Ask a Nerd. Or Ask a Puddle of Water. I'm Not Picky.

[Patty Thundersnow 4,163]

Do you like hydrometeors?

[Duality 10,740]

38 minutes ago, Pat 'The Blizzard' Thundersnow said:

Do you like hydrometeors?

*continues falling from thousands of metres of height to impact violently on the sensitive mortal flesh of the humans below, distributing vast property damage as well as proportionate psychological damage to the majority of the world's population on a regular basis with absolutely zero realistic threat of retaliation whatsoever*

[Widdershins 9,959]

On 8/29/2018 at 11:16 AM, Duality said:

around these parts there is only one Inquisition

 *Bursts in through a wall*

 The Spanish Inquisition!

  Chun-Chun!

 Now go! My other, slightly smaller versions of myself that I involuntarily created & narrated to carry banners behind me! Fetch the Slightly Absorbent Comfy Pillows of Doom!

                  Maaan! Why we gotta take orders?    ...Narrative shtick, as usual.

Meanwhile! As your ineffectual doom doth approachth! I shall posit you the question most preponderance!

 Quickly now! Need as many entirely normal, conventional & unassumingly Normal names, appellations, Nome DePlume, monikers... Names, Yes. Names that begin with the letter I !

 

  ...all I can think of is Ischoron. I just can't think along mortal methods.

[Duality 10,740]

27 minutes ago, Widdershins said:

*Bursts in through a wall*

 The Spanish Inquisition!

  Chun-Chun!

 Now go! My other, slightly smaller versions of myself that I involuntarily created & narrated to carry banners behind me! Fetch the Slightly Absorbent Comfy Pillows of Doom!

                  Maaan! Why we gotta take orders?    ...Narrative shtick, as usual.

Meanwhile! As your ineffectual doom doth approachth! I shall posit you the question most preponderance!

 Quickly now! Need as many entirely normal, conventional & unassumingly Normal names, appellations, Nome DePlume, monikers... Names, Yes. Names that begin with the letter I !

 

  ...all I can think of is Ischoron. I just can't think along mortal methods.

Isaac, Ian, Isaiah, Issachar, Ivan, India, Igor, Ignacio, Inigo, Imhotep, Ish-ba'al, Immolator, and, last but not weirdest, Google.

I just about ran clean through my stocks of Biblical names there; the internet has far more memory capacity at its disposal than I to dedicate to mundane cognomens. 

[Widdershins 9,959]

But @Duality! Google doesn’t start with an I! 

 Tried googling it, first thing that came up was a list of names starting with J. Do forgive me if I lack trust in the search engines. 

  Favorite single celled organism? Favorite stage of Mitosis? ... unless mitosis was one of the stages... been a while since biology class.

[Duality 10,740]

13 hours ago, Widdershins said:

But @Duality! Google doesn’t start with an I! 

Surely you of all beings can come up with loopholes that render that objection redundant. 

13 hours ago, Widdershins said:

  Favorite single celled organism?

Single-celled species of algae can grow unsettlingly large. 

13 hours ago, Widdershins said:

Favorite stage of Mitosis? ... unless mitosis was one of the stages... been a while since biology class.

Metaphase is the most interesting step in my eyes - the transition point between one cell and two cells.

[derpyluver 109]

On 6/4/2017 at 2:04 AM, Duality said:

Also, I can tell you nifty archaic insults to use on your worst enemies. I'm pretty good at that.

ok do that

[Duality 10,740]

34 minutes ago, derpyluver said:

ok do that

Uh, turpitudinous scaramouch, coprophageous cuspidor, epistemophobic poltroon. Does this satisfactorily fulfil your request? 

[derpyluver 109]

yes but first wat is that

[Duality 10,740]

2 minutes ago, derpyluver said:

yes but first wat is that

Turpitudinous means revolting or horrid, scaramouch means a loser or words to similar effect, coprophageous means something that eats excrement (usually said of insects), a cuspidor is a spittoon, epistemophobic people are people who are afraid of knowledge, and a poltroon is along the same lines as 'scurvy-mouthed yellowbelly'.

