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Human: Dog died under care of negligent dog walker Our young (1yr 9 month old) dog whilst under the care of a dog walker. He was fully insured, DBS checked and we had a signed contract. The negligence came in three forms; firstly, he was walking her off lead very close to a 40mph road and at the same time has admitted he was not watching her (we have evidence to back both these statements). Secondly he did not inform us she was missing for well over 2 hours. Thirdly he left her there missing to go and drop off other dogs and continue to walk another, therefore continuing his dog walking business whilst she was lost. What is our best course of legal action here? Thank you in advance. Assistant: You can sue for the value of the dog

Human: Dog died under care of negligent dog walker Our young (1yr 9 month old) dog whilst under the care of a dog walker. He was fully insured, DBS checked and we had a signed contract. The negligence came in three forms; firstly, he was walking her off lead very close to a 40mph road and at the same time has admitted he was not watching her (we have evidence to back both these statements). Secondly he did not inform us she was missing for well over 2 hours. Thirdly he left her there missing to go and drop off other dogs and continue to walk another, therefore continuing his dog walking business whilst she was lost. What is our best course of legal action here? Thank you in advance. Assistant: Along with the advise of the other commenters, I would leave reviews detailing what happened to your dog to warn others. I would only state the facts which obviously puts the dog walker in a negative light. As long as it's factual, hopefully this won't happen to someone else. From your post, it sounds like dog walker was more than negligent. He didn't have the decency to tell you as soon as it happened. Had he told you ASAP, the outcome may have been different. I'm so sorry for your loss!

Human: Best/well-known Western philosophers with a heavy Eastern influence? In general I haven’t found many explicit references to eastern philosophy from western philosophers. Any recommendations of people who reference eastern philosophy/have studied it extensively? Assistant: Graham Priest is a good modern example. To name just a few others, there is Jay Garfield, Amber Carpenter, and Mark Siderits.

Human: Best/well-known Western philosophers with a heavy Eastern influence? In general I haven’t found many explicit references to eastern philosophy from western philosophers. Any recommendations of people who reference eastern philosophy/have studied it extensively? Assistant: I don’t know about best, but I very much enjoy Owen Flanagan, Jay Garfield, and even Jan Westerhoff (though his views are pretty radical).

Human: What do you call the dish of an egg cooked in the center of toast? My friend and I were talking and came upon the fact that this dish has soo many different names. Is it regional? Familial? So first off what do y'all call it? And why do you think that is? Assistant: The first thing that came to mind was toad in a hole. Then I started to do a deep dive into the history/origin of the dish, thankfully I found something before I got too caught up in it lol. Names for Egg in a hole

Human: What do you call the dish of an egg cooked in the center of toast? My friend and I were talking and came upon the fact that this dish has soo many different names. Is it regional? Familial? So first off what do y'all call it? And why do you think that is? Assistant: We just called it egg in a hole

Human: Paper rejected from journal - next steps Hello AA community, I woke up this morning to a rejection letter from a journal I submitted my manuscript to. I submitted this paper about 3-4 months ago, so I was genuinely expecting acceptance with minor or major revisions. I'm in a pretty niche field (between sociology and environmental science) and I felt that the journal in question was the perfect place for my paper. They've actually accepted very similar research papers before, so the rejection was super surprising for me. Now, this is my first ever submission to a journal - so I wouldn't have been surprised with major revisions. What has surprised me, is that the rejection letter seemed to indicate that they felt the paper wasn't suitable for the journal. The editor said (I'm paraphrasing) "the reviewers feel this paper is not suitable for publication in \[this journal\] and I agree, so we are rejecting the submission at this time". They then gave me the feedback from the reviewers, which I largely agree with, and can see their points—effectively they said the paper needs work and isn't ready for academic publication, although the research does offer a useful contribution to the field. Still, it sounds like the outright rejection was on the basis of the article not being appropriate for the specific journal; which I don't believe to be the case. My question is this: Should I write to the editor, thank them for their time, let them know I will be applying the recommended changes, and ask if I can resubmit once these changes have been applied? Or should I accept the rejection, still make the changes, and find another journal to submit to? I don't want to waste anyone's time or annoy the editors/reviewers if it's inappropriate to resubmit to the same journal. What is the etiquette here? Thanks in advance :-) Assistant: Don't contact them. A rejection sucks, but it is part of the game.

Human: Paper rejected from journal - next steps Hello AA community, I woke up this morning to a rejection letter from a journal I submitted my manuscript to. I submitted this paper about 3-4 months ago, so I was genuinely expecting acceptance with minor or major revisions. I'm in a pretty niche field (between sociology and environmental science) and I felt that the journal in question was the perfect place for my paper. They've actually accepted very similar research papers before, so the rejection was super surprising for me. Now, this is my first ever submission to a journal - so I wouldn't have been surprised with major revisions. What has surprised me, is that the rejection letter seemed to indicate that they felt the paper wasn't suitable for the journal. The editor said (I'm paraphrasing) "the reviewers feel this paper is not suitable for publication in \[this journal\] and I agree, so we are rejecting the submission at this time". They then gave me the feedback from the reviewers, which I largely agree with, and can see their points—effectively they said the paper needs work and isn't ready for academic publication, although the research does offer a useful contribution to the field. Still, it sounds like the outright rejection was on the basis of the article not being appropriate for the specific journal; which I don't believe to be the case. My question is this: Should I write to the editor, thank them for their time, let them know I will be applying the recommended changes, and ask if I can resubmit once these changes have been applied? Or should I accept the rejection, still make the changes, and find another journal to submit to? I don't want to waste anyone's time or annoy the editors/reviewers if it's inappropriate to resubmit to the same journal. What is the etiquette here? Thanks in advance :-) Assistant: That's kinda just the phrase they say. It's the journal version of "we'll keep your resume on file". Also, this was still a win for you! You didn't get desk rejected, and now have input from three other people in your field on how to improve your manuscript! Take whatever suggestions they offered that you agree with and move on to the next journal!

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: As a non English speaker, I do not understand the phrase "Fuck it. Have an upvote." Do people only have a certain amount of upvotes? Why say "fuck it" like it is a burden to given an upvote? Thhanks Assistant: "Fuck it, have an upvote" means "I'll momentarily lower my standards and you can have said approval on lower standards"

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: As a non English speaker, I do not understand the phrase "Fuck it. Have an upvote." Do people only have a certain amount of upvotes? Why say "fuck it" like it is a burden to given an upvote? Thhanks Assistant: Every post wants an upvote. Not every post gets an upvote. Since demand is greater than supply, upvotes have a (sort of) value. Giving away something that has value (even if you have an infinite amount of them) is perceived as a burden. When you say "Fuck it. Have an upvote," it means the post barely meets someone's minimum requirements for getting the upvote.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why aren’t electric vehicles using solar panels integrated into the panoramic rooftops? Wouldn’t this eliminate the need for charging stations - to be able to collect a solar charge at most hours of the day and *during* the actual act of driving? Assistant: They exist, but not in a state where regular comsumers can buy them, check out the world solar challenge its a race for solar vehicles that crosses australia.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why aren’t electric vehicles using solar panels integrated into the panoramic rooftops? Wouldn’t this eliminate the need for charging stations - to be able to collect a solar charge at most hours of the day and *during* the actual act of driving? Assistant: Not enough surface area and they're not efficient enough yet. Explain like I'm five years old: Not big enough and too slow. There's a recent Joe Rogan Experience episode with Elon Musk and they talk about this exact concept. The only vehicle that Musk believes this could work on is a sprinter van size vehicle, think moving/delivery van. The panels would need to unfold from the roof to triple their surface area to efficiently charge the vehicle.

Human: Difference between meters per second and meters per second squared? This might be a pretty stupid question since i dont know nearly as much as anyone else that are on here, or if i am even in the right subreddit since m/s is math, but derives from SI so its apparrently kinematics, but is there a difference between meters per second squared and meters per second? Or are they the same thing? I searched for if they are the same or different, and only got things about meters per second squared Assistant: They are not the same, they differ by per second (1/s). Suppose that you are traveling in a car at 30 m/s, and the car is accelerating at 1 m/s². This means the car will increase its speed by 1 m/s, per second. So after one second, the car's speed will be 31 m/s, after two seconds 32 m/s, etc. It wouldn't make any sense for the car's acceleration to be 1 m/s, because acceleration is the change in velocity (m/s) per second (1/s), together making the unit m/s².

Human: Difference between meters per second and meters per second squared? This might be a pretty stupid question since i dont know nearly as much as anyone else that are on here, or if i am even in the right subreddit since m/s is math, but derives from SI so its apparrently kinematics, but is there a difference between meters per second squared and meters per second? Or are they the same thing? I searched for if they are the same or different, and only got things about meters per second squared Assistant: m/s is velocity, that is change of position per time. By contrast, m/s^2 = 1/s m/s is acceleration, that is change of velocity per time. So in general 1/s in a unit indicates that it is something changing per time interval.

Human: Are there any examples of resonant frequency being used in manufacturing; as a tool - not a diagnostic? I was just feeding my parrot sunflower kernels, and I realized those were probably separated by a machine. And since I'm high, I wondered why they couldn't just figure out the resonant frequency of the average sunflower seed pod and crack them all with sound. Do they use fluid vibration as a tool anywhere in manufacturing? Assistant: Ultrasonic welding.

Human: Are there any examples of resonant frequency being used in manufacturing; as a tool - not a diagnostic? I was just feeding my parrot sunflower kernels, and I realized those were probably separated by a machine. And since I'm high, I wondered why they couldn't just figure out the resonant frequency of the average sunflower seed pod and crack them all with sound. Do they use fluid vibration as a tool anywhere in manufacturing? Assistant: One of the challenges with resonance is damping. The shell isn't totally rigid like a crystal glass so the flexing will counteract the resonant buildup and likely prevent breakage. Also the seed inside would probably counteract as well. Great high thought though! Keep em coming! PS, ultrasonic cleaning is used post manufacturing sometimes and is the closest thing I can think of to your question.

Human: Neighbor watches us and tries to start accidents. Our neighbor has cameras pointing to our back patio and is watching 24/7. He also video tapes me on his phone whenever I ride past him or his house. I'm only 14 and him video taping me makes me very uncomfortable. He also tries to jump in front of my bike or cut me off, esentually trying to cause an accident. I get a car very soon and I'm worried he might try to target me and cause an accident. The reason he is targeting us is because we set off fireworks that are too loud (they are very much legal). We talked with the police and they don't seem to care about the fireworks. I'm worried what he's going to do with all the footage of me, my sister's, or my parents. Someone please tell me how to handle this legally. Assistant: Cameras of your own. Especially in the car when you get it.

Human: Neighbor watches us and tries to start accidents. Our neighbor has cameras pointing to our back patio and is watching 24/7. He also video tapes me on his phone whenever I ride past him or his house. I'm only 14 and him video taping me makes me very uncomfortable. He also tries to jump in front of my bike or cut me off, esentually trying to cause an accident. I get a car very soon and I'm worried he might try to target me and cause an accident. The reason he is targeting us is because we set off fireworks that are too loud (they are very much legal). We talked with the police and they don't seem to care about the fireworks. I'm worried what he's going to do with all the footage of me, my sister's, or my parents. Someone please tell me how to handle this legally. Assistant: Gopro on your helmet might stop the jumping in front of you or prove to the cops that he caused the accident if you don't manage to get out of the way in time.

Human: [Star Wars] When he went into hiding, why did Obi-Wan ONLY change his first name? While the name "Ben" is much more simple and unrecognizable than "Obi-Wan," the last name "Kenobi" is a dead fucking giveaway. Why didn't he change his last name to some basic name as well to hide better? I get Tatooine is in the Outer Rim and the Clone Wars didn't really affect the system that much, but Jedi Master General Obi-Wan Kenobi was rather famous. So, if Ben went around saying his last name is Kenobi, then someone along the way must have been like "wait are you related to that Old Republic General? I'm gonna report you to the Empire and get a ton of credits as a reward!" Assistant: The galaxy has quadrillions of sentients and probably hundreds of millions of people with the last name Kenobi. Its not as obvious as you would think.

Human: [Star Wars] When he went into hiding, why did Obi-Wan ONLY change his first name? While the name "Ben" is much more simple and unrecognizable than "Obi-Wan," the last name "Kenobi" is a dead fucking giveaway. Why didn't he change his last name to some basic name as well to hide better? I get Tatooine is in the Outer Rim and the Clone Wars didn't really affect the system that much, but Jedi Master General Obi-Wan Kenobi was rather famous. So, if Ben went around saying his last name is Kenobi, then someone along the way must have been like "wait are you related to that Old Republic General? I'm gonna report you to the Empire and get a ton of credits as a reward!" Assistant: So I'm not really familiar with the expanded universe stuff about Kenobi, but I was under the impression that no one besides the Lars family (and maybe a few other trusted people) even knew Kenobi's last name, and otherwise he was just living completely "off the grid" as a hermit and didn't have any sort of official documentation with the empire or local authorities.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old why is there a "safe to eject" option for USB sticks? After you've transfered all your data on/off, why cant you simply take out the stick? where's the harm? Assistant: The "safely eject" option is just checking to ensure nothing is reading from/writing to the device. The user may not be aware of everything using the device.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old why is there a "safe to eject" option for USB sticks? After you've transfered all your data on/off, why cant you simply take out the stick? where's the harm? Assistant: While the other comments are right but the safe ejection option is far less needed now than it used to be. The safe eject option was necessary in the past because back in the day the file systems on the disks weren’t journaling. Without the ability to track pending changes via journaling it was actually possible to corrupt the entire drive if you pulled it at the wrong time.

Human: How useful/utilised is MATLAB in industry? Assistant: I use it a lot for data analysis and plotting things. Working on learning python as it is the preferred language for or data science and ai groups. The freeness of python make it attractive for trying things that you aren't certain of they will have any future applicability of a project gets it doesn't get funded.

Human: How useful/utilised is MATLAB in industry? Assistant: I use both Matlab and Python about 25% of my time.

Human: How is it that an idling car engine can easily run a 3-5kW load with whisper quietness, but a small generator doing the same is deafeningly loud? Take a typical car engine (here in Europe). Water-cooled, 4 cylinder, petrol (gasoline) powered, displacement of between 1.0 and 1.5 liters, max power 80-180bhp. Can drive a 2kW air conditioner compressor, 800 watt alternator and various loads and accessories at idle, with barely any noise (I don't have exact measurements but I'd estimate 40-50dB). Idles at 900rpm. Now, your typical cheap portable generator. Single cylinder, air-cooled, gasoline powered, 50-500cc displacement, maybe an 8bhp engine to generate 5kW of electrical power. Makes 75dB unloaded and close to 90dB at full load. Governed at 3600rpm. Why? Generators have one job: generating electricity. Why are cars better generators than actual generators, and what's stopping them from putting the same quietness into generator engines? Assistant: The car has an extensive exhaust system, engine bay insulation and liquid cooling. You could make a generator like that, but it would cost a fortune.

Human: How is it that an idling car engine can easily run a 3-5kW load with whisper quietness, but a small generator doing the same is deafeningly loud? Take a typical car engine (here in Europe). Water-cooled, 4 cylinder, petrol (gasoline) powered, displacement of between 1.0 and 1.5 liters, max power 80-180bhp. Can drive a 2kW air conditioner compressor, 800 watt alternator and various loads and accessories at idle, with barely any noise (I don't have exact measurements but I'd estimate 40-50dB). Idles at 900rpm. Now, your typical cheap portable generator. Single cylinder, air-cooled, gasoline powered, 50-500cc displacement, maybe an 8bhp engine to generate 5kW of electrical power. Makes 75dB unloaded and close to 90dB at full load. Governed at 3600rpm. Why? Generators have one job: generating electricity. Why are cars better generators than actual generators, and what's stopping them from putting the same quietness into generator engines? Assistant: Have you heard a car without an exhaust system, specifically a muffler? Car engines make a lot of noise, which is why they have a muffler. My guess is that for a small generator there is no point in putting a muffler on it. Cost far out weighs the benefits there. They're usually only run for a handful of minutes or hours on extreme ends. And we don't have 100s of millions of them driving around the world at any given time of day, annoying the entire population of the world

Human: I am an engineer. I always go with large notebooks because I constantly draw something. Should I buy an ipad to create drawings, solve various problems? Tell me, is it convenient to use the ipad? And what applications are there for creating drawings, solving math problems, etc.? Assistant: I use a remarkable tablet, I like the way it feels and I like reading books on it, but it does lack some major functionality.

