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Pre-programmed? Reductionism isn't really adequate for describing the way our universe works, especially the complex dynamic system of the human brain. Defining how a subatomic particle works in isolation tells us nothing about how it actually behaves in reality, and the same is true for a...

Being one of the few hip-hop fans around here, I'm obligated to advocate for my own preference of music. Here is some stuff I've had decent luck getting non-rap aficionado's to give the thumbs up to (some people may recognize some of this from other posts of mine): Eyedea and Abilities...

There is neurology in psychology. The placebo affect is not just a change in the mind - it's actually a physical change in the brain. It's called neuroplasticity and neuromodulation. The 'area for function X' in the brain is not "hardwired" as is the general misconception. The brain is...

Who needs lube? If it doesn't hurt a little lot, you ain't doing it right.

Sounds like a panopticon singularity. I kind of liked the idea of points and shit (like what the teacher did for his students grades, and the car for saving fuel), but I hate the idea of being goaded into buying into so much advertising just to earn them. It seems that the success of these point...

Saying you want to learn quantum mechanics is quite broad - there are many 'schools' of quantum mechanics: quantum electrodynamics, quantum chromodynamics, quantum thermodynamics, quantum field theory, nuclear physics etc. Different aspects of quantum theory are necessary for different fields -...

Good response, but just one point of contention here. The notion of junk DNA seems to be one that won't go away. We have a lot of non-coding DNA, that doesn't code for proteins or enzymes on it's own, but it's far from junk. "They [Michael Snyder, Jan Korbel] found that transcription factors –...

Perhaps it's time for another installment: Evidence For Evolution The Fossil Record: The fossil record is one of the most referenced compilations of evidence for evolution. One of the reasons is because the fossil record is what tells the actual story of evolution. It's through the fossil...

Yeah, it's an enormous burden on the people of this forum to have a thread like this existing - they might accidentally click it, read the first line of the OP and decide it's nothing that interests them. I guess it's a better use of time to argue about whether Ti is subjective or objective...

That's what I was afraid of... oh well.

I uploaded these on some random site, so I'm not sure if they'll work - if they do, feel free to tell me what you think (this is the best I could do with a 20 dollar mic and a pirated version of CoolEditPro). Anomie Lyrics: Abandonment Lyrics:

This is a hipster:

Adymus hit the nail on the head, at least for me. I was a tutor for math and chemistry this last semester at school, and teaching the subjects to other people helps me to retain information better than any lecture or homework assignment ever did. I wouldn't say that I'm all that great at math...

Honestly, I think this guy has some potential, but sometimes it seemed like he wasn't really delving into the topics as much as he could, using a lot of filler instead. The PSYOPS song was decent (and I definitely picked up on the Canibus vibe on that one). I prefer the paranoid ramblings of...

This whole forum is a good example of why so-called N's are susceptible to group-think. These elitism and exclusion type threads are almost a daily occurrence. I'm beginning more and more to agree with the MBTI critics.

I was bullied when I was younger - particularly middle school. Problem is, bullying is a relative term. I'm sure the SJ's that happen upon this forum and see all the superiority complexes, type elitism, and SJ exclusion/bad mouthing can't feel good about themselves. Neither can people that come...

Well, for anyone that cares (and perhaps it's a good thing you don't) I figured out what I was doing wrong. First off, I was doing things right except that 1) I wasn't converting kJ to J and 2) some of my nonsense answers weren't actually nonsense, they only looked like it to me (I was expecting...

So, how about thermochemistry help (if anyone is interested)? 1.) The ΔH per mole of CaCl2 = -81.0 kJ. Calculate the final temperature of an aqueous solution of 30 grams of CaCl2 is added to 100 mL of water at 23 degrees Celsius. Assume the specific heat of the solution is the same as that of...

I've posted these before, as well: Cerebral Blood Flow and Personality: A Positron Emission Tomography Study EEG measurements show that psychological types have an identifiable underlying physiological substrate that differs for each type. Personality Influences Brains Response To Emotional...

From a biological and neurological point of view, I disagree with people being equal - I think some individuals are better at some things than other individuals. This is evident in the simple fact that people have different learning styles (amongst other things that I won't get into in this...

Being high is the best way to listen to abstract rap like wu-tang, but I'd rather listen to the lyrics, too. While smoking you should check out Gravediggaz, too.

Battle-scarred shogun, explosion when my pen hits tremendous, ultra-violet shine blind forensics I inspect you, through the future see millenium Killa B's sold fifty gold sixty platinum Shacklin the masses with drastic rap tactics Graphic displays melt the steel like blacksmiths Black Wu jackets...

I think one of the problems with concepts like the "conscious" and "unconscious" and "subconscious" or even inner demons and the id/ego/superego is that they are just that: concepts. They don't really describe actual phenomena, but are ways of understanding observed phenomena. I think a lot of...

Need more quote breaks. I find the conservation of mass disconcerting, too. Just because we've never seen the wholesale creation or destruction of mass doesn't mean that's how reality works, does it? As far as quantum mechanics, it walks like probability, it quacks like probability, it smells...

