Phi for All

If you have a question for Homework Help, post it just like your first post. Give it an appropriate title, ask your question, the members will try to help.

Pretty sure we've got enough resources to invest some effort towards the viral threat of coronavirus AND possible bacterial threats from new sources. Don't fall into the trap of thinking humans as a species have to focus on one thing at a time. Back on topic, it seems clear this is a classic crisis representing both big dangers and big opportunities. I hope we have the time to sort through which is which.

1-2 It's been pointed out that you misunderstand what GDP represents. It's the value of all the goods and services a country produces, and represents the size of its economy, not what kind of buying power it has. 3 The IMF ranks the UK as #5 in nominal GDP in the world. How is that "second class"? 4 This is just the poor opinion of one Chinese state media editor, according to your link. They don't speak for "the rest of the world". In fact, nobody I know thinks Australia is nothing. 5 You should read the link you posted. It's the opinion of one political analyst from Curtin University, not every Australian. 6 This is a very shallow and hasty analysis of a very complex situation. Do you think it's wise to leap to such conclusions, especially given your misunderstanding of the socio-economic issues mentioned above?

! Moderator Note We're a science discussion forum. Can you give us an idea of what you wish to discuss? Sending us to a website we don't know, requiring members to click links they may not trust is against our rules. Please give a bit of an overview of what you want to talk about wrt the documents, or copy/paste enough to give us an idea of the direction you want the discussion to go.

! Moderator Note This is definitely a medical question you should ask your doctor about. Nobody here knows enough of your medical history to prescribe or comment on your medications, and your eyesight is too valuable to trust random people with, even on a science discussion forum. Ask your doctor, or check out the manufacturer, please.

! Moderator Note No offense, but opinion isn't what we discuss in Speculations. You've been given the tools to find some evidential support for your idea, which is what we're really interested in. Please do some analysis and see if that helps to support what you're proposing, and elevate that opinion to actual evidence.

Do any of the arguments the comments are about sound like they're made in good faith? I think the comments are proper for the argument that "the scientific world approaches the end of its capabilities". The OP clearly isn't swayed by the already listed accomplishments.

It doesn't matter if they aren't spotted. The interesting question is which side of a zebra has the most stripes? And of course, it's the outside. Last time I bought zebra, the clerk scanned the wrong barcode and I got charged for rhino.

This same kind of "Is it worth it?" BS used to revolve around the space programs, until it became blindingly obvious that the investments were returned manyfold in terms of practical knowledge and innovation. The same is true of the LHC, because most laypeople don't know enough about beam optics or particle physics to judge the value of an investment in experiments using such technologies. The average Joe is too ignorant of science to make a qualitative judgement, so they fall back on "It's expensive and I don't get it so it's WRONG!".

! Moderator Note Stop right there. You can't use a speculation like this to support further speculation. If you want to establish support for "those who created us", do so in another thread in either Speculations or Religion. And if you're using omnipotent capabilities as an argument, it won't be accepted because science.

! Moderator Note You can't support one speculation with arguments that failed in another speculation. You need to support the idea with evidence, or move on from the idea, or this thread will be closed.

Putting this first makes the rest fairly meaningless. If survival is Job #1, it could come at the cost of your second and third choices. If it comes down to a choice between you getting food or the rest of us getting food, you'll feed your belly before your "inner soul", and doing something good for others takes a back seat to your survival. As for contributing to human race running, you'll have to clarify what you're talking about. Does your survival contribute to the human race running?

How can it be "a very good example of the above"? In "the above", you claim "the scientific world approaches the end of its capabilities", then go on to rant about building even bigger colliders and technological challenges. Your reasoning doesn't seem very sound. Your argument is weak. And you aren't dealing with other arguments like cost comparisons and knowledge gained. It's starting to sound like soapboxing.

This is a rigor-free assumption I think you need to support a little, or at all. It doesn't matter how little about science you know, a statement like this is basically trying to Beg the Question. What makes you think this dilemma exists?

I don't think it's ever irrational to disbelieve something based on faith. I'm skeptical that the "statistics" used to form accurate predictions "confirm its doctrine". Can you give us an example of such statistical evidence?

To me, this says "If you're tired of reason, clarity, and predictability, and want to base your beliefs on things that can't be supported with evidence, this book won't disappoint!"

! Moderator Note There are no common minds here, so the premise of the OP is flawed, and this thread won't work. Since there were so many enthusiastic responses, I won't spamban the new god member, but that's my first reaction. Obviously some members are interested in the new knowledge this encounter represents.

! Moderator Note This is exactly what we want. Members must be able to take part in the conversation without requiring them to leave the site, or open documents they may not trust. The idea is to make the arguments for your idea here, in this discussion, and if you need to paste something from your website into your post to support them, please do so. This rule also protects us if you're only here to drive traffic to your website. Mostly, we want to hear about the evidence you have that led you to your conclusions. Again, thanks for understanding.

! Moderator Note We're a science discussion forum. We don't allow members to advertise their websites in threads here. We discuss science here. There are other sites where you can advertise, but this isn't one of them. Thanks for understanding.

It wasn't that long ago that he called himself fiscally conservative and socially liberal. He's proven he's barely socially conscious, let alone liberal, and also that he's not conservative about anything. He knows the GOP is unlikely to raise his taxes, and they certainly won't set a progressive limit on his personal earnings.

Musk is a wealthy, right-wing extremist who easily embraces conspiracy and is only out for himself. All American capitalists at that level couldn't care less about how their workers are faring in life. He's almost uncaring enough to run for office. Maybe 2028, for the MAGAQANON party.

! Moderator Note I usually move threads that veer non-mainstream to Speculations, but capital-G God can't go there, so this conversation is over. If this is the kind of reasoning you plan on using in discussions, it's not welcome here. Nobody has that kind of time to waste.

Money blinds people when it's always the focus. It's like looking into the sun for clarity. The People haven't yet figured out how to elect a politician that works for the People instead of for the wealthy. Most still think a businessperson makes a good leader, when they're really focused on making business even more profitable. So many Americans have tried to support this political system in good faith, only to be preyed upon by extremists looking to twist the advantages and take what belongs to others. We don't get any benefits from being productive any more, other than staying out of our own prisons. I think there are quite a number of "Americans" who've already sold out, who never liked democracy in the first place, and are looking to any number of authoritarian alternatives to take the place of a system they see as weak. These folks don't think we can fix it, and want to tear it down, which would make everything ripe for the authoritarian takeover they envision. These are the ones that scare me. I don't know what to do with that kind of dumb. These folks want there to be no public schools because they went to bad public schools, and skoff at the idea of making better ones.

And in a two party system where the media entertains rather than informs, both parties are using this bumper sticker. For perspective here, in Colorado we have a Senate race where the incumbent Democrat is leading the Republican challenger in most polls by 7-10 points at least. FOX News ran a piece over the weekend claiming their pollsters show the race as a complete toss-up. Each party hires private firms aligned with them to run "independent" polling, and then gets to report that to the media. And ultimately, it's campaign donations from the People that help misinform the People on this grand scale. A stupid system for an uneducated, uninformed, unprepared populace.

Is it a PC or is it a laptop? Laptops usually have a built-in touch pad that acts as a mouse. If not disabled, your thumbs can run across it and cause the cursor to move.