“A thing may be of deeper impossibility than another, in the sense that you can be more deeply underwater–but whether you are five feet or five fathoms from the surface you are still all wet.” -Brian McGreevy
It's been a spectacular week of investigating the Universe and our knowledge about it here at Starts With A Bang! There were a great many of you wondering about parallel Universes over the past month, and that's exactly -- in the context of quantum physics and cosmic inflation -- what this past month's Starts With A Bang podcast was on. Check it out!
- Why must time be a dimension? (for Ask Ethan),
- How the first false alien signal opened up a new world in astronomy (for Mostly Mute Monday),
- Cosmic rays may reveal new particles just out of LHC's reach (a great contribution from Sabine Hossenfelder),
- Could dark matter be powering the EMdrive?,
- What to watch for when science becomes politicized, and
- LHC's newest data: victory for the Standard Model, defeat for new physics.
The video ads are gone from Forbes, but if you still prefer your Starts With A Bang ad-free, you can catch everything on a one-week delay over on Medium for free, thanks to our Patreon supporters. With all that said, let’s take a look at what you've had to say in our comments of the week!
![The geological features and scientific data observed and taken by New Horizons indicate a subsurface ocean beneath Pluto’s surface, encircling the entire planet. Illustration credit: James Keane.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/11/3A73099C00000578-3942462-image-m-12_1479319175224-600x366.jpg)
From MobiusKlein on Pluto's subsurface ocean: "Regarding the 250K limit on H2O as a liquid – does that apply to impure water as well? Or do we suspect the impurities in icy dwarf planets to be slight enough to not matter?"
It's well-known that increasing the pressure on solid ice can transform it into liquid water, but there are limits to this. No matter how much pressure you apply, if your temperature is below about 250 K (about -23º C or about -10º F), it will only transition into different ice states, not into a liquid state. But the reason for this is that for pure water molecules, arrangement into a particular lattice is more energetically favorable at these pressures and temperatures. In fact, at high enough pressures, it's always solid.
![Phase diagram of water as a log-lin chart with pressure from 1 Pa to 1 TPa and temperature from 0 K to 650 K. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user cmglee.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/11/Phase_diagram_of_water.svg_-600x507.png)
But this is only for pure H2O. Add in impurities of any variety -- create a mixture or a solution -- and lower-temperature liquids are possible. This is what happens on Mars, where the solid/liquid/vapor triple point is lowered in pressure space, enabling the existence of liquid brine where only solid or gaseous pure water is otherwise possible. Whether that ocean is briny or not has not yet been determined, but the evidence strongly suggests a liquid subsurface ocean on Pluto. This hasn't been studied particularly well at high pressures, but low-pressure behavior indicates that the freezing point should be lowered at higher pressures, too. Quantitatively, I'm not sure by how much.
From Tristram on the location of Starts With A Bang: "Nay, a link to forbes, still."
Alas, 'tis true. But the autoplaying videos are gone, plus the newly released Chrome 55 allows you to block/disable autoplaying content not only through flash but through html5 as well. What a world we live in. Give it a try; it might not disappoint you.
From Wes on a tongue-in-cheek interpretation of dimensions: "I still think we observe π dimensions."
The marginal evidence for variation in the fine-structure constant is still observed by looking at very distant absorption features. Although there are systematic and astrophysical explanations for the shift in the deuterium features, and hence inferred for that constant, it is also conceivable that some fundamental value is changing. Maybe it's e, the electron charge; maybe it's c, the speed of light, or maybe it's h, Planck's constant. Some people (jokingly) argue that it's either 4 or π that change, but those are (thankfully) jokes. I am betting that this was, too, although I'll point out that in sufficiently curved space, the ratio of a circle's diameter to its circumference is no longer π at all!