I just had the stoichiometry test today; it was really quite easy after I sat down and actually studied the math instead of taking my usual "intuitive" approach. We haven't done anything with the ideal gas law or osmotic pressure or molality or any of the other bullshit I saw while skimming...

I've explained this to you before, so I'll just copy and paste what I said: If the probability amplitude of an electron or photon (or any particle, really) is spread out: We can know the momentum of the particle, but not it's position (it's positions probability distribution is evenly spread...

Just a small point of contention, but why is manipulating things at the genetic level worse than selective breeding? They're both essentially the same thing, but selective breeding is more randomized due to meiotic random alignment / independent assortment etc. Despite the appeal to nature, I...

I agree, they are an important mechanism for differentiation, but they don't seem as important for speciation - at least, not to the extent that natural selection is. I have also neglected to mention horizontal gene transfer, polyploidy, and outlaws/modifiers*. This doesn't mean they aren't an...

Part 2: Evolutionary Theory Introduction: Time for some more self-indulgence from me (actually, this is helping me study for my biology class, too). It's been a while since the last post, but I've been really busy with school, so haven't had much time to do much of anything on the forum. I've...

I never claimed there was any logic to it, but people are willing to do things that are "cool" no matter how detrimental they are. People pay thousands for plastic surgery, women destroy their joints by wearing high heels or plaster themselves with makeup just to be "in fashion". People will...

That does seem to be a problem. Anything that has to do with the environment is immediately seen as either uninteresting or "uncool" - or, at least, this is the sentiments where I live, no matter how much of a crap-heap people are living in. I think a few of the problem are: 1) Global warming...

For the least action principle of charge, would that be taking the least action of a virtual photon in the electric field then? That makes sense to me, so I'd be grateful if you could correct me if I'm wrong. Also, if you know of a website or something for "how to understand electromagnetism"...

I've never wanted to be a hermit more in my life. Some interesting (but equally horrifying) videos about how much just Americans consume. [/SPOILER] And, of course, the impact this is having on the planet. One does not need to believe in climate change to think that this is...

Charge is motion, in a sense - or, at least, the propensity of a charged particle to move in a certain field. I'm sure someone can correct me (and I hope they do if I'm wrong) but the way I understand it is that charge is as fundamental as mass. For two charged particles to interact via their...

Perhaps I can attempt to field some of these questions: Charge is a fundamental 'property' of stuff - it's essentially an axiom of reality. Asking what charge is is similar to asking "what is movement?" or "what is electron made out of?" It can't really be answered without referencing itself -...

Well, I was able to do the problems myself, but thanks for the input. The main problem I had was that I was overthinking them. For some reason I have a mind that wants to be able to figure everything out via "thought experiment" by picturing it in my head and I end up throwing all the math out...

Being as inept at math as I am, having reached stoichiometry in my chemistry class has been a bit frustrating for me. If anyone knows some good recourses for learning about it, I'd appreciate if they could point me there. And, if anyone is willing to help me with a few problems (I'm sure there...

I hate to disappoint, but people have been calling it assburgers for a while. I think I got it from one of the joke wiki's, either Uncyclopedia or Encyclopedia Dramatica.

Your Aspie score: 154 of 200 Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 47 of 200 You are very likely an Aspie

Shameless self promotion. I've always liked this site as well.

I'm curious as to what people think a deep conversation is? Is it a conversation about something esoteric or imponderable (ie, why does the universe exist)? Is it simply an impassioned conversation, even if it's about something often discussed like gay rights or abortion? Is it an emotional...

It's not the Pness, it's the assburgers.

Amino acids, which make up the proteins in our cells, have an alpha carbon and have carbons in the side chain: Lipids are all hydrocarbons: And carbohydrates (our main energy source) all have carbons in the aromatic chain: The reason being that carbon has 4 unpaired electrons which can...

The banana is already well on it's way to extinction because of Black sigatoka and Fusarium oxysporum. I think GM foods have a stigma to them. Humans have been using recombinant DNA to genetically modify Gram negative Escherichia to produce insulin for diabetics since the 1980's and selectively...

It's because a lot of undercooked (ie red) meat is difficult to digest and will become lodged in the colon, where it will begin to rot. The human digestive system has evolved to digest cooked meat (the proteins in cooked meat are denatured and much easier to digest). Vegetables are made...

Streptococcus mutans Escherichia coli: Taenia saginata Are all things living inside our bodies and the food we eat and are much more likely to kill us than robots. Not to mention car accidents, cancer, being randomly mugged, having an unknown aneurysm burst, having an embolism form...

Why are people making the assumption that eating meat is not healthy? I'm glad our ancestors ate meat, or we'd probably either be tossing shit at each other right now or extinct. It's the food chain, dammit:

I do think there is an essence of tautology inherent in the theory of evolution by natural selection, mainly because on one level it's so painfully obvious. What most people seem to have a problem with is the idea of common descent, and more than that, people have a rather visceral reaction to...

Introduction: I've noticed a few times that some people have anywhere from a slight misunderstanding to a complete lack of knowledge on how evolution by natural selection operates, and since this is probably the one area that I'm not retarded, I've decided to indulge myself and educate anyone...

I posted the bias test one before. I thought the "Belief" section of the first site was very applicable to a lot of conversations around here.