trentmkelly/rationalwiki huggingface dataset:
Criticality

{{Nuclear}}
'''Criticality''' is the event of a nuclear reactor reaching a self-sustained chain reaction. This means no external source of neutrons is required to sustain fission in the reactor core. Criticality is a precondition of producing useful amounts of [[energy]] from the reactor. The term can also be used in relation to [[nuclear weapon]]s.

When a reactor is "going critical", it is not about to blow up. This is a popular misconception in fiction.<ref>http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoingCritical</ref> It's actually just starting to produce power and operate normally because the reactor has just begun to support an ongoing chain reaction of fissions.  Nuclear detonation is caused by supercriticality under extreme conditions.

There are two kinds of criticality: delayed criticality and prompt criticality. Delayed criticality means that the chain reaction is self-sustained due to delayed neutrons, which come from the decay of short-lived fission products, but would not be if those fission products were neglected. All nuclear reactors operate in the delayed criticality regime. Prompt criticality means the reaction is self-sustaining using only the neutrons released immediately from fission, regardless of the neutrons from fission products. Nuclear bombs operate in the far reaches of the supercritical regime. Nuclear reactors are designed to prevent prompt criticality from happening in a reactor, in that it can lead to [[core meltdown]] and/or explosion (which should also be limited by containment facilities).

Accidentally assembling a critical mass of fissile material can lead to sudden bursts of [[radioactivity]] and in some cases even explosions. Such events are called criticality accidents. Several such accidents have happened in nuclear weapons programs, as well as in civilian reprocessing facilities. The worst in recent history was an accident in Tokaimura (Japan) in 1999, which killed two workers.<ref>[https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/tokaimura-criticality-accident.aspx WNA: Tokaimura Criticality Accident 1999]</ref>

The term ''explosion'', used above, does ''not'' refer to nuclear explosions. Nuclear detonation requires a mass ''far'' beyond critical of weapons-grade fissionable materials (''much'' higher-grade than are used in power plants), under extremely demanding conditions of pressure and uniformity. These conditions are so difficult to produce through purposeful engineering that the idea of them arising randomly in the course of an accident strains credulity to the breaking point. Accidental assembly of such an extreme supercritical mass is theoretically possible, but vanishingly unlikely, as the effects of criticality would disrupt the assembly long before such a mass could be formed. Criticality, particularly in accidents, may, however, result in chemical explosions (rapid combustion of materials initiated directly or indirectly by the energy release) or physical explosions (failure of pressure containment, such as in steam pipes).

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Nuclear energy]]

Categories: Nuclear energy
Cro-Magnon

[[File:Font-de-Gaume.jpg|right|thumb|165px|Cro-Magnon violating God's future word by depicting animals not mentioned in the [[Bible]].]]
{{evolution}}
'''Cro-Magnon Man''' is the name informally given by anthropologists to the first anatomically modern [[human]] inhabitants of [[Europe]].  It does not refer, however, to any specific species, subspecies, cultural or [[Archaeology|archaeological]] phase. [[science|Scientist]]s prefer the term "European Early Modern Humans" (EEMH). Cro-Magnon existed between roughly 10,000 and 45,000 years ago.<ref>[http://www.elephant.se/cro-magnon.php Cro-Magnon Man (Anatomically Modern or Early Modern Humans)]</ref>

==Popular imagination and definition==
In popular imagination, they are often grouped with [[Neanderthal man]] as "cavemen"; however modern humans and Neanderthals were distinct. 

Cro-Magnon is not a scientific definition; the term simply lumps together all European hominids that appear to be the same species as modern humans.<ref>http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/cro-magnon-1</ref>

==Brain size and intelligence==
[[File:Homo skull changes.png|center|thumb|750px|Evolution of the shape, size, and contours of the human (''Homo'') skull]]
At least some Cro-Magnon had larger [[brain]] cases than average modern humans but scientists can say nothing one way or the other as to whether their brains were as efficient as modern human brains. They made tools from antler and bone as well as other materials and had specialized tools for making clothes and engraving. Cro-Magnon also produced different types of artwork.<ref>[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/cromagnon.html  Fossil Hominids: Cro-Magnon Man]</ref><ref>[http://www.physorg.com/news187877156.html Cro Magnon skull shows that our brains have shrunk]</ref>

The achievements of Cro-Magnon were somewhat comparable to what modern human hunter-gatherers can do and Cro-Magnon went through life doing hunter-gatherer things for thousands and thousands of years.  

