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

[TigerGeekGuy 4,662]

On 9/9/2019 at 3:38 AM, Duality said:

me

guess which one i am

goddangit

 

Interrogatives:

1. Have you seen any of the live-action Disney remakes, if so, which one and did you like it?

2. Just how accurate are the formulas seen in Dr. Whooves' mind during the bowling scene in Slice of Life?
    Image here:

Spoiler

3. What do you think 'star jelly' is?

4. Twilight offers to cast the enchanted comic book spell from Power Ponies on any book for your enjoyment, which book do you choose?

5. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?

[Duality 10,740]

On 12/11/2019 at 2:45 PM, Galaxical Phoenix said:

If you could have only one or the other, which would it be: unhindered freedom, or guaranteed safety?

This is most definitely not something I’ve been contemplating for a little while now

Unhindered freedom is not desirable. In fact, I dare say a desire for unhindered freedom invariably indicates either ignorance or insanity. Consider: We as bodies are bound by physical rules. We as people are bound by legal rules. We as minds are bound by logical rules. We as consciousnesses are bound by moral rules. If we make ourselves free from physical rules, we become pagan gods. If we make ourselves free from legal rules, we become criminals. If we make ourselves free from logical rules, we become madmen. If we make ourselves free from moral laws, we become monsters.

Humans are not built for unhindered freedom. In every aspect of our existence there are freedoms that we may exploit and principles that we must follow to make that aspect most vibrantly alive. The tree may be free to choose which direction its branches grow, but it sure isn't going to survive long if it decides that it is also free to choose the internal structure of its branches. The laws of aesthetic harmony are not to be defied unless you want to make an ugly piece of art. Only a lunatic denies that A = A.

Complete guaranteed safety, on the other hand, is far more useful to desire and far less freedom-hindering than one would expect. If I was guaranteed complete personal safety, the protection would extend to those around me insofar as I would be hurt by their loss. If my brother got a broken leg, I would be somewhat upset. Therefore my brother would have to never get a broken leg to maintain my complete emotional safety. If the crisis in the Middle East began to distress me with all the death and loss it is causing, it would have to be resolved immediately to maintain my complete psychological safety. If I begin to feel smothered by all the barriers put in place to guarantee my physical safety, they would have to be changed to guarantee my complete mental safety as well as my complete physical safety.

Conclusion: All common-English thought experiments may be trivially resolved by extending the terms sufficiently far beyond the meanings intended.

 

 

 

On 12/17/2019 at 1:39 AM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Have you seen any of the live-action Disney remakes, if so, which one and did you like it?

I've seen Maleficent, which was fairly decent. I can't remember if I've seen any others though.

On 12/17/2019 at 1:39 AM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Just how accurate are the formulas seen in Dr. Whooves' mind during the bowling scene in Slice of Life?

I have that saved to my hard drive somewhere. They're all accurate, but he's failing to account for friction and I have no idea how he plans to impart precisely the right amounts of torque and momentum to the bowling ball even if he correctly calculates them. Knowledge does not directly convert to ability, unfortunately.

On 12/17/2019 at 1:39 AM, TigerGeekGuy said:

What do you think 'star jelly' is?

Probably frog jelly and fungus jelly and miscellaneous other jellies. If it was a direct result of meteorite impacts we would have found a meteorite with the jelly still clinging to it by now.

On 12/17/2019 at 1:39 AM, TigerGeekGuy said:

Twilight offers to cast the enchanted comic book spell from Power Ponies on any book for your enjoyment, which book do you choose?

I'll save the favour for when I write a book myself and need a solid selling point. 

On 12/17/2019 at 1:39 AM, TigerGeekGuy said:

The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?

Time works as an answer, since the more time you take up the more you leave behind you in the past, but I suspect the answer you're looking for is footsteps.

[Widdershins 9,959]

@Doo-a-litty

Something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now. And I daresay it explains alot about the both of our mentalities.

 Do you feel obligated to finish a book, even if its apparent you really don't like it or care for it?

