Ballsy only

Suriv_Dnim · 1 day

I have sailed before actually, in a large boat in the open ocean about 20 miles off the coast of Ecuador.

Suriv_Dnim · 1 day

I have no doubt it would be an adrenaline rush and a ton of fun. I'm just saying I wouldn't describe it as 'ballsy' since I don't see much inherent danger in doing it. (other than losing a ton of money on a broken boat.)

Suriv_Dnim · 1 day

Why ballsy, exactly? I just got done watching F1 trials in Monaco this morning, and if you're a few inches off there you're slamming into a wall at 200mph. Here, if things go horribly wrong, .... you go for a swim.

EDIT: I was wrong. This can be some scary shit.

chicken_phat · 4 days

It's important to keep in mind a few evolutionary points here. 1) traits are selected against when they limit or inhibit individual reproduction and then 2) if they limit a parent's ability to care for their young long enough for their own reproduction.

Given that baldness occurs (usually) after the period of mate selection for reproduction it doesn't affect #1 much. I'm not aware of any issues then where baldness would inhibit #2, so that's why we see so much of it - it's not being selected for in any significant way.

Now, if men started balding very often by the age of 20 or so, AND women found it unattractive enough to affect their mate selection, we poor bald men would be (not) screwed.

lumpydumdums · 4 days

I don't often laugh out loud reading AskScience posts, but this part definitely got me:

"... which weighs roughly 2.2 million lbs not including the fish ..."

The fish. That part. :)

jorvis · 4 days

This question is far too vague/general to answer appropriately.

And this.

AgentConundrum · 4 days

The "blind you in seconds" part is an exaggeration, but there is an explanation for why looking at a solar eclipse can be more harmful than looking at the sun normally.

When you normally step outside into the sunlight your retinas contract to limit the amount of light coming through. The sun puts out a lot of power you know, more than our eyes can handle directly, though this contraction of the retinas helps protect you.

During an eclipse though, everything gets darker and your retinas dilate somewhat to allow more light in. When the sun pops back into view your dilated retinas allow much more of that harmful light in than usual, possibly causing damage.

EDIT: the contraction/dilation are your irises, not retinas. (thanks cowboysauce)

AlyssaMoore · 1 month

I'm a researcher with most of my work published in the genomics and bioinformatics fields, and all software the groups I have worked with are made available as open-source. Even the things that aren't large software packages (ie, one-off scripts, etc.) can be had on request. From everyone I have worked with in some of the largest sequencing centers in the US this has been the norm for some time.

jorvis · 1 month

Really? It would be interesting to see the others. Post again if you notice later. :)

jorvis · 1 month

As a fabric they were used by the Middle Ages, but we're talking about fashion here not materials. In anything resembling their current form it looks like the WW2 era blue jeans were some of the earliest.

jorvis · 1 month

That's funny but, no, I haven't seen SG-1. Even my interest in Star Trek is almost completely limited to TNG.

jorvis · 1 month

Wow, I love reddit, where I can randomly find someone who can provide such a detailed analysis of a topic such as this one. Thanks. :)

jorvis · 1 month

Interesting points, but I'm not sure how many fashions are still popular from 300 years ago. I agree that they cycle, but only to a certain point?

jorvis · 1 month

Season 5, Episode 15 (Power Play)

Several crewmen go sprinting down a corridor past this guy in khakis at a grampa-approved height, button-up shirt, and belt. Whoops? Recognized film crew member?

jorvis · 1 month

I'm not taking that as pedantic at all, I should have gotten it right. I've edited my first comment but can't find a way to edit the submission text. Many apologies, and thanks for everything you do for our country.

jorvis · 1 month

I believe my son falls somewhere on the low-end of the ASD, and when choosing charity to run this marathon for I was happy to see the Organization for Autism Research on the sponsor list. My wife and I will be running it on October 28th.

Here's a pic of my 3-year old son and I nearing the finish line of the Route 66 marathon last year. (He ran the last straightaway with me, holding my hand.)

The Marine Corps Marathon sells out immediately every year, and my entry is sponsored by OAR. I appreciate any help you redditors can give in making my fundraising goal. Thanks!

RealJBlaze · 1 month

I know. Given estimates of the size of the ocean and displacements of the ships a calculation could certainly be done, so it's not incalculable. But the displacement of the ships is immeasurable in such a large body of water in motion.

I believe immeasurable is the correct term here.

RealJBlaze · 1 month

As those above me have said, they do raise water levels, just at an extremely small (practically immeasurable value.)

This is true for other things too. If you run across your living room and throw yourself at the wall (assuming you don't crash through it) what happens? Where does that energy go if the wall doesn't move? Ultimately, you affect the rotation of the earth, but at such a miniscule amount due to your mass vs. that of the earth that it would be immeasurable.

tolos · 1 month

Humans (and many/most primates) tend to live in social groups, and in that context there is definitely a benefit to complaining. If any obstacle or challenge presents itself that is better taken care of by someone else or the entire group complaining serves as a method for making this happen.

Whining about your day on Facebook probably has less evolutionary benefit, on the other hand.

dghughes · 1 month

It would certainly be possible since we can list them out and could just homogenize them together. The problem comes with actually using it as our only source of sustenance. There are a lot of writings that discuss (mostly) NASAs research into minimization of food for long-haul space travel. (Mary Roach's book "Packing for Mars" is excellent.) There turns out to be a lot of psychological issues with not having what our bodies consider traditional meals over time.

jorvis · 1 month

I think you're right. A friend found this link and my guess is that this is more likely. Unfortunately my wife is in class so I can't test it for a few hours.

lackofbiscuits · 1 month

Life is really hard to detect at all from any significant distance. Life has been on earth for a few billion years and it's only been in the last 100 years or so that we have done anything that might make ourselves visible to any potential far-away observers (broad cast signals, man-made satellites, leaving orbit, etc.)

In the same time as developing that technology we've also shown the potential for killing ourselves out with it all, so our example shows that the window of "Hey, we're here." could be pretty short for other forms of life.

jorvis

TROPHY CASE

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