[Yumekai 735]

Are you still alive or were you replaced by a robot or changling?

Edited September 26, 2018 by Yumekai

[Duality 10,740]

2 minutes ago, Yumekai said:

Are you still alive or were you replaced by a robot or changling?

Bold of you to assume I wasn't originally a Cybug. 

[Soren Peregrine 4,606]

Heya! I haven't asked you any questions in a good long while, so here are a few...

 

Have you ever considered writing fanfictions? If so, why? If not, why?

 

Do you enjoy playing any board games?

 

Since you said this when I asked what you thought about waifus: 

On 7/9/2018 at 8:20 PM, Duality said:

zecora is mine

I am going to guess a little bit that you find her interesting and slightly attractive, correct?

If so, any particular reasons why? If not, then I must have misunderstood. (I hope I'm not being weird or nosy. )

 

Do you have much knowledge concerning freshwater aquatic ecosystems and the like?

[TigerGeekGuy 4,662]

On 8/28/2018 at 8:16 PM, Duality said:

around these parts there is only one Inquisition

And you never expect it...

 

Questions:

1. Thoughts on the Curse of the Pharaohs?

2. What is your dark web website? ಠ‿ಠ

3. Thoughts on storm chasers?

4. How are changelings able to shapeshift?

5. Where is Gamora?

6. Who is Gamora?

7. Why is Gamora?

8. Thoughts on the story of Hachiko?

9. What is Stonehenge's true purpose?

10. Thoughts on Oscar, the 'Grim Reaper' of cats?

Edited October 5, 2018 by TigerGeekGuy
ew, posted early by mistake

[PixelPrism 18]

Interesting nerdy question: Could a Light Saber cut through Captain America's shield?

 

[Duality 10,740]

On 9/30/2018 at 1:09 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Have you ever considered writing fanfictions? If so, why? If not, why?

I have considered writing a fanfiction, in fact, but I came up with so much assorted lore for it that it divulged irreconcilably from the source material and ended up morphing into more of an original story idea. Turns out I mostly just like inventing lore. 

On 9/30/2018 at 1:09 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Do you enjoy playing any board games?

Skateboarding.

Mancala is pretty nifty, and so's Othello/Go. I do like ancient strategy games; only the most elegantly simple survive as long as those two have.

On 9/30/2018 at 1:09 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Since you said this when I asked what you thought about waifus: 

On 7/10/2018 at 12:20 PM, Duality said:

zecora is mine

I am going to guess a little bit that you find her interesting and slightly attractive, correct?

If so, any particular reasons why? If not, then I must have misunderstood. (I hope I'm not being weird or nosy. )

I was mostly joking about the attractiveness aspect, but I certainly consider her an intensely interesting character - an enigmatic, intelligent, and highly skilled loner, with a culture and background as yet untouched by the show.

And those vivid turquoise eyes do draw one's gaze, it must be said. 

On 9/30/2018 at 1:09 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Do you have much knowledge concerning freshwater aquatic ecosystems and the like?

A fair bit; at bare minimum I need to know how not to murder them as part of my course in wastewater engineering. 

 

 

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Thoughts on the Curse of the Pharaohs?

If inhaling modern concrete dust can kill you, inhaling ancient pyramid-rock dust compounded with decomposition by-products would most definitely do likewise, methinks. Nowadays they generally use face masks and air safety tests when excavating.

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

What is your dark web website? ಠ‿ಠ

Google on night mode. 

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Thoughts on storm chasers?

Suicide attempts have never been so lucrative a profession.

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

How are changelings able to shapeshift?

Actual magic?

I used to have a casual headcanon that it involved altering the perception of those around them but Ocellus' stunt this season in knocking down an entire tower of the School of Friendship while in an enlarged form mostly jossed that. It clearly consists of a 'green flash of light' that alters the composition of their body, sometimes even adding and subtracting large amounts of mass, as with Ocellus' aforementioned transformation, but what makes that possible is definitely beyond anything easily explainable in terms of physics.

