8000: Pseudoscience Postravaganza
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Saturday, December 16 2006 07:04
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Hmmm, that's an interesting concept to think about. So you would not end up floating, right? You would drift, possibly accelerating, until you hit the crust, on which you could continue walking if you were close enough to the equator, right? Also, does the Hollow Earth theory relate directly to Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth? -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, December 16 2006 11:34
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The effect can be roughly explained by gravity from the half of the sphere to one side of you being canceled by the gravity of the half on the other side. (Yes, if you're not exactly in the middle then the halves aren't really halves, but gravitational force's dependence on distance means the forces are equal in all directions.) Once you're inside the shell, there's no gravity. That means that if you fell into a hole, you'd keep falling at the same rate until you hit the other side of the Earth. Given that the shell is pretty deep since we don't dig holes and fall in all the time, you'd probably be dead anyway. You'd just have more time to contemplate being dead as you fell through the miles of emptiness. On the other hand, because the Earth isn't still your path wouldn't be straight across the sphere. You'd actually seem to curve depending on the speed of the Earth's rotation and orbit. I don't know enough about either to plot a path. If you did survive hitting the other side, you might be able to walk around because of the Earth's rotation. It might be hard, though, because I don't think the Earth rotates fast enough to "hold" you against the Earth very hard even at the equator. —Alorael, who needs some time with a pencil, paper, and a calculator to work all this out. Maybe he'll just leave it as one of those great exercises for the reader. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 7538
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written Saturday, December 16 2006 12:19
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quote:I suddenly got this bizarre vision of people walking around the inside of the earth like a giant rat wheel. -------------------- Do not provoke the turtles. They do not like being provoked. -Lenar My website: Nemesis' Refuge Posts: 743 | Registered: Friday, September 29 2006 07:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Saturday, December 16 2006 16:21
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Today's name, Abiogenic Petroleum, is the theory that fossil fuels don't actually come from fossils at all. While small amounts of methane are indeed produced underground by abiogenic processes, scientific consensus is that the vast majority of hydrocarbon deposits come from breakdown of formerly living matter. By contrast, abiogenic petroleum theorists claim all our fossil fuels actually well up from deep within the earth's mantle, and that there must be huge untapped deposits of oil deep underground (despite the fact that when searched for, said deposits have failed to materialise at the locations abiogenic petroleum theorists predicted). Abiogenic petroleum theory is a fine example of motivated reasoning, as its proponents use it to justify not researching alternative fuels. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Monday, December 18 2006 01:34
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Today's name, Spontaneous Human Combustion, is an alleged phenomenon in which a person suddenly and without apparent cause catches fire. SHC victims have been reported to be incinerated in a sudden burst of blue flame, utterly destroying most of the body but leaving the feet undamaged. In other cases, severely charred corpses are found in rooms which otherwise show no sign of fire damage. However, examining supposed SHC cases reveals little or no evidence for the more dramatic events; supposed eyewitness accounts of SHC events invariably turn out to be second-hand anecdotes at best. In fact, the vast majority of "SHC" cases have been a person found burned to death at home, hours or days after last being seen alive. Many SHC victims are heavy drinkers, and probably passed out due to alcohol intoxication before their clothing was ignited by a spark or a dropped cigarette. The fire can continue to burn slowly but intensely using body fat as fuel. SHC cases tend to occur in a closed room, so there are few drafts of air that could spread the fire and ignite other objects in the room. When the feet are spared, it is most likely because they have more bone and less fat than the rest of the body, and fire tends to travel upward. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Monday, December 18 2006 04:39
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I think something worth mentioning is that SHC cases often involve flames so hot that the bones break apart, leaving only charred bone dust. This extremely intense heat usually does not occur during normal combustion, and so the conditions must be just right for such a spectacular effect. I believe there was one case of public SHC that involved a preacher, but then again it is probably an urban legend. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Monday, December 18 2006 06:05
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The remark I read in a seemingly authoritative debunking of SHC, by some kind of arson inspector guy who ought to have known all about fires, was that totally charring bone does not require extreme heat. Doing so quickly does, which is why crematoria are very hot. But an ordinary fire can reduce bone to ash if it burns long enough. I mean, if you think about it, why not? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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FAQSELF
Member # 3
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written Monday, December 18 2006 09:55
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quote:Early abiogenic petroleum proponents include Mendeleev, who performed experiments on the reaction of acid with steel, which produces a thin layer of oil film. However, the discovery of chirality and chlorophyll in oil pretty much ended that debate. quote:Some SHC has been attributed to the production of the highly flammable gas diphosphine (P2H4) by anaerobic microbes in the victim's stomach, coupled with heavy alcohol intoxication. This gas is fairly abundant in swamps- perhaps similar conditions are formed after the victim passes out? -------------------- A few cats short of a kitten pot pie... Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. Check out a great source for information on Avernum 2, Nethergate, and Subterra: Zeviz's page. Finally, there's my Geneforge FAQ, Geneforge 2 FAQ, and Geneforge 3 FAQ. Posts: 2831 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2759
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written Monday, December 18 2006 14:45
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I imagine that stick people combust fairly easily, too. -------------------- "I can't read this thread with that image. But then, that's not a complaint." -Scorpius Geneforge 4 stuff. Also, everything I know about Avernum | Avernum 2 | Avernum 3 | Avernum 4 Posts: 1104 | Registered: Monday, March 10 2003 08:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 34
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written Monday, December 18 2006 15:36