![The fabric of spacetime, illustrated, with ripples and deformations due to mass. Image credit: European Gravitational Observatory, Lionel BRET/EUROLIOS.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/08/Recreacion-artistica-onda-gravitacional_101501205_1049849_1706x1280-1200x900-600x450.jpg)
From Frank on relativity and time's dimensionality: "Bending of space-time is well established fact in astronomy. Which I think is the biggest proof that time is a dimension, just like dimensions of space."
There's actually a bigger proof from relativity: the Shapiro time-delay. One of the coolest things that relativity predicts is not simply that spatial paths get bent due to the curvature of space, but that the amount of time they take to traverse them -- including climbing out of or falling into a gravitational well -- is intricately affected by spacetime's curvature. This is known, sometimes, as the "fourth classical test" of relativity, even though it was only performed after Einstein's death. Many of his greatest theory's greatest victories have continue to come nearly two full generations after the man himself has passed on.
![Neutron stars exhibit strong magnetic fields and rotate rapidly, accelerating matter to emit radio pulses. But this wasn't always clear. Image credit: ESA/ATG Medialab.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/11/0-iLlaX3AJ8KS97jFA-600x295.jpg)
From Omega Centauri on spinning neutron stars: "Thinking about the orientation of the magnetic field, one would guess that based upon symmetry alone,that the favored orientation of the dipole field would be along the spin axis. Presumably if we were able to measure a large unbiased sample of NS, and measure the angle between the spin axis, and the magnetic pole we would get a distribution. I’m guessing it is fairly strongly peaked around zero degrees."
We can't really measure anything other than the magnetic axis of the neutron star (as Michael alluded to), since it's the magnetic field of the neutron star that causes particles to accelerate and hence, for the "pulsing" behavior to occur. What we see is that the magnetic axis spins around, and when the "beam" from the poles passes Earth, we see that pulse. But if all we had were the axis pointing at us, we'd see it all the time, like a mini-blazar. Instead, it pulses, and that tells us this is what's going on:
![The experimental setup of the EMdrive. Image credit: H. White et al., “Measurement of Impulsive Thrust from a Closed Radio-Frequency Cavity in Vacuum”, AIAA 2016.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/11/figure15-600x376.jpg)
From Michael Kelsey on a fun calculation of the axion/DM possibility: "It seems like this speculation hinges on quantitative questions: What is the local axion DM density? What is the axion-photon scattering cross-section (as opposed to photon-axion mixing)? What is the photon density in the EMDrive cavity?
I can very roughly estimate the latter. The average density of dark matter is about 5 GeV/cm^3 (don’t you love mixing units!), based on the very approximate ISM density of 1 hydrogen atom per cm^3, and DM being five times normal matter. The axion mass is estimated at a fraction of an meV (“milli” not “mega”). So the number density in the EM drive (and everywhere else) is something times 10^12/cm^3.
That’s surprisingly non-negligible, actually. If those were regular atoms, they would be at a pressure of microbars or less, which is typical of high vacuum systems, but not super extreme.
The cross-section is more problematic. A 2014 paper (https://arxiv.org/abs/1402.4937) calculates cross-sections around 10^-29 cm^2 (10^-2 mb) for typical interactions, but enhanced up to 10^-17 cm^2 (10 Mb !!) in a resonant cavity. I don’t do axion physics, so I don’t have a really good sense for how realistic this might be, but let’s proceed…
If the EM drive is the perfect magical cavity for axion-photon interaction, then we can combine the density and cross-section to say that photons would have a mean free path around 10^5 cm (1 km), so we might expect 1 in 1000 photons in a 1 m cavity to interact with an axion.
The figure above says they put 100 W of power into the cavity. A conversion rate of 1e-3 would mean something like 0.1 W of “disappearing” power, which would be immediately noticeable, I think."