Human: I am an engineer. I always go with large notebooks because I constantly draw something. Should I buy an ipad to create drawings, solve various problems? Tell me, is it convenient to use the ipad? And what applications are there for creating drawings, solving math problems, etc.? Assistant: Microsoft surface pro 8, is the best purchase I have made in a long time. Exact same form factor as an iPad with the full power of a windows operating system. Fully supports Microsoft suite, without having to settle with extra apps or google suite. As well writing on the surface feels almost as realistic as writing on real paper with a pen. And when you are not using it for writing it is literally a fully capable computer.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why do we have to brew tea or others herbs instead of eating them raw? Why (probably) can't we get the same health benefits from dry herbs? Assistant: Just adding a note about cannabis. THCA isn’t psychoactive, but once it’s heated (the technical term is decarboxylation), it becomes THC which is psychoactive. That’s to say, the chemistry of plants changes when you add heat. Edited to add: that’s why you can eat a bud of cannabis without any harm or true high, because there are only trace amounts of activated THC in the flower.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why do we have to brew tea or others herbs instead of eating them raw? Why (probably) can't we get the same health benefits from dry herbs? Assistant: What health benefits from what herbs are you refering to ?

Human: Feeling Conflicted after Leaving Electrical Engineering Hi all! I graduated 4 years ago with a BS in Electrical Engineering. The schooling was rigorous and I hated the pressure I was under. But I kept going and graduated. I'm a female, and throughout my schooling and internships, I had a fair deal of sexism and aggression. It got so bad that I had to go to HR of the companies I interned at, and the dean of my college. I thought I'd be okay after I graduated, but alas, here I am. I started a new job almost 2 years ago at an engineering firm. After leading many projects and receiving a lot of praise from higher ups about my performance, I was initially turned away from a promotion due to "company policy" that I couldn't receive a promotion either a year. Alright. Whatever. I enjoyed my job, but didn't enjoy the stress, so some extra money would have been nice. I find out later that the 2 fresh out of college male engineers all got promotions in under a year, despite them being behind on projects. I was livid. I've already had so many negative experiences in engineering, I was at my breaking point. I was treated differently, given unfair expectations, and overall was dismissed or had my own projects explained to me (I could write a whole other post about just this). So I left and transitioned to Data Analytics and Data Science. But now I'm not an engineer, something I've been doing and working towards for most of my life. I don't even know where to go from here because I feel conflicted thst I left, and that I let down all of the women who will come after me because I gave up. I've been in Data Analytics for a month now and kinda like it, but I'm having an identity crisis and don't even know what to do with myself anymore. Has anyone here transitioned out of engineering due to the environment? Just looking for any advice, because I feel so conflicted. Thanks. Assistant: I mean you can always go back to EE if you want. Your previous experience doesn't dissipate like heat ... Give the data science job a shot for a year and see how you like it. Job titles are irrelevant when you are truthfully enjoying what you're doing for a living.

Human: Feeling Conflicted after Leaving Electrical Engineering Hi all! I graduated 4 years ago with a BS in Electrical Engineering. The schooling was rigorous and I hated the pressure I was under. But I kept going and graduated. I'm a female, and throughout my schooling and internships, I had a fair deal of sexism and aggression. It got so bad that I had to go to HR of the companies I interned at, and the dean of my college. I thought I'd be okay after I graduated, but alas, here I am. I started a new job almost 2 years ago at an engineering firm. After leading many projects and receiving a lot of praise from higher ups about my performance, I was initially turned away from a promotion due to "company policy" that I couldn't receive a promotion either a year. Alright. Whatever. I enjoyed my job, but didn't enjoy the stress, so some extra money would have been nice. I find out later that the 2 fresh out of college male engineers all got promotions in under a year, despite them being behind on projects. I was livid. I've already had so many negative experiences in engineering, I was at my breaking point. I was treated differently, given unfair expectations, and overall was dismissed or had my own projects explained to me (I could write a whole other post about just this). So I left and transitioned to Data Analytics and Data Science. But now I'm not an engineer, something I've been doing and working towards for most of my life. I don't even know where to go from here because I feel conflicted thst I left, and that I let down all of the women who will come after me because I gave up. I've been in Data Analytics for a month now and kinda like it, but I'm having an identity crisis and don't even know what to do with myself anymore. Has anyone here transitioned out of engineering due to the environment? Just looking for any advice, because I feel so conflicted. Thanks. Assistant: You’re looking at it the wrong way. Electrical engineering lost a valuable employee to the sexy new field of data science that isn’t stuck in the dark ages.

Human: I'm looking for a way to create small (tiny, really) batch fig spread that's not sweetened. (More in text.) I have diabetes, and need to limit carbs, so I've recently begun making pizzas using flour tortillas in lieu of dough. One of my favorite flavor combinations is fig jam with goat cheese and prosciutto, but all the varieties of fig jam I've found have a lot of sugar. They're too sweet for my palate, and also too sweet for my blood glucose level. I'd like to find a way to create my own small batches of fig spread that are not sweetened. At this time of year, I'll be working with dried figs, so I'm guessing I'll need to soak them in something to reconstitute them - and maybe puree them - but I've tried just using water and it turned out really bland. Any thoughts on how to create a spread that would work well with goat cheese and prosciutto? Edited to add: I'm not interested in using any kind of artificial sweeteners. I'd like to find something that has a punch of flavor without sweetness. Assistant: You might try reducing some red wine. I don’t know the sugar content but it is a kickass combination with figs. My favorite way to make fig jam is with dry figs simmered with spices in red wine.

Human: I'm looking for a way to create small (tiny, really) batch fig spread that's not sweetened. (More in text.) I have diabetes, and need to limit carbs, so I've recently begun making pizzas using flour tortillas in lieu of dough. One of my favorite flavor combinations is fig jam with goat cheese and prosciutto, but all the varieties of fig jam I've found have a lot of sugar. They're too sweet for my palate, and also too sweet for my blood glucose level. I'd like to find a way to create my own small batches of fig spread that are not sweetened. At this time of year, I'll be working with dried figs, so I'm guessing I'll need to soak them in something to reconstitute them - and maybe puree them - but I've tried just using water and it turned out really bland. Any thoughts on how to create a spread that would work well with goat cheese and prosciutto? Edited to add: I'm not interested in using any kind of artificial sweeteners. I'd like to find something that has a punch of flavor without sweetness. Assistant: I can't answer your question but for this and other related recipe ideas I'd check out a canning group. I'm in a canning group on fb and I don't can (yet) I just like reading all their brilliant ideas and recipes. It's a lot of old people with hints and tricks passed down to them from their elders, stuff I've never seen anywhere else. And they're always REALLY eager to be helpful and answer questions. I imagine there's prob a canning sub here on reddit.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why did humans decide to make cow milk their milk of choice? Assistant: I'd add in that cows are very good at obtaining nutrients from plain old grass. They have 3 stomachs to do that with. Given how much of western lands are covered in grass, it makes sense to use an animal that can make use of it. For most animals, grass doesn't give them enough nutrients, and they need other food to go along with it. Grass is everywhere.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why did humans decide to make cow milk their milk of choice? Assistant: Because in the west there is cows. Areas where other large domestic mammals (goats/yaks etc) are more common the people drink their milk

Human: AskScience AMA Series: I am Dr. Laura Kloepper, a biologist who studies the emergence and echolocation dynamics of large bat cave colonies. This summer I am traveling and camping with two female students as we record bats across the Southwest. Ask Me Anything! Hi Reddit! I am Dr. Laura Kloepper, an Assistant Professor of Biology at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. My research involves using audio, video, and thermal imagery to understand the emergence, flight, and echolocation dynamics of large (1 million +) colonies of Mexican Free-tailed bats. These bats leave the cave at densities of up to 1,000 bats per second, flying at speeds of 25 mph, beating their wings ten times per second, and rarely run into each other. Their primary mode of navigation is using echolocation, or making a loud sound and using the information in the echoes to create a visual representation of their surroundings. Everything we know about biology, mathematics and physics says that they should not be able to successfully echolocate in these large groups. My main research involves trying to understand how they are able to successfully navigate via echolocation without interfering with one another, and these findings have technological implications to improve man-made sonar. I am also interested in flight dynamics in large groups, factors that control the emergence timing, and unique characteristics of bat guano. This summer I am traveling with two female undergraduate students and my trusty field dog as we visit 8 caves across the Southwest to tackle multiple research projects. We will be doing a lot of camping, consuming a lot of canned food, and putting close to 7,000 miles on our rental SUV. We will be documenting our journey on our blog, www.smcbellebats.wordpress.com, or on our Twitter and Instagram (@smcbellebats). I will be here from 12:00pm EDT to 2:00pm EDT to answer your questions...AMA! Assistant: You mention specifically that you're traveling with two other women who are scientists. Do you feel like you have to address gender in order to remind the broader world that women are an important part of the scientific community?

Human: AskScience AMA Series: I am Dr. Laura Kloepper, a biologist who studies the emergence and echolocation dynamics of large bat cave colonies. This summer I am traveling and camping with two female students as we record bats across the Southwest. Ask Me Anything! Hi Reddit! I am Dr. Laura Kloepper, an Assistant Professor of Biology at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. My research involves using audio, video, and thermal imagery to understand the emergence, flight, and echolocation dynamics of large (1 million +) colonies of Mexican Free-tailed bats. These bats leave the cave at densities of up to 1,000 bats per second, flying at speeds of 25 mph, beating their wings ten times per second, and rarely run into each other. Their primary mode of navigation is using echolocation, or making a loud sound and using the information in the echoes to create a visual representation of their surroundings. Everything we know about biology, mathematics and physics says that they should not be able to successfully echolocate in these large groups. My main research involves trying to understand how they are able to successfully navigate via echolocation without interfering with one another, and these findings have technological implications to improve man-made sonar. I am also interested in flight dynamics in large groups, factors that control the emergence timing, and unique characteristics of bat guano. This summer I am traveling with two female undergraduate students and my trusty field dog as we visit 8 caves across the Southwest to tackle multiple research projects. We will be doing a lot of camping, consuming a lot of canned food, and putting close to 7,000 miles on our rental SUV. We will be documenting our journey on our blog, www.smcbellebats.wordpress.com, or on our Twitter and Instagram (@smcbellebats). I will be here from 12:00pm EDT to 2:00pm EDT to answer your questions...AMA! Assistant: Is echo location an innate skill? Or is there a learning curve? Do baby bats need to learn echo location, or can they do it as soon as they fly? Same question for flying, do baby bats need to learn or do they just drop and fly? And be sure to include photos of your dog in your blog posts! What's your dog's name?

Human: While kneading the dough, If I end up with a dough ball that has striations ( slight tearing in dough), does it mean I have gone too far with the kneading or not far enough ? Uum, the title question, basically. Assistant: If it looks like cellulite or stretch marks, keep kneading.

Human: While kneading the dough, If I end up with a dough ball that has striations ( slight tearing in dough), does it mean I have gone too far with the kneading or not far enough ? Uum, the title question, basically. Assistant: Not far enough. It's virtually impossible to overknead dough by hand (there are some amusing videos on YT if you look for them). The same thing will happen in wet dough as dry, but lower hydration doughs will make it more apparent. By all means if you'd rather, you can simply let it rest and finish developing the gluten by stretch and folds later.

Human: CMV: Media outlets sharing exit polls hurts democracy. My opinion: Media outlets that share poll results, especially exit polls, during any stage of voting (i.e. early voting or on election night) hampers democracy. Broadcasting exit poll results harms democracy by demoralizing those whose candidates or parties are polling behind, and by incentivizing laziness or inaction in those whose candidates or parties are polling ahead. For both groups, the introduction of this impartial information can have a chilling effect on democracy, and the practice should be more heavily regulated. Assistant: I think it should be noted that "...major news organizations have agreed not to release any exit poll data that could characterize the outcome of a race before all of the polls in that state have closed."

Human: CMV: Media outlets sharing exit polls hurts democracy. My opinion: Media outlets that share poll results, especially exit polls, during any stage of voting (i.e. early voting or on election night) hampers democracy. Broadcasting exit poll results harms democracy by demoralizing those whose candidates or parties are polling behind, and by incentivizing laziness or inaction in those whose candidates or parties are polling ahead. For both groups, the introduction of this impartial information can have a chilling effect on democracy, and the practice should be more heavily regulated. Assistant: Wouldn't it provide proof to the upkeep of democracy or perhaps proof of not having a democracy such as the one party in China

Human: Right-Wing Philosophers who would help me challenge my ideas The general impression I've gotten is that philosophy has a left wing slant to it, mainly "cosmopolitan liberals" as I've heard it described on this sub before. I find myself agreeing with a lot of this thought, but I found myself thinking today that I've never been challenged on most of these beliefs. Are there serious, well respected "right-wing" philosophers who would be good for me to look at? I'm primarily talking about social issues here, less so with economics. Assistant: I'm going to add another vote for Alisdair MacIntyre. MacIntyre actually got me to believe that there is something valuable in community and inherited tradition. It didn't make me less left-wing per se, but it did make me put a constraint on any big government system: if it destroys our interpersonal community relations, then it will probably destroy that what makes life worth living in the first place. I'd recommend *After Virtue*, which is just a really fantastic book.

Human: Right-Wing Philosophers who would help me challenge my ideas The general impression I've gotten is that philosophy has a left wing slant to it, mainly "cosmopolitan liberals" as I've heard it described on this sub before. I find myself agreeing with a lot of this thought, but I found myself thinking today that I've never been challenged on most of these beliefs. Are there serious, well respected "right-wing" philosophers who would be good for me to look at? I'm primarily talking about social issues here, less so with economics. Assistant: Carl Schmitt's *The Concept of the Political* may be what you're looking for

Human: Test of Instant Pot no-soak dry pinto beans method resulted in proper texture, but bitter aftertaste with slight tingling/numbness on tongue. I have seen multiple YouTube videos claiming that you can cook beans in the Instant Pot, without soaking them first. I followed these steps: * 1 lb dry beans, picked through for bad beans and then washed. * 5 cups cold water. No salt or seasonings. * 50 minutes on high pressure followed by 30 minutes cool-down before releasing pressure. The texture of the beans was fine, but they had a bitter aftertaste. I also noticed a slight numbness and tingling sensation on my tongue. Obviously, I discarded them, but I'm wondering what caused the bitterness and weird sensations? TIA BTW I'm currently brining a pound of beans (Cooks Illustrated ratios) for another Instant Pot test. Assistant: There’s nothing in the cooking method that would cause this. Do you normally eat pinto beans?

Human: Test of Instant Pot no-soak dry pinto beans method resulted in proper texture, but bitter aftertaste with slight tingling/numbness on tongue. I have seen multiple YouTube videos claiming that you can cook beans in the Instant Pot, without soaking them first. I followed these steps: * 1 lb dry beans, picked through for bad beans and then washed. * 5 cups cold water. No salt or seasonings. * 50 minutes on high pressure followed by 30 minutes cool-down before releasing pressure. The texture of the beans was fine, but they had a bitter aftertaste. I also noticed a slight numbness and tingling sensation on my tongue. Obviously, I discarded them, but I'm wondering what caused the bitterness and weird sensations? TIA BTW I'm currently brining a pound of beans (Cooks Illustrated ratios) for another Instant Pot test. Assistant: I made pinto beans in the instant pot just this morning and I did 4 min on high first as a substitute for the presoak, then another 10 minutes with fresh water to cook them. They turned out nicely and no weird taste.

Human: Do I really need to spend $100+ on a Dutch oven? I’ve been wanting to buy a Dutch oven for quite some time, but the prices of recommended Dutch ovens scared me off. The other day I went to T.J. Maxx and found lodge Dutch ovens for $40. I was reluctant because of the prices of recommended brands like ale Creuset. But for me as a hobby cook, is there really going to be a difference worth $300? Should I get a cheaper, affordable one and start cooking, get a nicer one somewhere down the line, or should I wait and invest in a high quality one? Assistant: You really don't! i got mine for around $50 and it's great! edit: got a few pm's asking me which one, I got the Amazon basics one (the exact model is the number 1 on this report: https://thedailywhey.com/best-dutch-oven/ )

Human: Do I really need to spend $100+ on a Dutch oven? I’ve been wanting to buy a Dutch oven for quite some time, but the prices of recommended Dutch ovens scared me off. The other day I went to T.J. Maxx and found lodge Dutch ovens for $40. I was reluctant because of the prices of recommended brands like ale Creuset. But for me as a hobby cook, is there really going to be a difference worth $300? Should I get a cheaper, affordable one and start cooking, get a nicer one somewhere down the line, or should I wait and invest in a high quality one? Assistant: Until this post, I had no idea a Dutch oven was an actual real type of oven.

Human: Any books related to Anthropology that will spark interest in a layman like "Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari"? Assistant: Just FYI, Sapiens is chockfull of errors. His central thesis is good, but he gets so many of the details wrong. He is also a historian, not a biological anthropologist.

Human: Any books related to Anthropology that will spark interest in a layman like "Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari"? Assistant: I would absolutely recommend *Debt: The First 5,000 Years* by David Graeber. It's less 'anthropology' and more an application of anthropological theory, but it's written in a very catchy & easy to understand language, and can really put things like economics, money, civilization etc into perspective.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why do two negative numbers yield a positive number when multiplied together? I know that it's a pretty commonly accepted fact but I haven't really found a mathematical foundation for this part of integers. Assistant: I give you three $20 notes: +3 × +20 = +60 for you I give you three $20 debts: +3 × -20 = -60 for you I take three $20 notes from you: -3 × +20 = -60 for you I take three $20 debts from you: -3 × -20 = +60 for you https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3r90cw/eli5_why_does_multiplying_two_negatives_give_you/cwm35qn/ Edit. from u/zerotan , I thought the link would name him/her.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why do two negative numbers yield a positive number when multiplied together? I know that it's a pretty commonly accepted fact but I haven't really found a mathematical foundation for this part of integers. Assistant: Let me put it this way - multiplying a negative number by a negative number to get a positive number *doesn't not* make sense.