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Speaking of bone burning, the Chinese used to toss animal bones in fires to see how they would crack due to the heat and read peoples' fortunes based on that. "Oracle bones," methinks they were. Maybe it was along the same lines as if someone breaks their femur, you can tell that they won't be able to walk. -------------------- Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck. 'Spiderweb Software' anagrammmed: 'Word-bereft A**wipe' Posts: 702 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Monday, December 18 2006 16:16
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I think I've read or heard somewhere that some SHC victims had abnormally high levels of Manganese in their body. Manganese is found in trace amounts in all known forms of life on this planet. Certain forms of Manganese oxidize when they contact organic material, and this oxidization process can produce enough heat to ignite some organic materials. So maybe some SHC cases had a bit to much Manganese in their body, some of it oxidized, and they went up in flames. -------------------- I tried to think of something witty to put here. Needless to say, I failed. Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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BANNED
Member # 7750
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written Monday, December 18 2006 16:19
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nioca why wont you emphatically burn in the bad place i emphatically hate you now u made me extremely madgrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr [ Monday, December 18, 2006 18:55: Message edited by: Imban ] Posts: 10 | Registered: Friday, December 8 2006 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Monday, December 18 2006 16:28
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I am both shocked and appalled. What the heck did I do? And that language is a definite breach of the Code of Conduct. EDIT: Nevermind. Apparently, wawa has a BANNED wish. :rolleyes: [ Monday, December 18, 2006 16:30: Message edited by: Nioca ] Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 6785
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written Monday, December 18 2006 18:07
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Nioca - The alert button was removed a few months back as too irritating to the mods. It was remarked just before another case. I do like Drakefyre's last line before banning wawa. quote:from last reason for wawa's ban. Posts: 4643 | Registered: Friday, February 10 2006 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Monday, December 18 2006 18:30
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quote:Um, is someone going to edit that? One of those words slipped past the auto-censor. Well, thanks for the info, Randomizer. I do wonder what made him go off like that, though. He'd spammed a bit, but seemed rather peaceful. Well, until... [insert good frightening monster pic here] -------------------- I tried to think of something witty to put here. Needless to say, I failed. Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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Councilor
Member # 6600
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written Monday, December 18 2006 18:47
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Just relax. The mods have everything under control. So, Thuryl, anything pseudoscientific on intelligence coming up? Dikiyoba. Edit: Typo. [ Monday, December 18, 2006 18:48: Message edited by: Dikisaurus ] Posts: 4346 | Registered: Friday, December 23 2005 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Monday, December 18 2006 20:28
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I think the manganese theory is ridiculous. The mere presence of an element does not mean that it will react in the way you want it to in order to produce the desired effect. We are full of fluorine, one of the most reactive and explosive of all the elements, and yet because it never gets a chance to become elemental fluorine, we are safe. The human body is flammable, and so I think under some circumstances a fire could "spontaneously" occur, but you will have to give me a day to flesh out a good theory. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Tuesday, December 19 2006 03:59
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Today's name, Spoon Bending, is the bending of a spoon or other metal object, supposedly as a demonstration of psychokinetic power. In reality, bending a spoon isn't that hard; all that's needed is to distract your audience while you apply a quick, firm pressure to the spoon with your hand. Alternatively, a trick spoon can be used, requiring only a barely perceptible flick of the wrist to bend. [ Tuesday, December 19, 2006 04:00: Message edited by: Spoon Bending ] -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Tuesday, December 19 2006 04:39
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If any of these were proven true, though doubtful, they would no longer qualify for your Postravaganza, right? -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7420
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written Tuesday, December 19 2006 05:32
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Behold. How did he do it? -------------------- You lose. Posts: 2156 | Registered: Thursday, August 24 2006 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 7472
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written Tuesday, December 19 2006 09:27
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I have a whole book on space-time, which includes the topic of Psychokinesis. Materialization, Thoughtography, Psychometry, Telepathy, so on and so forth. I don't believe most of it, but I was once on the receiving end of Astral Travel. -------------------- I tried to think of something witty to put here. Needless to say, I failed. Posts: 2686 | Registered: Friday, September 8 2006 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Tuesday, December 19 2006 12:54
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Some part of me still hopes that telekinesis and other psychophenomena are real. It would be an excellent boon to the otherwise physically inadequate race of human beings. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 5814
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written Tuesday, December 19 2006 14:32
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That's okay. We make up for it with our guns and our desperate desire to use them. -------------------- quote: Posts: 1115 | Registered: Sunday, May 15 2005 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 7538
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written Tuesday, December 19 2006 17:17
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quote:Quoted for truth. Swords and bows are better anyway. Now Alo's probably gonna snipe me. :P -------------------- Do not provoke the turtles. They do not like being provoked. -Lenar My website: Nemesis' Refuge Posts: 743 | Registered: Friday, September 29 2006 07:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, December 20 2006 03:52
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Today's name, Cryptozoology, is the study of animals that don't exist, like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and El Chupacabra. I'm tired, so go research it yourself. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |