trentmkelly/rationalwiki huggingface dataset:
Quasar

[[File:Quasar 3C 273.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Quasar 3C 273]]
{{Astronomy}}
A '''quasi-stellar Radio Source''' ('''quasar''') is a term used to describe the brightest and most distant objects in the known [[Universe]], which emit up to a thousand times the energy of our own [[Milky Way]] galaxy. 

Quasars have a very high red shift which indicates extreme distance and age. The most distant quasar ever discovered is a mind-boggling 12.9 billion light-years away and would have formed when the universe was approximately 770 million years old.<ref>http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1122/</ref>

In early January 2013 a cluster of quasars was discovered that measured 4 billion light-years across, making it the largest structure ever discovered in the Universe.<ref>http://news.discovery.com/space/galaxies/scientists-find-universes-largest-structure-130111.htm</ref> Seriously &mdash; think about that for second… 4 billion light-years…

The brightest (''not'' the {{wpl|3C_454.3|most luminous}}) quasar is named 3C 273 and it's located at a distance of 2.5 billion light-years. It can be seen with amateur telescopes &mdash; as a star-like object &mdash; in the constellation of Virgo. 

==What are they?==
The properties and formation of quasars was historically controversial.

However, in recent times quasars are believed to be formed by the accretion of material into supermassive [[black hole]]s.<ref>http://www.universetoday.com/73222/what-is-a-quasar/</ref> Essentially, quasars are galaxies in the very early stage of their formation, where there's still enough infalling matter to feed that voracious black hole in its center. As the material swirls down the drain on its way to the event horizon, it heats up. A lot. The result is a hell of a lot of [[radiation]] across a wide variety of frequency bands.

==Little Green Men==
When quasars were first discovered, nobody really knew what they were. In 1963, Nikolai Kardashev (of {{wpl|Kardashev Scale}} fame) speculated that the newly discovered quasar CTA-102 might be a radio beacon developed by high-tech [[space aliens]]. The Byrds even wrote a song about it:

{{cquote|C.T.A.-102<BR>We're over here receiving you<BR>Signals tell us that you're there<BR>We can hear them loud and clear|||"C.T.A.-102", from the album ''Younger than Yesterday''}}

If quasars really ''are'' artificial radio beacons, they are an awfully large and inefficient way to generate radio signals.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Cosmology]]

Categories: Cosmology
Quod erat demonstrandum

{{title-italics}}{{logicnav}}
'''''Quod Erat Demonstrandum''''' (normally abbreviated to '''Q.E.D.''') is a [[Latin]] phrase that means literally "that which was to be demonstrated."

In normal English, this means "thus it is proven", or "so there, nyer nyer nyer"; the Latin equivalent of a mic drop. It is used formally after the last line of a [[mathematics]] [[proof]], and colloquially in discussion or argument in a similar fashion.

==Confusion==
Due to the scary nature of Latin, many people have been misled into thinking it actually stands for "quite easily done", which stems from math teachers who — [[Dunning-Kruger effect|thinking they are clever]] — tell this joke without identifying it as such.

This ignorance is actually a godsend (or, alternatively, a curse), as it allows the educated to correct their cretinous peers in as condescending a manner as they feel necessary.

==As a fallacy==
{{main|1=Danth's law|3=Begging the question}}
While fancily ending a [[syllogism]] of one's proposal with "Q.E.D." ''totally'' sounds like something a college dean — learned at the topic at hand — might do, doing so is actually not the least bit indicative of said argument being logically acceptable.

Here's an example of the "Q.E.D. stamp" being applied to a blatantly fallacious argument:
{{syl
|2=10% of [[car]] thefts are committed by left-handed people.
|4=Half of all polar bears are [[southpaw|left-handed]].
|5=C|6=[[Not even wrong|There's a 5% chance your car was stolen by a polar bear.]]<br>
:Q.E.D.}}

As such, treat unexamined claims of Q.E.D for what they most likely are — mere 
pretentious
 Latin shorthand for shouting "Nailed it!!" while touring the room for high-fives.

[[category:Latin phrases]]
[[category:Logic]]

{{stub|Logic}}

Categories: Latin phrases, Logic
RationalWiki:Autopatrolled

{{shortcut|RW:AUTOP}}
'''Autopatrolled''' users get three things:

*If they aren't yet autoconfirmed, they don't need to do the CAPTCHA before editing.
*Unlimited edit speed. (Autoconfirmed users can edit once per 30 seconds, others can edit once per 60, assuming you aren't in the vandal bin, when it becomes one edit per 30 minutes regardless of this right.)
*When a [[sysop]] is viewing edits (as in Recent Changes or a page history), edits by autopatrolled users will no longer have those pesky little red exclamation marks (<font color=red>'''!'''</font>) next to their edits, meaning their edits are probably trustworthy.{{lie}} Stop the <font color=red>RED</font> menace<font color=red>!!!</font>

[[Category:RationalWiki]]
[[Category:User rights]]

Categories: RationalWiki, User rights
RationalWiki:Edit filter

{{shortcut|RW:EF}}
The edit filter is an automated filter which prohibits certain edits which are considered likely to be spam or vandalism. If your edit is caught by the edit filter, you may wish to consider rewording your edit in such a way that it is not caught.

You can view the configuration of the abuse filter [[Special:AbuseFilter|here]], although the details of some rules are hidden from view for non-[[rw:tech|techs]] (for privacy reasons, or to make it harder for would-be spammers or vandals to work around them).

If all else fails, please report your difficulties to [[RationalWiki:Technical support]]. If you notice repetitive spam or vandalism for which you think an abuse filter would be useful, please make your suggestions on that page also.

[[Category:RationalWiki]]

Categories: RationalWiki
Rabies

[[File:Rabid dog.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A rabid dog.]]
'''Rabies''' is a cross-species [[viral]] disease that is exceedingly rare in many [[Western world|Western]] countries, because of 
[[Anti-vaccination movement|giving all the little puppies autism]]
 animal vaccination.<ref name="factsheet">[http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs099/en/ Rabies], WHO fact sheet</ref> Rabies causes about 26,000 to 55,000 deaths per year, mostly in Asia and Africa where it is typically transmitted to [[humans]] by [[dog]] bites.<ref name="factsheet"/> In the U.S. the plurality of cases come from bats<ref name="factsheet"/> (11 of the 34 cases reported between 2003 and 2011); raccoons are also a popular vector, primarily in the northeast, accounting for 7 of the cases.<ref>[http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.245.10.1111 Rabies surveillance in the United States, CDC]</ref> Almost all [[mammals]] are susceptible to rabies, and can transmit the disease to humans. Birds are almost entirely immune to rabies, as their immune systems are equipped to handle it, and even those which show symptoms almost always have it clear up in a couple days.<ref>http://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/abs/10.7589/0090-3558-24.2.264</ref><ref>http://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/abs/10.7589/0090-3558-12.3.392</ref><ref>http://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/abs/10.7589/0090-3558-12.3.444</ref> Rabies is pretty damn nasty and almost always fatal after symptoms have developed (even today), which is why vaccination is so important. Vaccination after exposure (but before symptoms) is usually effective in preventing disease.<ref name="factsheet"/>

==Vaccination==
[[File:Rabisin.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rabies vaccine (Rabisin).]]
Rabies has been fully or partially eliminated in many countries as a result of dog vaccination, human vaccination, and wildlife vaccination (which involves dropping edible vaccines into the wilderness<ref>[http://www.fecava.org/content/estonia-declares-rabies-free-status Estonia declares rabies-free status]</ref>). A recent example is [[Bangladesh]], which reduced the number of rabies cases by 50% through the management of dog bites, mass dog vaccination and increased availability of vaccines [[Communism|free of charge]].<ref name="factsheet"/><ref>[http://www.who.int/features/2014/bangladesh-tackles-rabies/en/ Bangladesh tackles rabies through mass dog vaccination]</ref>

A number of countries are considered to be "rabies-free" in land animals (not bats).<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/importation/rabies-free-countries.html Rabies-Free Countries and Political Units], CDC</ref>

==See also==
*[[Smallpox]]
*[[Vampire]] and [[Zombie]]<ref>[https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/27/16559778/halloween-vampires-zombies-rabies-disease-legends Were zombies and vampires inspired by a real disease? Both myths have a few things in common with a real-world nightmare: rabies] (October 27, 2017) ''The Verge''.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Disease]]
[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:Viruses]]

{{stub|Medicine}}

Categories: Disease, Medicine, Viruses
Race

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R96374, Berlin, Olympiade, Jesse Owens beim Weitsprung.jpg|thumb|right|Jesse Owens beating the [[Nazis]] in a race]]
A '''race''' is a competition of speed. This typically involves a group of individuals attempting to reach a destination point faster than their opponents (often according to a [[biological determinism|predetermined path]]). There are many types of races; sprinting, marathon, swimming, [[bicycle]], auto, motorcycle, boat, air, etc. Race enthusiasts ('''[[racists]]''' for short) are people who like races — [[racism|especially whatever particular race style that they themselves identify with]]. Self-styled race specialists (a.k.a. '''[[racialist]]s''' who adhere to what they call "scientific racism") are ''so interested'' in racing that they've made a whole new sport out of [[racialism|trying to categorize "types" of races]]. 

==Other definitions==
Separately from the above, '''race''' may also refer to:
*An informal classification in [[taxonomy]], typically below the level of subspecies.
*An alternative term for "breed" (e.g. [[dog]] breed), an even more informal classification based on what traits the breeders arbitrarily decided to breed into the [[animals]] under their care.
*A super-informal term used in [[fantasy]] fiction to denote morphologically distinct groups of beings who may be very closely related (e.g. Orcs being corrupted Elves) or wholly unrelated (e.g. Elves and [[Dwarf|Dwarves]] were created separately by different beings). A character's alignment/moral perspective is often wholly predetermined by race, except with humans. (Totally not racist.)
*An ambiguous term used to racially categorize human beings, often synonymous with "ethnicity", implying some degree of shared ancestry, history and sometimes culture.
*A political race, also known as an election, sometimes known as a [[2016 Republican Party presidential nomination|circus]] and too often as a [[Democracy#Flaws|farce]].
*An arms race, also known as the lead-up to a [[war]].

==See also==
*[[Special:PrefixIndex/Race|All pages beginning with "Race"]]
*[[Special:PrefixIndex/Racial|All pages beginning with "Racial"]]

{{fork|1=}}
Race Traitor

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Race Traitor''}}{{race}}
{{cquote|{{wpl|John Brown (abolitionist)|[John] Brown}} was apparently not sophisticated enough to realize that holding opinions about blacks made him a white supremacist.|4=One of the saner contributors to ''Race Traitor''<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20040224102739/http://racetraitor.org/decaro.html</ref>}}
'''''Race Traitor''''' was a journal published from 1993 to 2005, lasting for sixteen issues.<ref name=abolish>https://web.archive.org/web/20020206143658/http://www.racetraitor.org/abolish.html</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/19991128005812/http://racetraitor.org/</ref> Contributors included Noel Ignatiev, John Garvey, Beth Henson, and others.

The journal was dedicated to the idea of abolishing whiteness as a subject position, and summarized its central philosophy with the slogan "treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity." An editorial in the first issue clarified that the idea of abolishing the white race did not involve the literal [[white genocide|killing of white people]]; instead, the journal called for the idea of a white race to be abandoned, on the grounds that white [[privilege]] would cease to exist as a result.<ref name=abolish/> However, the journal did on one occasion advocate the "bashing" of individuals for being white: "we intend to keep bashing the dead white males, and the live ones, and the females too, until the social construct known as ‘the white race’ is destroyed — not ‘deconstructed’ but destroyed."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20080908071610/http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/09/abolish-the-white-race.html</ref>

This rather crankish journal appears to have had little influence. Its most notable legacy seems to lie in its [[nutpicking|adoption]] by [[white nationalist]]s as evidence that all anti-racists are secretly [[Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white|anti-white bigots]] who are [[genocide conspiracy|plotting the genocide]] of the white race.

==Diversity Chronicle==
In November 2013, the blog Diversity Chronicle ran a satirical attack on Noel Ignatiev that jokingly claimed that he had ended his university tenure by telling all white males in his class to commit [[suicide]].<ref>http://diversitychronicle.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/progressive-professor-urges-white-male-students-to-commit-suicide-during-class/</ref> Despite the blog having a disclaimer identifying its content as "largely satirical",<ref>http://diversitychronicle.wordpress.com/disclaimer/</ref> [[Poe's law|various sources reported its piece on Ignatiev as fact]]; these include [[Gateway Pundit]],<ref>http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/11/progressive-professor-tells-white-males-to-commit-suicide-in-final-lecture/</ref> the Bolton [[BNP]] blog, and [[Conservapedia]].<ref><capture>http://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Template:Mainpageright&diff=1070386&oldid=1070385</capture></ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{stub|racism}}

[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Racism]]

Categories: Media, Racism
Radiation woo

'''Radiation woo''' refers to the collection of hysteria, nonsense, and quackery loosely collected around the concept of [[radiation]]. It is notable for completely failing to distinguish between the various forms of radiation in the environment, particularly between ionising and non-ionising radiation.

A typical radiation woo argument will start by asserting that there are improbably huge numbers of cancers resulting from Chernobyl and from this assert that cellphones, WiFi, and similar devices give you cancer because they also give off radiation. What do you mean nobody could be that stupid? It's the gospel according to [[Mike Adams|Mike "Health Danger" Adams]], is what.<ref>[http://www.naturalnews.com/radiation.html Natural News] on radiation. [[Tinfoil hat]] required.</ref>

The inability to distinguish between ionising and non-ionising radiation, low-level EMF, microwaves, and radio-frequency communications, and even the different wavelengths of light, leads to the cottage industry around [[electrosensitivity]] and eventually to batshit insane devices like the [[Memon]]iser.

In an unfortunate and ironic twist, more people are estimated to die of radiation from uranium in the fly ash from coal fired power than in the entire history of the nuclear industry, and the worst single power generation related accident in history, which is estimated to have killed over 170,000 people, was due to the collapse of that tree-hugger's favourite, a hydro-electric dam.

==See also==
*[[HAARP]]
*[[Microwave]]
*[[Rhoda Zione Alale]]
*[[Radiophobia]]

==Sources==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Woo]]
{{stub|woo}}

Categories: Woo
Raging Pencils

{{significantly problematic}}{{sources needed}}{{internet}}
{{italic title}}
'''''Raging Pencils''''' (known as '''''The Far Left Side''''' until July 17, 2015) is a [[liberal]] web comic drawn by '''Mike Stanfill''', an [[atheist]]  with new episodes available every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Stanfill's first works were recaptioning/re-ballooning of episodes of ''The Far Side'' by Gary Larson with leftist and liberal messages. Eventually, after sufficient copyright threats, he learned to produce computer-generated artwork and now his works are all original, even if his style isn't.

==The good==

He spends QUITE a bit of time tearing apart [[Republican]], [[conservative]], and [[religious right]] talking points. As one might imagine, the GOP primary race for the [[2012 U.S. Presidential Election]] gave him no shortage of inspiration.

In addition to his tri-weekly comic, he also keeps readers up to date on the jobs-creation progress of the Republican-held [[United States House of Representatives]] (which invariably details them doing anything else but working on job-creation legislation) as well as a daily plea for readers to call their cable and satellite provider and complain to drop [[Fox News]] from their lineup.

[[File:FLS 5-15-09.jpg|thumb|left|A sample cartoon. Please note the wall of text, demonstrating that Stanfill does not know the difference between a political ''cartoon'' and a ''diatribe''.]]
==The bad==
Sympathetic viewpoints aside, he is generally considered an example of the talentless hackery that so pervades political cartoons. It's ''almost'' as laugh-out-loud unfunny as ''[[Mallard Fillmore]]''.

Stanfill is also a [[9/11]] [[truther]] with a permanent priapism over [[9/11 conspiracy theories#WTC 7 was demolished by order of the WTC's owner|the demise of WTC Building 7]].

==External links==
* ''[http://www.ragingpencils.com Raging Pencils]'' - ([http://web.archive.org/web/*/farleftside.com archive])
{{stub}}
[[Category:Atheism]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Webcomics]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Categories: Atheism, Conspiracy theorists, Internet, Webcomics, Living people
Ragnar Skancke

[[File:Ragnar Skancke.jpg|thumb|left|165px]]
{{Nazism}}
'''Ragnar Skancke''' {{lived|1890|1948}} was one of the three [[Norway|Norwegian]] [[fascist]] National Union (Nasjonal Samling) or N.S. leaders executed after the [[World War II|Second World War]] for collaborating with [[Nazi Germany|German]] occupation.  A professor of electrical engineering at the Technical University of Trondheim who recruited several of his students to join the N.S., Skancke was appointed Minister for Church and Educational Affairs after the 1940 German-supported coup by [[Vidkun Quisling]].

Skancke aroused intense opposition among parents and grade-school teachers by his efforts to transform the teachers into agents of fascist indoctrination, which hilariously backfired when nearly all teachers threatened to go on strike.  He aroused similarly intense opposition among university faculty and students by his summary appointments and dismissals of faculty based on their political credentials.

[[Engineers and woo|He was both a professor (at the Norwegian Institute of Technology) and a supervisor (at the company Elektrisk Bureau) of electrical engineering.]]

==References==
* Oddvar K. Hoidal.  1989.  '''Quisling: A Study in Treason'''.  Oslo: Norwegian University Press.{{stub|Nazism|Nazism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skancke, Ragnar}}
[[Category:Antisemites]]
[[Category:Engineer woo]]
[[Category:European politicians]]
[[Category:Fascists]]
[[Category:Nazis]]
[[Category:Norway]]
[[Category:Racists]]

Categories: Antisemites, Engineer woo, European politicians, Fascists, Nazis, Norway, Racists
Rain

{{fork}}[[File:Rain_ot_ocean_beach.jpg|thumb|Pretty, wet.]]
*[[Acid rain]]
*[[British Isles]] (when it isn't foggy)
*[[Netherlands]]
*[[Global flood]]
*[[Rainbow]]
*[[Snow]] (when it's cold)
*[[Water]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP3htjT0p7E 10 hours of gentle rain]

[[Category:Climatology]]

Categories: Climatology
Rainbow

[[File:A double rainbow in Akamas Peninsula, Cyprus.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A twofer]]{{science}}

'''Rainbows''' are [[God]]'s way of [[Homophobia|frowning]] at [[Homosexuality|gay people]]. They are also, if [[Christian]] writer [[Constance Cumbey]] is to be believed, a secret symbol used by [[New Age]]rs who put it on their cars to identify each other. (To her credit, when she wrote that, the rainbow flag hadn't yet become popular as a gay symbol &mdash; but since when was that an excuse?) They are also [[Jesse Jackson]]'s favorite political motif.

However, [[God]] had other plans for the rainbow. According to [[creationism|creationists]], back in 2500 B.C. or thereabouts there was a [[great flood]]. After [[Noah's Ark]] saved all the animals from [[extinction]], God promised Noah he would never again flood the planet, and he instituted the rainbow as the symbol promising it wouldn't happen again — a reminder to his omniscient self.<ref>{{bible|Genesis|9|13|17}} - "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."</ref> If that occasion marked the Earth's first rainbow, then perhaps the [[physics | physical]] laws of [[optics]] [[uniformitarianism | changed]] at that point.

{{wpl|Rainbow crossing||s}} use the traditional colors of the rainbow so that those who hate and despise Judeo-Christian divine symbolism can show their contempt by trampling on them with their feet. Attempts by the likes of {{wpl|Destiny Church (New Zealand)|Destiny Church}} to [[Iconoclasm|desecrate the pretty design]]<ref>[https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/brian-tamaki-not-ruling-out-destiny-church-members-painting-over-more-rainbow-crossings/ar-BB1kxqPE Brian Tamaki not ruling out Destiny Church members painting over more rainbow crossings] - 27 March 2024: "Church members are angry about drag queens hosting a storytime event inside the library, and Gisborne Council's rainbow pedestrian crossings. [...] So, they painted over it on Monday night."</ref> demonstrate the dangers of taking [[idolatry|graven images]] too seriously.

Rainbows are not just diurnal or limited to visible light. Nocturnal rainbows ({{wpl|Moonbow|moonbows|),}} produced by the [[Moon]], have been documented since [[Aristotle]] and they also extend into the infrared and ultraviolet.<ref>[http://www.grad.ucl.ac.uk/comp/2007-2008/research/gallery/index.pht?entryID=183 Link]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{fun}}
{{stub|science}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Categories: Science, Physics