But this actually, lines up perfectly with what we need! What they observed was approximately one micronewton of thrust (Force) for every one Watt (energy) of input power. See for yourself:
![The raw data and the correlation with best-fit line from White et al.'s test. Image credit: H. White et al., “Measurement of Impulsive Thrust from a Closed Radio-Frequency Cavity in Vacuum”, AIAA 2016.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/12/figure19-1-600x380.jpg)
Now, if we want to convert energy into momentum, the key is to kick back a massive thing; momentum is related to energy, and a change in momentum over time is what gives you a force. So if you can kick axions out -- preferentially in one direction, which is conceivable with a strong, directional electromagnetic field inside -- in the backwards direction, you can create thrust in the forwards direction.
It's a very, very speculative (but fun) possibility. Of course, by far the more likely explanation is that conventional physics holds, this isn't dark matter, and rather this is a clever setup with no net force produced. More than three data points would be helpful, and reproducible results with much smaller measurement errors (look at that 60W point and how the individual measurements range by a factor of three in their results!) would be much more compelling.
![The global temperature anomaly for the year 2015, the hottest year on record until 2016 ends and breaks it. Image credit: NSA/GSFC/Scientific Visualization Studio.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/12/16-008-600x338.jpeg)
From Julian Frost on politicized science: "Two of the things you mentioned (AIDS and vaccines) have a place in my heart.
As an autistic self advocate and blogger, the persistence of the lie about vaccines causing autism is both infuriating and frustrating. Andrew Wakefield, the struck off gastroenterologist who kicked things off has been exposed as having taken money from lawyers to investigate the link to see if lawsuits could be brought. In addition, even though he loaded the deck as hard as he could, the results didn’t fit the claim, so he cooked the subject’s data. Huge epidemiological studies have failed to find a link, yet there are still those who are convinced that vaccines cause autism.
I’m a South African. Thabo Mbeki, our President from 1999-2008, when he was forced to resign, had views on AIDS that could politely be called eccentric, and accurately called absurd. His beliefs meant that ARV’s were denied to patients. One estimate puts the death toll from his actions at 365,000. It’s a shocking example of how ignoring the science for a belief in conspiracies leads to disaster."
There are people in my life who had AIDS in the 1990s... and many of them are either dead now or destitute and in poor but stable health. There is a common "logical fallacy" out there called appeal to authority, but most people misinterpret it and use it in an indefensible manner.
They will point to a climate expert and say, "don't take this person's word for it; that's an appeal to authority." Or a series of dental health experts on fluoride, or the CDC on vaccines. Or an astrophysicist on astrophysics, or a particle physicist on particle physics. "Figure it out for yourself, like a good rugged individualist."
Shame on you for your twisting of what the "appeal to authority" fallacy was all about. It's not about decrying looking to a qualified expert for an expert opinion. It's why your surgeon knows better than you about your surgery; your car mechanic knows better than you about your car; your electrician knows better than you about how your home is wired; your friendly neighborhood astrophysicist knows more about astrophysics. But they also know more than your church, your legislator or congressperson, your president or your spouse or parent. Or even than "Age Of Autism," "Erin Brockovich" or the "Fluoride Action Network."
![A poster put up by the Fluoride Action Network, one of the most notoriously anti-science activist groups out there. Image credit: flickr user William Murphy.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/12/5635994046_6fe183a682_b-600x399.jpg)
It's because that logical fallacy is telling you don't listen to an appeal to a false authority. A bona fide expert with expert training, expert knowledge and expert judgment isn't hard to find, but you have to look. And you have to demand expertise. If you listen to the Food Babe or Mike Adams or Joe Mercola or Doctor Oz, you deserve it. If you let them make policy for your nation or your world and you don't fight it, you deserve it.
I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not going to be one of the silent ones who lets our world slip into ignorance. I cannot promise we'll win this war, but we're not going down without a fight.
From CFT on demonstrating this problem exactly: "Ethan, You are a coward. [...] Want to prove me wrong? Prove you know their arguments, then be able to show why they are wrong, like any half assed science teacher worth their diploma would do."
