ProfessorOwl_PhD [any]

they think there’s a health benefit and that it filters out more than just chlorine.

Depending on where you are they’re not wrong. It’s a carbon filter, and carbon filters remove plenty more than just the chlorine taste, but what they’ll remove from your water depends what’s in your water. Like I wouldn’t ever bother with a filter when I’m in Edinburgh, but in America I’d probably want all my water filtered.

Famously imperialist country, Mongolia.

Also 3 of Switzerland’s official languages are just the language of the closest country, less than 1% of the population speak Romansh.

One of my friends has spent a year in Wandsworth without trial for supporting Palestine so don’t fucking try to tell me about the evils of Russian justice

Only Germany has a stronger stance on Israel, probably due to the large presence of Jews in the country.

Sib, you’re gonna need to sit down before I tell you this…

I can’t promise it will happen, but I’ve signed up, so I’ll do my best to make this article come true.

OK remember like 70 years ago when they started saying we were burning the planet? And then like 50 years ago they were like “no guys we’re really burning the planet”? And then 30 years ago they were like “seriously we’re close to our last chance to not burn the planet”? and then in the past few years they’ve been like “the planet is currently burning, species are going extinct, and we are beginning to experience permanent effects that might not snowball into an extinction event if we act right now?”
But sure, AI is really cool and can trick you, personally into thinking it’s conscious. It’s just using nearly as much power as the whole of Japan, but you’re giggling and clapping along, so how bad can it really be? It’s just poisoning the air and water to serve you nearly accurate information, when you could have had accurate information by googling it for a fraction of the energy cost.

I hate AI because I’m a responsible adult.

The neurological impulse is not part of the frame of reference, just the hand. That’s the point of a frame of reference.

My right shoes wear out slightly faster because I primarily stim with my right foot (especially toes), putting them under a little extra strain most of the time. As a result, the leaks usually hit my toes first. Looking at where on the show the leaks are happening might help track down a cause.

It’s the correct answer. I’m not a particularly big fan of Queen, but it’s the best song for testing a new speaker’s range.

Yeah, definitely. Their interpretations may not completely match, but they’re both involved in it.

My friend used to have a cat called Chevy, which was originally short for Le Chevalier but changed to be short for Chevy Chase because they were both assholes.

The reason stuff gets inflamed and sensitive with soap and water is because it’s healing the damage, rather than just destroying everything in the damaged area and hoping it grows back right. Your body will generally do fine if you’re young and healthy, but as you get older it becomes more of a risk.

It’s not guaranteed to do more harm than good, but because it destroys healthy cells too it creates a risk that just doesn’t need to be taken. It’s not more effective at preventing infection than soap and water, and it’s not as effective as medical super glue for stopping bleeding, so there just isn’t a place for it any more.

New answer for the specific context:

You did your best with the 2 year old. Toddlers are difficult because they just make noises and expect you to work out what’s wrong for them. Small snack and something to drink are always good starting points, followed by a distraction (like the nursery rhymes video) to get their attention off what was upsetting them.

With the 5 year old, you escalated by increasing the punishment to 15 minutes, and now your brother-in-law pushed it back down she knows you can be overruled. Talk to your sister and her husband to make sure you’re both clear on what limits your comfortable with and what specific punishments to give for breaching them, in line with what they’d normally give, so you can both be sure you’re giving out punishments they feel are appropriate, so there’s no room for her to get you overruled - if she goes to her dad you should both be confident he will back you up. She’s of an age where she is going to test what rules and limitations really exist, so you need to make sure she’s not getting mixed messages about it. You’ll have an easier time distracting her with something interesting than telling her not to do stuff.

Make sure to use vocabulary they understand, but don’t be condescending with it. They’d rather you speak to them like they’re older than they are than younger.

Don’t be overly restrictive of their freedom, but be clear about the limits and make sure to enforce them. Explain the reasons for the restrictions rather than just telling them they’re not allowed and they’ll generally listen.

Give them small jobs to make them feel more responsible and patient about other things.

Do your best to answer their questions properly instead of dismissing them, even if the only answer you can give is “I don’t know”. They’ll listen to adults that they feel listen to them.

How many people do you think are working in computer graphics? It’s specialised knowledge, exactly the kind of thing that should be taught at university to the people it’s relevent to.

you can explain the solution in natural language pretty easily

It’s not about how you phrase the solution, it’s about needing the solution at all.

We use plenty of simple geometry everyday, sure, but you don’t need to be able to even understand what OP’s example says to engage with the world. Like you don’t need to provide a mathematical proof to put a shelf up properly.

So Don’t we need more education about the 3D space in highschools really?

How often do you think most people need to know the advanced mathmatical properties of 3d space?

Absolutely it is, and it even seems to be hard coded in many non communal species, like the wombats that open their burrows to other animals during Australian wildfires, but empathy isn’t powered by the idea of reciprocation. It’s an inherently selfless feeling that doesn’t consider either direct or indirect benefits for the self, and it doesn’t make sense to say that acting on those selfless feelings, against your self interest, is itself selfish.

It deeply upsets and enrages me

But why? It doesn’t affect you. It isn’t in your self interest to be upset by those things, it just makes you feel bad. Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to say that you are simply able to feel and act selflessly rather than invent a form of self interest that involves caring about other people?

and if everyone does the same, some sort of proper balance will be achieved.

What makes you think that logically follows? Why would it not create competing self-interests that can’t coexist?

Even if you broaden it to acting for indirect reciprocal benefit plenty of people act in ways that don’t have a reciprocal benefit. Just look at the Madleen flotilla, everyone there is putting themselves at personal risk for no personal tangible benefit - the position of self interest would be to stay safely away from the war at home. Look at all the local charities that help vulnerable members of their communities for no personal benefit. Look at people acting against their self interest just within their own families, like supporting elderly parents despite the costs and even though their death would speed their inheritance. There is a huge range of actions that fall outside of both direct and indirect self interest that people take every day.