Sirona

Rob, out of curiosity and with no disrespect intended, do you have Autism Spectrum Disorder?

You don't have to be Gen Y or Z to understand GFC, Rob. Just pick up a newspaper or a textbook.

I work a lot with adolescents and one thing I find particularly alarming among the Generation Z is their disregard of privacy. They've been online for as long as they can remember and when it comes to the internet, they've no inhibitions. Don't misunderstand me, I am an advocate for a free internet but a lot of adolescents become involved in adult activities too soon on the internet that they're not emotionally ready for. It's not just watching porn, downloading movies with profanity or violent games either, but it's the increase of bullying and harassment that's taking place. Adolescents often think that because they're online they're safe and guarded with what they say and post but don't understand the permanency and evidence they leave behind. They also need the instant gratification, talking with someone on a forum or via email is not satisfying enough, they need IM apps, photo and video chat, location tracking enabled. Privacy and safety is just one issue, I believe adolescents find it difficult to make meaningful connections with others that doesn't result in an immediate benefit, social advantage or personal gratification. This behaviour, such as needing to constantly be connected and record everything I believe comes from inner feelings of instability, doubt and insecurity. Advancement in technology isn't the only cause either, international issues such as War on Terror and the GFC has contributed immensely. However, National issues such as the mining boom, housing boom, rising cost of living, population growth, high youth unemployment, increased competition for University have increased feelings of uncertainty and insecurity.

Hah, it's too much I went down the insect path in Thailand once and I don't wish to again. I used to think deep frying anything would make it taste good, I guess I was wrong.

Ah, you guys and your nerd humor really make my day Interesting Arete, I didn't know they were an annual species. That does explain why they're quite cheap. I eat squid and octopus often because as you said they're delicious but also an excellent source of iron. Plus they're great for a high protein diet since they contain less than 3% fat per 100g. Though, what I meant was, if I were to feel guilty (I don't by the way) for eating meat, I would exclude octopus because they're quite intelligent.

Hah. Can't argue with you there, cows are stupid animals. Though generally speaking, herbivores aren't as smart as carnivores; cows don't need to be smart. I never understood people that wouldn't eat meat (beef, chicken, pork, etc) but would eat seafood for ethical reasons. Cephalopods are quite intelligent and so are cartilaginous fish. Not that I'm arguing against eating any form of meat for ethical reasons, however, if I were to I would at least be consistent.

Hah. Although Mormons are fun, Jahovah's witnesses are my personal favourite. I guess 144, 000 people seemed like a lot back then. That said, there is no shortage of bad math in the Bible.

Exactly. Men can also 'train' themselves to prolong their orgasm and last longer through masturbation well. Although, it depends how often you're doing it and how you're doing it.

Perhaps it was religious propaganda disguising itself as science he read. You should really consider the reliability of a website, the objective of the author and what possible motives there could be. Masturbation is beneficial for your psychological and physical health in many ways. For example, it releases dopamine and endorphins (yay for happy chemicals, it is correlated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer and it improves the fitness of the sperm.

Stop pushing your personal agenda and save your judgements. These days (thankfully) having children is a choice (for most) and should involve careful consideration. Why turn it into an ethical debate? He's unsure of the effectiveness of the pill and not of the ethics of taking contraception.

Wait, what?! How many more 'nerd' days are there? I shall only remember this day if the celebration is marked with the eating of some sort of delicious, buttery, flakey pie. The only reason why I remember my own birthday is because there is cake involved!

You need a PhD to teach at an Australian University and academia is very competitive. You could teach secondary with a MSc but you will need to do a one year PGDE (Secondary). You would also be able to teach at TAFE (college) without a PhD. You'd need to do the IELTS test too and be able to demonstrate proficiency in English.

Just be careful Engineer as some medications can interfere with the pill such as Rifampin, Griseofulvin (antibiotics), and make make it less effective. Remember, it's 99% effective if taken correctly which means taking it at the same time each day. Personally, I would recommend the copper IUD as a better method of contraception because once it's inserted, it lasts for 5 years and you don't have to worry about taking a pill at the same time of day everyday and it does relieve a lot of anxiety when traveling and away from home. It does not contain any hormones, unlike the pill it does not increase your chances of cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, it's more cost effective long term as you only have to pay for the IUD once and it lasts 5 years. It's up to you and your girlfriend; the pill is just as effective as the Copper IUD if taken correctly. However, it depends on how much you trust your girlfriend to take it correctly. If you want to be safer, you could just use a condom as well. You don't know how old he is, what his financial position is, what his personal philosophy on having children is (lots of people don't want to have children).

Hah, sprayed my screen with coffee. That is gold. I personally thought the AlphaGo Victory was a notable event (certainly a giant leap for AI).

I'm going to be really uncool (and honest) by saying I didn't even know there was a Pi Day …and now I'm going to find somewhere to hide

It's not sexist at all. Hah, sorry I couldn't help but chuckle at that one, it's not the first time I've seen it on this site either; what kind of scary women do you guys know anyway? From what I've read, core temperatures of men and women aren't really different (less than 0.2 degrees celsius difference, if at all). However, women's core temperature fluctuates slightly depending on age, hormones (pregnancy, menstruation, menopause), time of day as well (can fluctuate by 0.5 - 1.0 degrees celsius) as what was mentioned above such as muscle/fat mass. Source: http://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-men-are-hotter-than-women-6738 However, women apparently have lower skin temperatures (particularly in cold air) and can be several degrees colder than a man's hands when exposed to cold air. Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9605814

Secularism works well if it is well defined and distances itself from all religion equally, this hasn't always been the case.

That's not what I meant. What I meant was, isn't a society who forces people to be religious the same as one that doesn't allow religion?

Sounds like they need a better marketing/promotions team. I wouldn't want to live some place where people's personal freedoms are restricted. Isn't 'no religion' the same as 'religious'? Both are a means of control. Micromanaging every aspects of people's lives and restricting their choices creates fear. Generally metropolitan cities are less religious due to their diversity, higher standards of education, communication, etc. I've never really had any issues in major Australian cities.

A better job at making policies. Why do you fear moderators? their decisions can't possibly be affecting your life and if they are, you've got greater problems than the moderating team

I meant 'degree' of fear, rather than a specific fear. It's not just violent criminals that pose a risk. Some might sleep better at night knowing uneducated zealots, emotional radical youths and misguided idealists live with a certain degree of fear too. Everyone thinks they can do a better job. I'm not sure I could.

Indeed. There are also consequences for dissent; in some countries it's wise to self-censor regardless of your agenda. There are often more rewards for conformity than nonconformity and depending how much you value your political beliefs, it might be easier to put them aside to protect other freedoms and comforts. Another important thing to consider: what happens when uneducated, misguided, misinformed, close minded, ignorant people don't live with a certain fear? These aren't necessarily my views, I'm just trying to highlight the complexity of the question.

It also helps when there is an incentive or something to gain from cooperating, even if it's just good will, the act is not entirely selfless. Most people have a 'herd mentality' and follow the ideologies of their leaders blindly without much thought. A lot of our beliefs on politics, religion, morality are 'inherited' not just from our immediate family and community but our society. Is this a bad thing? That's the question I would be asking instead. I'm also going to play Devil's advocate and say no.

The last of her Kind - Peter Gundry

This is just stimuli