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Where is Gamora?

In space.

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Who is Gamora?

ur mom

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Why is Gamora?

Because she wanted to.

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Thoughts on the story of Hachiko?

I watched a drama about that dog once. I was the only one not to cry, as I recall. 

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

What is Stonehenge's true purpose?

Probably random ritualistic impalements. Alternate feasible purposes include random ritualistic incinerations, random ritualistic dissections, and random ritualistic defenestrations.

On 10/5/2018 at 9:00 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Thoughts on Oscar, the 'Grim Reaper' of cats?

Hey, Pratchett did establish that Death is a cat person...

 

 

 

On 10/5/2018 at 9:30 PM, PixelPrism said:

Interesting nerdy question: Could a Light Saber cut through Captain America's shield?

Ah, cross-franchise queries never fail to intrigue. 

A quick consultation of the Star Wars wiki tells me that lightsabers are made out of magnetically confined plasma and only certain forms of energy shield and materials that conduct electromagnetic energy very well can deflect them. Notable examples include other lightsabers, electrified metallic weapons of specific design (electrostaffs etc.), a material called cortosis with extremely high energy absorption and transmission properties (although it is itself relatively weak), and an esoteric alloy called Mandalorian iron that is physically durable enough to resist almost all forms of damage (including direct blaster shots).

Another glance through the Marvel wiki shows that Captain America's shield is capable of deflecting or absorbing effectively all forms of energy, especially direct kinetic energy, thermal energy, vibrational energy, and, most relevantly, electromagnetic blasts of a magnitude up to and including point-blank crushing blows from a fully energised Mjolnir. It therefore seems safe to say that Cap's shield would deflect even the high-temperature electromagnetically confined plasma of lightsabers, due to its vast physical durability and energy absorption properties - rather similar in behaviour to a combination of cortosis and Mandalorian iron, in a sense.

[Soren Peregrine 4,606]

On 10/6/2018 at 11:26 PM, Duality said:

I have considered writing a fanfiction, in fact, but I came up with so much assorted lore for it that it divulged irreconcilably from the source material and ended up morphing into more of an original story idea. Turns out I mostly just like inventing lore. 

^ Well then, if you love inventing lore, and you seem to be extremely skilled at doing so, and it tends to divulge too much from the source material, why not just write an original novel or book series? Your grasp on rare and very descriptive words and the english language is better than just about everybody I have ever known. I'm sure you would have a good writing style too.

Would you consider doing something along these lines when you have enough free time? It might be way better than just a fanfiction of somebody else's source material. I think that creating a good world and lore is possibly the most difficult part of coming up with an original story, and you already have that down.

On 10/6/2018 at 11:26 PM, Duality said:

I was mostly joking about the attractiveness aspect, but I certainly consider her an intensely interesting character - an enigmatic, intelligent, and highly skilled loner, with a culture and background as yet untouched by the show.

That's probably my favorite thing about her. And as much as her character has been developed, I still think she is extremely underused, and she still has so much potential for a good backstory about the culture she was from that has yet to be created. I still hope for a good episode that does that in the final season. I highly doubt that will happen however, but I would love to be wrong! And hey, whoever said that attractiveness was based solely upon physical features? An enigmatic, intelligent, and highly skilled loner sounds like a very attractive personality to me!

On 10/6/2018 at 11:26 PM, Duality said:

And those vivid turquoise eyes do draw one's gaze, it must be said. 

Eyes are probably my favorite thing on the body. Windows into the soul.

On 10/6/2018 at 11:26 PM, Duality said:

A fair bit; at bare minimum I need to know how not to murder them as part of my course in wastewater engineering. 

Really? That's pretty cool! What are some of your favorite freshwater aquatic creatures, if you have any?

Would you mind if I asked you what your proffesion is as well? Are you a student in college? Employed? What do you do for a living?

Do you think it is really all that weird or unusual to find the ponies attractive? Do you think it is wrong? I didn't exactly straight up ask that question yet I don't think.