Human: CMV: The Republican "skepticism" around the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago is ridiculous Can you help me out, I don't get the right wing argument here? Normally, I can at least see the kernel of truth, but... A guy was in possession of material he wasn't legally allowed to have & didn't return upon request. The FBI, who had jurisdiction, seized it--same as if any random ex-staffer had those documents. It really seems pretty clear cut, and the response from the "opposition" appears to entirely rely on self-serving radical skepticism (aka argument from ignorance) and/or conspiracy thinking. How is this not obviously wrong to even staunch Trumpers? I mean, to me, this is 1+1=3 territory so please, if I am missing something enlighten me. Assistant: what's odd here is we just spent 2 something years exposing the ways in which our cops abuse their powers, individually and systematically. the FBI is literally federal cops. why is a spectrum ranging from "some bad apples" to "ACAB" of skepticism about city cops, sheriffs, state police, etc. taken seriously, but NOT skepticism about the most powerful police force in the world? the likely answer is, "b/c those cases were different..." FWIW: i don't have any issues w/ the trump search.

Human: CMV: The Republican "skepticism" around the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago is ridiculous Can you help me out, I don't get the right wing argument here? Normally, I can at least see the kernel of truth, but... A guy was in possession of material he wasn't legally allowed to have & didn't return upon request. The FBI, who had jurisdiction, seized it--same as if any random ex-staffer had those documents. It really seems pretty clear cut, and the response from the "opposition" appears to entirely rely on self-serving radical skepticism (aka argument from ignorance) and/or conspiracy thinking. How is this not obviously wrong to even staunch Trumpers? I mean, to me, this is 1+1=3 territory so please, if I am missing something enlighten me. Assistant: Why would you trust an agency that has demonstrated time and again the willingness to simply make shit up in order to get a conviction or protect a pedophile?

Human: Why aren't there any supersonic passenger aircrafts like the Concorde built anymore? First of all: English isn't my motherlanguage, so sorry in advance and i hope this is the right subreddit to ask this question. The Concorde was/is an impressive aircraft and i bet every human on earth would agree with me. So, why aren't there any supersonic passenger aircrafts on duty anymore ? Does it has to do with the Air France crash in 2003 ? are those planes inefficient ? Thanks in advance Assistant: Fuel efficiency is probably the biggest reason. It's why airlines paid millions to retrofit winglets onto their 737s. This table from Wikipedia shows the fuel efficiency of the Condorde vs a 747. Aircraft Concorde[2] Boeing 747-400[3] passenger miles/US gallon 14 91

Human: Why aren't there any supersonic passenger aircrafts like the Concorde built anymore? First of all: English isn't my motherlanguage, so sorry in advance and i hope this is the right subreddit to ask this question. The Concorde was/is an impressive aircraft and i bet every human on earth would agree with me. So, why aren't there any supersonic passenger aircrafts on duty anymore ? Does it has to do with the Air France crash in 2003 ? are those planes inefficient ? Thanks in advance Assistant: No one wants to pay the ticket cost. NY to London on the Concorde was, if I recall, $4000. Normal airline prices are inthe $1000 range. Not enough people are willing to pay 4x the cost just to save an hour or two.

Human: 8 years experience and I regret being an engineer 4 years at a boiler design company in NZ, 4 years in London, UK designing district heating and working on waste to Energy projects. My career has stagnated and I don't know where I can go with it. Moved to Germany in December which was a mistake and I feel like I'm on a sinking boat. Assistant: I'm from South Africa man, let me tell you, jobs are absolute dust here. I've gained 2 years of engineering experience but honestly, doesn't even feel like engineering experience. I feel like a over-qualified maintenance guy for building operations. I am trying to move to NZ and look for a better job and quality of life man. Hang in there, you'll find something soon.

Human: 8 years experience and I regret being an engineer 4 years at a boiler design company in NZ, 4 years in London, UK designing district heating and working on waste to Energy projects. My career has stagnated and I don't know where I can go with it. Moved to Germany in December which was a mistake and I feel like I'm on a sinking boat. Assistant: Tons of engineering jobs in the US.

Human: Pregnant wife told waitress, “mushroom allergy” but we found mushroom in her omelette. She ended up needing epi administered by an ambulance and spent 4 hours recovering at the ER. She wants to, should we sue? Assistant: What's the location? What are your OOP costs?

Human: Pregnant wife told waitress, “mushroom allergy” but we found mushroom in her omelette. She ended up needing epi administered by an ambulance and spent 4 hours recovering at the ER. She wants to, should we sue? Assistant: I would contact the local health department first. The problem is that most of your damages would be covered by insurance, so you may not have enough for a lawyer to sue for. However, small claims is also a viable option.

Human: Eli5: Why are bay leaves used whole, when every other spice is chopped or ground up? Assistant: Bay leaves aren't the only whole ones. If a seasoning is put in whole, it is because you are meant to remove it before eating. If you chop it up or grind it, then it is meant to become part of the food and be eaten. Bay leaves add a nice flavor but are unpleasant to eat because they are tough and hard. Think about a tea bag - You dunk it in water but you don't drink the bag or the tea leaves. You just let the water get the flavoring. Bay leaves work the same way.

Human: Eli5: Why are bay leaves used whole, when every other spice is chopped or ground up? Assistant: Ground bay leaf is used extensively in Indian cooking. It is a staple ingredient of any garam masala.

Human: Any academic book made you go: ''Wow... This is so underrated and good...''? It can be academic books of any discipline (STEM, non-STEM etc) be it classical (19-20 century) or modern texts (21 century). Any english or foreign (english-translated) texts are welcomed too! Assistant: Definitely pop sci but I picked up Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World, Book by Mark Miodownik in an airport as an undergrad in chem and it inspired me to become a materials scientist

Human: Any academic book made you go: ''Wow... This is so underrated and good...''? It can be academic books of any discipline (STEM, non-STEM etc) be it classical (19-20 century) or modern texts (21 century). Any english or foreign (english-translated) texts are welcomed too! Assistant: In sociology and anthro: every 12 seconds, a fantastic ethnographic study of a slaughter house and its (racialized) workers that connects human and animal politics.

Human: Should I Accept an Unfunded PhD Offer as an International Student? Hi all, I've got an unfunded PhD offer in political science at a middle-to-lower ranked school in the US. There's a chance of getting funding later on aside from some supplementary earning options. I am an international student from a "developing" country with some savings to fund my first year. Yes, I know it is considered nothing short of a crime to pay for your PhD in US. Still, I want to take up this opportunity as I want to escape the things here at home. I can manage the first year somehow but will need funding later on. I can also theoretically apply to another higher-ranked school with fully funded offer during the next cycle. With the existing global political situation, I don't know whether student visas will come easily next year for students of my home country. I am also aware of the unforeseen costs and what if the funding doesn't come the second year, among other possibilities. I am in a desperate situation right now and would appreciate any sound advice. Assistant: It will be very difficult to get approval on a Visa unless you can show you have savings to support you. (I believe it's 20-30k).

Human: Should I Accept an Unfunded PhD Offer as an International Student? Hi all, I've got an unfunded PhD offer in political science at a middle-to-lower ranked school in the US. There's a chance of getting funding later on aside from some supplementary earning options. I am an international student from a "developing" country with some savings to fund my first year. Yes, I know it is considered nothing short of a crime to pay for your PhD in US. Still, I want to take up this opportunity as I want to escape the things here at home. I can manage the first year somehow but will need funding later on. I can also theoretically apply to another higher-ranked school with fully funded offer during the next cycle. With the existing global political situation, I don't know whether student visas will come easily next year for students of my home country. I am also aware of the unforeseen costs and what if the funding doesn't come the second year, among other possibilities. I am in a desperate situation right now and would appreciate any sound advice. Assistant: It's a gamble as things may turn out just fine or not, USA is very very expensive especially if you are from a developing country. I have seen students come here with no funding but they find it while on campus, I have also seen students come here with full funding only to lose it an year later because they didnt perform well in their classes or PhD qualifying exams.

Human: I just started running. My friends insist I should run on my toes, not my heels because it's "better". Any science behind this? I get inconsistent answers when I ask why, ranging from the vague "It's more natural" to the nonsensical "that's what cats and dogs do". Running on my toes makes my arches ache, but I could just be an out of shape pansy. If it makes a difference, I generally run on treadmills. Thanks, science reddit! Assistant: A lot of the way you run is determined by your footwear keeping your foot rigid. If you try 'barefoot' shoes like Fivefingers or similar, you'll find they'll make you run on your forefoot rather than heel. (Or even running barefoot, if you're really hardcore!) Word of warning though, you'll find that it uses different muscles to running on your heels. Start slow and with short distances and build up slowly, otherwise you'll find yourself crippled some way from home and/or not able to move the next day

Human: I just started running. My friends insist I should run on my toes, not my heels because it's "better". Any science behind this? I get inconsistent answers when I ask why, ranging from the vague "It's more natural" to the nonsensical "that's what cats and dogs do". Running on my toes makes my arches ache, but I could just be an out of shape pansy. If it makes a difference, I generally run on treadmills. Thanks, science reddit! Assistant: This might be helpful

Human: Tenant is moving in upstairs after I have lived in the building for 2 years, landlord is trying to have us split the utilities 50/50 The state is Pennsylvania. I have lived in the downstairs unit of this building for 2 years while they have been “renovating” the floors above us. It seemed like not much work had been done but apparently the landlord has 3 people ready to move in upstairs in a month. Currently it is me and my partner in the downstairs apartment and this seems weird to us to be splitting the utilities 50/50 with these people. Especially since there are 3 people instead of 2 in our apartment. Landlord’s reasoning is “her electrician died recently” and “not sure when we can separate the meters”. Currently we pay the landlord for all utilities which are in their name. After some brief research I’ve found a pdf on equalhousing.org which says the landlord needs to separate meters or else they are responsible for the costs. I sent the landlord this link and said I do not agree to separating bills 50/50. We signed the lease to renew months ago and it just started this month. Any advise? Assistant: Wait, they’ve been renovating and you’re footing the bill for the utilities for that? Sounds to me like you have been getting taken for a while

Human: Tenant is moving in upstairs after I have lived in the building for 2 years, landlord is trying to have us split the utilities 50/50 The state is Pennsylvania. I have lived in the downstairs unit of this building for 2 years while they have been “renovating” the floors above us. It seemed like not much work had been done but apparently the landlord has 3 people ready to move in upstairs in a month. Currently it is me and my partner in the downstairs apartment and this seems weird to us to be splitting the utilities 50/50 with these people. Especially since there are 3 people instead of 2 in our apartment. Landlord’s reasoning is “her electrician died recently” and “not sure when we can separate the meters”. Currently we pay the landlord for all utilities which are in their name. After some brief research I’ve found a pdf on equalhousing.org which says the landlord needs to separate meters or else they are responsible for the costs. I sent the landlord this link and said I do not agree to separating bills 50/50. We signed the lease to renew months ago and it just started this month. Any advise? Assistant: Info: what kind of “building” is this? Apartment complex? House? If it’s a house that’s been “converted” from a single family home, they’d have to prove they legally separated the floors into “units.” Otherwise it’s an illegal unit.

Human: CMV: There is no reason why we need to give a fair hearing to people/cultures with moral ideas that are clearly reprehensible when it comes to policy decisions At no astrophysics conference would you ever expect to see someone honestly arguing for a flat-earth as it is a scientifically outdated and baseless concept. More specifically that person would not even be consided for a spot at the table because they are clearly incompetent in the field they are trying to enter. If we accept this is a reasonable position for scientists to take, why can we not apply a similar gatekeeping approach to philosophical issues? If an individual/culture believes things such as it is acceptable to stone women for having premarital sex, homosexuals should be killed, women can be treated as property, etc. I don't see any reason to treat their position with any sort of validity. In science we work top down historically speaking (we know the consequences of the laws of physics but we do not know to origins for example) , but in philosophy there seems to be this obsession with working bottom up. It seems there are a lot of people who in the name of tolerance take up a relativistic standpoint and in doing so give a pass to behaviors and ideas that are clearly abhorrent with the justification that "they just have a different world view." Assistant: You make a false equivalency here. One is something entirely objective - it is *objectively* false that the earth is flat. The other is not. You can't argue that it is *objectively* wrong to sacrifice someone to a God. It is *subjectively* wrong, from your perspective - but who makes you the arbiter of what is right and what is wrong? In particular, this is a massive slippery slope for a very simple reason - at what point is something not clearly wrong anymore? And who gets to decide that?

Human: CMV: There is no reason why we need to give a fair hearing to people/cultures with moral ideas that are clearly reprehensible when it comes to policy decisions At no astrophysics conference would you ever expect to see someone honestly arguing for a flat-earth as it is a scientifically outdated and baseless concept. More specifically that person would not even be consided for a spot at the table because they are clearly incompetent in the field they are trying to enter. If we accept this is a reasonable position for scientists to take, why can we not apply a similar gatekeeping approach to philosophical issues? If an individual/culture believes things such as it is acceptable to stone women for having premarital sex, homosexuals should be killed, women can be treated as property, etc. I don't see any reason to treat their position with any sort of validity. In science we work top down historically speaking (we know the consequences of the laws of physics but we do not know to origins for example) , but in philosophy there seems to be this obsession with working bottom up. It seems there are a lot of people who in the name of tolerance take up a relativistic standpoint and in doing so give a pass to behaviors and ideas that are clearly abhorrent with the justification that "they just have a different world view." Assistant: If you believe morality is objective, then where does it come from?

Human: Any recommendations for physics simulation course/book? In Python. I'm learning python and I thought that physics simulation would be a fun way to both learn physics and get a source of stimulating programming projects. Do you maybe have good recommendations for an online course or a book? Assistant: Have you heard of Vpython? It's really fun to use and is pretty much what you're looking for! You can either download it or use the in-browser version at glowscript.org. The Vpython website itself is very useful and helps navigate you.

Human: Any recommendations for physics simulation course/book? In Python. I'm learning python and I thought that physics simulation would be a fun way to both learn physics and get a source of stimulating programming projects. Do you maybe have good recommendations for an online course or a book? Assistant: Numerical recipes is very useful for algorithms

Human: How can I and my parents protect ourselves from my attorney sister who is litigious and wants to put us in jail? My sister (27) is a patent attorney and I believe she has undiagnosed mental issues. I have another sister who is 17, and these two are in communication constantly and are on poor terms with the rest of the family, and extended family. They argue and verbally abuse my parents. My 17 year old sister recently attacked me at my parents house and then called the police saying I attacked her. The police heard her, my mom who was a witness, and my accounts of it and decided not to press charges. After that, these two sisters filed a restraining order with false accusations against me. I fought this and the judge dismissed it. In the case, it came out that they’ve been recording the family for multiple years and they’ve been plotting to put me in jail. Because my mother told the truth in the hearing, they took that as her going against them and now they are plotting to put her in jail now too with false accusations. I have no contact with these 2 sisters, but my mother lives with the 17 year old. My father doesn’t do anything about these issues and tries to ignore them. I’m worried about my mothers mental health as the 17 year old is verbally abusive and threatens her with calling the police and social services if she doesn’t do what she says, and the lawyer sister enables her. What can we do? Assistant: I would threaten to go to whatever legal bar association oversees your sister and bring them up to date on your sisters threats and actions. Nothing like the threat of losing your career to bring someone’s behaviour back into line …

Human: How can I and my parents protect ourselves from my attorney sister who is litigious and wants to put us in jail? My sister (27) is a patent attorney and I believe she has undiagnosed mental issues. I have another sister who is 17, and these two are in communication constantly and are on poor terms with the rest of the family, and extended family. They argue and verbally abuse my parents. My 17 year old sister recently attacked me at my parents house and then called the police saying I attacked her. The police heard her, my mom who was a witness, and my accounts of it and decided not to press charges. After that, these two sisters filed a restraining order with false accusations against me. I fought this and the judge dismissed it. In the case, it came out that they’ve been recording the family for multiple years and they’ve been plotting to put me in jail. Because my mother told the truth in the hearing, they took that as her going against them and now they are plotting to put her in jail now too with false accusations. I have no contact with these 2 sisters, but my mother lives with the 17 year old. My father doesn’t do anything about these issues and tries to ignore them. I’m worried about my mothers mental health as the 17 year old is verbally abusive and threatens her with calling the police and social services if she doesn’t do what she says, and the lawyer sister enables her. What can we do? Assistant: How do they think they are going to put anyone in jail? They are not the government. Everyone should continue to ignore them, mom should have the 17 year old move out upon turning 18.

