zipf_slaw's recent activity

  1. Comment on San Francisco sues ultra processed food producers in ~food

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Can't do it. A double-blind study implies you're giving people the treatments (rather than just taking a survey of what they eat on their own) and no Institutional Review Board is going to sign...

    there is a peer reviewed double blind study that shows XYZ is causative of poor health outcomes

    Can't do it. A double-blind study implies you're giving people the treatments (rather than just taking a survey of what they eat on their own) and no Institutional Review Board is going to sign off on a study that involves intentionally giving people potentially-harmful substances.

    1 vote
  2. Comment on Over 120,000 home cameras hacked for 'sexploitation' footage in ~tech

  3. Comment on Non-metal spoons for dining? in ~food

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    They actually hold heat better than metal spoons do (higher heat capacity), but they don't conduct it as well so it feels cooler to the touch despite being the same temperature (lower thermal...

    they don't hold heat the way European metal soup spoons do,

    They actually hold heat better than metal spoons do (higher heat capacity), but they don't conduct it as well so it feels cooler to the touch despite being the same temperature (lower thermal conductivity).

    20 votes
  4. Comment on Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth in ~space

    zipf_slaw
    Link
    In 17,000 years, it will be one light year away.

    In 17,000 years, it will be one light year away.

    3 votes
  5. Comment on Poets are now cybersecurity threats: Researchers used 'adversarial poetry' to trick AI into ignoring its safety guard rails and it frequently worked in ~tech

  6. Comment on Strange YouTube watch-tracking behavior in ~tech

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    I was going to say this too. I click on a random video just to be able to get to its channel faster (usually the Youtube Movies & TV channel) and then immediately close the video once the channel...

    I was going to say this too. I click on a random video just to be able to get to its channel faster (usually the Youtube Movies & TV channel) and then immediately close the video once the channel page opens. Later, it tells me I watched that whole video/movie, which I most certainly didn't.

    1 vote
  7. Comment on Project Hail Mary | Official trailer in ~movies

  8. Comment on An AI-generated country song is topping a Billboard chart, and that should infuriate us all in ~music

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Thank you for mentioning this, I was looking for someone to do so before I did. This track's status was achieved with 3000 $1 downloads. So far, this is a nothingburger.

    Thank you for mentioning this, I was looking for someone to do so before I did.

    This track's status was achieved with 3000 $1 downloads. So far, this is a nothingburger.

    1 vote
  9. Comment on 11foot8.com: trucks + bridges in ~transport

    zipf_slaw
    Link
    11ft 8 plus 8, actually. They raised in by 8" some years ago and it's far less dramatic now.

    11ft 8 plus 8, actually. They raised in by 8" some years ago and it's far less dramatic now.

    9 votes
  10. Comment on Who can name the bigger number? in ~science

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    A brilliant move, but unfortunately infinities are disallowed by the rules of the "game".

    A brilliant move, but unfortunately infinities are disallowed by the rules of the "game".

    1 vote
  11. Comment on Who can name the bigger number? in ~science

  12. Comment on Who can name the bigger number? in ~science

    zipf_slaw
    Link
    Aleph^(aleph^(aleph^.....))etc. Pretty sure I win.

    Aleph^(aleph^(aleph^.....))etc.

    Pretty sure I win.

    1 vote
  13. Comment on Playing with words in ~creative

    zipf_slaw
    Link
    I enjoy Spoonerisms, or swapping the first letters or sounds of adjacent words. Here are some favorites: -Shower part -Bundt cake -Smart feller -Tube bender -Square of pearls -Shake a tit -Sitting...

    I enjoy Spoonerisms, or swapping the first letters or sounds of adjacent words. Here are some favorites:

    -Shower part
    -Bundt cake
    -Smart feller
    -Tube bender
    -Square of pearls
    -Shake a tit
    -Sitting on the shitter
    -Top kitty
    -Button masher
    -West Bank
    -Starting up a form

    I have many more, I keep a list so I don't forget them. It's gotten so bad that most of the time when I hear a pair of words, I automatically generate their Spoonerism to see if it's funny. Like some sort of mind virus.

