Science

[Lizra]

Praise them! (and be thankful they aren't very genetically predisposed to selfishness! )

[Rían]

And if they ARE "genetically predisposed to selfishness", then why try to even fix that, if there's no free will in the matter? And why praise them, if their genetics made them act unselfishly?

(ah, siblings! Their squabbling is the major bane of my life!)

[Insidious Rex]

Originally posted by RÃ*an
So there's no reason to praise my children when they act unselfishly towards their siblings? There was no choice involved?

Youll notice this fits quite nicely in the part where i said "And after that it is further dampened by and/or reinforced by our environment". The human animal is predisposed to learn from its environment (and its parents or elders) to its benefit. So you are simply taking advantage of the construction of the brain to pattern behavior after others which is is a process we call learning. A process that is quite beneficial to the survival of the host I might add. So yes praising them is what nature expects you to do. ignoring them or letting them run wild would decrease their chances for healthy development and thus ultimately survival.

But be assured (and Im sure as a parent you are not so naive to think) that a child is never ALWAYS a little angel no matter how much praising they get. you can rest assured that when you are safely somewhere else and they have unparalleled opportunity to gain benefit at the expense of a weaker or younger or more gullible sibling they often will including the opportunity (call it selfish if you like) to establish formal pecking order in the family. so our model works perfectly.

[Lizra]

Originally posted by RÃ*an
And if they ARE "genetically predisposed to selfishness", then why try to even fix that, if there's no free will in the matter? And why praise them, if their genetics made them act unselfishly?

(ah, siblings! Their squabbling is the major bane of my life!)

Why try to "fix" anything?! To make it better! Genetically predisposed dosen't mean etched in stone...just predisposed! Praise them for good behavior and quit trying to pooh pooh genetics!

[Rían]

I don't pooh-pooh genetics; I just object when I think people try to say that ALL our behavior is driven ENTIRELY by our genes, because IMHO that's wrong. I can live with "predisposed"

[trolls' bane]

I know this will probably get a warning from a mod/admin, but I think it relates closely enough to this thread.
If the Earth turned at a velocity of 1000 mph east, and an airplane flying from Los Angeles to New York at a velocity of 600 mph east (or -600 mph west), what is the resultant velocity?
What would happen if the atmosphere did NOT rotate with the
Earth? That second one is the one you need to keep your eye open for.

[Nurvingiel]

I wonder why no one has posted in this thread in a while... I was looking for a theology thread, and came accross (across?) Science? Cool thread.

If the atmosphere didn't rotate with the Earth, wouldn't there be winds so extreme, all life would be impossible?

Actually, I think the atmosphere rotates with the Eearth due to gravity. So if that didn't happen, then something's wrong with gravity and the atmosphere would eventually disperse, and the world would fall apart, and all life would end, and your plane wouldn't arrive in New York

[trolls' bane]

But this is about the plane (no offense). It's answer will get all of you!
Edit: But those are some very good points

[Nerdanel]

i have not at all followed this thread, but here's my contribution: The Control Game!

[Nerdanel]

i love this movie

it's so cool to actually see mitosis!

[Wayfarer]

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

I wonder why no one has posted in this thread in a while... I was looking for a theology thread, and came accross (across?) Science? Cool thread.

If the atmosphere didn't rotate with the Earth, wouldn't there be winds so extreme, all life would be impossible?

Actually, I think the atmosphere rotates with the Eearth due to gravity. So if that didn't happen, then something's wrong with gravity and the atmosphere would eventually disperse, and the world would fall apart, and all life would end, and your plane wouldn't arrive in New York

Hmm. I hadn't noticed this thread either. Interesting.

I'm afraid Trollsbane neglected one crucial bit of information (what does he want the resultant velocity of? And in relation to what? You can't just leave out these things! How can someone answer you when you haven't clearly stated the question?

If the surface of the earth is rotating at a speed of 1000 Mph * 0°, and the plane is travelling 600 mph * 0° relative to the surface of the earth, then the plane would be orbiting the centerpoint of the earth at 1600 mph. I think. Of course the plane wouldn't technically be moving in a straight line - it would be moving in a circle... er, assuming you discount the movement of the earth around the sun, and the movement of the sun... and, dear God, you've got to keep in mind the fact that an airplane moving 'east' from LA to NY would actually travel in a parabolic arc to take into account the curfature of the earth. Like I said, it's not really a clear question, and thus kind of hard to answer. Plus I'm lazy, and don't really care.