[Widdershins 9,959]

@Soren Peregrine 

 Well, really, It can all depend on how you quantify "Attractive." After all, wanting to spend time with somepony because you derive internal expectations of compatibility due to certain physiological traits is admirable in any context. Getting feelings out of something you may not be physically in the company of is something I find rather artistic & abstract. It doesn't have to mean sexual attraction, because, after all, neither of us actually have any first hand experience with anatomical compatibility & such does not derive the sole satisfaction should association become a hypothetical thing.

 Me, I'm developing strong feelings for street lamposts. I'm genuinely serious.

...

  ...what? There's some rule against answering questions in others' Ask Threads? I ain't stealin' no thunder here, buddies!

 

  But what I came here for!

 @Duality

 So, Hypothetical! 

 Say you're walking past a large bookstore or, heavens forbid, the local public library. Not a place you're familiar with, but nonetheless. As you walk past, it immediately bursts into a roaring inferno! You know you have only enough time to dash in, blindly grab armfuls of books to rescue from the flames & make it back out while all the other books perish to fire as every other being around was scuttling to put out the fire. Which genre of the bookshelves do you go to?

 Because, as much as I love textbooks... no, sorry, y'all are dying. No bloody way I'm going to be able to walk with an armful of text books... 

  ...Oh, and as for the lives of others, don't worry. Assume the Local Book Club found their own way out. Books First!

 

 Oh... one other thing... seperate of course. Diagram a sentence for me?

  Magic the Gathering, TCG, card flavor text:

 With just a few seconds to escape, Deryan saved Hurkyl's editions on restoring physical objects from ash.

 

  Does that mean that it was specifically Deryan that had the mere seconds to escape? That Hurkyl's editions were saved from turning to ash or that they were a panacea (cure) for the very thing aforesaid tomes were about to succumb to? Or do the articles only restore objects, not specifically from ash? Or were they ON something ELSE that happened to be about restoring from ash, as Deryan was carrying them out? 

 I need to know what level of irony they were aiming for here.

...

 Oh, and while we're at it. Thoughts on Necromancy & Arcanic Arts? The so-called Dark Arts, whether they be Reanimation or simply casting shadow-based spells.

[TigerGeekGuy 4,662]

On 10/6/2018 at 9:26 PM, Duality said:

Because she wanted to.

Honestly, my references are wasted on you.  But, I'll keep on tryin'.

On 10/6/2018 at 9:26 PM, Duality said:

Probably random ritualistic impalements. Alternate feasible purposes include random ritualistic incinerations, random ritualistic dissections, and random ritualistic defenestrations.

I hear it used to be a pizza parlor run by a gnome. 

 

Interrogatives:

1. What is, in your opinion, the most delicious-looking food from Equestria?

2. What is your stance on the Nature vs Nurture argument? (I've asked you this before, let's see if you have a formed an opinion by now.)

3. How are phoenix tears able to heal wounds?

4. Thoughts on the 'false lives' phenomenon?

5. By your estimates, how much is one Equestrian Bit in US Dollars? (Feel free to convert to other currencies, if you wish.)

[Frostgage 7,975]

If it were possible, would you ever live on a celestial body besides Earth?

[Duality 10,740]

Apologies to all for the ludicrous delay on responses; end-of-qualification completion rush takes a long time to recover from. 

 

 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:04 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

^ Well then, if you love inventing lore, and you seem to be extremely skilled at doing so, and it tends to divulge too much from the source material, why not just write an original novel or book series? Your grasp on rare and very descriptive words and the english language is better than just about everybody I have ever known. I'm sure you would have a good writing style too.

Aww, thank you, Soren. That's one of the nicest compliments I've ever received. 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:04 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Would you consider doing something along these lines when you have enough free time? It might be way better than just a fanfiction of somebody else's source material. I think that creating a good world and lore is possibly the most difficult part of coming up with an original story, and you already have that down.

