Freethought: Scientific pursuit of the truth.

pippy on TIL that human beings have at least 14 and maybe even 20 or more senses, and that Aristotle enumerated the classic five we all learned as children: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell.

2011-11-29T00:30:14.238243-07:00-0700

>In your eyes, you have two different types of light sensors. One set of sensors, called the rods, senses light intensity and works well in low-light situations. The other type, called cones, can sense colors (and actually, there are three different types of cones for the three primary colors) and require fairly intense light to be activated. I wouldn't classify them as two senses. It's a variation of the three cones. >Also in your ears are sensors that let you detect your orientation in the gravitational field -- they give you your sense of balance. Incorrect. They're filled with fluid that contains hairs, when the fluid swishes around it gives us a sense of direction like an accelerometer. >In your skin, there are at least five different types of nerve endings: They branch into the same nerve. Again same sense with different variations. I'd put the number at around 10. This image here has a good physical map of the different inputs we can sense http://www.olicognography.org/drawings/cranial%20nerves.jpg

Goff, King to resign in fortnight

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:00:40 -0700

submitted by pippy to newzealand
[link] [comment]

pippy on Man runs over teenage protesters blocking his way to work

2011-11-26T17:39:09.432952-07:00-0700

I disagree. This is a very effective way of getting your message to the top.

pippy on Are we having a pool in how long Phil Goff remains labour leader if they can't form a govt tonight?

2011-11-26T16:23:48.107196-07:00-0700

It's likely he won't resign from the party, instead be pushed down the list. He's a pretty good MP, he's just not cut out for the limelight. Mount Roskill likes what he stands for. In the case he does resign Labour is in some trouble. It will mean they're panicking. This really isn't necessary as Labour simply had a shitty campaign this election. They had a bad leader, a poor PR team and didn't sell their core message, instead what they'd do as leaders. People don't like that. National on the other hand pulled their campaign off flawlessly. Everything they did was perfectly planned, timed and executed. Tea pot tapes gave john time not to talk about issues. Debating he knew what Phil would say so his retorts were exact. They killed off the leaders of coalition partners that were 'unstable' or got them into a position where they didn't need them. National deserved this election. Realistically, it was about as good as what I hoped. I would have preferred ACT killed off completely, but now banks in charge it's pretty much a another little National Party. This means National has no alibi for nearly everything they do.

pippy on Anywhere streaming the election coverage?

2011-11-25T23:22:58.899090-07:00-0700

nzheralds infograph is alright. They had a one with the seats that was better, but it's not working now http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz-election-results-2011

pippy on Video of Car being lit on fire on cuba st.

2011-11-25T22:09:15.937040-07:00-0700

This guy made more attention grabbing statement than the NZ OWS protesters. With a direct message too.

pippy on "our first date will be thanksgiving with my family" [and she wants you to be a doctor]

2011-11-25T14:18:10.022352-07:00-0700

In her defense she might be a 10 who's a little shy.

pippy on Anyone interested in doing a /r/newzealand crowd chart on politicalcompass.org to compare where we all sit politically?

2011-11-25T02:01:34.829925-07:00-0700

Economic Left/Right: -6.00 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.28 meh.

pippy on DimPost election wrapup "It’s kind of like a torture, to have to watch the show edition"

2011-11-24T22:11:44.845175-07:00-0700

This really hit the nail on the head. I couldn't agree more, though I think that Labour ran a poor campaign. They focused on asset sales and not ideology.

pippy on Found this on /r/adviceanimals and was reminded of /r/newzealand

2011-11-23T22:14:27.017701-07:00-0700

Growing older gives you time to forget everything you learnt in school and replace it with egocentrism.

pippy on Cave Story+ released on Steam

2011-11-23T00:46:27.579939-07:00-0700

What did he do to the music :( I'm still going to have to get it though.

pippy on A while ago I posted a comment here stating NZ's drinking habit was no worse than normal. I was down-voted to hell...

2011-11-23T00:38:56.294068-07:00-0700

Then link me to some of my "many false arguments".

pippy on A while ago I posted a comment here stating NZ's drinking habit was no worse than normal. I was down-voted to hell...

2011-11-23T00:30:52.146724-07:00-0700

I don't make false arguments. If I'm proven wrong I admit my mistake. Also I don't take what Labour says as gospel. I have often admitted they're often as bad as each other. I'm starting to think you're trolling me.

pippy on Big Ass Nerd!!!

