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It goes without saying that the poll results will be highly skewed, but I’m trying to narrow down just how tight the results deviate from the range I expect.

There is something I have recognized as unintuitive but can’t adjust the numbers even for a close approximation. Let’s suppose you’re financially well off such that you could EASILY afford $100 a gallon gas prices. Many people can afford that without a smidgen of difficulty, and it would surely...

So, here I am, sitting here searching the internet for a decent secondary flashlight while simultaneously wondering what factors should be considered when designing back up systems for space flight. Talk about split focus! First, a few terms: “primary,” “secondary,” “tertiary,” and...

Understanding when to use “expect” versus “anticipate” is one thing, and understanding things by how they contrast with other words is often helpful, but I’m stuck between the idea that “expect” itself is ambiguous and the idea there is a substantive difference in expectations. Getting to the...

There are two different perspectives that I can see but do not have the words to differentiate them. I’m looking for the terms. I’ll use dice to explain what I’m talking about. There are six possibilities. If it lands on a two, I understand that there is no real physical possibility that it’s...

Be forewarned, this thread is not intended to make much sense. I have a few notions swirling around, and I’m going to contrive a scenario (born of stupendous ridiculousness) to see if I can work out which of these notions I have that (if any) reflect reality. One notion is that some viruses...

Let’s confine the parameters to the continental United States. Pick a point towards the middle such that the point can get no further from the border. Then, draw a circle around the point such that it can be no larger without crossing a border. I don’t know what the radius would be in miles, but...

I’ve been all scattered about trying to make heads or tails of two kinds of cause. The first kind is physics related. If I forcefully throw a fragile wine glass down onto hard concrete and the glass breaks, I accept that I have caused the glass to break. Granted, there’s a myriad of things going...

I overheard a conversation she was having, and in light of it decided to pose a hypothetical scenario question. We’ve known each other a long time, and we speak our minds, so trust me when I say calling me stupid was mild. Although I’ve been called a whole lot worse by her over the years, truth...

I’m thinking the answer is no. To put it another way, if you look at a dwarf planet, are you looking at a planet? There are reasons one could use to argue yes but I think in the end the arguments that will prevail will conclude no. If I’m right and the answer is no, what does that say about...

I am under the impression that people make a very common mistake when it comes to how much air to put in their vehicle tires. Back in the day, I would simply look at what’s written on the tire regarding PSI (pounds per square inch). I might put a few pounds less in if my driving conditions...

A longer thread title might read, “A word with different definitions vs a completely different word spelled identically with different definitions.” If we look at a dictionary entry, we typically find a word with alternative definitions. It’s the very same word with different meanings...

I’m trying to think something through, but I’m afraid I’m equivocating back and forth between different conceptions of what I’m calling “force.” Years ago, I watched a television show (maybe “cops” or something similar) where in real life an officer pulled over a driver and issued him a...

There has always been something about protests that doesn’t quite sit right with me. I’ve always had a negative impression, but there’s something else that I could never fully grasp well enough for words that kept striking me. I have no qualms, no qualms whatsoever, with the exercising of free...

At night, I will watch (or just cut on and listen to) a wide variety of science topics. I’ve been especially interested in particle physics, but anytime I try to get a sensible video concerning CERN, I find that in terms of sheer numbers, there is an incredible number of quacky fear-based...

During the recent election, a question was posed that explained that a 'Yes' vote will require the Superintendent of Education be appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate, while a 'No' vote maintains the current method of electing a Superintendent of Education. While the idea of...

The topic I am about to speak on may not withstand tough scrutiny, as in it may not guarantee a better course of action from a purely deductive logical approach, but there seems to be a diamond in the rough for consideration. In other words, that it may not be true in some cases doesn't render...

If it were that time again (election time!) and President Trump ran for a second term, and assuming you could vote, how likely is it that you would vote for him?

If I ask a scientist what water is, or (what is water?), I may get a response like, "H2O." The problem I have with that is it fails to take into account what I mean by "is." Sure, water is composed of H2O, but so is ice and a certain gaseous vapor. They might go on to explain that water can...

Why are people like this? I would have rolled the window down. There's a lot I would have done that he didn't. Hell, for that matter, there was a lot he was doing that I wouldn't have. It's like he was oblivious to how his role in all that escalated matters. His behavior was ridiculously...