What have you learned today?

[Bedinsis]

The other day I encountered a YouTube series where they went through every issue of Watchmen, while commentating on it. They went into exquisite detail, so they obviously said things too numerous to bring up in a single post, but for the last episode they managed to get Dave Gibbons, the cartoonist that drew Watchmen, to join them. There is one detail in particular I want to point out, which, since it covers the final issue is a spoiler for the series as a whole:


In the last issue the bad guy has won, and he is raising his arms in a victory pose, which from the point of view of the "camera" is at an angle. The angle makes it look like his arms are the two hands on a clock, pointing at the time 5 minutes to midnight, a motif that frequently appears in the series as a whole.

The hosts of the show and I were both surprised to hear that.

 

[Mister Mumbler]

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

That thumbnail looks like the head of an alien that Jabba the Hut would be calling Bantha fodder.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

We Finally Know The True Extent of Space Destroying Astronauts' Red Blood Cells

The human body did not evolve to handle life in space, and it shows in our very blood.

www.sciencealert.com

 

[Mister Mumbler]

That thumbnail looks like the head of an alien that Jabba the Hut would be calling Bantha fodder.

Yeah, but watching it in motion as it spreads out like candy lava?

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Today has gifted the knowledge that, while I don't care what Jose whedon has to say on even the best of days, I do certainly enjoy hearing from second-hand sources about his train-wreck of an interview. Much more entertaining and enlightening than any episode of Buffy ever was.

 

[Gordon_4]

Today I learned that John le Carré was in fact a nom de plume and that the man himself did in fact work for both MI5 and SIS, but his career in actual espionage was brought to an abrupt stop by the Cambridge Five scandal, specifically Kim Philby’s machinations.

So he just decided to turn his writing hobby into a new job. Write what you know and all that.

 

[terrysmivv56]

Recently, I have been playing more and more online games. Recently found out about https://oddsdigger.com/at/american-football . Today I'm trying to figure out how the mechanism works. I think that everything will work out for me. I wish you all a happy day.

 

[EvilRoy]

Yeah, but watching it in motion as it spreads out like candy lava?
View attachment 5359

I have watched a LOT of candy making videos because of this. The process is fascinating.

I really want to try it myself, but I 'm also quite certain that I would grievously injure myself if I were to try. They say the sugar is heated to 300 degrees and I don't know if that's F or C, but I'm certain either would really hurt.

 

[Dalisclock]

Today has gifted the knowledge that, while I don't care what Jose whedon has to say on even the best of days, I do certainly enjoy hearing from second-hand sources about his train-wreck of an interview. Much more entertaining and enlightening than any episode of Buffy ever was.

I never saw dollhouse but yeesh that sounds pretty bad even without it.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I learned that one of my long time friends is leaning the way of an anti-vaxxer :c

 

[Xprimentyl]

I learned that one of my long time friends is leaning the way of an anti-vaxxer :c

This pandemic has brought out the best in none of us.

 

[Dalisclock]

I have watched a LOT of candy making videos because of this. The process is fascinating.

I really want to try it myself, but I 'm also quite certain that I would grievously injure myself if I were to try. They say the sugar is heated to 300 degrees and I don't know if that's F or C, but I'm certain either would really hurt.

I remember reading that the act of refining sugar requires boiling it and can leave nasty burns if people aren't careful because apparently boiling sugar is a nasty thing. Apparently it's not unlike hot-ass cooking oil.

This pandemic has brought out the best in none of us.

Yeah, I used to make fun of all those zombie movies where dumbasses keep zombies in their homes or hide their bites or just act like total dumbshits.

It turns out those movies are spot on how stupid people can be. We are both the smartest and the dumbest animals on the planet.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Yeah, I used to make fun of all those zombie movies where dumbasses keep zombies in their homes or hide their bites or just act like total dumbshits.

It turns out those movies are spot on how stupid people can be. We are both the smartest and the dumbest animals on the planet.

It's sad really, to know that at the most teachable moments, so many are so are unwilling to learn and believe what's been laid bare before them. Flat earthers, moon landing deniers, Holocaust deniers, anti-vaxxers, etc.; it seems the more evidence (if you can call it "evidence" and not "facts,") you give them, the more they'll find to support their ignorance. It has little to do with what they actually believe, and more to do with their wanting to part of an elite cabal that "knows" better than everyone else. It's narcissism that ironically lays flat on the table how little they have to be proud of.