I have in fact considered writing a novel in this vein, but free time is something of a recurring deficiency. For one thing, I have pages and pages of scribbled-down and occasionally conflicting lore notes and revisions I have to compile and unify before I try getting any plot on paper. I plan to put time into that once I settle into a job with stable work hours, though; I always feel better when I have a good schedule.

On 10/21/2018 at 1:04 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

That's probably my favorite thing about her. And as much as her character has been developed, I still think she is extremely underused, and she still has so much potential for a good backstory about the culture she was from that has yet to be created. I still hope for a good episode that does that in the final season. I highly doubt that will happen however, but I would love to be wrong! And hey, whoever said that attractiveness was based solely upon physical features? An enigmatic, intelligent, and highly skilled loner sounds like a very attractive personality to me!

Indeed; I heard that she was intended to be a recurring sage-mentor-type character for the Mane 6 in early drafts, something like how she was used when Trixie had the Alicorn Amulet. I must say, though, what with all the exploration of distant lands they've had in recent seasons, visiting her homeland isn't out of the question.

Intellect and skill are all well and good, but when it comes to one's integrity of character and capacity for selflessness, they factor in about as little as one's ability to bench-press 100lb weights does. Obviously, having mental and physical skill is good and should be encouraged, but if your heart isn't in the right place then your abilities of any description tend to be geared towards your own benefit first and foremost. Fortuitously, that description doesn't apply to Zecora, so the attractiveness is doubled down. 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:04 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Eyes are probably my favorite thing on the body. Windows into the soul.

Fun fact! The retina is an integrated extension of the brain's nervous tissue! When you gaze into the eyes of another, your minds are directly perceiving each other through the medium of pure light!

On 10/21/2018 at 1:04 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Really? That's pretty cool! What are some of your favorite freshwater aquatic creatures, if you have any?

Turtles are pretty great, although as a kid I had a freshwater aquatic snail that lived for probably half a decade eating algae off the side of my fishtank. Saved me cleaning it as often. 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:04 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Would you mind if I asked you what your profession is as well? Are you a student in college? Employed? What do you do for a living?

As of the time you asked this question, I was studying for an engineering qualification, but as of now I'm running around throwing my resume at anyone who appears mildly interested. 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:04 PM, Soren Peregrine said:

Do you think it is really all that weird or unusual to find the ponies attractive? Do you think it is wrong? I didn't exactly straight up ask that question yet I don't think.

Physical attraction seems a bit odd, but I consider attraction to minds and personalities pretty much fair game in this area, albeit somewhat fruitless by definition. 

 

 

 

On 10/26/2018 at 3:22 AM, Widdershins said:

 Well, really, It can all depend on how you quantify "Attractive." After all, wanting to spend time with somepony because you derive internal expectations of compatibility due to certain physiological traits is admirable in any context. Getting feelings out of something you may not be physically in the company of is something I find rather artistic & abstract. It doesn't have to mean sexual attraction, because, after all, neither of us actually have any first hand experience with anatomical compatibility & such does not derive the sole satisfaction should association become a hypothetical thing.

 Me, I'm developing strong feelings for street lamposts. I'm genuinely serious.

...

  ...what? There's some rule against answering questions in others' Ask Threads? I ain't stealin' no thunder here, buddies!

I need that thunder back; people are starting to squint funny at my stormclouds for their silent lightning. 

On 10/26/2018 at 3:22 AM, Widdershins said:

But what I came here for!

 @Duality

 So, Hypothetical! 

 Say you're walking past a large bookstore or, heavens forbid, the local public library. Not a place you're familiar with, but nonetheless. As you walk past, it immediately bursts into a roaring inferno! You know you have only enough time to dash in, blindly grab armfuls of books to rescue from the flames & make it back out while all the other books perish to fire as every other being around was scuttling to put out the fire. Which genre of the bookshelves do you go to?

 Because, as much as I love textbooks... no, sorry, y'all are dying. No bloody way I'm going to be able to walk with an armful of text books... 

  ...Oh, and as for the lives of others, don't worry. Assume the Local Book Club found their own way out. Books First!