This is not what I choose to blog about. Either learn the real science from real scientists and real experts, or draw your own false conclusions from your own false sources and false information. But I feel no compulsion to do your bidding. Dig your own grave if you like, but I refuse to be dragged into it.
Ted Cruz, with a loaded statement from a questionable science news source, during a hearing on climate change on December 8, 2015. Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images.
From Eric Habegger on the same topic: "I have similar concerns as you. A lot of knowledge that used to be passed by authority figures from generation to generation has very recently been bypassed by the hive mind of the internet, and global instant communication. It has been very disruptive in a way that is both surprising and counterintuitive. A lot of it has to do with the anonymity of authors in messaging. In real life we can identify unreliable memes in culture just by the image and reputation of the speaker. Now that isn’t possible and the “feelings” of the individual reading it bypasses the logical responses because those individuals do not realize they are getting incomplete, or false information. Let’s face it, many people just do not have the critical thinking ability to weigh the probability of something being true or false in the presence of many diverging opinions coming at them AND not having the additional information on the character of the person saying those things that we used to have."
And many people don't care what the facts are; they care about justifying the original position they staked out. They will tell whatever lies or untruths are necessary to justify the actions they want to execute. And they don't care if they need to cherry pick or even fabricate facts to sell their overall conclusion; they have an agenda. It is everyone's job -- scientists, the press, and ordinary citizens (and non-citizens) -- to make the truth matter. Right and wrong shouldn't always be up for debate. We don't vote on the sky color, and voting on it doesn't change it. Perhaps we have a right to be free from misinformation masquerading as truths, too.
From bert hubert on the 'science is over' quote from Kelvin: "While a great quote, it is not from Kelvin but from Albert A. Michelson. See https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Thomson#Misattributed"
Perhaps it's time to retire that misquote forever, since neither Kelvin nor Michelson ever intended it to be used with the meaning it's often attributed. Thanks for the education.
![The CMS Collaboration has just released their latest, most comprehensive results ever. There is no indication of physics beyond the Standard Model in the results. Image credit: CERN/Maximlien Brice, of the CMS detector, the small detector at the LHC.](/files/startswithabang/files/2016/12/1-IIDCDKziQ_Y4-MdmOOvKsw-600x399.jpeg)
From Anonymous Coward on the LHC's failure to turn up anything new: "So we’ve reached the Desert. No new physics from 10^12 eV to 10^25 eV (the grand unification scale), and that’s a long, long way away. No way we’re bridging that gap even if we could build an accelerator that circles the planet."
It means that colliders aren't the answer. It means the LHC won't reveal new physics, and that particle creation, decays and branching ratios won't shed the light we need them to at reachable energies. But there are always indirect methods to probe new physics. We will have to rely more heavily on those. Indeed, that's what's given us our beyond-the-standard-model hints: B and S-factories for CP-violation; neutrino measurements for masses and oscillations; cosmic ray experiments for beyond-collider energies. There is hope, but it doesn't look like building a giant collider.
![Image credit: Ethan Shipulski, via http://mindblowingphysics.pbworks.com/w/page/52081285/Graviton%202012.](/files/startswithabang/files/2015/06/1-QPvcYU8j525sVeysb69hAw-600x450.jpeg)
And finally, from Eboy on our knowledge: "Until you solve the mystery of gravity particles or ?, you really have figured out anything."
Nonsense. Our theory of gravitation works just fine for every regime we've been able to test it in, and we have a long way to go before trans-GR physics shows up. The idea that "you don't know everything and therefore you don't know anything" is the perhaps worst solipsistic argument I've ever encountered. We have a long way to go and always will, but that doesn't mean the Sun won't rise in the east tomorrow.
Have a great week ahead, everyone, and looking forward to all the science we'll continue to share!
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I saw a great satellite on Friday night - it was two satellites following in exactly the same track (on what looked like a polar orbit), and they were as close together as one side of the square bit in the middle of Orion.
It was about two hours after sunset and they went past the Southern Cross and faded just short of Orion, so they weren't very high.