Human: I've adopted my sister's daughter. My parents are suing to exercise grandparent rights. My situation is complicated but I will do my best to explain. If it's confusing or you have any questions let me know please. My sister is a drug addict (opioids). Last year she had a baby. The baby was born addicted as well and went through withdrawal. The state (Arizona) stepped in and terminated her parental rights. Separately from her drug use and daughter's birth, she was arrested for crimes not related to drugs or her daughter. The two were not related. When the state stepped in and removed her rights, my sister was in jail awaiting trial. Our parents tried to get custody of my niece but they were denied. The state had too many concerns about their enabling of her addiction and her crimes. Several years ago they were both charged at separate times for being accessories to things she did. The authorities in Arizona contacted me to see if I was able and interested. I was allowed to adopt my niece by the state of Arizona and bring her home with me (to Colorado). My parents have applied in court here in my state to exercise their grandparent rights for visitation to my niece. My sister is in jail until 2042 at the earliest so she isn't involved in this. But my parents want visitation. I'm at a loss. Can I show the court here that they were deemed unfit by the authorities in Arizona after they applied for custody, and then later visitation when my niece was first born? I have all the paperwork and proof of it. Do I need a lawyer or can I do this without one? Money is tight since an unexpected baby is expensive. Thank you. I appreciate anyone who replies even if it is to tell me I'm wrong and need a lawyer. Assistant: They probably don't have a good case, but you should at least consult with a lawyer before deciding whether you can do this without one.

Human: I've adopted my sister's daughter. My parents are suing to exercise grandparent rights. My situation is complicated but I will do my best to explain. If it's confusing or you have any questions let me know please. My sister is a drug addict (opioids). Last year she had a baby. The baby was born addicted as well and went through withdrawal. The state (Arizona) stepped in and terminated her parental rights. Separately from her drug use and daughter's birth, she was arrested for crimes not related to drugs or her daughter. The two were not related. When the state stepped in and removed her rights, my sister was in jail awaiting trial. Our parents tried to get custody of my niece but they were denied. The state had too many concerns about their enabling of her addiction and her crimes. Several years ago they were both charged at separate times for being accessories to things she did. The authorities in Arizona contacted me to see if I was able and interested. I was allowed to adopt my niece by the state of Arizona and bring her home with me (to Colorado). My parents have applied in court here in my state to exercise their grandparent rights for visitation to my niece. My sister is in jail until 2042 at the earliest so she isn't involved in this. But my parents want visitation. I'm at a loss. Can I show the court here that they were deemed unfit by the authorities in Arizona after they applied for custody, and then later visitation when my niece was first born? I have all the paperwork and proof of it. Do I need a lawyer or can I do this without one? Money is tight since an unexpected baby is expensive. Thank you. I appreciate anyone who replies even if it is to tell me I'm wrong and need a lawyer. Assistant: If you adopted through the state I'd reach out to post adoption support. We adopted neices/nephew and we had a post adoption contact. We were also dealing with two different states. You have a good case, so just have someone in the 'know' point you in the right direction. Chances are you will win, but doing it right will make sure of that.

Human: Why is it not mainstream convention to believe our universe is inside a black hole? I was reading how to calculate the Schwarzschild radius for a given mass (i.e. into how small a radius ball you need to compress that mass in order for it to turn into a black hole). I noticed in their table of examples that the Schwarzschild radius for the mass of the observable universe is estimated to be almost precisely the actual radius of the observable universe. This led me to an article on blackhole cosmology (i.e. the theoretical exploration of the possibility that our universe is inside an enormous supermassive black hole), where it is stated that most people regard this as a coincidence. Why? And, even if it is a coincidence, wouldn't the theory of general relativity still mandate that if you concentrate any amount of mass into a radius smaller than its Schwarzschild radius, it will create an event horizon and become an inescapable black hole? So even if our estimates of the observable universe are a little off, assuming the structure remains the same average density "beyond the observable edge" then at some radius of any constant average density you will have accumulated enough mass in a small enough volume for it to be a black hole. So, why isn't it generally believed that one way or another our universe is inside a black hole? Assistant: mostly because it doesn't tell us anything new, partially because it's a question that everyone asks once they get to a certain level of knowledge and some people get annoyed about it

Human: Why is it not mainstream convention to believe our universe is inside a black hole? I was reading how to calculate the Schwarzschild radius for a given mass (i.e. into how small a radius ball you need to compress that mass in order for it to turn into a black hole). I noticed in their table of examples that the Schwarzschild radius for the mass of the observable universe is estimated to be almost precisely the actual radius of the observable universe. This led me to an article on blackhole cosmology (i.e. the theoretical exploration of the possibility that our universe is inside an enormous supermassive black hole), where it is stated that most people regard this as a coincidence. Why? And, even if it is a coincidence, wouldn't the theory of general relativity still mandate that if you concentrate any amount of mass into a radius smaller than its Schwarzschild radius, it will create an event horizon and become an inescapable black hole? So even if our estimates of the observable universe are a little off, assuming the structure remains the same average density "beyond the observable edge" then at some radius of any constant average density you will have accumulated enough mass in a small enough volume for it to be a black hole. So, why isn't it generally believed that one way or another our universe is inside a black hole? Assistant: Check out Lee Smolin’s Natural Selection Cosmology theory. It supposes that our universe came from a series of black holes. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-logic-and-beauty-of-cosmological-natural-selection/

Human: I have a sourdough starter that i've been feeding for around a month but I'm going on vacation in a week and won't be able to feed it. What should I do so that it doesn't die while I'm gone? Assistant: This is kind of embarrassing, but I just pulled a starter out of the fridge that hadn't been fed since last August. I fed it like normal for two days, and it came back just fine. You starter will be ok, in a week just pull it out and continue feeding like normal.

Human: I have a sourdough starter that i've been feeding for around a month but I'm going on vacation in a week and won't be able to feed it. What should I do so that it doesn't die while I'm gone? Assistant: Here is a good post on the topic from the folks at King Arthur: http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2015/05/01/putting-sourdough-starter-hold/

Human: CMV: with regards to lethal injections and capital punishment. Instead of expensive and specially formulated drugs, the system should use fentanyl. With regards to lethal injections and capital punishment. Instead of expensive and specially formulated drugs, the system should use fentanyl. Dirt cheap, fentanyl can kill with as little as $20 worth of drugs. Easy to administer, the drug can be effectively delivered by someone with zero medical experience or training. Humane, the drug would kill painlessly and without unnecessary suffering. I have OD'ed smoking fentanyl before. I very well may have died if my friend didn't narcan me and give me mouth-to-mouth. The moments before I slipped into unconsciousness would have been my last experience in the world. And it was not unpleasant; I just saw the room spinning and felt relaxed as I sat down and drifted off into peaceful sleep. I think it is a better choice than expensive and potentially less humane drugs that they currently use Assistant: You’re skipping over the reason for why the drugs are expensive. It’s because European pharmaceutical companies who were the main source of the drugs have refused to produce them making the supply short. In 2011 a lethal dose only cost $85. So why would a pharmaceutical company want to sell their pain reliever as an execution tool when there is already a stigma attached to the drug because of abuse by addicts? And why would the situation be any different with a different drug?

Human: CMV: with regards to lethal injections and capital punishment. Instead of expensive and specially formulated drugs, the system should use fentanyl. With regards to lethal injections and capital punishment. Instead of expensive and specially formulated drugs, the system should use fentanyl. Dirt cheap, fentanyl can kill with as little as $20 worth of drugs. Easy to administer, the drug can be effectively delivered by someone with zero medical experience or training. Humane, the drug would kill painlessly and without unnecessary suffering. I have OD'ed smoking fentanyl before. I very well may have died if my friend didn't narcan me and give me mouth-to-mouth. The moments before I slipped into unconsciousness would have been my last experience in the world. And it was not unpleasant; I just saw the room spinning and felt relaxed as I sat down and drifted off into peaceful sleep. I think it is a better choice than expensive and potentially less humane drugs that they currently use Assistant: They should just not use capital punishment Also it isn't the means of murder that make capital punishment expensive

Human: What makes pots de crème set? Eggs? Fat? I'm trying to make a dairy-free pots de crème and most recipes I've seen for this are using coconut milk and chocolate but I want to be able to make a more neutral base so I can play with the flavors. Been using this recipe as a base which I make using dairy quite a lot: https://www.seriouseats.com/buckwheat-custards-pudding-soba-cha-dessert-recipe Tried replacing the dairy cream with a soy-based cream which is about 14% fat and upping the egg yolks from 6 to 8. Tried cooking it in a water bath in the oven as instructions indicated as well as in sous vide method at around 72C but the custard was still very liquidy. I know egg yolks set around 50C which makes me think that regular pots de crème gets that luscious texture from the yolks setting + higher fat percentage in heavy cream (~30-40%) and that my yolks are actually set but the mixture is still runny after chilling because it's mostly water rather than fat. Anyone have any suggestions? Assistant: Lookup vegan tofu pudding. The recipe I use is the New York Times one but you need a subscription. It uses silken tofu blended with basically a simple syrup and flavorings. I know it’s not a true pot de creme but I’m telling you it turns out an equally luxurious product which you can change up the flavor on and it’s super easy.

Human: What makes pots de crème set? Eggs? Fat? I'm trying to make a dairy-free pots de crème and most recipes I've seen for this are using coconut milk and chocolate but I want to be able to make a more neutral base so I can play with the flavors. Been using this recipe as a base which I make using dairy quite a lot: https://www.seriouseats.com/buckwheat-custards-pudding-soba-cha-dessert-recipe Tried replacing the dairy cream with a soy-based cream which is about 14% fat and upping the egg yolks from 6 to 8. Tried cooking it in a water bath in the oven as instructions indicated as well as in sous vide method at around 72C but the custard was still very liquidy. I know egg yolks set around 50C which makes me think that regular pots de crème gets that luscious texture from the yolks setting + higher fat percentage in heavy cream (~30-40%) and that my yolks are actually set but the mixture is still runny after chilling because it's mostly water rather than fat. Anyone have any suggestions? Assistant: At work we make ours the same way with a custard base but we pour over chocolate and gelatin, immersion blend, then fold in whipped cream.

Human: I want to make my own pizza, but I don't have/ can't afford to invest in a cast iron pan. Could I use a cake tin instead? ...Considering that a cake tin is much thinner than a cast iron pan. Would the crust still be crusty and delicious? Assistant: I make delicious pizza all the time on a cookie sheet

Human: I want to make my own pizza, but I don't have/ can't afford to invest in a cast iron pan. Could I use a cake tin instead? ...Considering that a cake tin is much thinner than a cast iron pan. Would the crust still be crusty and delicious? Assistant: I thought you could get a decent cast iron pan for ~20$? Is there a reason not to buy cast iron that cheap, because I see it for that cheap all the time in the States anyway (might be different elsewhere?).

Human: Who's your favorite engineer in history? Mine would be Sir Willis Carrier. The guy pioneered modern cooling which has made so many things possible and his work on power generation with turbines has had a major impact on the world as well. This guy is a big reason for a lot of the things we have today. I love Leonardo Da Vinci too who was probably the best engineer in the world but his work didn't really build on existing industrial infrastructure to advance the world. Assistant: Almon Brown not my absolute favorite, but love his story. In short, Brown was a funereal director and couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t getting any business After some research, he found out that the owner of the other funeral home in town’s wife worked as a switch board operator. When someone would call looking for a funeral home, she would send them to her husband. Instead of complaining about the situation, he developed the automatic telephone exchange, making her profession obsolete.

Human: Who's your favorite engineer in history? Mine would be Sir Willis Carrier. The guy pioneered modern cooling which has made so many things possible and his work on power generation with turbines has had a major impact on the world as well. This guy is a big reason for a lot of the things we have today. I love Leonardo Da Vinci too who was probably the best engineer in the world but his work didn't really build on existing industrial infrastructure to advance the world. Assistant: Mohamed Atalla Invented the MOSFET, which is the basis for modern digital electronics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed\_M.\_Atalla

Human: Is it possible to make a birthday cake with minimal ingredients? I turn 14 next week and want to make a cake for myself but the recipes I found online call for buttermilk and heavy cream and I don’t have those. Can I still make a cake that still taste alright? We have butter and dry milk, I might use these instead? Assistant: Of course! Here’s a recipe for chocolate cake, with notes to explain the techniques: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/simple-and-rich-chocolate-cake-recipe And here’s a recipe for a golden cake: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/plain-simple-golden-cake-recipe Happy Birthday!

Human: Is it possible to make a birthday cake with minimal ingredients? I turn 14 next week and want to make a cake for myself but the recipes I found online call for buttermilk and heavy cream and I don’t have those. Can I still make a cake that still taste alright? We have butter and dry milk, I might use these instead? Assistant: You should be able to substitute the buttermilk with reconstituted powdered milk and add a couple teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice. You could probably sub the milk powder for heavy cream, too, but that one may be missing some of the fat (which you could sub some of the liquid for butter to make that up). I'd say go for it!

Human: I wish to study engineering at university, which type of engineering uses maths the most often in a day to day job? I enjoy maths and wish to become an engineer. Which discipline of engineering will use the most maths in your job, as I wish to have a job where I am doing calculations often/mostly everyday Assistant: Agree. If you want to use maths on a day to day basis then honestly engineering might not be for you. Enjoying and understand maths helps to provide a strong backbone for courses in physics and engineering, but actual calculations done by hand in the field are pretty rare. Most maths are done by computer these days.

Human: I wish to study engineering at university, which type of engineering uses maths the most often in a day to day job? I enjoy maths and wish to become an engineer. Which discipline of engineering will use the most maths in your job, as I wish to have a job where I am doing calculations often/mostly everyday Assistant: In civil I never use anything more advanced than algebra and geometry .

Human: Do GM's "Z numbers" have any significance, or are they just random? Like Z06, Z24, Z28, Z71, etc. Assistant: I have a Z71 and my friend got a Z66 and I just explained to him that my truck is simply 5 units better.

Human: Do GM's "Z numbers" have any significance, or are they just random? Like Z06, Z24, Z28, Z71, etc. Assistant: The "Z" in Z06 might be attributed to Zora Arkus-Duntov who along with Harley Earl was a big influencer of the creation of the Corvette. I do know insurance companies don't like a car with a "Z" in it's name.

Human: Is there such a thing as alternative or research prisons? I'm thinking something along the lines of a prison where they try out different correctional practices, maybe research what works for best for rehabilitation and reducing recitivism. And if not, is there research on what works, and is it being implemented anywhere? Assistant: This Norwegian prison implements some pretty radical penal practices. Might be of interest given your question: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/feb/25/norwegian-prison-inmates-treated-like-people

Human: Is there such a thing as alternative or research prisons? I'm thinking something along the lines of a prison where they try out different correctional practices, maybe research what works for best for rehabilitation and reducing recitivism. And if not, is there research on what works, and is it being implemented anywhere? Assistant: Check out the American Correctional Association - they are the oldest and largest organization dedicated to best practices in the field.

Human: [Star Wars]The Empire goes to considerable lengths to find and indoctrinate young force-users. When Anakin killed the younglings did... did he just do it on his own initiative? Was Palpatine pissed Anakin murdered a bunch of potential recruits? Assistant: Sith rule of two: they seek out other force users to *eliminate* them, not recruit. Converting children to their sick ideology of weakness is Jedi cowardice... Anakin was simply correcting an unspeakable moral transgression when he destroyed the corrupted younglings. Unfortunately, he was not absolutely thorough. In his haste one youngling survived with a terrible wound. Much later, this one would use his talents to exact vengeance on the Skywalker legacy.

Human: [Star Wars]The Empire goes to considerable lengths to find and indoctrinate young force-users. When Anakin killed the younglings did... did he just do it on his own initiative? Was Palpatine pissed Anakin murdered a bunch of potential recruits? Assistant: The empire didn't exist at the time Anakin killed the younglings.

Human: NYC- I just found out when I applied for unemployment today that my previous claim was deemed an 'overpayment' and I now owe the DOL $5K. My former employer lied to get my benefits terminated. This is from 2016 am I totally fucked? Assistant: I been using unemployment for 20 plus years.I work in construction in pa. Usually when a employer contest your unemployment.Its when the get the paperwork at the very beginning of your claim.They then can contest it.If they win then you don't get unemployment money at all because they don't pay anything then .Something sounds messed up on their end.I would contest it to a hearing.Also ask you state representative to help you.They have alot of pull.

Human: NYC- I just found out when I applied for unemployment today that my previous claim was deemed an 'overpayment' and I now owe the DOL $5K. My former employer lied to get my benefits terminated. This is from 2016 am I totally fucked? Assistant: Talk to their BPC office, explain what happened, and ask about the application process for a hardship waiver.

Human: [MCU] Couldn’t Doctor Strange just use the time stone to turn Thanos into like a baby or something? Assistant: Somebody watches HISHE I see

Human: [MCU] Couldn’t Doctor Strange just use the time stone to turn Thanos into like a baby or something? Assistant: Funny thing is, in source material - Thanos Quest - Thanos actually did use Time Gem to turn Runner, Elder of the Universe, into a baby. And then sold him to the Collector for the Reality Gem.

Human: Cooking/browning both sides of something (pancakes, eggplant, etc.), the first side is always evenly golden, the second side is almost burned in spots and uncooked in others. Why? This is without changing the temperature, or adding more fat. I have experienced this on different stoves, gas and electric, stainless steel and cast iron pans, butter and oil. What gives? Thanks. Assistant: As you cook something starchy like a pancake or an eggplant, it can soak up a lot of the fat, so on the second side you're getting poor contact. Or your pan is actually getting continually hotter as you cook, and when you flip to the second side the heat is high enough that it's burning the spots of greatest contact. Given you had this with something as floppy as pancakes (which are flat and don't need a lot of fat for contact area), it sounds like a heat control issue.

Human: Cooking/browning both sides of something (pancakes, eggplant, etc.), the first side is always evenly golden, the second side is almost burned in spots and uncooked in others. Why? This is without changing the temperature, or adding more fat. I have experienced this on different stoves, gas and electric, stainless steel and cast iron pans, butter and oil. What gives? Thanks. Assistant: It sounds like you're adding things when the pan is cold or not upto temperature. As a rule, never add anything to a pan that's not pre-heated.

Human: Can we find an ecological alternative to conferences? I was quantifying my CO2 emissions for the year. I've been responsible for about: * 1.3 tons for heat and electricity of my home. * 0.9 tons for transportation * about 1.5 tons for food and miscellanea * A guesstimate of 0.3 tons for the electricity that my academic pc-based job uses That's about 4 tons of CO2. ​ Then I went to 2 conferences this year (1 in the same continent, 1 with an intercontinental flight). That's about 4.5 tons of CO2. To meet a bunch of people for 4 days each. I mean... the networking I do and the things I learn are extremely important for my career. But the environmental impact is completely unjustified. It's totally against both my coscience but also logic to emit more CO2 for a 4 day thing that for heating a home for a year. ​ What do you think about it? Assistant: AR (augmented reality). Give it 10 years for it to be good enough.

Human: Can we find an ecological alternative to conferences? I was quantifying my CO2 emissions for the year. I've been responsible for about: * 1.3 tons for heat and electricity of my home. * 0.9 tons for transportation * about 1.5 tons for food and miscellanea * A guesstimate of 0.3 tons for the electricity that my academic pc-based job uses That's about 4 tons of CO2. ​ Then I went to 2 conferences this year (1 in the same continent, 1 with an intercontinental flight). That's about 4.5 tons of CO2. To meet a bunch of people for 4 days each. I mean... the networking I do and the things I learn are extremely important for my career. But the environmental impact is completely unjustified. It's totally against both my coscience but also logic to emit more CO2 for a 4 day thing that for heating a home for a year. ​ What do you think about it? Assistant: I think you can't replace the face to face. Though, you could create collaboration between universities to send a "science collaborator", who stay in touch with you a long time before the conference in order to get your point of view and be able to ask questions you could ask/want to ask. Or organise a same conference in different places, with some meating rooms.

Human: [Back to the future] how did Marty a kid and Doc an old man become friends I dont know if its just the 80,s being diffrent times but how did those 2 meet they are so diffrent from each other and i dont see them having any mutual connections. Assistant: Karate Kid, but with science.

Human: [Back to the future] how did Marty a kid and Doc an old man become friends I dont know if its just the 80,s being diffrent times but how did those 2 meet they are so diffrent from each other and i dont see them having any mutual connections. Assistant: Because Gen X was raised feral! Us kids would ‘adopt’ older folks who actually listened to us because most of the time our parents had to be reminded to make sure we came home!

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why do women traditionally have long hair, and men short hair? Assistant: ITT random people attempting anthropology, indiscernible from actual antropology Edit: Thank you kind benefactor, for the gold, and for supporting Reddit!

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why do women traditionally have long hair, and men short hair? Assistant: It's definitely a culture thing. The men and women of the Masaai have long and short hair, respectively.

Human: Browning ground beef, maximizing maillard? Ground beef is the most common protein I work with, due to the fact that I get it for free from the rancher inlaws. I get it in frozen pound and a half portions, and will generally make some sort of skillet dish with it, preferring that over hamburgers. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was always dumping the entire package in at once at medium to medium high heat, relying on it's own fat to fry itself in. This has generally lead to a grey "browning" where the meat would seem to steam more than anything else. After adapting a tip I read when making beef stew with a roast to my hamburger browning(cooking in batches, using a bit of oil to start, higher heat) I am getting more browning on the beef and more frond left on the cooking surface. I am happy with the results, but I'm wondering if there are other things I can do to take this further. My questions are: Are there any other techniques to maximize maillard reaction when browning ground beef? Are there any cuisines where I am actually doing a disservice by trying to maximize browning? I generally make my ground beef into an American-Italian red sauce, a tex-mex red sauce, or a genericish(sos) brown sauce. Occasionally I'll try a picadillo or a sweet and sour. Also, I'll just throw this out there as a bonus question. Any other uses for ground beef? I prefer it in a thickish sauce over pasta or rice. Assistant: By dumping the entire package in, you get both fat AND juice from the meat, where the latter prevents browning. Do it in small batches, don't crowd the pan, and pour out the juice often. Here's an article from the Food Lab on the subject.

Human: Browning ground beef, maximizing maillard? Ground beef is the most common protein I work with, due to the fact that I get it for free from the rancher inlaws. I get it in frozen pound and a half portions, and will generally make some sort of skillet dish with it, preferring that over hamburgers. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was always dumping the entire package in at once at medium to medium high heat, relying on it's own fat to fry itself in. This has generally lead to a grey "browning" where the meat would seem to steam more than anything else. After adapting a tip I read when making beef stew with a roast to my hamburger browning(cooking in batches, using a bit of oil to start, higher heat) I am getting more browning on the beef and more frond left on the cooking surface. I am happy with the results, but I'm wondering if there are other things I can do to take this further. My questions are: Are there any other techniques to maximize maillard reaction when browning ground beef? Are there any cuisines where I am actually doing a disservice by trying to maximize browning? I generally make my ground beef into an American-Italian red sauce, a tex-mex red sauce, or a genericish(sos) brown sauce. Occasionally I'll try a picadillo or a sweet and sour. Also, I'll just throw this out there as a bonus question. Any other uses for ground beef? I prefer it in a thickish sauce over pasta or rice. Assistant: Were you dumping the meat in frozen?

Human: Unusual PhD Examination Results After 3 years of hard work, I received my final 3 PhD examiners reports and it is a little perplexing to say the least. 2 examiners suggested minor revisions and spoke extremely highly of the work (humanities). One said it was the best PhD he had examined in 25 years. The other said he would personally endorse its publication. However, the third tore it to shreds, arguing that it did not even rise to the level on a PhD, despite me publishing a lot of it in established journals throughout my candidature. Has anyone else experienced this type of discrepancy? Assistant: Don't worry, it happens. The uni will probably be able to proceed on the basis of your positive reports or else seek an additional examiner. It should be spelled out in the PhD policy somewhere. Unfortunately not all examiners deliver a professional, objective evaluation - there's a lot of contingency in the whole process, even for the best work. Try not to let it get to you. Hopefully your supervisors can provide some context too

Human: Unusual PhD Examination Results After 3 years of hard work, I received my final 3 PhD examiners reports and it is a little perplexing to say the least. 2 examiners suggested minor revisions and spoke extremely highly of the work (humanities). One said it was the best PhD he had examined in 25 years. The other said he would personally endorse its publication. However, the third tore it to shreds, arguing that it did not even rise to the level on a PhD, despite me publishing a lot of it in established journals throughout my candidature. Has anyone else experienced this type of discrepancy? Assistant: If it’s published in reputable journals then they can pound sand

Human: Why do we have famous scientist-influencers like Neil Degrasse Tyson and Carl Sagan but no famous philisopher-influencers or other humanities experts on the same level? I originally wanted to ask this question in a philosophy subreddit but I don't think the rules allow for it. I think the question could apply to lots of other humanities though. Not sure if the tag should be interdisciplinary or humanities. Assistant: Mary Beard

Human: Why do we have famous scientist-influencers like Neil Degrasse Tyson and Carl Sagan but no famous philisopher-influencers or other humanities experts on the same level? I originally wanted to ask this question in a philosophy subreddit but I don't think the rules allow for it. I think the question could apply to lots of other humanities though. Not sure if the tag should be interdisciplinary or humanities. Assistant: Why doesn't math have a popularizer? Because ordinary people can't understand it. It's too technical. The same is true for physics, but popularizers like Tyson can dumb it down to the point where people *think* they understand it. Philosophy is all about the gnitty gritty specifics in arguments. Most ordinary people don't want to sit through those any more than they want to learn how to take an integral.

Human: Starting a PhD in less than 2 weeks: thoughts and worries I am starting my PhD in about 2 weeks time and I feel it's only now starting to hit me. I had a few months after finishing my Master's, to process and adjust, but I have the feeling I'm only starting to realize what I'm embarking on now. I got the PhD that was my second best choice, not first, so there's perhaps some bitterness still (although I do love the project and feel very positive about things overall!), and I spent my last month in Ukraine, so it just feels bizarre to now have to think about my doctorate after everything that I got to live and witness there. What would be your tips and advice as to how to try and establish rapport with my supervisors at first (we don't know each other well yet), or how to deal with the initial stress and feelings of being overwhelmed by inductions, meetings, introductions, etc.? Any advice that some of you might deem 'universal' or anything to look out for? My PhD is with integrated study, so I will be part of a larger cohort, and I will have my individual research project in addition to some taught courses. Thus far, I have always been an excellent student and I do tend to work long hours and take my work to heart (I love my field of work, clinical neuroscience, and in general, I always felt like a PhD is something that I wanted to do). Still, I worry that I don't really know what I'm getting into, that there's no guarantee that my supervisors will be reasonable and supportive, that I will feel anxious and I won't be able to balance work and free time. I would really, really appreciate any thoughts. Thanks in advance! :) Assistant: Set some healthy boundaries. Don't be afraid to take a vacation/mental health day when you need it. Don't be afraid to go home after an 8 hour day.

Human: Starting a PhD in less than 2 weeks: thoughts and worries I am starting my PhD in about 2 weeks time and I feel it's only now starting to hit me. I had a few months after finishing my Master's, to process and adjust, but I have the feeling I'm only starting to realize what I'm embarking on now. I got the PhD that was my second best choice, not first, so there's perhaps some bitterness still (although I do love the project and feel very positive about things overall!), and I spent my last month in Ukraine, so it just feels bizarre to now have to think about my doctorate after everything that I got to live and witness there. What would be your tips and advice as to how to try and establish rapport with my supervisors at first (we don't know each other well yet), or how to deal with the initial stress and feelings of being overwhelmed by inductions, meetings, introductions, etc.? Any advice that some of you might deem 'universal' or anything to look out for? My PhD is with integrated study, so I will be part of a larger cohort, and I will have my individual research project in addition to some taught courses. Thus far, I have always been an excellent student and I do tend to work long hours and take my work to heart (I love my field of work, clinical neuroscience, and in general, I always felt like a PhD is something that I wanted to do). Still, I worry that I don't really know what I'm getting into, that there's no guarantee that my supervisors will be reasonable and supportive, that I will feel anxious and I won't be able to balance work and free time. I would really, really appreciate any thoughts. Thanks in advance! :) Assistant: My biggest advice is that regardless of your boss/advisor, you have to set your goals and do your best to meet them. I would also stress setting goals as far as conducting research and/or writing not nessicarily quality of results.

Human: [General Fiction] Which normally-ruthless villains have the most interesting moral code, in terms of certain evil acts they will flatly refuse to do because of their personality or backstory? Assistant: Don Corleone won't sell drugs, but has no problem with murder.

Human: [General Fiction] Which normally-ruthless villains have the most interesting moral code, in terms of certain evil acts they will flatly refuse to do because of their personality or backstory? Assistant: Stain from My Hero Academia. He’s a ruthless serial killer, but he only goes after heroes he deems “fake”. Basically, he has such high standards for what a hero should be like that he started killing professional heroes as he viewed them as doing it purely for things like money, fame, and prestige instead of genuine heroism. His reverence for heroes is so great that he risked his life to save Midoriya after they were just fighting as he viewed Midoriya as a genuine hero.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: What is actually happening when you drink something and it get's "caught" in your chest/throat and it's really painful? Assistant: The esophagus has both voluntary (skeletal) and involuntary ( smooth) muscle. The lower part of the esophagus (smooth muscle) can go into spasm, preventing the passage of food. This condition is known as achalasia. In this condition food gets stuck and can be quite uncomfortable.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: What is actually happening when you drink something and it get's "caught" in your chest/throat and it's really painful? Assistant: If you meant “swallowing wrong” as some people use, you have two tubes from your mouth that lead into your body: a tube to your stomach and a tube to your lungs. There is a flap over the tube to your lungs, called the epiglottis, that’s protects from food and water entering your lungs normally. Sometimes, you can swallow water and even food, that might enter the tube to your lungs, which typically causes coughing.

Human: How to make chocolate chip cookies chewier? Hello! I have a really good soft chocolate chip cookie recipe (linked below, note: I also add walnuts) that I've made many times and LOVE but I'm looking on ways to make it even chewier. https://food52.com/recipes/83882-best-soft-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe My first thought was mixing up the egg ratios... perhaps 1 egg/1 yolk instead of 2 eggs? Or would that totally eff up the recipe? Any other thoughts? Perhaps using more brown sugar/less white? I love a soft and chewy cookie but this one isn't quite chewy enough for me. Also, my go-to AP flour is King Arthur, which has a protein content of around 11.7% if that matters. Thanks! Assistant: You could try adding 2 Tbsp (42g) of corn syrup. It is extremely hygroscopic ( it absorbs water from the air). In turn this will make the cookies more moist and chewy. After they have cooled try storing them in an air tight container overnight. The moisture in the cookies will reach an equilibrium and in my experience they will be even chewier the next day.

Human: How to make chocolate chip cookies chewier? Hello! I have a really good soft chocolate chip cookie recipe (linked below, note: I also add walnuts) that I've made many times and LOVE but I'm looking on ways to make it even chewier. https://food52.com/recipes/83882-best-soft-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe My first thought was mixing up the egg ratios... perhaps 1 egg/1 yolk instead of 2 eggs? Or would that totally eff up the recipe? Any other thoughts? Perhaps using more brown sugar/less white? I love a soft and chewy cookie but this one isn't quite chewy enough for me. Also, my go-to AP flour is King Arthur, which has a protein content of around 11.7% if that matters. Thanks! Assistant: My Grandma would say butter flavored crisco. My Grandpa had two heart attacks and one open heart surgery. My secret is two tablespoons of corn starch and undercook them slightly.

Human: Making aioli/alioli is a mystery for me. I can not get it right. Here in Germany we usually get served this aioli/alioli type sauce with white bread in almost every Italian and Spanish restaurant and it's honestly the most amazing sauce I have ever tasted in my life. It tastes and looks the same everywhere and I've been trying to replicate the sauce at home for about a month now and I am close to giving up. I am very sure the sauce has a whole egg in it because it's very very white so I've been trying to get it right with 1 whole egg, 1-3 gloves of garlic, lemon juice and a neutral oil but every single time I end up with something that looks right but isn't. The consistency is almost where I want it to have but it's oily as hell and just tastes like oil and raw garlic. It's just disgusting. If there's anyone who knows the secret then I beg you, please tell me. My life is going to be so much better when I finally know how to make aoili/alioli or whatever it is and I feel like I'm missing out. Assistant: You haven't mentioned salt at all.

Human: Making aioli/alioli is a mystery for me. I can not get it right. Here in Germany we usually get served this aioli/alioli type sauce with white bread in almost every Italian and Spanish restaurant and it's honestly the most amazing sauce I have ever tasted in my life. It tastes and looks the same everywhere and I've been trying to replicate the sauce at home for about a month now and I am close to giving up. I am very sure the sauce has a whole egg in it because it's very very white so I've been trying to get it right with 1 whole egg, 1-3 gloves of garlic, lemon juice and a neutral oil but every single time I end up with something that looks right but isn't. The consistency is almost where I want it to have but it's oily as hell and just tastes like oil and raw garlic. It's just disgusting. If there's anyone who knows the secret then I beg you, please tell me. My life is going to be so much better when I finally know how to make aoili/alioli or whatever it is and I feel like I'm missing out. Assistant: The real alioli Spanish traditional recipe has only two ingredients, garlic and olive oil. Begin with 3 cloves of garlic and a mortar, put a pinch of salt and begin work with the mortar until you have a kind of paste, then you begin to add the olive oil slowly and small quantity at the time that you use the mortar always in the same direction the alioli will be ready when the result resembled a Mayo texture. Remember 2 ingredients and no eggs involved.

Human: (Food History) How did Café du Monde become the standard coffee for Vietnamese coffee in the U.S.? I hope this is an appropriate place to ask a historical question rather than a cooking technique/ingredients question. I grew up in Houston, so my introduction to Vietnamese food happened in Houston in the 90's. All the Vietnamese places that served Vietnamese coffee or iced coffee seemed to use coffee in yellow cans from Café du Monde, a New Orleans cafe founded in 1862. Ok, no big deal, there was a ton of New Orleans influence on the Houston food scene, and Café du Monde was fairly well known as a place to stop by if you're ever in New Orleans. But after I left Texas, I kept seeing those mustard colored cans on the shelves in Vietnamese restaurants and coffee shops. It seems that that particular type of chicory coffee blend from a specific place in New Orleans remains the preferred coffee for making Vietnamese coffee anywhere in the U.S. Is there a historical reason why the post 1970 Vietnamese American community embraced a very specific type of coffee from a New Orleans establishment founded in 1862? This article from Nguyen Coffee Supply gives some detail, and this article from Atlas Obscura gives some other details, but I'm wondering whether there's a more comprehensive history behind when and how it actually spread from the gulf coast to the rest of the U.S. Assistant: I love unusual little things like this where (usually) packaged goods from one culture become staples in another. Another example from Vietnamese cuisine is the use of Coco Rico, a coconut flavored Puerto Rican soda in thit kho, which is essentially a Vietnamese pork belly stew: https://cookingwithlane.com/thit-kho-vietnamese-caramelized-braised-pork-with-eggs/

Human: (Food History) How did Café du Monde become the standard coffee for Vietnamese coffee in the U.S.? I hope this is an appropriate place to ask a historical question rather than a cooking technique/ingredients question. I grew up in Houston, so my introduction to Vietnamese food happened in Houston in the 90's. All the Vietnamese places that served Vietnamese coffee or iced coffee seemed to use coffee in yellow cans from Café du Monde, a New Orleans cafe founded in 1862. Ok, no big deal, there was a ton of New Orleans influence on the Houston food scene, and Café du Monde was fairly well known as a place to stop by if you're ever in New Orleans. But after I left Texas, I kept seeing those mustard colored cans on the shelves in Vietnamese restaurants and coffee shops. It seems that that particular type of chicory coffee blend from a specific place in New Orleans remains the preferred coffee for making Vietnamese coffee anywhere in the U.S. Is there a historical reason why the post 1970 Vietnamese American community embraced a very specific type of coffee from a New Orleans establishment founded in 1862? This article from Nguyen Coffee Supply gives some detail, and this article from Atlas Obscura gives some other details, but I'm wondering whether there's a more comprehensive history behind when and how it actually spread from the gulf coast to the rest of the U.S. Assistant: I'll ask my friends at Pho Cong(family of the famous Dong Phuong restaurant in Nola East). They should know.

Human: Do you find that many people in academia have "tunnel vision" where they are excessively preoccupied with their field of study and that critical thinking doesn't transfer to other domains? It would appear at first glance that the skills of reading a technical paper and logically critiquing it would generalize to thinking rationally in other areas of life as well. However, I've increasingly seen that many professors are often able to be brilliant in their own field, while having silly opinions in real life, apparently without experiencing much cognitive dissonance (of course, this is a generalization...). The kinds of arguments that they advance for their opinions in real life would get them laughed out of the park if they were applied to their own field of scientific inquiry. I have a strong suspicion that academia self-selects for those people who are highly intelligent but have "tunnel vision" in the sense of having singular interests (or very narrow interests) and are rather conformist in their beliefs otherwise. Is it just me? What has been your experience? Have you felt the same way? (For my background: I'm a STEM masters student, and this came up quite often in a group consisting of masters and PhD students.) Assistant: Relevant comic.

Human: Do you find that many people in academia have "tunnel vision" where they are excessively preoccupied with their field of study and that critical thinking doesn't transfer to other domains? It would appear at first glance that the skills of reading a technical paper and logically critiquing it would generalize to thinking rationally in other areas of life as well. However, I've increasingly seen that many professors are often able to be brilliant in their own field, while having silly opinions in real life, apparently without experiencing much cognitive dissonance (of course, this is a generalization...). The kinds of arguments that they advance for their opinions in real life would get them laughed out of the park if they were applied to their own field of scientific inquiry. I have a strong suspicion that academia self-selects for those people who are highly intelligent but have "tunnel vision" in the sense of having singular interests (or very narrow interests) and are rather conformist in their beliefs otherwise. Is it just me? What has been your experience? Have you felt the same way? (For my background: I'm a STEM masters student, and this came up quite often in a group consisting of masters and PhD students.) Assistant: There is a discussion of this topic in the book *Why People Believe Weird Things* by Michael Shermer. He argued that smart people believe weird things because they are good at defending their beliefs that they came to for not-smart reasons. He defines a "weird thing" as anything not supportable by scientific evidence: young-Earth creationism, Holocaust denial, alien abductions, Bigfoot, psychics, etc.

Human: /r/askphilosophy Open Discussion Thread | December 13, 2021 Welcome to this week's Open Discussion Thread. This thread is a place for posts/comments which are related to philosophy but wouldn't necessarily meet our posting rules. For example, these threads are great places for: * Personal opinion questions, e.g. "who is your favourite philosopher?" * "Test My Theory" discussions and argument/paper editing * Discussion not necessarily related to any particular question, e.g. about what you're currently reading * Questions about the profession This thread is **not** a completely open discussion! Any posts not relating to philosophy will be removed. Please keep comments related to philosophy, and expect low-effort comments to be removed. All of our normal commenting rules are still in place for these threads. Previous Open Discussion Threads can be found here or at the Wiki archive here. Assistant: Saw Nathan Jun's recent post: https://dailynous.com/2021/12/17/what-a-cancellation-looks-like-guest-post/ His treatment was somehow even worse than what I was aware of. A real stain on Suzanne Shipley, MSU, the APA, and academia in general.

Human: /r/askphilosophy Open Discussion Thread | December 13, 2021 Welcome to this week's Open Discussion Thread. This thread is a place for posts/comments which are related to philosophy but wouldn't necessarily meet our posting rules. For example, these threads are great places for: * Personal opinion questions, e.g. "who is your favourite philosopher?" * "Test My Theory" discussions and argument/paper editing * Discussion not necessarily related to any particular question, e.g. about what you're currently reading * Questions about the profession This thread is **not** a completely open discussion! Any posts not relating to philosophy will be removed. Please keep comments related to philosophy, and expect low-effort comments to be removed. All of our normal commenting rules are still in place for these threads. Previous Open Discussion Threads can be found here or at the Wiki archive here. Assistant: I’m putting together a Greek reading group for *Republic* I next semester, and I’m curious whether anyone has any recommendations for helpful resources for people who might not be that good at Greek to work through the *Republic* or Plato in Greek. (I’m not looking for general Greek resources, such as textbooks, though — but if they pertain to the *Republic* or Plato, that would be great!)

Human: [Marvel Comics] Why is Loki allowed to run free in Asgard when he's killed so many Asgardians personally? Loki, at bare minimum, has personally murdered so very many Asgardians and the powers that be have proof of this. But every time he's dragged back home ... and given free reign to run amok and start another plan of death and murder and stabbing. Assistant: During a recent battle, he died and has returned in the form of a small child. Thor has taken his brother in and is trying to teach him that he need not be evil even if he must obey his trickster nature. And to that end, child-loki is doing a very good job of it.

Human: [Marvel Comics] Why is Loki allowed to run free in Asgard when he's killed so many Asgardians personally? Loki, at bare minimum, has personally murdered so very many Asgardians and the powers that be have proof of this. But every time he's dragged back home ... and given free reign to run amok and start another plan of death and murder and stabbing. Assistant: Well he is very convincing.

Human: if Helium was dirt cheap/nearly free, would cargo blimps be a practical means of transporting goods? I had a thought the other day, when nuclear fusion becomes viable it will produce a lot of Helium as a waste product, likely making Helium very cheap in the process. Blimps seem to be simple conceptually, as they're just giant bags of helium with stuff strapped underneath. furthermore, blimps can ignore the terrain with the possible exception of mountains, depending on height, meaning that you can fly in great circle distances between cities, avoiding only busy airports. that means no chokepoints at canals. cargo blimps should be automatible as easy as drones are, saving entirely on crew costs is there anything I may be missing that makes cargo blimps impractical? Assistant: Helium WAS really cheap for a lot of years. The government stockpiled huge volumes for missile programs, then cut loose their stores onto the open market for a fraction of its real value.

Human: if Helium was dirt cheap/nearly free, would cargo blimps be a practical means of transporting goods? I had a thought the other day, when nuclear fusion becomes viable it will produce a lot of Helium as a waste product, likely making Helium very cheap in the process. Blimps seem to be simple conceptually, as they're just giant bags of helium with stuff strapped underneath. furthermore, blimps can ignore the terrain with the possible exception of mountains, depending on height, meaning that you can fly in great circle distances between cities, avoiding only busy airports. that means no chokepoints at canals. cargo blimps should be automatible as easy as drones are, saving entirely on crew costs is there anything I may be missing that makes cargo blimps impractical? Assistant: Blimps were very dangerous in weather. If the wind picked up grounds crew were supposed to let go of the hold down ropes. Many didn't until too late. Having a large balloon bash into things wasn't safe either. Modern GPS, weather forecasting, and computers for station keeping would help but between the availability of helium and the cost of developing the tech no one wants to bother. Unanticipated downtime is anathema in delivery companies.

Human: Why is it not standard to add salt when first making homemade pasta rather than when we boil it? Just curious as to why we add it when we boil pasta rather than adding it to the flour before mixing in eggs. Assistant: My understanding is that it effects the gluten in the pasta. Salt actually strengthens the gluten which could result in a tougher, chewier texture. This isn't to say that you can't add a bit of salt, just that too much could have adverse effects on your pasta. By seasoning the water you are not causing problems in the dough itself.

Human: Why is it not standard to add salt when first making homemade pasta rather than when we boil it? Just curious as to why we add it when we boil pasta rather than adding it to the flour before mixing in eggs. Assistant: Lots of people *do* add salt to the flour.

Human: What kind of cookies should I bake in a cookie contest among some coworkers? I've been invited to a cookie contest potluck at work and I'm pretty divided on what kind of cookies to make. I'm leaning most towards making something basic like chocolate chip cookies, but making them as decadent as possible. But this seems like something that a lot of people are probably going to do. I'm also thinking about making something slightly more offbeat like Hallongrotta (thumbprint), or maybe just go full creative mode and make something like galaxy cookies. If it matters, the potluck will be around 9-12 people. What recipes/suggestions do you guys have? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks! Assistant: honestly you can’t go wrong with browned butter chocolate chip cookies. they’re amazing in every way but still keep it simple if you’re going for taste!

Human: What kind of cookies should I bake in a cookie contest among some coworkers? I've been invited to a cookie contest potluck at work and I'm pretty divided on what kind of cookies to make. I'm leaning most towards making something basic like chocolate chip cookies, but making them as decadent as possible. But this seems like something that a lot of people are probably going to do. I'm also thinking about making something slightly more offbeat like Hallongrotta (thumbprint), or maybe just go full creative mode and make something like galaxy cookies. If it matters, the potluck will be around 9-12 people. What recipes/suggestions do you guys have? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks! Assistant: I’ve participated in a lot of office bake-offs and cookie contests and it always seems chocolate chip cookies place high or reign supreme. These Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies won the most recent bake-off I was a part of. They’re amazing, but I’m still bummed my entry didn’t win :(

Human: How did we figure out how to make bronze before iron? It seems to me that bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, is more complex than iron. I suspect it has something to do with the extraction process, but mixing two ores in a particular ratio to make bronze seems less obvious than persisting with iron ore. Assistant: Bronze has a melting point of about 950 C. Iron melts at about 1500 C. It’s possible to smelt and work iron at slightly cooler temperatures, but even so it took a long time to learn to build a furnace that could get that hot.

Human: How did we figure out how to make bronze before iron? It seems to me that bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, is more complex than iron. I suspect it has something to do with the extraction process, but mixing two ores in a particular ratio to make bronze seems less obvious than persisting with iron ore. Assistant: If you don't get an answer here, you can also try /r/askhistorians

Human: When the LHC was created there was an expectation that it would lead to the discovery of the Higgs boson. Do we have any similar discoveries we are expecting to make in the near future? Assistant: Single-molecule imaging is on the horizon at XFEL facilities. I'm not sure if anyone's suggested a timeframe at this stage, but a lot of people are talking about it. This would huge for structural biology as it would permit solving of protein structures that can't be crystallised (lots).

Human: When the LHC was created there was an expectation that it would lead to the discovery of the Higgs boson. Do we have any similar discoveries we are expecting to make in the near future? Assistant: Possible life on Jupers Moon Europa. Europa has one of the highest probabilities of sustaining (at least microbial) life in the solar system. Even though its is not in the habitable zone, heat is generated inside of Europa from tidal flexing. The irregular shape and orbit squashes and stretches the icy moon creating a subsurface ocean; the perfect conditions necessary for life. Nasa is launching a mission in the 2020s, you can read more about it here: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/europa-mission/

Human: The AskAnthropology Career Thread (2021) “What should I do with my life?” “Is anthropology right for me?” “What jobs can my degree get me?” These are the questions ~~that keep me awake at night~~ that start every anthropologist’s career, and this is the place to ask them. Discussion in this thread should be limited to discussion of academic and professional careers, but will otherwise be less moderated. **Before asking your question, please scroll through earlier responses.** Your question may have already been addressed, or you might find a better way to phrase it. Previous threads can be found here and here. Assistant: What kind of careers can a degree is biological anthropology get me? Human/primate sexuality and reproductive system inteigues me the most - but what JOB would that even be, if any?

Human: The AskAnthropology Career Thread (2021) “What should I do with my life?” “Is anthropology right for me?” “What jobs can my degree get me?” These are the questions ~~that keep me awake at night~~ that start every anthropologist’s career, and this is the place to ask them. Discussion in this thread should be limited to discussion of academic and professional careers, but will otherwise be less moderated. **Before asking your question, please scroll through earlier responses.** Your question may have already been addressed, or you might find a better way to phrase it. Previous threads can be found here and here. Assistant: Hello people! I've been looking at majors and someone told me about folklore studies (UC Berkeley has it), but sadly its a masters and PHD degree. Has anyone dealt with this? Also how can I continue my love for folklore while getting my undergrad in Anthro? I really want to prepare for the folklore major and even study it while getting my bachelors degree.

Human: [Pokemon] My Clefable used to have a really hard time against fighting types, but a couple of years ago it's moves started being super effective against them. What happened? Assistant: Something weird happened over in Kalos that sent out a wave of life energy which mutated some Pokemon into the so called "Fairy Type".

Human: [Pokemon] My Clefable used to have a really hard time against fighting types, but a couple of years ago it's moves started being super effective against them. What happened? Assistant: Are you in the right universe? Clefable is a Fairy type. Clefable has always been a Fairy type. But it's been theorized that there are parallel realities that are slightly different. For instance, there could be another reality where Clefable was a normal type, or one where Magikarp has a beautiful singing voice, or maybe even weirder things than that.

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why is Australia so overwhelmingly dry when nearby places like Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Tasmania are all so wet and lush? Assistant: Something I haven't seen mentioned here is that parts of Australia *are* lushly forested. I live in Far North Queensland, closer to PNG than Brisbane, and the whole coast up here is tropical rainforest. We get about 2000mm of rain a year, mainly during our monsoon season (November to May).

Human: Explain like I'm five years old: Why is Australia so overwhelmingly dry when nearby places like Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Tasmania are all so wet and lush? Assistant: Farming and mining is also responsible for a lot of damage to the Australian environment. Land clearance and intensive farming techniques have damaged the water table and result in more heat being reflected from dry soil rather than absorbed by foliage. Water is also redirected artificially and inefficiently to water crops like cotton and rice that have been introduced inappropriately. Australians also create more carbon emissions per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Human: [MCU] Hawkeye show canon So this question is more of a general meta question combined with a question about a specific character. My question is are the Marvel Netflix shows canon to the MCU right now. I’m asking specifically because in Hawkeye, Kingpin’s feats of strength are inconsistent with his screen time in Daredevil. In Hawkeye, he ripped a door off it’s hinges, punched Kate Bishop across a room, and walked off getting rammed by a car like it was nothing. In Daredevil, his greatest feat of strength was punching a hole in a brick pillar and even that hurt him. That’s a huge difference. Assistant: D'Onofrio says it's the same guy. Good enough for me. I have no problem thinking of the netflix shows as canon, they started out referencing the battle of New York. If there's a problem they'll just ignore the story element, like so many shows have done before. As to Kingpin, it's been 6 years in the post blip timeline, he's gotten a power upgrade, either the Power Broker or a similar process.

