Phi for All

! Moderator Note That's the last time you call another member an idiot. Civility is our #1 rule, and you have chosen to defend a stance that is VERY weak wrt science. If you want this thread to stay open, you'll respond without insult or you can leave. Attacking ideas is what we do here, we don't attack people.

In cosmetics, powdered titanium dioxide is used to block UV rays, so how is it "reacting" to UV? It's being investigated as a carcinogen: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/toothpaste-additive-e171-titanium-dioxide-food-products-cancer-cause-scientists-a7541956.html

... as long as the picture has his mouth open.

I agree with Robert Reich. Enough is enough. Do away with the filibuster, forget the Republicans, and do the things this country has desperately needed for a LONG time. Go to war with the hypocrites and liars, because this democracy will never get better if we give them any say in leadership at all.

! Moderator Note This is blogging, and we're a science discussion forum. Nobody wants to discuss nonsense. Please don't post more like this.

I remember reading an article that claimed only 3 Republican Senators were needed to demand that they'll approve the trial conditions only if the ballots are done secretly. I think that would make a YUGE difference in the outcome of the trial. Has anyone heard any more about that?

Flowers are amazing for their ability to break ice. When you present them, the look on the person's face tells you the next step. They learned from the precedent set by the penis enlargement industry, another fine example of Truth in Advertising.

This doesn't help. This is what Republicans point to when they claim people are against him no matter what. You're making claims about his whole life rather than follow your own advice and stick tightly to the events of the riot at the Capitol. Again, I think this kind of emotion is misplaced at this point, but if you want to touch a nerve with folks, don't focus on what might happen. Focus on the fact that the ex-POTUS incited the Duck Dynasty to attack the same building the passengers of United Flight 93 died to save on 9/11. Foreign terrorists couldn't bring it down, but one ex-leader who broke all his promises to transition peacefully did it on TV and the internet for all to see. This is what most Republicans in leadership want us to condone.

Not sure there's any need, since they all have completely different objectives, but having so many vehicles in orbit has to give some advantage, even if it's just to check up on each other. The space policy folks are keeping a close eye out.

Perseverance joins both the UAE's Hope orbiter and China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft. Rather than separate threads, I'm hoping we can talk about the individual missions as well as this historical opportunity for multiple programs to work cooperatively a looooong way from home.

The ones I've seen base their claims on some kind of vitamin/mineral supplements, with the assumption that you aren't as tall as you could be because you're somehow deficient. If you don't grow, they can always claim your diet was already good. "Can actually" means it's possible, not that it's guaranteed. Depends on the time of day, apparently. Most authors use careful language to prevent their works from being actionable in this way. Lots of caveats and exemptions, lots of wiggle-words that lawyers can argue about, and very little assertive claims. But surely you've read about all the people reporting on how scammy that whole industry is? Notice how the marketing for these books and supplements now includes "Don't fall for the scams, we've got the REAL THING!"? Even they realize what they claim is too good to be true. Is this what made you so tall? Six feet, well above average?

Fox News is doing their part to help the GOP, cutting away from the impactful video presentation from the House managers so their viewers weren't exposed to the facts. Instead, they felt it was more important to point out that, at this point, Dems don't have the votes so it's dumb to press on. https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2021-02-10/fox-abruptly-cuts-off-impeachment-manager-during-testimony

! Moderator Note Fresh threat, fresh thread.

And the winner of this week's "Science Perseverance Award" is wildie9! Major pat on the back for not giving up like so many do. Lots of folks just start making stuff up at this point, based on the little they know from popular science articles, and stitched together with whatever makes the most sense to them. Questions help us all adhere more rigorously to our most trusted methodologies.

Question gonna question. It seems oblivious to me.

That's not how ignorance works. If it makes sense now that your question was answered, as swansont said, there's literally nothing to forgive.

It's so ironic that we can obsess over how someone else perceives us to the point where it harms that perception. We look away so they don't see us watching them, so they never know we're interested. We agonize over the right thing to say, so they don't know how we feel because we never say anything to them. We assume they would prefer us to be different before we give them the chance to know us. Know yourself; the rest you can learn.

Confirming this. It's a change that has to be made for the forum as a whole, or by member groups. I don't see a way to police a member group with unlimited editing abilities.

Don't you think, if there was, there'd be more tall people around? I thought you came to a science forum because you wanted something reasoned and trustworthy. What if this wonderful woman likes men who are your height? You might be harming your chances by trying to change. You should ask her. Are you too short to talk to her? Is your height affecting your voice? Are her ears angled in such a way that she can't hear you at your present stature?

You're definitely tall enough to talk to her.

michel123456 has apparently reconsidered our offer to entertain his pet time theories in their own thread, and has gone back to hijacking others. His membership is under review while he takes a few days off.

I suspected as much. Is she into sports, and that's why you're suddenly interested in them too? Or are you thinking that playing sports will make you taller? Have you asked her about any of this? You're already taller than she is. Has she told you straight out that you're too short for her? You two sound like a good match for close-dancing. If you're much taller than your partner, kissing is complicated. You should talk to her before you think about changing yourself.

Do you mean professionally? Many professional sports players are thinking about retirement by your age due to the stress sports places on the body. I hope you aren't thinking about doing anything extreme to yourself over an interest you've only had for "several days". Are you sure you wouldn't rather study science instead? If you do, there's a greater probability of having working knees by the time you're my age. You're well above the average for all ethnicities in the US. That's me, 195 cm at 17 (191 currently). It has some advantages, but also many disadvantages. I love visiting European cities, but I feel like an ogre sometimes, having to duck through doorways. Finding clothes can be hard. No problems reaching the top shelf, but OMG those lowest shelves have always been a pain. I wouldn't listen to anecdotal evidence about something like this. There are probably ways you can affect your height to a very small degree without dangerous side effects (stretching exercises and the like to keep the spine from compressing), but before I did anything crazy I'd ask myself, "Self, what's up with this sudden obsession with sports and being taller?" Hats and shoes. What makes your height unacceptable? What sport do you want to play that you're too short for?

The concept of the "fabric" of spacetime is for instruction only, usually combined with a heavy ball to represent a planet curving spacetime with its mass. There is no actual fabric in space, nor is there anything for a star to leave grooves in, as swansont mentioned. I think Douglas Adams would've quite liked the idea of the fabric of spacetime being corduroy, though.

My condolences also for the passing of your friend. I can't help but notice that positioning an event (such as a tearful goodbye appointment at a vet's office) in spacetime seems independent of change. Your latitude, longitude, altitude, and the time it took place aren't subject to change, are they? Yet it makes perfect sense to use time in this way.