Anyway. The phenomenon to which Nurvingiel refers to is one that actually occurs. The surface of the earth exerts a gravitational force on the atmosphere, which causes the atmosphere to rotate along with the planet. Since the atmosphere doesn't move quite as fast as the surface of the earth (due to the larger radius), we experience what are called Katabatic winds.

Hmm... and actually, if gravity suddenly ceased to exist, I'm pretty sure the earth would stay together due to surface tension. The atmosphere too - it would stick together in a big bubble in space, although certainly it would diffuse a bit.

Then again, that's small comfort considering the sun would either explode (the nuclear fusion in its core no longer countered by gravity) or stop burning altogether (as that fusion stopped). And the earth would keep moving in a straight line away from the solar system, quite possibly leaving the atmosphere behind anyway...

[ayarella]

It is amazing that this science thread is still alive!

I graduate with my B.S in Geology this coming spring after a long 4 years. As you can see from the lack of my posts, I have been busy. That is no excuse for my absence, however.

I have learned an amazing amount in this short period of time. I really love Mineralogy and Petrology.

Currently I am doing a senior thesis in Mineralogy which I will present in Denver in the spring and will hopefully (fingers crossed) be published in American Mineralogy!

I am taking Structural Geology currently and it is amazing how much you learn about faulting, folding etc. Everything is so much more complex than you can imagine!

Physics, Biology, and Chemistry have all been amazing topics as well.

Hopefully we can put a little spark into this thread and have some great discussions from now on!

[trolls' bane]

Originally Posted by ayarella

It is amazing that this science thread is still alive!

I graduate with my B.S in Geology this coming spring after a long 4 years. As you can see from the lack of my posts, I have been busy. That is no excuse for my absence, however.

I have learned an amazing amount in this short period of time. I really love Mineralogy and Petrology.

Currently I am doing a senior thesis in Mineralogy which I will present in Denver in the spring and will hopefully (fingers crossed) be published in American Mineralogy!

I am taking Structural Geology currently and it is amazing how much you learn about faulting, folding etc. Everything is so much more complex than you can imagine!

Physics, Biology, and Chemistry have all been amazing topics as well.

Hopefully we can put a little spark into this thread and have some great discussions from now on!

Well, now look at this! I don't even remember this thread...
Are geology and aerology the same, only from different planets?

Hey, Nurv...(a little late on this by more than a year) you are so right! No atmosphere...all life dead...and of course no plane. It might end up just flying on forever, because the engines wouldn't work, the pilots would be dead, and since there would be no gravity in your sceneario, nothing would be left to hinder my favorite law of physics...Inertia.

[Janny]

I don't come across the phrase 'my favourite law of physics' enough in my day-to-day life!

[Bombadillo]

Haha!

I love science, but so ignorantly. NOVA and nature shows are like action movies for me, I just stare so stupidly at the screen with my mouth open, thinking "awesome!" My brain just can't understand it though. I cannot grasp physics, but if I ever could I would become an astronomer.

[trolls' bane]

You mean Nova still exists! No way!
There was something I was going to post on here...oh well.

[Elanor]

I'm a big fan of science. It's an important part of life in our society. I'm fairly conversant in Biology (once wanted to be a botanist) and chemistry. My strong suit is Physics and Computer Science, though.

Any other Computer Scientists out there? Computation theory and such?

[The Gaffer]

Interesting and provocative speech by the President of the Royal Society:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/st...653748,00.html

Basically he says that science is under increasing attack from dogmatists (whether on the right or the left; creationists or environmentalists) and should be more vocal in defending their territory. Any thoughts?

[trolls' bane]

Why can't such people leave science alon. After all, no scientist knows why, they just know how, so creation is still there, just not in the same timeframes they like to think. So leave science alone! Back! *fights everyone off with a glowing cube of radium*

[The Gaffer]

Excellent point: I have always thought that the problem arises because people get those two questions (why and how) mixed up. Mind you, scientists perhaps are guilty of not communicating that effectively. "Why do we get rainbows?" "Because light is refracted through drops of water" instead of "I don't know but I can tell you how.."