But then, about 10,000 years ago, at the start of the [[Neolithic Revolution]], people started getting exciting new ideas.  
#People worked out how to grow their own plants
#People domesticated animals

Once those trendy innovations came up scientists stop calling them Cro-Magnon and started calling them fully modern humans.<ref group=note>Those humans who developed animal domestication, agriculture and metallurgy all during the last 10,000 years ''might'' have been more intelligent than those who over 35,000 years or 110,000 years did not get beyond hunter-gatherer existence. Scientists have insufficient data to prove or disprove this.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Hominid]]
==External links==
*{{wpa|Cro-magnon man}}
*[http://archaeology.about.com/od/earlymansites/a/cro_magnon.htm Why Don't We Call Them Cro-Magnon Anymore?]
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Evolution]]
[[Category:Hominids]]

Categories: Evolution, Hominids
Crockus

{{pseudosciencenav}}
The '''crockus''' (of shit) is a [[Bullshit|non-existent]] [[brain]] structure [[PIDOOMA|fabricated]] by one Dan Hodgins, some sort of education 
expert
 hack. Hodgins claims the crockus is four times bigger in girls than in boys, causing girls to "see the details" and boys to "see the big picture." This is then used to justify some bogus educational [[woo]].
Mark Liberman of Language Log contacted Hodgins in an attempt to track down the origin of this myth. Hodgins wrote:
{{cquote|Thanks for asking....The Crockus was actually just recently named by Dr. Alfred Crockus. It is the detailed section of the brain, a part of the frontal lope.<ref>No relation to the cantaloupe.</ref> It is the detailed section of the brain. You are right, it is four times larger in females then males from birth. This part of the brain supports the Corpus Callosum (the part of the brain that connects the right and left hemisphere. The larger the crockus the more details are percieved by the two sides of the brain.

For boys, usually they only view and analyze the whole picture, not the sum of its details. Girls brains are wired to look at the details first, which then leads them to the whole picture.

Look at the work by Moir.}}

Apparently, Dr. Crockus also has a problem with a lack of existence (and apostrophes).

==External links==
*[http://www.slideserve.com/sukey/looking-through-the-eyes-of-boys-and-girls "Looking Through The Eyes of Boys and Girls"] &mdash; the actual slides mentioning the "Crockus"

===Language Log posts===
*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004922.html How Big Is Your Crockus?]
*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004926.html High Crockalorum]
*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004930.html Dr. Alfred Crockus and Crosley Shelvador, M.D.]
*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004931.html Crosley Shelvador Comes in From the Cold]
*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004939.html Dr. Crockus in Central New Jersey]
*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004989.html The Caring Membrane in the Brain]
===Other critical posts===
*[http://laurietobyedison.com/discuss/?p=430 A Crockus of Shit] from ''body impolitic''
*[http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2007/09/more-on-dan-hod.html More on Dan Hodgins and the Crockus] from Liz Ditz's ''I Speak of Dreams''
*[http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2007/09/you-can-hear-da.html You Can Hear Dan Hodgins on the Crockus!] from Liz Ditz's ''I Speak of Dreams''

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Stub|Education}}

[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Science woo]]
[[Category:Education]]

Categories: Psychology, Science woo, Education
Crowd psychology

{{Psychology}}
{{sources needed}}
'''Crowd psychology''' refers to studies and theories regarding the behaviour of crowds and of the people within them and the [[psychology|psychological]] causes and effects of crowd participation.

Many of the first works on the subject were largely theoretical and date from the late nineteenth century, an era when there was widespread concern with the dangers of rioting. The most prominent study was Gustave Le Bon's ''The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind'' (1895). Le Bon suggested that when people become part of a crowd, they lose almost all of their individuality, autonomy, and personal judgement and [[morality]], becoming caught up in the crowd's collective and often irrational influence. According to Le Bon, this allows crowds to commit acts of destruction, violence, and cruelty which, individually, no one member would contemplate. Le Bon's conception of the crowd applied not only to mobs of rioters, but to any group of people, even in small numbers. [[Carl Jung]] also wrote on the subjects of crowds and on the "collective unconscious", a concept which can apply to whole societies as well as to crowds.

The crowd effect was shrewdly understood by the [[dictator]]s of the twentieth century, particularly [[Benito Mussolini]] and [[Adolf Hitler]], who knew the level of excitement they could generate by addressing impassioned speech to huge crowds at public rallies. Hitler's ideas of crowd control through [[propaganda]] were heavily influenced by Le Bon's text.

Convergence theory is another theory regarding crowd behaviour, which emerged during the twentieth century, arguing that crowds act in a unified way, not because of the collective 'mind' of the crowd, as Le Bon suggested, but because they tend to be composed of like-minded people who are attracted into the crowd situation because of a shared interest or objective.

In reality, the truth is probably somewhere between these two models. Being part of a crowd is certainly influential on the individual's feelings and behaviour. For example, one of the reasons people attend live sport events and music concerts, other than the spectacle itself, is the atmosphere they feel as part of a crowd and the shared excitement and emotions.

==See also==
*[[Bandwagon]]
*[[Bystander effect]]
*[[Groupthink]]

[[category:psychology]][[category:sociology]]

Categories: psychology, sociology
Cuius regio, eius religio

{{Sources needed}}{{religion}}
'''''Cuius regio, eius religio''''' is a [[Latin]] phrase meaning, "whose region, his religion".

It was coined by jurists in the [[Germany#Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman Empire]], which occupied a huge chunk of Central [[Europe]], to describe the compromise between [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]] and [[Catholics]] in the Peace of Augsburg (1555), whereby each prince (duke, elector, margrave, count, etc) in the Empire could decide whether his subjects would be Lutheran or Catholic, without the [[Pope]], the Emperor, or any other outside power being able to interfere. It was obviously too much to ask that individual subjects in the Empire could choose their ''own'' [[religion]].<ref>After all, such a notion might not gel with the Biblical pronouncement of {{bible|Matthew|18|20}}: "[...] where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them".</ref> Dissenting individuals were, instead, required to migrate to regions practicing their preferred religion. This is obviously an unacceptable practice since it is impractical for people to relocate. Just ask the 60 million New Americans that have permanently changed electoral outcomes in the US.

The Peace of Westphalia (1648) extended the principle of a list of officially permitted denominations to include [[Calvinism]]. Notably, this excluded other, less mainstream branches of Christianity like {{wpl|Anabaptism||,}} and given that the Empire was composed of ''over one thousand'' semi-sovereign states (many with enclaves and exclaves), the official religion could change a dozen times in a ten-mile stretch of land.

The principle of ''cuius regio, eius religio'' is an early statement of the essential principle of {{wpl|Westphalian sovereignty}} in [[international relations]], which is to say, that a sovereign state's domestic affairs are not subject to interference by outside powers. In other words, Country A cannot attack Country B simply because it does not like the way it is handling some purely internal matter &mdash; like what religion it will follow. This ultimately gave local [[aristocracy|prince]]s much freer hands to do what they wanted outside the religious sphere. 

== See also==
*[[State religion]]
*[[Freedom of religion]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Religious terms]]
[[Category:Latin phrases]]

{{stub|religion}}

Categories: Religious terms, Latin phrases
Cultural Christianity

{{languagenav}}
{{expand}}
"'''Cultural Christian'''" (also "'''Secular Christian'''") is a self-identifying term used by some non-Christians (usually [[atheist]]s and [[agnostic]]s), usually to mean that they see [[Christianity]] as fundamental to "[[Western world|Western]]" culture, whatever that means, and thus associate with it.

==Application==
The term is variously used by:
*[[secularism|Secular]] [[Islamophobe]]s, to emphasize that they, at minimum, find Christianity [[Not as bad as|preferable to Islam]] (they rarely reference other religions).
*Adherents of an even more secularist version of [[cafeteria Christianity]] (or, similarly, by atheists or agnostics who want to distinguish themselves from [[antitheism]]).
*Some [[conservative]] or [[neoreactionary]] non-Christians, to allow the use of [[Cherry picking|carefully-selected]] Christian moral principles to defend their ideology. 
Looking at you, [[Jordan Peterson]].

*Good old fashioned [[antisemitism|antisemites]], who want to assert that they have no truck with any of that "[[Judeo-Christian]]" stuff.
*[[White nationalism|White nationalists]] who wish to cover their racism with a fig leaf of religion.

[[Richard Dawkins]] is an odd example in that, despite his frequent lambasting of religion, he uses the terms "cultural Christian"<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7136682.stm</ref> and "secular Christian" to just mean that he was brought up in a Christian culture and occasionally participates in events at his local [[Church of England]]<ref>“[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/10853648/Richard-Dawkins-I-am-a-secular-Christian.html I would describe myself as a secular Christian in the same sense as secular Jews have a feeling for nostalgia and ceremonies.]”</ref> &mdash; though it also fits Dawkins' [[Richard Dawkins#Islamophobia|less than fond attitude]] towards [[Islam]] (which also means that he thinks that only the [[Protestant]]/[[Catholic]] conflict should figure as a sort of historical civic culture class).<ref>[http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9018391/interview-richard-dawkins-on-what-hed-miss-if-christianity-vanished/ Richard Dawkins interview: 'I have a certain love for the Anglican tradition'], ''The Spectator'', 14 September 2013. Particularly this bit: "But I think I share your Anglican nostalgia, especially when you look at the competition"; though Dawkins leaves open exactly which competition he means.</ref>

Since [[Anders Breivik]] used it in his manifesto,<ref>http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Is-Anders-Breivik-a-Christian-terrorist-1624540.php</ref> the usage has shifted more towards the Islamophobic and (somewhat secular) conservative meanings. White nationalist leader [[Richard Spencer]] considers himself a cultural Christian. <ref>https://forward.com/news/376642/who-is-richard-spencer-alt-right/</ref>

==See also==
*[[Cultural Marxism]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Christianity]]

Categories: Christianity
Culture

{{Sociology}}
'''Culture''' is a broad term to describe different social, religious, historical, and performative characteristics of a group of people. More specifically, culture is a community-defined construct that provides group identity, social connections, rules and ethics, political structures, and reproduction of practices. Culture is most often tied to ethnic groups and [[nation]]s and can be a powerful force in [[nationalism]]. Anthropologists study culture. 

However, even within a nation, competing cultures can be found.  These are often referred to as ''subcultures''.

A group that establishes its own set of values and behavior in opposition to a dominant group in society is termed  a ''counter-culture''. 

==Other definitions==
Among microbiologists, a ''culture'' is a particular sample of microorganisms, such as [[kombucha]] or any of the numerous groups of [[E. coli]] used by [[Richard Lenski]].

==See also==
*[[Government]]

{{stub|culture}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Culture| ]]
[[Category:Sociology]]

Categories: Biology, Culture, Sociology
Cyclamate

{{foodnav}}
'''Cyclamate''' is an artificial [[sweetener]] that was banned in the [[United States]] in 1969, out of fear that it caused [[cancer]] in rats. Its successor, saccharin, was also implicated in rat cancers, but was shown not to cause cancer in [[primate]]s, and still enjoys some success in modern markets. (Plus, the rat now has to drink the equivalent of 2 or 3 liters of sweetened beverage a day to risk cellular chaos.) Many American consumers who'd grown used to cyclamate missed it after it was banned, most notably since its aftertaste wasn't as strongly bitter as saccharin's.

[[Aspartame]] (NutraSweet&reg;, and an ingredient in Equal&reg;) appeared as its next successor in the 1980s. It is one of the most studied and vetted food additives in the world and is considered safe in over 70 countries. Since then, sucralose (Splenda&reg;, another artificial sweetener) and {{wpl|stevia}} (extracted from the leaves of the flowering plant ''stevia rebaudiana'', and thus not artificial) have started horning in on the nearly-calorie-free sweetener market too. 

== How was it invented? ==

In 1937, a grad student was trying to make a synthetic anti-fever medication. He put his [[Tobacco smoking|cigarette]] down on his lab bench, picked it up again, and discovered that it tasted sweet. We swear we're not making this up.<ref>{{cite book |author=Packard, Vernal S. |title=Processed foods and the consumer: additives, labeling, standards, and nutrition |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |year=1976 |pages=332 |isbn=0-8166-0778-8 |oclc= |accessdate=}}</ref>

== Is it really harmful? ==

[[Bacteria]] living in your gut can break down cyclamate into cyclohexylamine, which is suspected (but not conclusively proven) to have some chronic toxic effect in various animal species — and which, even worse, has a long and therefore scary-sounding chemical name. The general feeling at the time cyclamate was banned in the US was that simply ''waving'' it near rats gave them cancer. But apparently, further research disagrees. 55 countries, including [[Canada]], still permit cyclamate to be added to food. The U.S. [[FDA]] now states that a review of all available evidence does not implicate cyclamate as a carcinogen in mice or rats — but the ban still has not been lifted.

Cyclamate was also implicated in making your balls shrink. However, a 2003 paper reports that an epidemiological study "demonstrates no effect of cyclamate or cyclohexylamine on male fertility at the present levels of cyclamate consumption."<ref>{{cite web |title=Cyclamate intake and cyclohexylamine excretion are not related to male fertility in humans |author= Serra-Majem, L. Bassas, L. García-Glosas, R. Ribas, L. Inglés, C. Casals, I. Saavedram, P. Renwick, A. G |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14726272 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Chemophobia]]
*[[Obesity]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{foodbox}}

[[Category:Chemicals]]
[[Category:Food]]

Categories: Chemicals, Food
Czech Skeptics' Club Sisyfos

[[File:CSC Sisyfos Logo.jpg|thumb|165px|CSC Sisyfos Logo]]
{{skepnav}}
'''Czech Skeptics' Club Sisyfos''' is a [[Czech Republic|Czech]] skeptical nonprofit organization devoted to promoting public awareness of [[philosophical]] [[skepticism]], [[science]], and [[critical thinking]].

In their rules, they refuse to interfere with [[Religion|religious]], [[Morality|moral]] and [[Politics|political]] issues.<ref>[http://www.sisyfos.cz/sisyfos/dokument/stanovy.html Stanovy Českého klubu skeptiků Sisyfos] (in Czech)</ref>

==Paranormal challenge==
Sisyfos (like many many other organizations) offers a lot of money (3,373,333 Czech koruna or US$160,671) to a person who can prove to have [[paranormal]] abilities.<ref>Oficial page of [http://www.falesni-hraci.cz/cs/paranormalni-vyzva Paranormal challenge] (in Czech)</ref>

==Erratic Boulder==
Erratic Boulder is an anti-award given to people for "misleading the Czech public and the development of a muddy way of thinking."<ref> [http://www.sysifos.cz/files/statut_blb.htm Statut pro udělování výroční ceny Sisyfa Bludný balvan] (in Czech)</ref>

Erratic Boulder was given to people such as the creator of {{wpl|Psychotronics (parapsychology)|psychotronics}} Zdeněk Rejdák, Czech minister Antonín Baudyš or [[Erich von Däniken]]. It was also given to some organizations in category cooperatives, such as three major television stations in Czechia (Prima, Nova and it was also given to national Czech Television 3 times), [[Homeopathic]] medical association, [[Flat Earth|Flat-earthers]] (the boulder that was given for them was especially flat) and also to Ministry of Industry and Trade for financing project FI-IMPULS by 29 million Czech koruna (US$1.3 million) that was researching a thing that cannot exist (in state documents called “Passive detection and localization of human behind obstacle“)<ref>[http://www.sysifos.cz/index.php?id=vypis&sec=1268037705 Zlatý Bludný balvan za rok 2009 — Ministerstvo průmyslu a obchodu České republiky] (in Czech)</ref>.

==External links==
*[http://www.sysifos.cz/?lang=en Czech Skeptics' Club Sisyfos] — in English
*[http://www.sysifos.cz/index.php Český klub skeptiků SISYFOS] — in Czech

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|skepticism}}
[[Category:Skeptical organizations]]
[[Category:Czechia]]

Categories: Skeptical organizations, Czechia