I often spot satellites, and I've seen some weird ones, but this was a completely unique situation for me.
Initially, I thought, "Maybe that's a Russian satellite chasing an American one and I'm about to see some fireworks...".
Thanks for sharing the article and podcast. I have certainly learnt a lot about it.
@ Craig
if you give your coordinates and elevation and time and date of when this happen, Stellarium i.e. can show you exactly which satellites they were. So no need to live in mistery
As for your last sentence... I get it.. but that stereotipics that some of you in US have about russians is really lame and old, not to say racist... uhh.. look, something is wrong.. oh! must be the Russians! .. come on..
In reality what you probably saw were either two satellites on similar trajectories, but different orbital height. Or you might have witnessed a docking at the ISS, if there was an mission going on, and the sun and them and you were just in a such a position as to reflect the sun from both ISS and Sojuz solar panels. Since you say it was just after sunset, and they were low on horizon that might have been it.
@Ethan wrote
Right and wrong are often subjective and are absolutely up for debate. For the same reason you want to tell people their opinions don't matter, it is not fair to expect the public to know exactly where politics stop and where science starts.
Recently Dan Chitwood took to twitter to say "To all the beautiful, tolerant, progressive people: your food comes from an ugly, hateful, backwards place. This is a problem to be solved."
Dan Chitwood is a PhD Biologist specializing in growing plants who has just made a statement about a scope of area where plants are grown. Does every single individual painted with Chitwood's broad bigoted brush just have to accept the pronouncement as unassailable fact because he has a PhD?
Even closer to the mark is Climate Scientist James Hanson who is often seen engaging in political protests. It is a Political Protest. Does that automatically mean everything that is said and done at the civil disobedience is beyond question because there is a PhD on one side?
I would argue that this view is very elitist and counterproductive to disseminating the truth. My wife is a Forensic Scientist who day in and day out sees the very worst of what humans can do to each other. It is life, and death, and ruined lives right now to real flesh and blood people but she becomes incensed when her colleagues send out celebratory emails after their compiled evidence facilitates a conviction.
It isn't that she is pro-rapist or pro-murderer. It is that discovery proving impartiality may let a future rapist or murderer go free. The bias in opinion weakens the authority the expert has to present scientific evidence to non-experts. I would argue that my wife is right and your rhetorical guns are pointed the wrong direction.
As an expert if you want the truth to 'win', publish science in peer reviewed journals and do more science and publish that too. Rinse and repeat. There will be defenders and detractors in the public who will argue endlessly on some contentious subjects. The scientist who becomes a defender or detractor on a contentious subject in the public space should expect counter opinion because arguing is what defenders and detractors do. Jumping into the fray and shouting that the other side needs to shut the f#$k up and their opinion doesn't matter isn't helping. In fact I would say it is just the opposite.
@Sinisa Lazarek
Must everything be racist? Russia isn't even a race. Even if it were, the race most American's think of when they think of Russia are the white Muscovites. Even those who actually are White Supremacists don't express issue with Russia for their skin color. This incessant, vindictive tarring for things as innocuous seeing something that sparked the memory of an old rivalry is vile and uncalled for. I'm sad to see you've jumped on that disgusting bandwagon.
I'm with Denier - that was exactly my reaction.
@Craig Thomas
This is a possibility: http://atrain.nasa.gov/constellation_flying.php
Sorry, should have included this too:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_formation_flying
@ Denier
I know that if I were Russian, comment like no1. would offend me very much (especially when concerning the space program, and that maybe we ought to actually say thanx, for them still having a working manned space program. Because if it weren't for them... there would be i.e. no US astronauts in space today).
In the same way as you don't see people in Europe saying "oh, I saw some bombers in the sky on sunday, and the first thing I thought is oh crap.. the Germans are coming again".
Or.. a Vietnamese say.. I saw a light in the sky on weekend, and I thought hope it's not the Americans.