Human: [MCU] Hawkeye show canon So this question is more of a general meta question combined with a question about a specific character. My question is are the Marvel Netflix shows canon to the MCU right now. I’m asking specifically because in Hawkeye, Kingpin’s feats of strength are inconsistent with his screen time in Daredevil. In Hawkeye, he ripped a door off it’s hinges, punched Kate Bishop across a room, and walked off getting rammed by a car like it was nothing. In Daredevil, his greatest feat of strength was punching a hole in a brick pillar and even that hurt him. That’s a huge difference. Assistant: It seems much more like they aren’t cannon it’s just the same people exist and look the same which happens a lot in the multiverse

Human: /r/askphilosophy Open Discussion Thread | November 22, 2021 Welcome to this week's Open Discussion Thread. This thread is a place for posts/comments which are related to philosophy but wouldn't necessarily meet our posting rules. For example, these threads are great places for: * Personal opinion questions, e.g. "who is your favourite philosopher?" * "Test My Theory" discussions and argument/paper editing * Discussion not necessarily related to any particular question, e.g. about what you're currently reading * Questions about the profession This thread is **not** a completely open discussion! Any posts not relating to philosophy will be removed. Please keep comments related to philosophy, and expect low-effort comments to be removed. All of our normal commenting rules are still in place for these threads. Previous Open Discussion Threads can be found here or at the Wiki archive here. Assistant: What are people reading? The last week I've worked on Lax's *Functional Analysis* (one chapter that I'm planning to read left), Zizek's *In Defense of Lost Causes* (almost halfway), and Carnap's *Logical Structure of the World*.

Human: /r/askphilosophy Open Discussion Thread | November 22, 2021 Welcome to this week's Open Discussion Thread. This thread is a place for posts/comments which are related to philosophy but wouldn't necessarily meet our posting rules. For example, these threads are great places for: * Personal opinion questions, e.g. "who is your favourite philosopher?" * "Test My Theory" discussions and argument/paper editing * Discussion not necessarily related to any particular question, e.g. about what you're currently reading * Questions about the profession This thread is **not** a completely open discussion! Any posts not relating to philosophy will be removed. Please keep comments related to philosophy, and expect low-effort comments to be removed. All of our normal commenting rules are still in place for these threads. Previous Open Discussion Threads can be found here or at the Wiki archive here. Assistant: Are there any atheist substance dualists/ idealists? More specifically, is there any literature on how substance dualism/ idealism would work in the absence of God? The reason I'm asking is that God usually plays a very intimate explanatory role in most dualisms/ idealisms I'm aware of, so I was wondering what mechanisms atheists would use in His stead.

Human: [CA] Boss commented on me seeing a psychiatrist I had a 1:1 with my boss today. As my 1:1 was ending, I told my boss I had to go to an appointment. He wouldn't let me go. I re-iterated I had to, as it was a virtual appointment to see my psychiatrist. He sneered at me. He told me I should have kept that to myself and that saying you should say you have an appoint, not meeting with a shrink. He then laughed. I mentioned it to my psychiatrist as I was upset about his behavior. She said that she can't comment on whether he crossed a HR or legal line, but did agree his behavior was unprofessional and inappropriate. I am debating on reporting him to HR on the matter. It is 2021, we are in a pandemic, who cares if I am seeing a mental health professional? In fact, our work offers 6 free sessions plus text support! The workplace is fairly "woke," which the boss complains about regularly. How the "millennials" are ruining it with their focus on diversity. I realize that HR will do nothing, and he likely will retaliate. I am fairly upset that I would be judged for trying to take care of myself. My financial situation is such that I could quit the job and it isn't a big deal if the situation devolves. I am not sure if it matters, but the appointment was related to a disability. I have not disclosed it to my employer, as I do not require an accommodation. Assistant: What's to debate? Contact HR immediately

Human: [CA] Boss commented on me seeing a psychiatrist I had a 1:1 with my boss today. As my 1:1 was ending, I told my boss I had to go to an appointment. He wouldn't let me go. I re-iterated I had to, as it was a virtual appointment to see my psychiatrist. He sneered at me. He told me I should have kept that to myself and that saying you should say you have an appoint, not meeting with a shrink. He then laughed. I mentioned it to my psychiatrist as I was upset about his behavior. She said that she can't comment on whether he crossed a HR or legal line, but did agree his behavior was unprofessional and inappropriate. I am debating on reporting him to HR on the matter. It is 2021, we are in a pandemic, who cares if I am seeing a mental health professional? In fact, our work offers 6 free sessions plus text support! The workplace is fairly "woke," which the boss complains about regularly. How the "millennials" are ruining it with their focus on diversity. I realize that HR will do nothing, and he likely will retaliate. I am fairly upset that I would be judged for trying to take care of myself. My financial situation is such that I could quit the job and it isn't a big deal if the situation devolves. I am not sure if it matters, but the appointment was related to a disability. I have not disclosed it to my employer, as I do not require an accommodation. Assistant: As an HR professional, I think it’s worth mentioning to HR strictly for documentation. They will not do anything but his reaction was extremely inappropriate and if he uses this knowledge against you in the future, it is for your protection that HR is already aware of it.

Human: Bad teaching evaluations :( I am a first-time grad TA and just got some pretty bad teaching evaluations (3.2/5, a whole point lower than average) from a group of 8 students. A couple of the students said I was a nice person but it seemed that I didn't understand the material I was teaching, which really surprised me as I understand the course material very thoroughly and checked in with them often during class asking questions such as "does everyone understand?". One of the students commented that I had told them I didn't understand the material myself, which is false. However, at some point I said something along the lines of "don't worry, I also didn't understand this right away the first time I learned it" in an attempt to be encouraging to them. Based on these reviews, I think I need to work on my teaching and explanation skills and projecting more confidence/stuttering less going forward, and will definitely take this feedback to heart to improve! I am worried my new advisor (who was the prof on the course) will think worse of my intelligence or doubt me if he reads these and believes I don't understand the basic material from the class I TAd for him. Do you think I should bring it up to him during our next meeting, or just not mention it and address it if it comes up? For professors: if you were the advisor of your TA, how concerned would you be over this kind of thing? Assistant: A suggestion is to never ask the question, "does everyone understand?" Those that do might nod their heads. Those that don't and don't know that they don't might nod their heads. And those that don't and know they don't might still nod their heads. Anyway, student evals don't mean much and are known to be highly biased. So don't worry about it, especially with such a small sample size. But like most first timers at anything, you probably do need to work on your skills. You'll get better over time.

Human: Bad teaching evaluations :( I am a first-time grad TA and just got some pretty bad teaching evaluations (3.2/5, a whole point lower than average) from a group of 8 students. A couple of the students said I was a nice person but it seemed that I didn't understand the material I was teaching, which really surprised me as I understand the course material very thoroughly and checked in with them often during class asking questions such as "does everyone understand?". One of the students commented that I had told them I didn't understand the material myself, which is false. However, at some point I said something along the lines of "don't worry, I also didn't understand this right away the first time I learned it" in an attempt to be encouraging to them. Based on these reviews, I think I need to work on my teaching and explanation skills and projecting more confidence/stuttering less going forward, and will definitely take this feedback to heart to improve! I am worried my new advisor (who was the prof on the course) will think worse of my intelligence or doubt me if he reads these and believes I don't understand the basic material from the class I TAd for him. Do you think I should bring it up to him during our next meeting, or just not mention it and address it if it comes up? For professors: if you were the advisor of your TA, how concerned would you be over this kind of thing? Assistant: I started out at 3.9 / 5 and now average 4.7 / 5 so it just takes some time yo.

Human: Can anyone tell me the name of this cooking utensil? I tried to post a photo but it's not allowed in this community. It's like a short fat handled meat knife looking thing that people use to scoop up garlic once they've minced it up. https://youtu.be/MvNh2Yg0Shg 3:15 minute mark he uses one Assistant: Everyone else called it correctly (bench scraper) but when I was in pizza restaurants, they always called it a dough knife.

Human: Can anyone tell me the name of this cooking utensil? I tried to post a photo but it's not allowed in this community. It's like a short fat handled meat knife looking thing that people use to scoop up garlic once they've minced it up. https://youtu.be/MvNh2Yg0Shg 3:15 minute mark he uses one Assistant: bench scraper/ pastry scraper/ scraper they make ones with walls for people who only use them for this task too, my 2 plastic scrapers are probably my most used kitchen utensils, more than knives, spatulas, spoons or even sharpies

Human: Can you ask for a salary above the advertised salary range for a job? An engineering job had their salary range for the job posted on the indeed ad. Is it possible to negotiate above the posted salary range. I don’t mean way above the range I just mean like 2-3k. Assistant: I’ve had people do that and 75% of the time their qualifications are above the posted job and we just change the grade on the job to match the qualifications. It’s a pain in the ass, administratively, but we always do everything we can to grab good people, regardless of anything else. Certainly plenty of work to go around

Human: Can you ask for a salary above the advertised salary range for a job? An engineering job had their salary range for the job posted on the indeed ad. Is it possible to negotiate above the posted salary range. I don’t mean way above the range I just mean like 2-3k. Assistant: If you have data and experience that backs up the ask.

Human: Help with gift ideas for a sous chef on the rise? My cousin is a young chef working his way up the ladder at an upscale restaurant on the ski slopes in Park City, Utah. I'm trying to find him a gift that he would really appreciate. It doesn't have to be something he could use at work. I know he loves to cook at home too, so something for his kitchen at home would be cool as well. I don't have a lot of money to spend, so affordable trumps extravagant . But I don't want be cheap either. Any ideas from chefs or those who love to cook (and eat!)? Thanks in advance. Assistant: Booze

Human: Help with gift ideas for a sous chef on the rise? My cousin is a young chef working his way up the ladder at an upscale restaurant on the ski slopes in Park City, Utah. I'm trying to find him a gift that he would really appreciate. It doesn't have to be something he could use at work. I know he loves to cook at home too, so something for his kitchen at home would be cool as well. I don't have a lot of money to spend, so affordable trumps extravagant . But I don't want be cheap either. Any ideas from chefs or those who love to cook (and eat!)? Thanks in advance. Assistant: I love my Silpat. Half sheet pan size would make the most sense for a home kitchen, and it's only $16 http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00008T960 sorry for the mobile link! If that's not glamorous enough, try something useful for ethnic food, such as a mortar and pestle, or ginger grater. And everyone needs a microplane grater. If he doesn't have one already, that would be a great choice.

Human: Any engineers here who aren't super gifted in math? Quick background to this. I have an mba but am considering an engineering undergrad degree to help further my career in the energy industry. I was always better than average at math but I was never the guy setting the curve. If i do this it will be very slow like 1 class/semester because of my career. I worked with several engineers in my mba program and they were just on another level when it came to the analysis and mathematics we had to do.So it makes me wonder how common is it for someone who wasn't the gifted math guy getting through engineering. Assistant: I took most math classes twice.. but I got through!

Human: Any engineers here who aren't super gifted in math? Quick background to this. I have an mba but am considering an engineering undergrad degree to help further my career in the energy industry. I was always better than average at math but I was never the guy setting the curve. If i do this it will be very slow like 1 class/semester because of my career. I worked with several engineers in my mba program and they were just on another level when it came to the analysis and mathematics we had to do.So it makes me wonder how common is it for someone who wasn't the gifted math guy getting through engineering. Assistant: I've managed to survive (and more) as a systems engineer designing advanced systems for aerospace and IT for 25+ years without a degree and any deep ability in math beyond 2-year college level. However, I did have to teach myself a lot of specialized math (statistics, etc.) to be able to do my job. But I also had the advantage of growing up being deeply involved in electronics and physics as my father was an engineer/physicist for the Navy and he taught me a lot.

Human: CMV: If states vote to ban abortion, they should be required to establish state-funded support systems for women and children in need - and those systems should be up for vote, too. For the record, I am vehemently pro-choice and that part of my view will not be changed. That said, if this is the direction our country is voting to go, I believe we should require more government-funded support organizations and easements for the people directly impacted by this decision (women and children in need). I’ve admittedly not considered all the pros, cons and logistics of setting something like this in motion, but i believe it’s beyond irresponsible to pass laws and restrictions that will have significant short and long-term impact on our country’s population, culture, economy and healthcare systems without requiring a support system for the inevitable *equal or opposite reactions.* Fundamentally, I don’t think it’s possible to take something away without giving something back to fill the void. If we’re going to make matters of personal choice (such as abortion) non-negotiable, state-level decisions, then those states (not *just* independently funded organizations) need to accept responsibility for the impact on their individual citizens and the resulting health of their larger communities. Perhaps this is a basic concept for solving a complex issue, but it’s my view nonetheless. CMV. Assistant: Literally the first thing when you google "programs for single mothers by state" https://singlemothers.us/grants-for-single-mothers/ Programs exist and are prevalent for Single Mothers. Here is the second... https://singlemothersgrants.org/most-helpful-government-assistance-programs-for-single-moms/ The URLs are Single Mothers specific and are just full of ways for them to get help. It's the last excuse a mom should use to abort her baby.

Human: CMV: If states vote to ban abortion, they should be required to establish state-funded support systems for women and children in need - and those systems should be up for vote, too. For the record, I am vehemently pro-choice and that part of my view will not be changed. That said, if this is the direction our country is voting to go, I believe we should require more government-funded support organizations and easements for the people directly impacted by this decision (women and children in need). I’ve admittedly not considered all the pros, cons and logistics of setting something like this in motion, but i believe it’s beyond irresponsible to pass laws and restrictions that will have significant short and long-term impact on our country’s population, culture, economy and healthcare systems without requiring a support system for the inevitable *equal or opposite reactions.* Fundamentally, I don’t think it’s possible to take something away without giving something back to fill the void. If we’re going to make matters of personal choice (such as abortion) non-negotiable, state-level decisions, then those states (not *just* independently funded organizations) need to accept responsibility for the impact on their individual citizens and the resulting health of their larger communities. Perhaps this is a basic concept for solving a complex issue, but it’s my view nonetheless. CMV. Assistant: What mechanism would this be enforced by? How would you reconcile the rights of the states to pass laws (within constitutional bounds) with this ultimatum?

Human: Looking for a good introductory book on quantum physics As far as my relevant background goes, I've taken Calc I & II, Linear Algebra, and Algebraic Physics I & II. It doesn't need to be a full-on textbook, necessarily; just something that's able to explain the overarching concepts to someone with my ability to understand them. Any help is greatly appreciated. Assistant: A good basic textbook is *Quantum Physics* by Townsend. It introduces quantum mechanics through experimental results and has a lot of applications (nuclear, particle, solid-state, etc.).

Human: Looking for a good introductory book on quantum physics As far as my relevant background goes, I've taken Calc I & II, Linear Algebra, and Algebraic Physics I & II. It doesn't need to be a full-on textbook, necessarily; just something that's able to explain the overarching concepts to someone with my ability to understand them. Any help is greatly appreciated. Assistant: You should look into Modern Physics by Randy Harris.

Human: [General] What is possibly the best afterlife in all fiction? Assistant: Elysium in Pathfinder lore: Is a plane of the Outer Sphere, which represents the ultimate expression of wild freedom and compassion. It is home to the spirits of like-minded mortals and the wild and freedom-loving azata. It is a place of uninhibited love, art, and expression.

Human: [General] What is possibly the best afterlife in all fiction? Assistant: It really Depends on who you are, Im sure Valhalla is amazing for the people who like that sort of stuff but I'd hate it there.

Human: What did you give up (long term) for being an academic? Let me preface this by saying I am a senior undergraduate student in the medical engineering area, leaning heavily on neuroengineering and microtechnologies. As I near the end of my degree, I see two paths I want to follow: R&D, or academia. I have little experience in both, so it's not like both are completely unexplored (fortunately) for me. I want to make educated decisions, such as what type of masters to pursue, where I want to live, how it would be best to handle personal finances, etc. And to do this, I would like to decide what I want to do long term. I understand that these two paths are not mutually exclusive, nor is it impossible to transition from one to the other. Having said that, I wanted to ask you as a community, what have you sacrificed (at any level) to have a career in academia? Assistant: I guess I could have made more money if I had been equally successful in an equally competitive field outside academia. No regrets, though.

Human: What did you give up (long term) for being an academic? Let me preface this by saying I am a senior undergraduate student in the medical engineering area, leaning heavily on neuroengineering and microtechnologies. As I near the end of my degree, I see two paths I want to follow: R&D, or academia. I have little experience in both, so it's not like both are completely unexplored (fortunately) for me. I want to make educated decisions, such as what type of masters to pursue, where I want to live, how it would be best to handle personal finances, etc. And to do this, I would like to decide what I want to do long term. I understand that these two paths are not mutually exclusive, nor is it impossible to transition from one to the other. Having said that, I wanted to ask you as a community, what have you sacrificed (at any level) to have a career in academia? Assistant: What draws you to academia? If it's research then there are excellent research environments in industry too that will not have you give up a decent salary or place where you'd like to live

Human: Non-seafood alternative to smoked salmon for Bagel and Lox? I’m allergic to fish and shellfish but I always wish I could have bagel and lox. What do you think could be a good alternative to the lox? I’ve seen some vegetarian blogs use carrots but I was thinking about meat. Maybe a prosciutto? Something that would still taste good with the tomato, onion and capers. Thanks! Assistant: PSA, lox is not smoked, it’s just cured. If you’re telling OP to get something smoked, you’re not quite hitting the mark. OP the trick with lox is that it still basically has the raw texture and a lot of fat. I think an artisan ham might get you close but as has been said it’s hard to replicate.