2011-11-23T00:21:58.494089-07:00-0700

I thought that was a tonsil stone. I'm am relived it's not

pippy on A while ago I posted a comment here stating NZ's drinking habit was no worse than normal. I was down-voted to hell...

2011-11-23T00:07:08.094484-07:00-0700

Your assertion is immature and silly. My original post stated that people don't like cited facts and gravitate towards rhetoric, and here you are insulting me and blaming inequality on economy. There is a fundamental mindset that separates us. I feel that the best society is one that empowers all the people, gives equal opportunity to all workers and lets companies compete with each other. Ford realised this, he paid his workers well and it created an adjusted society without the need for handouts and constant unemployment. I don't think the best way to run a country is to empower monopolies, control unemployment markets to force wages down and enable foreign companies to control prices on necessities. You might think this is "terrible rhetoric, one-sided views and lack of understanding of the issues you rant about" but it seems reasonable to me. You so far haven't offered a better alternative.

pippy on A while ago I posted a comment here stating NZ's drinking habit was no worse than normal. I was down-voted to hell...

2011-11-22T22:43:04.159735-07:00-0700

Are you implying that unemployment isn't higher for youths? Are you implying that houses aren't drastically more expensive now, even adjusted for inflation? Or are you implying food is cheaper now? I get that your views are different, but you can't be complacent about issues that *will* affect you. There might be no one left to pay tax when you retire as young kiwis are flying off overseas. Or perhaps you don't care about the youths of your own country.

pippy on A while ago I posted a comment here stating NZ's drinking habit was no worse than normal. I was down-voted to hell...

2011-11-22T02:23:33.369463-07:00-0700

Two very valid points here. Posting vague & relatable opinions will be popular compared to hard hitting facts and numbers that make people uneasy. It is the wool over peoples eyes, yet everyone knows how comforting a short uplifting spiel is. And, it is an unwritten rule not to complain about being downvoted. TBH, I don't really care, karma is a number sitting on a database somewhere. I've never had a filter on how I feel online, especially here on /r/newzealand. I'm a member gen Y who got the shit end of the stick on every single turn. The unemployment, housing, living costs are all numbers that the older voters don't understand as they've never been faced with such inequity.

pippy on anyone other kiwis find telstraclear a fucking pitiful excuse for an ISP?

2011-11-21T23:32:23.843971-07:00-0700

I had constant problems with them as well, and other ISPs are slightly cheaper too.

pippy on Labour reveals where the money for all their election promises will come from.

2011-11-21T23:30:06.310187-07:00-0700

No one is mentioning Nationals budget fudges treasury growth predictions. Not enough to return to surplus? better sell more assets.

pippy on A while ago I posted a comment here stating NZ's drinking habit was no worse than normal. I was down-voted to hell...

2011-11-21T23:27:13.174991-07:00-0700

Upvote It sucks being downvoted to hell because your statement contracts popular belief. Finding reliable sources is a time consuming hassle, all to prove some asshole wrong who won't care and just reply with a smart-ass pun or lame attack. /r/newzealand is horrible at doing this. I like to think kiwis a critical & progressive bunch, but we're anything but.

pippy on The Best Part About Staying In Hotels

2011-11-21T02:09:27.676733-07:00-0700

http://thumbs.reddit.com/t5_2qqlo_6.png that.

pippy on Bride TEARS IT UP on the drums!

2011-11-20T23:39:07.130034-07:00-0700

There was no trumpet player. It was her nose.

pippy on Exports to Mars? if you add up all countries' reported current-account transactions the world exported $331 billion more than it imported in 2010, according to the IMF's World Economic Outlook.

2011-11-19T23:39:39.149978-07:00-0700

Declaring goods means tariffs or distributors paying tax. There's incentive not to declare imports.

pippy on Okay, if selling states assets is what we're going to end up doing, according to election polling, why is it we're paying an Australian bank $100m to advise us on how to sell them?

2011-11-19T19:20:52.125489-07:00-0700

Blind trusts.

pippy on I Saw An Extremely Subtle Bug Today And I Just Have To Tell Someone

2011-11-19T00:10:20.547700-07:00-0700

perhaps he needs to use the new quote marks \`like this\`.