Apologies, my good sir, but if a 'roaring inferno' broke out in any building near me I wouldn't go in for books. No sense acquiring ink-spattered paper if you get the noggin to assign meaning to it burnt to a crisp. That, and the vast majority of books are recorded either in other volumes or in digital format, so the information isn't really going anywhere. I don't know what metric you're using, but my cost-benefit analyses deem risked human life of greater value than redundant knowledge oblongs. 

It's not exclusive hate of books, either; I probably wouldn't attempt any sort of rescue from fire unless it was people. Objects are worth less than beings, because beings are what assign the value of objects.

On 10/26/2018 at 3:22 AM, Widdershins said:

Oh... one other thing... seperate of course. Diagram a sentence for me?

  Magic the Gathering, TCG, card flavor text:

 With just a few seconds to escape, Deryan saved Hurkyl's editions on restoring physical objects from ash.

 

  Does that mean that it was specifically Deryan that had the mere seconds to escape? That Hurkyl's editions were saved from turning to ash or that they were a panacea (cure) for the very thing aforesaid tomes were about to succumb to? Or do the articles only restore objects, not specifically from ash? Or were they ON something ELSE that happened to be about restoring from ash, as Deryan was carrying them out? 

 I need to know what level of irony they were aiming for here.

Deryan had a few seconds to escape yet managed to save the editions, Hurkyl doesn't factor into the event except as the owner of the editions, and the editions were either about restoring objects and were saved from turning to ash or were about restoring physical objects from ash and were saved from an undescribed threat. I suspect they were about restoring physical objects from ash because 'saving the editions from ash' doesn't quite parse without invoking poetic license, unless someone was trying to smear charcoal on the pages. Some would say that 'saving the editions from ash' could be a description of their fate if they hadn't been saved, like 'saving the person from death', but in this case it's more like 'saving the person from corpse'.

To put it in a less ambiguous format: "Deryan, with just a few seconds to escape, saved Hurkyl's editions, which were about restoring physical objects from ash." In this version, the comma before 'from ash' is quite necessary if one wishes to state that the editions' pending fate was ash.

On 10/26/2018 at 3:22 AM, Widdershins said:

 Oh, and while we're at it. Thoughts on Necromancy & Arcanic Arts? The so-called Dark Arts, whether they be Reanimation or simply casting shadow-based spells.

Eh, it starts off exciting, but you soon learn that most rich dead people have already been reanimated on multiple occasions to give away the location of all their secret treasure hoards. Shadow control is a lot of fun, though, especially when you realise that people's innards are in constant shadow.

 

 

 

On 10/26/2018 at 9:01 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Honestly, my references are wasted on you. But, I'll keep on tryin'.

Says the one who watched Guardians of the Galaxy II after I did. 

On 10/26/2018 at 9:01 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

I hear it used to be a pizza parlor run by a gnome.

Business must have been terrible; it's in the middle of nowhere.

On 10/26/2018 at 9:01 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

1. What is, in your opinion, the most delicious-looking food from Equestria?

You Twilight Gems, if I had the stomach for them. 

On 10/26/2018 at 9:01 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

2. What is your stance on the Nature vs Nurture argument? (I've asked you this before, let's see if you have a formed an opinion by now.)

As with several unfortunate dichotomies that people argue about as if they're incompatible, it's a balance between the two. About 50% of one's personality is determined by genetics, from the statistics I've heard, so by application of fancy mathmatics one can determine that this leaves 50% to be determined by upbringing. Even the Wikipedia page on it states outright that the debate was considered an outdated viewpoint by the early 2000s. 

On 10/26/2018 at 9:01 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

3. How are phoenix tears able to heal wounds?

Saliva helps heal wounds by virtue of being a mild antiseptic and clotting agent, so it's probably just an upscale of that effect. The real question is exactly why an immortal creature that regenerates through death would have healing agents of all things in its tears.

On 10/26/2018 at 9:01 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

4. Thoughts on the 'false lives' phenomenon?

If we can dream convincing realism with our resting brain, our active brain can most definitely dream up-to-11 realism. Brains are ludicrously complex things; it's honestly surprising that they don't mess things up for us more often.

