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• What is a knowledge or skill which you thought you just couldn't understand, until eventually you did?

  Whether it was explained differently, or a foundational bit of knowledge made it click, how did you finally understand? No politics – I’m thinking along the lines of math/programming, language, crafts, etc.

• What are some fun liquids I can put in jars/bottles for decoration?

  I have a few spare glass bottles and want to explore what decoration I can make with them, without just painting outside them. Preferably safe, in case of an accidental breakage or leak. Preferably indefinite shelf-life. Some ideas: Density layering experiments (‘rainbow in a jar’, maybe suspending an upside-down toy boat in a dense clear liquid with a blue watery liquid on-top) Phosphorescent liquids to glow in the dark (pref with no UV lamp needed) The oil+water+antacid+food coloring lav...

• On a typical Linux distro, what information do WiFi access points get when you search for and use another AP?

  Let’s say, I sit down in a mall, open my laptop and connect to a secured mobile hotspot. Then I do it again next week after a reboot. What information would a nearby shop or a passive malicious hacker be able to find about my device? Does my device send out identifying information before joining, like a MAC address? Is this persistent, or randomized? I intentionally haven’t specified a distro, so if something only applies to some network managers, give some details. Bonus points: what about...

• What are your favorite alternate rules for a sport or game?

  I recently discovered the Banana Ball exhibition baseball games, and their custom ruleset, featuring limitations, crowd participation mechanics and special roles among other things. This reminded me of (and it’s an derivative game rather than an alternate ruleset) Three-Sided Football, which, among other things, is a Situationist, philosophical and sociological rabbit-hole. I also recall dark chess, a chess variant with line-of-sight mechanics, to emulate the fog of war. There are thousands...

• Post #892919

  Someone posted an image that says “Verify you are human”, with the test being “I stand with Palestine”. The implication is that those who do not, are not human. Yes, joking about how Zionist scum (and apathetic people) lack humanity is dehumanization. The image is very literally saying some is not human if they don’t stand with Palestine. And to recap what I said, this isn’t some moral objection - death to the Zionist Regime and those who empower it. The problem is that dehumanization of h...

• What are some things that can be done with [large number] million dollars?

  Most of us are familiar with what (your local equivalent of) $10 USD is worth, or $100 or perhaps even $1,000,000. But larger amounts soon become unrelatable. And with the huge wealth inequality at play, it’s easy to come across stories where something worth hundreds of millions was wasted. How much money would it take, under our current systems, to solve various societal problems? (e.g. food shortages, infrastructure fixes, public health efforts, new transport) How much did the achievement...

• To people who look at commercial ads; why do you look at ads?

  Yes, this instance is definitely the wrong place to ask, but maybe I’ll be surprised. I hate commercial ads. I consider them intolerable and violating. I’m far from alone in this perspective (see: famous Banksy quote, and subvertising + related cultures). It’s one of the rawest forms of exploitative manipulation. So surely you can understand my confusion whenever I see people just watching ads on their phone until they finish, or even watching ads on television until their show starts again....

• Post #154809

  PSA is a public service announcement, an awareness campaign. It could be as simple as teaching everyone to walk on the same side of the footpath, to demonstrating how quickly a fire spreads and ways to prevent and react.

• Post #114276

  I’m going to have access to a 3D printer for a few days. I know two friends who’ve used them, but it’s only been for art and figurines, or professional purposes. Are there any other cases you can think of where a custom-printed item is better than the myriad of mass-produced plastic items?

• Post #25672

  What is something you can sense that few-if-any people you know can sense? Literal answers only.

• Post #23420

  only a few hundred