 Like, in my personal case, its this massive chapter-book-collected-anthology of "Young Adult Fantasy." And while it is of course Decent... I think I might have incidentally put myself off reading by sitting there and insisting I can't read anything else until I get through this slog. It's clealry teen wish fufillment, and I can't fault it for that... but it's not really gripping, per se.

 You feel that it's okay to put down a book halfway through and never go back?

Or is it equally bad to keep picking up new books (short attention span, Yo.) so you presently have some five or seven books all bookmarked halfway though and several plotlines stuck in your head to remember?

Your views on the damage "Dogearing" does and laying a book Spine-Up? Which, for non bibliophiles, is butterflying it open and just dropping the bare pages spread on the table/chair arm/floor.

...

  ...also... you ever just snort books? Just shove your face into a fresh made book and suck up all that good %$%*? Mmmm, Pagescent!

[Duality 10,740]

On 10/19/2020 at 6:25 PM, Widdershins said:

@Doo-a-litty

Something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now. And I daresay it explains alot about the both of our mentalities.

 Do you feel obligated to finish a book, even if its apparent you really don't like it or care for it?

 Like, in my personal case, its this massive chapter-book-collected-anthology of "Young Adult Fantasy." And while it is of course Decent... I think I might have incidentally put myself off reading by sitting there and insisting I can't read anything else until I get through this slog. It's clealry teen wish fufillment, and I can't fault it for that... but it's not really gripping, per se.

 You feel that it's okay to put down a book halfway through and never go back?

Books, series of books, video games, it's all the same answer for me. If'n ye don't like the thing - or more pertinently, if it's dull, poorly designed, or otherwise mediocre -, cast it into the pit of indifference. Time is too valuable to waste on half-baked entertainment - but on the flipside, of course, your commitment to cognising all aspects of a piece of art should be roughly proportional to how well crafted it is, if you have any desire to give things the appreciation they deserve.

My unwarranted advice is thus to yeet your subpar tome, my good chap, and devote your attention and time to things that actually merit and reward your consideration.

On 10/19/2020 at 6:25 PM, Widdershins said:

Or is it equally bad to keep picking up new books (short attention span, Yo.) so you presently have some five or seven books all bookmarked halfway though and several plotlines stuck in your head to remember?

This isn't awfully bad, I don't think, though I do it with games much more than with books. Particularly complex plots and lore may be diminished by a significant margin if you have too much happening on the side, of course, but if they're fairly memorable and/or elementary I don't see much issue with it.

On 10/19/2020 at 6:25 PM, Widdershins said:

Your views on the damage "Dogearing" does and laying a book Spine-Up? Which, for non bibliophiles, is butterflying it open and just dropping the bare pages spread on the table/chair arm/floor.

Dog-earing is heresy, your pages are not origami. Face-down books are an abomination against all that is right and just, and snapping the spine of a book is more of a crime than snapping the spine of the person who did so. Bookmarks render both wrongdoings redundant, and are literally one of the most rudimentary constructs you can possibly craft from basic household goods.

Also, books are like $50 if you buy them new these days. Ain't nobody can afford to wreck them like that. 

On 10/19/2020 at 6:25 PM, Widdershins said:

...

  ...also... you ever just snort books? Just shove your face into a fresh made book and suck up all that good %$%*? Mmmm, Pagescent!

The word you need is bibliosmia. Use it wisely. 

[BeepThePony 24]

Ok, here’s one. What is your opinion on fire? Big fires, little fires, any type of fire.

(Example of fire)

[Duality 10,740]

On 2021-01-28 at 2:58 PM, BeepThePony said:

Ok, here’s one. What is your opinion on fire? Big fires, little fires, any type of fire.

Contrary to popular belief, Fire and I actually get along quite well. Thunderstorms are second only to humans when it comes to causing wildfires, there's plenty of water on the sun, and fire ice is in fact a thing that exists (my home lake, Vostok, has plenty). Sure, water might extinguish most forms of fire, but it also extinguishes most forms of life if they stay immersed in it for too long, and nobody says water and life are polar opposites. We've both been around for aeons - it's hard to coexist for that long without working out some sort of professional relationship. 

[EpicEnergy 23,176]

How much hydrogen and oxygen do you have?