Human: Non-seafood alternative to smoked salmon for Bagel and Lox? I’m allergic to fish and shellfish but I always wish I could have bagel and lox. What do you think could be a good alternative to the lox? I’ve seen some vegetarian blogs use carrots but I was thinking about meat. Maybe a prosciutto? Something that would still taste good with the tomato, onion and capers. Thanks! Assistant: Jamon Iberico

Human: What does bay leaf do? I do a good amount of home cooking and have worked FOH in the restaurant industry for some years now. I know what bay leaf tastes like, and I know what bay leaf smells like. When I have followed recipes that call for bay leaf, I'll add it (fresh or dried, depending on what's available) and I have never sensed it in my dishes. I think only once, when steaming artichokes with bay leaves in the water, did I ever think it contributed to the final dish, with a bit of a tea flavour to the artichoke petals. But do one or two bay leaves in a big pot of tomato sauce really do anything? Am I wasting my time trying to fish it out of the final dish? Please help me r/askculinary, you're my only hope. Assistant: All of these replies are wrong. It's The Vast Bay Leaf Conspiracy.

Human: What does bay leaf do? I do a good amount of home cooking and have worked FOH in the restaurant industry for some years now. I know what bay leaf tastes like, and I know what bay leaf smells like. When I have followed recipes that call for bay leaf, I'll add it (fresh or dried, depending on what's available) and I have never sensed it in my dishes. I think only once, when steaming artichokes with bay leaves in the water, did I ever think it contributed to the final dish, with a bit of a tea flavour to the artichoke petals. But do one or two bay leaves in a big pot of tomato sauce really do anything? Am I wasting my time trying to fish it out of the final dish? Please help me r/askculinary, you're my only hope. Assistant: Here's a dish I really like that has a strong bay leaf flavor. It's basically just a broth of chicken and onion, so the flavors of the seasonings really come through. If you can't taste the bay leaf and allspice in it, Belizeans will definitely be saying "it's good, but it needs more bay leaf".

Human: CMV: The most reasonable conclusion you can reach about someone who advocates deportation of non-violent illegal immigrants is that they are racist Typically, in conversations about immigration I ask those who want to get rid of 'illegals' give me a moral justification for why being here without permission is worse than speeding by 5 MPH? Seriously. Try to come up with one. I would posit that both are wrong ONLY because they violate the law. In fact, speeding may be worse because you can logically claim that speeding endangers other people. Being here without documentation does not. Now, building on that, let's talk about WHY folks break immigration laws (and for this, I'll focus on Mexico). Despite what you may think, there is *no legal path* for someone in mexico who isn't related to a US citizen to come here legally today. The wait-list has over 1.3 million people in it and at most 25k of those can be admitted each year. That means if you do EVERYTHING right, you'll be waiting at least 51 years before you can come. I would argue that a 51 year wait does not constitute a viable path for legal immigration. So, now imagine that you are a parent (or you plan to be a parent) and you live in a dangerous part of Mexico. I believe that it is very possible that the single most moral thing you can do is come to the US without proper permission and try to provide a better life for your family here. By committing a victimless civil offence, you can provide your child with more protection and opportunity that any amount of effort in Mexico could offer. A few more facts: * Immigrants are a net benefit to the economy * Most immigrants pay their taxes * Immigrants are less likely than natural-born Americans to commit violent crimes * Immigrants are more likely than natural-born Americans to be gainfully employed * Undocumented immigrants are generally barred from receiving social services, so they subsidize the rest of us by paying taxes but not reaping as many benefits So getting back to why I conclude that people are racist. When I try to solicit a moral justification for the strongly anti-immigrant positions I hear from people, they come up empty. Every single time, you come up empty. I'm left trying my best to figure out why you feel so strongly about this topic. At the end of the day, I really can't come up with any possible reasons other than a) ignorance, b) racism or c) fear (which is a result of some combination of ignorance and racism). And when I tell someone facts that should make them no-longer ignorant and fearful and they don't change their view, I am left with only racism. CMV _____ > *This is a footnote from the CMV moderators. We'd like to remind you of a couple of things. Firstly, please* ***read through our rules***. *If you see a comment that has broken one, it is more effective to report it than downvote it. Speaking of which,* ***downvotes don't change views****! Any questions or concerns? Feel free to* ***message us***. *Happy CMVing!* Assistant: Imagine you were a strongly conservative person. Conservative people in the modern US are rule-followers; they believe in structure and order. Illegal immigrants *broke the rules*. The very idea that someone can break the rules and be rewarded for it violates some of your deepest ideas of right and wrong.

Human: CMV: The most reasonable conclusion you can reach about someone who advocates deportation of non-violent illegal immigrants is that they are racist Typically, in conversations about immigration I ask those who want to get rid of 'illegals' give me a moral justification for why being here without permission is worse than speeding by 5 MPH? Seriously. Try to come up with one. I would posit that both are wrong ONLY because they violate the law. In fact, speeding may be worse because you can logically claim that speeding endangers other people. Being here without documentation does not. Now, building on that, let's talk about WHY folks break immigration laws (and for this, I'll focus on Mexico). Despite what you may think, there is *no legal path* for someone in mexico who isn't related to a US citizen to come here legally today. The wait-list has over 1.3 million people in it and at most 25k of those can be admitted each year. That means if you do EVERYTHING right, you'll be waiting at least 51 years before you can come. I would argue that a 51 year wait does not constitute a viable path for legal immigration. So, now imagine that you are a parent (or you plan to be a parent) and you live in a dangerous part of Mexico. I believe that it is very possible that the single most moral thing you can do is come to the US without proper permission and try to provide a better life for your family here. By committing a victimless civil offence, you can provide your child with more protection and opportunity that any amount of effort in Mexico could offer. A few more facts: * Immigrants are a net benefit to the economy * Most immigrants pay their taxes * Immigrants are less likely than natural-born Americans to commit violent crimes * Immigrants are more likely than natural-born Americans to be gainfully employed * Undocumented immigrants are generally barred from receiving social services, so they subsidize the rest of us by paying taxes but not reaping as many benefits So getting back to why I conclude that people are racist. When I try to solicit a moral justification for the strongly anti-immigrant positions I hear from people, they come up empty. Every single time, you come up empty. I'm left trying my best to figure out why you feel so strongly about this topic. At the end of the day, I really can't come up with any possible reasons other than a) ignorance, b) racism or c) fear (which is a result of some combination of ignorance and racism). And when I tell someone facts that should make them no-longer ignorant and fearful and they don't change their view, I am left with only racism. CMV _____ > *This is a footnote from the CMV moderators. We'd like to remind you of a couple of things. Firstly, please* ***read through our rules***. *If you see a comment that has broken one, it is more effective to report it than downvote it. Speaking of which,* ***downvotes don't change views****! Any questions or concerns? Feel free to* ***message us***. *Happy CMVing!* Assistant: It is not racist to want the laws of your country followed and respected, and to want those that violate said laws to get the prescribed punishment. The moral justification is that this is our land and you do not have the right to enter it unless we tell you that you can enter it.

Human: Do you ever feel like knowing too much about your discipline makes you distrust the products? I've never met a software developer who feels comfortable trusting their work. Is it that way outside of software? Assistant: Structural engineer. I trust the engineering, but definitely not the contractors.

Human: Do you ever feel like knowing too much about your discipline makes you distrust the products? I've never met a software developer who feels comfortable trusting their work. Is it that way outside of software? Assistant: Knowing what I do about welding standards, I actually have more confidence in welded structures then I did before

Human: I am confused between cross product and dot product of vectors where are they used and when should we use them all I know is just there formula Assistant: The dot product describes the projection of one vector onto another. The cross product describes the surface spanned by the two vectors.

Human: I am confused between cross product and dot product of vectors where are they used and when should we use them all I know is just there formula Assistant: Dot product gives you the "how much of this vector is in the same direction as another". Example: In American football, the player can run all over the field, but only running in one direction counts towards positive yards. Cross product gives a vector that is at a right angle from the other two. Example: A force acting at the end of a door (a radius from the hinge) makes a torque, so the door rotates (T=FXR)

Human: Do commercial kitchens all use stainless steel cookware. If so, why? I have noticed that in some cooking/kitchen documentaries. The cookware used in their kitchens are usually made of stainless steel and we do not see stuff like non stick pans. Just wondering is it because I happened not see them in the documentaries or is there some other reasons for this. Assistant: Durability is the answer you're looking for but haven't gotten yet.

Human: Do commercial kitchens all use stainless steel cookware. If so, why? I have noticed that in some cooking/kitchen documentaries. The cookware used in their kitchens are usually made of stainless steel and we do not see stuff like non stick pans. Just wondering is it because I happened not see them in the documentaries or is there some other reasons for this. Assistant: Aluminum. Despite what most people think, even those who work in restaurants, most is aluminum. There is some stainless (mostly the equipment) but aluminum is lighter and cheaper. Sheet trays, pots, pans, sauté pans, even the metal storage pans. Aluminum. You’ll occasionally find some cast iron, blue steel, and other specialty stuff, and it’ll cost ya!

Human: [Marvel Comics] During AvX how in the hell was Tony running any kind of a fair one with Magneto ? There's no way Ironman should have had any real chance of holding Magneto off much less having any chance of winning. Magneto controls the whole EM spectrum and can open wormholes and strip things of electrons and has been show to produce enough magnetic force to effect non magnetic and non metal things and lots of other wild shit. A carbon nanotube armor wouldn't stop Magneto one bit ,much less stop him from affecting the suite which still runs on some form EM energy. Assistant: But...it did. Tony knows how electromagnetism works and knows Magneto can wield and alter it, and he can make armors that can legit tank hits from gods. He scienced the problem because he saw the problem coming. He shouldn't be able to absorb punches from the Hulk that split mountains. He shouldn't be able to shrug off strikes from Mjolnir that have laid out the Silver Surfer. He shouldn't be able to walk away from Power Cosmic shots from Heralds of Galactus. Yet, he does. His science is *that* strong.

Human: [Marvel Comics] During AvX how in the hell was Tony running any kind of a fair one with Magneto ? There's no way Ironman should have had any real chance of holding Magneto off much less having any chance of winning. Magneto controls the whole EM spectrum and can open wormholes and strip things of electrons and has been show to produce enough magnetic force to effect non magnetic and non metal things and lots of other wild shit. A carbon nanotube armor wouldn't stop Magneto one bit ,much less stop him from affecting the suite which still runs on some form EM energy. Assistant: He was using a combination of repulser tech with carbon nanotubes in the MK37 armor even then Magneto won. Tony has a habit of building bespoke suits for specific enemies.

Human: Future of state public universities vs non-elite small liberal arts colleges This is a question about the US. Speaking of the future “collapse” of higher ed because of low enrollment and financial issues, how does a state flagship public university compare with a mid-range small liberal arts college? I work at a flagship state university at a poor state, and my university is facing financial issues. And there are a couple of job openings at some mid-range small liberal arts colleges (ranked 40-60 nationally). If we only consider the possibility of a financial crisis (in which firing tenure track and even tenured faculty would be justified) and job security, is it reasonable to considering moving from the state school to some small liberal arts colleges? I’m in humanities. Assistant: State flagship schools will be the last to go under

Human: Future of state public universities vs non-elite small liberal arts colleges This is a question about the US. Speaking of the future “collapse” of higher ed because of low enrollment and financial issues, how does a state flagship public university compare with a mid-range small liberal arts college? I work at a flagship state university at a poor state, and my university is facing financial issues. And there are a couple of job openings at some mid-range small liberal arts colleges (ranked 40-60 nationally). If we only consider the possibility of a financial crisis (in which firing tenure track and even tenured faculty would be justified) and job security, is it reasonable to considering moving from the state school to some small liberal arts colleges? I’m in humanities. Assistant: I'd consider the endowment. With a 40-60 ranking nationally and a pretty hefty (a few hundred million $) endowment, they may be well placed to survive the collapse. As people say with alligators.... you don't have to outswim the gator, just the people you're with. Similarly, it's mostly about a school being placed to out-last its competitors.

Human: How closely can someone replicate an active police car before legal issues are brought up? Title. Was wondering about this for a while. Obviously, it's not legal to have actual names of police departments, but if I had a crown vic, how far could I go? Assistant: Depends on the state - which is not a helpful post, but there are 50 different sets of laws about it. There's no laws, though, about running a single boring-colored Crown Vic, installing a bullbar and a CB whip antenna on the trunk, putting black steelies on, tinting the windows down to the legal minimum, and slapping a spotlight on the driver's side. It makes you a _dick_, though.

Human: How closely can someone replicate an active police car before legal issues are brought up? Title. Was wondering about this for a while. Obviously, it's not legal to have actual names of police departments, but if I had a crown vic, how far could I go? Assistant: In CA "No person shall own or operate a motor vehicle painted in the manner described in Section 40800 to resemble a motor vehicle used by a peace officer or traffic officer on duty for the primary purpose of enforcing the provisions of Division 10 (commencing with Section 20000) or Division 11 (commencing with Section 21000) pursuant to Section 40800." http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/vehicle-code/veh-sect-27605.html#sthash.rV3EeLyl.dpuf

Human: Family member cleaned my copper saucepan with an abrasive scrub, exposing some copper, is the pan still safe to use? the pan in question Assistant: As long as you plan to never use it for anything acidic. No tomato sauces, no citrus, no wine, no vinegar, no soy sauce etc. Personally, I’d suggest getting it retinned and smacking the person who scratched it up with the pan. A third option is tinning it yourself. The thought of tinning my own antique pan has crossed my mind once or twice, but I haven’t had to deal with that yet. You can read up on DIY guides if this is up your alley.

Human: Family member cleaned my copper saucepan with an abrasive scrub, exposing some copper, is the pan still safe to use? the pan in question Assistant: Your family member just bought a saucepan.

Human: What books would you reccomend for an economics student? I'm interested in stuff about consequencialism, politics, nations/borders, social cohesion, inequality, etc. What parts of philosophy are useful for an economics student to know? Assistant: Thomas Piketty's two Capital books are excellent.

Human: What books would you reccomend for an economics student? I'm interested in stuff about consequencialism, politics, nations/borders, social cohesion, inequality, etc. What parts of philosophy are useful for an economics student to know? Assistant: Elizabeth Anderson's *Value in Ethics and Economics* is a classic text in relating what we know in economics on one hand and moral and political philosophy on the other, and is specifically about whether we can make sense of the value theory implicit in much of economics and explicit in consequentialism (she says no, for interesting and influential reasons, and argues for a value pluralism).

Human: Fear of failing my defense My PhD defense is about 5 weeks from now and I'm really nervous that I'm not going to be prepared for it. I have been working part-time during my PhD and I just landed a full-time job. I quit my part-time job with my last day being 12 days from today, and then I start my new job the following week. I asked my new employer if it was possible to start after my defense but they said they prefer I start as soon as possible because they are quite busy and need to train me. They said they are happy to give me some days off prior to my defense to make sure I am prepared for it. I've been trying to find the time and energy to study when I'm not working but I'm worried that it will become more difficult once I start my new job. I'll pretty much only have evenings and weekends to study. My PI knows I work part-time and is aware that I've been looking for a full-time job since I was nearing the end of writing my dissertation. I'm really anxious that I'm going to be unprepared for my defense and fail. How likely is it to fail a PhD defense? Has anyone here worked full-time while preparing for a defense? Any advice or reassurances are welcome. Thanks! Assistant: I'm defending tomorrow. I have exactly the same feeling. Maybe I'll remember to let you know how it went. I am not afraid I will not pass. I am afraid the embrassment of being asked questions that I will have no answer to and disappointing my advisor. But that's the perfectionist in me. In a few hours/days/weeks/years none of this will matter. Wish me luck! And more importantly good luck to you!! Ad it's been said make sure to enjoy the day and celebrate it!

Human: Fear of failing my defense My PhD defense is about 5 weeks from now and I'm really nervous that I'm not going to be prepared for it. I have been working part-time during my PhD and I just landed a full-time job. I quit my part-time job with my last day being 12 days from today, and then I start my new job the following week. I asked my new employer if it was possible to start after my defense but they said they prefer I start as soon as possible because they are quite busy and need to train me. They said they are happy to give me some days off prior to my defense to make sure I am prepared for it. I've been trying to find the time and energy to study when I'm not working but I'm worried that it will become more difficult once I start my new job. I'll pretty much only have evenings and weekends to study. My PI knows I work part-time and is aware that I've been looking for a full-time job since I was nearing the end of writing my dissertation. I'm really anxious that I'm going to be unprepared for my defense and fail. How likely is it to fail a PhD defense? Has anyone here worked full-time while preparing for a defense? Any advice or reassurances are welcome. Thanks! Assistant: The defense is basically a rubber stamp. You've been given permission to write/defend because they think you are ready to graduate and you've turned in your dissertation. I've never heard of a student failing the actual defense.