    1 vote
  14. Comment on Is 67 just brain rot? in ~humanities.languages

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    I prefer the version that has a bit more... existential weight, so I run up and yell "Roko's Basilisk!!"

    It mostly consists of them running up to each other (or their parents or friends' parents), shouting "the game" and running away laughing.

    I prefer the version that has a bit more... existential weight, so I run up and yell "Roko's Basilisk!!"

    7 votes
  15. Comment on Current studies may overestimate microplastics transferring from containers to food in ~food

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    Maybe not so much "good news" as "the bad news we had wasn't accurate". In other words, the frown isn't now a smile, but a shrug.

    Maybe not so much "good news" as "the bad news we had wasn't accurate". In other words, the frown isn't now a smile, but a shrug.

    7 votes
  16. Comment on Asteroid discovered only two days ago will fly by Earth closer than the moon today in ~space

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    I would think comets would be easier to detect than asteroids, as comets generally emit a couple tails as they enter the inner solar system, increasing the overall reflectance of the object....

    I would think comets would be easier to detect than asteroids, as comets generally emit a couple tails as they enter the inner solar system, increasing the overall reflectance of the object. Asteroids, on the other hand, can sneak up on you as some have pretty low albedo and don't generate comas/tails. Infrared is really the only wavelengths you can use to fine them.

    6 votes
  17. Comment on Can we bury enough wood to slow climate change? in ~enviro

    zipf_slaw
    Link
    On the smaller scale, hugelkultur is a fine way to grow a garden in drier climates. You bury wood in trenches, cover it with dirt to form a berm, plant all over the berm, and the wood acts as a...

    On the smaller scale, hugelkultur is a fine way to grow a garden in drier climates. You bury wood in trenches, cover it with dirt to form a berm, plant all over the berm, and the wood acts as a sponge over the winter/spring and holds the water into summer meaning less watering.

    11 votes
  18. Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    This is likely because most breakfast cereals (and many flour-based products) are fortified with elemental iron (literally, food grade iron filings). Run a few pounds of any generic baking flour...

    he tried cornflakes made without salt, and how it tasted metallic;

    This is likely because most breakfast cereals (and many flour-based products) are fortified with elemental iron (literally, food grade iron filings). Run a few pounds of any generic baking flour across a rare earth magnet and you see it accumulate; a cornflake floating in water will behave kind of like a weak compass needle. If they weren't fortified like that they probably wouldn't taste metallic. You'd still need some sodium for balancing the taste/flavor, but it likely wouldn't need near as much.

    7 votes
  19. Comment on Prospect of life on Saturn’s moons rises after discovery of organic substances in ~space

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    The Anthropic Principal says "not so fast". Our existence is a selection effect. We can only observe from a planet where life exists, so the fact that life exists here is not evidence that life is...

    The fact that we know life exists in the universe should already lead you to conclude that life is relatively common in the universe.

    The Anthropic Principal says "not so fast".

    Our existence is a selection effect. We can only observe from a planet where life exists, so the fact that life exists here is not evidence that life is common elsewhere — it’s just necessary for us to be here to notice. That observation is like saying ‘I won the lottery’ and concluding the lottery must sell lots of tickets: you don’t get information about the ticket-sales from the fact that the winner exists.

    SpaceTime just did a great video about all this.

    10 votes
  20. Comment on White House in a bind as soybean sales to China plummet to zero in ~society

    zipf_slaw
    Link Parent
    But I think that is only because we don't know the last person who flattered or paid him at any given moment. If we knew that, his behavior becomes extremely predictable.

    , but that doesn't mean everything was predictable in detail.

    But I think that is only because we don't know the last person who flattered or paid him at any given moment. If we knew that, his behavior becomes extremely predictable.

    7 votes