On 10/26/2018 at 9:01 PM, TigerGeekGuy said:

5. By your estimates, how much is one Equestrian Bit in US Dollars? (Feel free to convert to other currencies, if you wish.)

The prices of various products like fruit and vegetables fluctuates quite significantly even across bordering countries, let alone between here and a parallel dimension. That aside, the price of a cherry was one bit in Putting Your Hoof Down, and cherries cost $3.4 USD per 0.5kg and weigh about 5g each, so that works out to roughly 3.4 cents per bit.

What with the apparent buying power of a bit in seemingly all other circumstances, Equestria either has an economic problem or it's an economic utopia. Or magic friendship horses don't even need economics and nopony really thought through the practicalities of currency before putting it in circulation. Or the shopkeepers are all as much hackney hagglers as they acted in that episode and Ponyville prices depend on who you're asking. Or cherries are just really expensive for whatever reason.

@Frostgage smartfrosty thoughts on moneymath ples

 

 

 

On 1/9/2019 at 4:13 PM, Frostgage said:

If it were possible, would you ever live on a celestial body besides Earth?

This is a very interesting question, but I honestly don't think that any other celestial body could ever be as pleasant to live on as the beautiful life-filled planet we have. 

I'd visit Jupiter for a while, though, if I had the opportunity, because who doesn't want to see what it's like to fall directly downwards for a few days through the bulk of a giant non-solid storm planet and check out possibly-present metallic hydrogen on your way through its centre?

[Frostgage 7,975]

20 hours ago, Duality said:

On 10/26/2018 at 4:01 AM, TigerGeekGuy said:

5. By your estimates, how much is one Equestrian Bit in US Dollars? (Feel free to convert to other currencies, if you wish.)

The prices of various products like fruit and vegetables fluctuates quite significantly even across bordering countries, let alone between here and a parallel dimension. That aside, the price of a cherry was one bit in Putting Your Hoof Down, and cherries cost $3.4 USD per 0.5kg and weigh about 5g each, so that works out to roughly 3.4 cents per bit.

What with the apparent buying power of a bit in seemingly all other circumstances, Equestria either has an economic problem or it's an economic utopia. Or magic friendship horses don't even need economics and nopony really thought through the practicalities of currency before putting it in circulation. Or the shopkeepers are all as much hackney hagglers as they acted in that episode and Ponyville prices depend on who you're asking. Or cherries are just really expensive for whatever reason.

@Frostgage smartfrosty thoughts on moneymath ples 

Cherries are delicious, therefore they cost a lot of money

...wait did you just trick me into answering a question on your own ask thread

[Duality 10,740]

2 minutes ago, Frostgage said:

...wait did you just trick me into answering a question on your own ask thread

Only you can answer that question. 

[Frostgage 7,975]

What math homework problem gave you the most trouble, even if it wasn't necessarily the most difficult?

[Duality 10,740]

8 hours ago, Frostgage said:

What math homework problem gave you the most trouble, even if it wasn't necessarily the most difficult?

I don't actually recall any maths problems that ever gave me trouble. That is not to say that I never found any troublesome, of course, but that I only dwell on (and thus remember) maths problems that I find enjoyable. There was an outstanding calculus problem I once did (in fact, I may have mentioned it before; it's one of my favourites) that consisted only of the premise "Cut a pizza slice of angle theta from a disc. Curl the resultant part-disc into a cone, connecting sliced edges. Find the angle theta that maximises the volume of the resultant cone." Took me hours to work out, and I still remember it years later. 

EDIT: Actually, in retrospect, I do remember one problem that really confused me, because it was a complicated question and my answer consistently failed to line up with what the maths textbook said was the answer. I emailed it to my Cambridge-mathematician uncle with a plea for illumination, and he verified the accuracy of my answer plus worked out the exact error that the textbook manufacturers had made to give that particular wrong answer in the back of the book.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Duality