There should be two separate Internets: one for rational people seeking information and discourse, and another for those to share disinformation and ignorance amongst themselves. I shouldn't have to Google "COVID vaccine information," and root through the nonsense put out there by people who claim it causes autism or makes people sprout antlers.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

it seems the more evidence (if you can call it "evidence" and not "facts,") you give them, the more they'll find to support their ignorance. It has little to do with what they actually believe, and more to do with their wanting to part of an elite cabal that "knows" better than everyone else. It's narcissism that ironically lays flat on the table how little they have to be proud of.

The sad part was seeing him go from "I dunno about the vaccines coming out so early since they sound like they were rushed" to "I don't like how the government and health authorities are handling this because they keep changing their mind about what's ok and what isn't, and jeez, why did it take them so long to come up with a vaccine, huh???" all the way to "The government and especially the health authorities are in on it together, they're hacks and just want to sell us anything at this point. I don't trust the vaccines or the government for because it means it''ll set the precedent for putting in new and discriminatory, authoritarian, fascist laws!"

Of course, looking back, he said about 6-8 months ago he'd consider getting the vaccine once they became properly released. And now that they have, it's "Oh, I'm not gonna do it cause -insert dozens of reasons-".

Just... oof. My disappointment is quite high, to say the least

 

[Bedinsis]

That the idea that carrots are good for your eyesight come from British WW2 propaganda to encourage carrot consumption, and that it has a grain of truth to it.


(I recommend watching this episode; fascinating stuff)

 

[Bob_McMillan]

The sad part was seeing him go from "I dunno about the vaccines coming out so early since they sound like they were rushed" to "I don't like how the government and health authorities are handling this because they keep changing their mind about what's ok and what isn't, and jeez, why did it take them so long to come up with a vaccine, huh???" all the way to "The government and especially the health authorities are in on it together, they're hacks and just want to sell us anything at this point. I don't trust the vaccines or the government for because it means it''ll set the precedent for putting in new and discriminatory, authoritarian, fascist laws!"

That is indeed the worst part, when you see someone who was completely normal turned into a wacko by social media or wherever these conspiracy theorists get their fantasies. My best friend is a very impressionable person. When we were in high school, he went through a huge "meat and eggs are murder" phase, to the point that he was mad with his parents for being concerned that he wasn't eating enough. Now he plans to immigrate to Australia, and he's been complaining to me about they're "literal Nazis over there".

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

"Techwear"

A community of people who really want to dress like they live in a futuristic cyberpunk dystopia. Sort of like the people who want to dress in tactical military gear...but for nerds.

"But Dirty Hipsters!" you cry "We're already basically living in a futuristic dystopia right now."

Yes, I agree, but dressing like you live in a futuristic cyberpunk dystopia is actually apparently really expensive, with some of these pants, jackets, and custom shoes costing thousands of dollars, so I don't think the people buying these clothes to strut around New York and London in are living in quite the same world as the people actually experiencing the more dystopic nature of our current world.

 

[SilentPony]

Koko the gorilla didn't speak or understand sign language in any way. Jane Goodall's research was basically all junk science and confirmation bias. Actual sign language experts, even at the time, said it was clear Koko had no vocabulary, didn't actually mimic hand signs accurately, and at best simply ritualized a vague hand gesture to get food, almost always at the repeated prompting from trainers. Also that stuff, the prompting and Koko making random gestures, was carefully edited out of footage Goodall presented to the world so it seemed like Koko was having conversations, when in reality it was a series of vague gestures strung together in the editing room that was claimed to be sign language.

 

[Gordon_4]

Koko the gorilla didn't speak or understand sign language in any way. Jane Goodall's research was basically all junk science and confirmation bias. Actual sign language experts, even at the time, said it was clear Koko had no vocabulary, didn't actually mimic hand signs accurately, and at best simply ritualized a vague hand gesture to get food, almost always at the repeated prompting from trainers. Also that stuff, the prompting and Koko making random gestures, was carefully edited out of footage Goodall presented to the world so it seemed like Koko was having conversations, when in reality it was a series of vague gestures strung together in the editing room that was claimed to be sign language.

Oh well, there’s a few decades of research wasted. Thanks Jane.