Maybe my fuse for tolerating labeling all people and nations for something that happened in the past and by politicians is shorter then yours. But I didn't insult Craig or call him names. I just said that it's lame and it borders on racism. Because it labels a whole nation of people as "bad" because of something someone did in the past.
For the clarification, when I say "race", I mean it in a social context not any arian crap.
"But I didn’t insult Craig or call him names. I just said that it’s lame and it borders on racism"
But it isn't racism, unless you stretch the meaning to meaninglessness.
Bigotry. Try that one, if you feel it has the same feeling as racism, but bigotry has a meaning that's much more malleable than racism, so keeps its purpose when used here.
Over-using racism makes others consider that you're merely using it as a dogwhistle, to shut down any counter by shaming anyone trying this with the accusation they are racist too.
Whether something is racist depends on context and the internal meaning of the use of the word, which we can't detect. That, however, is why Chris Rock can say "Nigger" but Nigel Farage can't. We can expect Chris to not mean it in a racist way.
@ Wow
point taken
How's it "bigotry"?
I don't care whose satellites it was, it would be cool if it was two satellites having a go at each other.
"Russia v. USA" is an obvious example, but I guess it could be "NewsCorp v. Sky"....
And it definitely wasn't the ISS - much less bright.
"EO-1 follows Landsat 7 in its orbit by exactly one minute."
Is this "minute" a measurement of time? If so, it wasn't this pair - what I saw were literally seconds apart.
Also, I don't know if EO-1 has a bigger solar array, but as Landsat-7 is 4x bigger, I don't think this is what I saw - both satellites were quite brigght, the 2nd one being slightly brighter.
" “oh, I saw some bombers in the sky on sunday, and the first thing I thought is oh crap.. the Germans are coming again”."
That would be a perfectly fair comment, nothing to do with bigotry.
"How’s it “bigotry”?"
If you believe that russians are incompetent criminals because they're russians, and they're all incompetent criminals, QED, then that's bigotry.
If you believe negroes are incompetent criminals because they're negroes, and they're all incompetent criminals, QED, that's bigotry. And racism.
You see, Bigotry is a term.
Racism is bigotry for reasons of race. A subset of Bigotry. Homophobic (in common parlance, as opposed to the medical phobia) is Bigotry.
If you don't seem to understand what bigotry is, then fair enough, you're a racist.
This should make you feel less confused.
No worries. Any time, Craig.
From Wikipedia:
But if you're not happy with it, like I said, we'll just call you a racist. Not a problem, just happy to help.
How does me believing the Russians might sic a satellite onto a USAian satellite relate to your "incompetent criminals" or "prejudice"?
What makes you think I am hostile towards fighty Russian satellites in the first place...?
Oops, I just responded to yet another idiotic wow-post.
Must learn to ignore the idiot.
Uh, how does an idiot like you get from me saying:
"Bigotry. Try that one, if you feel it has the same feeling as racism,"
To me telling you you're racist.
You see, dumbass, I didn't call you racist. SL did. Bigotry fits better, fwit.
@ Craig
"How does me believing the Russians might sic a satellite onto a USAian satellite relate to your “incompetent criminals” or “prejudice”?"
Because your first thought was an act, that if it actually occurred, would be equivalent to open declaration of war. It would be a premeditated hostile act towards critical assets of a nation state by another nation state. Further, your belief that something like that is even remotely likely to happen is based entirely on your own prejudice towards russians.
Why didn't you think.. oh it might be the Americans trying to destroy an ESA telescope?
If you think/believe.. and it seems like it, that russians as a people and nation have hostile intent towards anything US, or are just clumsy, inferior, the buggy man of the planet earth..... and that james bond, regan star wars program, hollywood portrayal is real..... you are either extremely misinformed.. or a bigot (if you are informed, and still believe it).
