more precisely...
it would make a great AFD question
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
You do not have to like it. You have to love it
And seriously. If its out of scope (again...) feel free to vote to close
And if you feel it is poor quality, feel free to downvote it
I will not get melodramatic about it
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
1:39 PM
@PavelJanicek I don't quite get the scope of WB ;p
Sure, I answer stuff. Occationally utterly sarcastically
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
@JourneymanGeek On Worldbuilding Stack Exchange, scope gets you!
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
@DaaaahWhoosh In Worldbuilding, scope makes you
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
@DaaaahWhoosh Most of the sites I use have one best answer.
WB does not. Its also purely speculative ;p
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
@JourneymanGeek it's not always speculative... but yeah, it does tend to go that way
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
Yup
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
1:44 PM
I think we should be a lot more like RPG or Writers, but we end up being closer to a What-if site
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
Which seems to be the natural evolution of the site
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
@PavelJanicek Your question's been re-opened.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
@Pᴇᴛᴇ I am already hanging out national flag outside of window
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
It's a small victory that makes me happy.
 
Swier
Swier
Hey people, I recently asked this question, and I'm not quite sure yet how to narrow it down (I'm still pretty new to this stack). Can anyone give me some pointers?
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
1:55 PM
@Swier it seems to me like it's going to be hard to narrow down in a way that would make it re-openable, but it looks like you already have 13 answers
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
@PavelJanicek I have had to adjust my answer to reflect the change of the question.
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
@Pᴇᴛᴇ I love you
 
Green
Green
@Swier Perhaps narrow it down by the type of invention you want to consider. Say, weapons or weapons tech.
 
Swier
Swier
@DaaaahWhoosh Yeah, I'm already very happy with the amount of answers. I'd just like the question not to be 'off topic' as such.
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
@PavelJanicek Thank you
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
2:00 PM
@Swier yeah... in that case I'd agree with Green, except you're in a sort of grey area now. You could narrow down the question, but then some answers would be invalidated.
I can't remember if we ever decided the best course of action when that happens
 
Swier
Swier
@Green I've thought about that, but it's more the unexpected angles I'm interested in.
Would adding some clause like: 'that would have the most effect on today's world' and maybe 'that was invented more than X (say 50) years ago' be a viable solution?
 
Green
Green
@Swier I'd argue that you can still get unexpected angles within a narrowed focus. Indeed, you might get even more unexpected results with a narrowed focus as that narrowing will allow answerers to search more deeply.
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
@Swier the first one helps, it makes answers objectively judge-able. The second still seems like it'd be too broad
 
Secret
Secret
Hey guys, I have a magic type question. Suppose I have some wand based magic. I then use a model to show that the magic can be reproduced provided a certain sequence of movements of the wand is followed, did I just turned the magic into science by making it reproducible and explain it in terms of the moving pattern of the wand?
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
@Secret there's still the magic in the fact that making those motions in the real world wouldn't do anything
what's the quote... any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic
3
I think making a science out of your magic is good for worldbuilding, it makes the magic less of a plot device and more of a tool that your audience can wrap their minds around
 
Secret
Secret
2:09 PM
yeah, I am really bugged by this quote. If any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, then we won't have two different terms for technology (either science or magic). So what is the most important criteria that we make people to perceive some given phenomenon as magic and some phenomenon as science. I initially thought it is reproducibility, but magic in harry potter is highly reproducible, thus reproducibility does not seemed to be a defining criteria of magic
 
Swier
Swier
@Green Yeah, good point. It still leaves the issue of invalidating current answers, but I don't know how big of a problem that actually would be...
 
Green
Green
@Swier Generally, you don't want to invalidate answers if you can help it. If you do, maybe leave a comment on each answer to indicate to the answerer that the question has changed.
 
Secret
Secret
Another example is that in some fictional works, there are magic as part of the setting, but the magic is so sufficiently analysed that there's a magic theory behind it, yet nobody called that a science. So that means, there is something that magic either has or missing from science
 
Swier
Swier
@DaaaahWhoosh mainly the first one, and then the second one to exclude something like smartphones (not the best example) which are still developing quite quickly, so the impact of inventing them 5 years later is relatively big
@Green Yeah, the comments seem like a must in that case
 
Green
Green
@Swier As long as you're considerate of the time people put into your question, you can probably get away with a lot.
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
2:16 PM
Groan. After all this time, I finally figured out why the name 'Phoebe' was chosen...
 
Swier
Swier
@Secret I'd argue that magic's just poorly understood science or mechanics (and/or alternate reality science). What might be a more useful distinction between magic and science is one used by many writers: that some people inexplicably can't use and/or aren't affected by magic
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
@Secret the way I see it, in the best fantasy stories with science-like magic, the only people who actually call it magic are the ones who can't use it
plus, there's things that are actually just normal science (like chemistry or medicine) which are also called magic by people who can't use it
 
Swier
Swier
@Green, @DaaaahWhoosh, thanks for the input. I will think on it for a bit more and update it later today.
 
HDE 226868
HDE 226868
@PavelJanicek I love the premise, but some of the edits, including @MichaelKjörling's recent one, make the whole thing a little confusing.
 
Green
Green
@Swier Sounds good. I'll be around if you need any more thoughts on the matter.
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
2:30 PM
@Swier glad to help, you were in a bit of a bind
 
HDE 226868
HDE 226868
For instance, the note indented with > looks like an impromptu notice that might be added by mods for whatever reason. Any new users seeing the question would be . . . . puzzled.
 
Swier
Swier
Now I gotta get back to making my code stop performing magic
 
Pavel Janicek
Pavel Janicek
omg. I love it :D
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Unfortunately, I think it might be working too well and people might think it closed.
And I'm upset that my answer is no longer getting up-votes.
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
That happens eventually ;p
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
2:35 PM
@Secret I guess there are also magic types that involve otherworldly powers. Like demon summoning or invoking the gods. I think those things can remain separate from science because there's a sort of expectation that it's more like asking for things than it is cause and effect
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
Science isn't just replicabiluty
Its understanding.
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
There's plenty in science that scientists don't understand
Just because they can prove the theory of something doesn't mean they understand it....
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
yeah, I'm kind of wondering now what 'science' actually means
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
Science is a process tho
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
And sometimes an accident
 
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
2:38 PM
Spontaneous generation
Spontaneous generation or anomalous generation is an obsolete body of thought on the ordinary formation of living organisms without descent from similar organisms. Typically, the idea was that certain forms such as fleas could arise from inanimate matter such as dust, or that maggots could arise from dead flesh. A variant idea was that of equivocal generation, in which species such as tapeworms arose from unrelated living organisms, now understood to be their hosts. Doctrines supporting such processes of generation held that these processes are commonplace and regular. Such ideas are in contradiction...
 
Secret
Secret
on the science tech side of things, how many of us actually know how the iphone etc. works in the nitty gritty details (o and also programming, where a code give completely unexpected results that is (insert suitable word)). It is so difficult to distinguish between science and magic
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
@Secret I don't really think there needs to be a distinction, at least not an objective one
 
Secret
Secret
@DaaaahWhoosh Agreed, religion based magic is often easier to distinguish from science in fictional works than non religious magic such as those rule based magic in harry potter
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
For anyone who listens to podcasts, I'd recommend The Infinite Monkey Cage which is co-hosted by Prof Brian Cox. It makes for really interesting and fun listening.
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
these days, I find it hard to listen to anything that I can't speed up to 2x speed
it's been so weird this week, I'm on a business trip so I've been watching Youtube videos on my phone and I can't change the speed settings, everyone is talking so slow
 
Michael Kjörling
Michael Kjörling
2:51 PM
@HDE226868 I figured that was more or less the point, but I did openly invite rollbacks if I went over the top, so...
 
Swier
Swier
3:10 PM
more on science and magic: 'doing science' is attempting to build a model of something, which explains and predicts how it will behave. There's no reason this 'something' can't be magic. Unless this magic is intrinsically impossible to predict. (At which point you can still make predictions with some uncertainty due to statistics) Come to think of it, whatever the underlying effect is that causes the uncertainty principle matches this definition of magic quite well...
 
Secret
Secret
Hmm... for this example, I guess quantum mechanics will be correctly identified as a science because while it is probablisitc, at least the probabilities are predictable by the model...
 
PatJ
PatJ
Howdy people
Hmmm, magic talk.
 
Michael Kjörling
Michael Kjörling
@PatJ At twice the speed.
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
@MichaelKjörling - Not really. Daaaaawoosh just slows his brain by half - everything else then appears to be 2x speed. It's the easiest way.
 
Michael Kjörling
Michael Kjörling
@Pᴇᴛᴇ Ah, so that's where the username comes from?
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
3:18 PM
I'd imagine so....
 
PatJ
PatJ
I like to thing that magic has the idea (or at least essentialism) behind it.
In magic, "human being" is relevant to the laws of physics.
 
Michael Kjörling
Michael Kjörling
@PatJ Now... what if humans were the only creatures in a world not capable of magic?
 
PatJ
PatJ
@MichaelKjörling That would show that "human being" is a relevant physical concept in itself, as it's the only creature incapable of interacting with that part of physics.
 
Michael Kjörling
Michael Kjörling
@PatJ Good point.
 
PatJ
PatJ
If you look at, for example, Battlestar Galactica. When they travel at FTL, that's an alternate science. But when you talk about angels, destiny and premonitions, that's magic.
Dualism is part of magic.
 
Michael Kjörling
Michael Kjörling
3:25 PM
So premonitions are magic, but déjà vu is science...
What does that make of weather forecasts? :)
 
PatJ
PatJ
@MichaelKjörling It's not the idea of anticipation, it's the idea that the mind can get it by itself.
Déjà vu
Déjà vu, (/ˌdeɪʒɑː ˈvuː/; French pronunciation: ​[de.ʒa.vy]) from French, literally "already seen", is the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has already been experienced in the past. Déjà vu is a feeling of familiarity, and déjà vécu (the feeling of having "already lived through" something) is a feeling of recollection. Scientific approaches reject the explanation of déjà vu as "precognition" or "prophecy", but rather explain it as an anomaly of memory, which creates a distinct impression that an experience is "being recalled". This...
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
3:41 PM
@MichaelKjörling the great thing about my username is that it meant nothing when I devised it, but can have a variety of meanings applied to it
for instance, now that I'm in HEMA, it kind of describes what it's like to fight me. I seem to excel at dodging attacks that really should connect with considerable force
I like to think that's what my name is about, absolutely committing to an attack and then completely missing with it
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Oh, that makes sense, I wondered what HEMA stood for.... Discount shops here in the UK are just as bad.
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
oh, huh, guess I've been beaten at my own game. Yeah, by HEMA I mean Historical European Martial Arts
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pretty much the same as I thought then...
 
TrEs-2b
TrEs-2b
4:23 PM
howdy
 
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
o/
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Wow, I just had a flash of deja vu. I could swear that I've seen you say that before.
 
HDE 226868
HDE 226868
@MichaelKjörling Eh. I added an impromptu thing at the top in case anyone was confused, although maybe that group just contains me. :P
 
TrEs-2b
TrEs-2b
Are you a parrot looking for single white people?

www.PolllyWantsACracker.com
 
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Pᴇᴛᴇ
Hmmm. Zombie apocalypse, with sharks... Now there's a question begging to be asked.
 
 
2 hours later…
DaaaahWhoosh
DaaaahWhoosh
6:49 PM
@Pᴇᴛᴇ how about a world with no dry land, where humanity survives on boat cities, and fishes for their main source of food?
then zombie sharks attack
if a zombie shark bites you, or you eat a zombie shark, you become a zombie that's really good at swimming
over time you develop tough shark skin and rows of shark teeth
the easiest way to stay safe is to stay away from the water, but that's where all your food comes from
these are the stories of Chum Squadron, an elite team of divers, as they search for food... and avoid the hordes of zombie sharks doing the same thing
they can't afford to waste precious harpoons, they have to reel in their kills... and hope that those kills stay dead
3
 
Schwern
Schwern
7:22 PM
@JDługosz Thanks!
 
dot_Sp0T
dot_Sp0T
7:54 PM
@JDługosz that's why I didn't vote for you
 
 
1 hour later…
Mithrandir24601
Mithrandir24601
9:10 PM
@Swier to me, the uncertainty principle is one of the easiest things to understand in quantum physics. If anything, that just demonstrates how confusing quantum physics really is the more in-depth you go
 
dot_Sp0T
dot_Sp0T
9:46 PM
@DaaaahWhoosh Waterworld?
 

« first day (890 days earlier)      last day (2612 days later) »