Phi for All

In general, there are already many answers. It's when you start to ask specific questions that you run up against a lack of answers. But I think the "answers" you're looking for are for questions like, "What does it all mean?" and "Are we here for a reason?" and "When I die, is there more?" Maybe not.

! Moderator Note Don't go there. Attack the argument, not the person. And let's remember that all assertions, even in Speculations, need to have some supportive evidence. If you don't have any, then you need to make your language reflect the fact that you're stating an opinion.

My first thought too. I've never heard of anyone specializing in theoretical physics confuse a thought experiment with a theory. "This is purely theory" sounds like someone not familiar with scientific theory.

Sage? Me?! Is that what you mint? I love it when you savory nice things about me, anise greatly appreciated, Basil.

Skitt's Law. And it's "progeny". Skitt's Law gets you every thyme.

Congratulations, Papa!

A big part of effective communication is not assuming you're better than everyone else. Talking to someone is much better than talking down to someone. Assume everyone is an idiot and you've just proved that at least you are.

Because of the amazing power of unicorns, there is no way to disprove them. Because of the amazing power of Zeus, there is no way to disprove Him. Because of the amazing power of The Flying Spaghetti Monster, there is no way to disprove Him. Either there's a lot of amazing power flying around, or perhaps there's another explanation. Maybe it has something to do with beings who can't be directly observed.

When it comes time to carve a piece off of Tubby, I'm just going to pretend he's getting sheared or something. He'll forgive me because that's the way I raised him.

Not unless it's a meat vs vegetable sort of clash. AFAIK, the proteins they use to grow Mmmeat are completely organic, unless I missed something. And once they have the original cells to work with, they can grow more from previously grown cells. Talk about your sustainability. I can easily see brew pubs adding to their menu by including some vats for designer Mmmeats. It may be a while, but with tissue engineering growing new organs for medicine, lab grown Mmmeat will probably not have such a steep learning curve.

FTW. The ad copy practically writes itself. I'm thinking we have Tony the Tiger renounce cereal and start being the spokestiger for Mmmeat!

I never give a negative point to someone for being wrong. I do give them to people who are being unnecessarily uncivil, and who respond to a request for clarity with derision and obfuscation. It's what I did with your post above. It's so very easy to be civil in response to an honest question. It's almost... simple.

It depends where I am. I like my regular books at home, but you can't beat an e-book for traveling. And for me, the story is why I read a fiction book or watch a movie. Once I get into a story, holding anything is a distraction, much less smelling something that's not part of the story. For me, reading isn't about the media, it's about what the author wanted me to know. I get the leather-bound book appeal, and I enjoy it a lot, but it's not the most important part to me. It's not the best part of the experience, and in some instances it can be detrimental. One of my favorite things to do is find a warm rock next to a rushing river and sit down to read for an hour or two. Not a good place for either an e-book or a leather-bound. I don't feel comfortable, can't get into the story if I'm worried an expensive book will get wet. So in that instance, a paperback is my preference. Yeah, I can imagine a whole lot of ways a lab-grown piece of meat might be pretty gross. But the fact that they can do it at all means they can do it better if they keep trying. I want to grow my own strip steaks that grill to perfection and taste like filet mignon, but I suppose in the beginning we'll have to settle for something more basic. Maybe lab-grown brisket with a good dry rub, slow-cooked for half a day and falling off the... ooops, no bones! Again, I get the appeal. As a hobby, I understand the attraction. As a practical, working solution to my transportation needs, I can't afford all the down time in the shop. Even when those cars were fairly new, they spent a lot more time at the mechanic's than modern cars do. I will gladly trade the power and the body-shaking for reliability and efficiency. I have other ways to get my "gut feelings" on. And I think, if lab-grown meat gathers a market, there will be people who will remember "real" meat with nostalgia, forgetting all those times you got a bad cut with too much gristle. Depending on how lab-grown meat tastes, I might be one of them, but I hold high hopes that this will mean better protein sources for millions, better treatment of animals and livestock, and some overdue respect for us omnivores.

Well, I'd need to taste it first, before making any kind of judgement, but I remember back when CDs first came out to replace vinyl and tape for recording. I was blown away by the high quality sound, and I couldn't understand why there were those who thought vinyl was better. The argument always seemed to me like an Appeal to Tradition fallacy. No one could make me understand why hearing all the reality on vinyl was preferable to the clarity on compact disc. This lab grown meat only needs to be as good as regular meat in order to be immensely better. I do think about humane treatment of livestock and also accept the consequences of being an omnivore, and I would welcome an alternative that made economical sense (whoops, not quite yet) and removed the ethical objections. Since I think taste is probably a factor that's somewhat controllable in a lab situation, I'll bet the tough part is texture. A good piece of beef has to feel right as you chew. It can't be stringy or too chewy, although not enough chew makes it seem processed. There could be a lot of factors involved that make a piece of meat off the hoof better than lab grown meat. It could be that the act of walking that meat around for a few years on a live animal before it's eaten makes all the difference. But I think they'll be able to tailor this lab grown meat and improve on the original. Muscle cars may have been cool and fast, but they broke down a lot and didn't have as many cool features as modern cars. Lab grown meat, engineered just the way you want it, could solve a lot of problems.

There is a third possibility. You aren't explaining yourself well enough to be understood. I also can't figure out where you could see 27 people on your Last Visit list.

I doubt this is aimed at those vegetarians. There are plenty of vegetarians who's objections to meat are the sustainability issues and the slaughterhouse process. They'd love a steak if the fear, pain and other moral issues are removed. It's hard to see lab generated meat as something that needs us to act as its voice. It's tasty protein, with the potential to be whatever we want it to be. Another step towards being able to feed ourselves and operate offplanet, or in places on Earth that are inhospitable to livestock and farming.

Good point. I forgot about the ACME Effect, Wiley.

! Moderator Note Warning point issued for persistent thread hijacking after being warned.

I don't understand the "God is a myth that refers to something that is real" part. How are you determining "real"? Can you give me an example of something else that is a myth that refers to something that is real? Hearsay. A "real" man who is several centuries old? A ship big enough to accommodate more animals than any ship could structurally hold, built for a storm that's going to kill all the water fowl because somehow there will suddenly be enough water to cover the land right up to the tops of the mountains? A tower that reaches to the heavens but leaves no traces of it's existence? The pyramids are real buildings, and we know they were because of the evidence they leave behind.

I don't know why other similar coastal regions are different. Typically, cooler air from offshore mixes with the warmer air inland, which condenses to form fog. Southern California has the Santa Ynez mountains that trap the fog to make it linger, so maybe it's all about the geography. I remember hearing that the inland fogs are different from the "marine layer" that forms over the water when warm winds from inland get trapped over the cooler offshore winds. That can also travel inland, but it forms over the water first.

I was waiting for someone to suggest this. I never could have afforded to rent alone while going to school and working part time. I rented with two friends, and we handled the bills just fine. Get a Costco membership and split everything evenly. The tiny home thing is cool, but it will still be more expensive than three roommates sharing costs. And something about living alone in a place like that doesn't sound like much of an improvement socially from living with your parents. It's good to be with people your own age who have similar problems.

Absolutely not.

I really hope the name "schmeat" doesn't stick. I think that would stop many people who might otherwise think this is a pretty fantastic idea. The prefix just makes it sound bad, schlock means low quality, shyster means disreputable, sham, shitty, it's not a prefix you want ahead of your meat. I think it's a great idea. I want to know how to grow my own. Others can make beer and wine, I want a home meat growers vat. This can be grown just the way you want it to be, and nobody from PETA will be frowning at you through the window while you eat it. There will be those who claim it isn't as good as meat off the hoof, and that's fine, they can worry about whether their burger was humanely slaughtered as they listen to their vinyl records and drive their muscle cars.

In that regard, cold fusion is MUCH safer than nuclear power. Current cold fusion technology will never result in even a single catastrophe on a Chernobyl scale.

We will forever be grateful to the man who applied the Cattle Prod of Justice to the unworthy buttocks of the Evil League of Spammers.