Oh good lord, Craig. Immediately leaping from some utterly unrelated action to a negative stereotype of a ration, race, or other group of people pretty much fits the definition of bigotry. From Merriam Webster: "a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices." Leaping from "I saw two lights in the sky" to "Russians are probably attacking a US satellite" is being obstinately devoted to an (irrational) opinion about Russians. Its cranky conspiracy sort of thinking.
Now frankly, its such a minor thing that I initially let it go. And I plan on letting it go after this. But Sinisa is correct here and you're edging toward the end of the diving platform, even if you haven't jumped into the deep end yet.
@Sinisa Lazarek
I think/believe Reagan's Star Wars program, more commonly known as the Strategic Defense Initiative(SDI), was a real program that ran from 1984 until 1993 when it was formally turned into the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization under the umbrella of the US Department of Defense. Even a brief bit of research shows that I'm not misinformed on that, so according to you my belief in the existence of the program makes me a bigot.
You are ridiculous Even worse, you are ruining this board. Before it was a civil discussion of scientific topics and now it has devolved into the hurling of slurs of racism and bigotry. Great work. You fixed it.
@eric
Everyone should have let it go. That it has turned into this ugly session of name calling is ludicrous.
As long as you were looking up definitions, you should also look up 'obstinately'. When someone starts a statement with "Initially, I thought", that implies a change in thought. Obstinately doesn't fit. Intolerantly doesn't fit. Bigoted doesn't fit. Racist doesn't fit. 'Minor thing' fits! 'Minor thing' is perfect. Why people believe this minor thing is so worth the spewing of hateful label in mean spirited personal attacks is beyond me.
It is a sad comment on what passes for discourse these days.
"I think/believe Reagan’s Star Wars program, more commonly known as the Strategic Defense Initiative(SDI), was a real program"
But what do you think/believe without the eliding of information?
"Everyone should have let it go. "
Should you have passed this on to Crag, not eric?
@Wow
As far as I know, he didn't call anyone else a bigot or racist. I generally try not to tell anyone else what to do. Everyone else knows their life better than I do, but this tendency lately to call everything 'racist' is driving me insane.
I was listening to an interview of an old comedian who used to host a late night show but retired several years ago. He was asked if he missed it. Did he missing getting on stage and making people laugh?
He didn't have to put any thought into it at all. "No", he said. "When I was doing it the jokes were easy. Bush was dumb. Clinton was horny. Now everything is racist and sexist and ugly."
I can empathize with that. Especially with the election that just went by and the unexpected outcome, it is almost impossible to get away from the spewing of rancor. It is nice to come here sometimes and banter about astrophysics or other science related topics and fuck my life it is now here too.
Uh, what?
Nobody said he did!
Do you want to reread this, BEFORE you complain to eric or anyone what they're writing? It's generally a good idea to know what was said BEFORE you start complaining about the situation and pointing fingers.
Go ahead, and try answering my query with something that appears to come from a fully functioning adult. I KNOW you can do it, you've done it before, and this isn't even about climate change!
@Wow
What query are you referring to?
#25 Wow
December 9, 2016
“Everyone should have let it go. ”
Should you have passed this on to Crag, not eric?
----
It's the same post you responded to with
"As far as I know, he didn’t call anyone else a bigot or racist."
Which was a nonsequitur.
That was post 26. That was your post. Mine was 25.
If this appears to be baby talk, then this is because I'm completely at a loss as to what level to pitch this at, since there wasn't much else in my post other than one question. The one I requoted at the top there.
Oh, remember a bit back when autoplay of HTML5 video was noted as a bad thing? And it is, for the website and the user: if you don't want to watch the autoplayed video, it wastes bandwidth and processing power to download and play it.
I don't know how you do it in other browsers,but in firefox, open up a new tab, type about:config in the URL bar,search for "autoplay" and change media.autoplay.enabled to false.
NB: that's also how you disable javascript. It *used* to be a tickbox option, but now you have to go into about:config to do it.
Which is nice.