The dumb questions thread

[rizdek]

Skepticalbib: "You are beyond actual physics when you talk about cosmology..."

Ok, thanks.

 

[Shadowy Man]

I may word this poorly, but this IS the dumb question thread.

As I understand current cosmology, the universe we see around us expanded from an infinitely dense point some 13 billions years ago.

{snip}

The main problem is that if we go back far enough we'll eventually need a quantum mechanical theory of gravity. We don't currently have physics that can be reliably extrapolated to t=0. It may be easier to talk about t=0, so some scientists do, but if you pressed them on it they would have to admit that the physics breaks down.

 

[James Brown]

Dumb question:

(For US folks re: ACA) What does it mean when X number of states have rejected Medicaid?

 

[rizdek]

Shadowyman: "The main problem is "

Thanks.

 

[jonatha]

They have rejected the *expansion* of Medicaid, which makes many more people eligible for state assistance.

The usual reason given is that said expansion will eventually cause the State to run into budgetary difficulty, although that will be some years off at least, since the Federal government is picking up the great majority of the extra tab in the near term.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

...

Finally, we get to the question: Is P = NP? ...

Simple; P=NP if, (and only if) N=0.

Where do I collect my Fields Medal?

No, for N = 1.

 

[credoconsolans]

No. Before we ever found any, Darwin said we probably originated in Africa and advised fossil hunters to look there, because our nearest relatives are chimps and gorillas and they live in Africa. (Not a dumb question, by the way. It was highly controversial among anthropologists pretty much all the way until Piltdown Man was proven to be a hoax.)

Suppose humans evolved elsewhere outside of Africa, but the environment remained well watered and fertile and destroyed any remains before they could become fossilized?

Depending on the time frame you care about, that's kind of what happened -- the long transition from monkey to ape happened in Asia, and then some apes moved to Africa. That counts as human evolution too, no?

Aren't there great apes in Indonesia? Orangutans?

 

[credoconsolans]

Dumb question:

Is the only reason we think humans originated in Africa is because we find remains there that date back millions of years? And the reason we still find those is because they were preserved because the area dried up and became arid?

Suppose humans evolved elsewhere outside of Africa, but the environment remained well watered and fertile and destroyed any remains before they could become fossilized?

I recommend the book Guns, Germs, and Steel. It's been too long since I read it, so I can't explain or even remember the answer to your question. But I do remember that it persuaded me that they know what they're talking about.

Plus its a great read.

OK, thanks.

And the reason we still find those is because they were preserved because the area dried up and became arid?

You do know we find fossilized fish, right?

On land. Do we find any in the sea that has remained water?

Dumb question:

Is the only reason we think humans originated in Africa is because we find remains there that date back millions of years? And the reason we still find those is because they were preserved because the area dried up and became arid?

Suppose humans evolved elsewhere outside of Africa, but the environment remained well watered and fertile and destroyed any remains before they could become fossilized?

Genetics. If you look at mitochondrial DNA, you see that the older DNA appears in populations in East Africa. There is also much greater genetic diversity in Africa, supporting the fact that humans originated there.

Of course, it's possible that an earlier group moved to Africa and then died out completely elsewhere without leaving DNA or fossil evidence, but that's unlikely to the extreme.

But it is likely.

Perhaps populations genetically bottle-necked elsewhere due to disaster or disease, but not Africa, which would result in Africa remaining more genetically diverse.

 

[James Brown]

They have rejected the *expansion* of Medicaid, which makes many more people eligible for state assistance.

The usual reason given is that said expansion will eventually cause the State to run into budgetary difficulty, although that will be some years off at least, since the Federal government is picking up the great majority of the extra tab in the near term.

So as I understand it, Medicaid is Federal assistance for low-income folks who can't afford Medicare. With the implementation of ACA, why is the Federal Gov't needing to offer even more assistance, and why do the state's have a say?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

They have rejected the *expansion* of Medicaid, which makes many more people eligible for state assistance.

The usual reason given is that said expansion will eventually cause the State to run into budgetary difficulty, although that will be some years off at least, since the Federal government is picking up the great majority of the extra tab in the near term.

So as I understand it, Medicaid is Federal assistance for low-income folks who can't afford Medicare. With the implementation of ACA, why is the Federal Gov't needing to offer even more assistance, and why do the state's have a say?

Medicaid = poor people.
Medicare = old people.

 

[skepticalbip]

They have rejected the *expansion* of Medicaid, which makes many more people eligible for state assistance.

The usual reason given is that said expansion will eventually cause the State to run into budgetary difficulty, although that will be some years off at least, since the Federal government is picking up the great majority of the extra tab in the near term.

So as I understand it, Medicaid is Federal assistance for low-income folks who can't afford Medicare. With the implementation of ACA, why is the Federal Gov't needing to offer even more assistance, and why do the state's have a say?

The states have a say because medicaid requires the states to pick of part of the tab. It is only partly funded by the Fed. Govt.

http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Financing-and-Reimbursement/Financing-and-Reimbursement.html

The Medicaid program is jointly funded by the federal government and states. The federal government pays states for a specified percentage of program expenditures,

 

[Bomb#20]

Aren't there great apes in Indonesia? Orangutans?

Yes, quite so. But African great apes are more closely related to us than they are to orangutans. Orangutan ancestors split from the ancestor of gorillas, humans and chimps fifteen or twenty million years ago; we only split off from chimps about seven million years ago.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

The Dumb Questions Thread

Here's my question:

Is drinking water good for skin health?

 

[barbos]

Here's my question:

Is drinking water good for skin health?

Yes, drinking di-hydrogen monoxide is very good. Without it you will die and your skin will start decomposing and you will not look good at all.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

It's called the Dumb Questions thread for a reason, ya know.

 

[Kharakov]

Aren't all questions dumb, since they lack the ability to speak?

 

[gmbteach]

Aren't all questions dumb, since they lack the ability to speak?

When a child in my class says they are dumb, I use that as an example of the fact that they are not. Works wonders.

 

[Kharakov]

Aren't all questions dumb, since they lack the ability to speak?

When a child in my class says they are dumb, I use that as an example of the fact that they are not. Works wonders.

So, basically, the implication is that I am dumb, since the intelligent non-speaking question I posted does not satisfy the requisite dumbness of the questions in this thread?


Thanks for making me cry.

 

[gmbteach]

Aren't all questions dumb, since they lack the ability to speak?

When a child in my class says they are dumb, I use that as an example of the fact that they are not. Works wonders.

So, basically, the implication is that I am dumb, since the intelligent non-speaking question I posted does not satisfy the requisite dumbness of the questions in this thread?


Thanks for making me cry.

Not necessarily. Did you verbalise the question first? If so, you have then proven the fact that you are not, in fact, dumb. If you have not yet verbalised it, simply do so, thereby proving you are not inflicted with dumbness.

 

[Kharakov]

Aren't all questions dumb, since they lack the ability to speak?

When a child in my class says they are dumb, I use that as an example of the fact that they are not. Works wonders.

So, basically, the implication is that I am dumb, since the intelligent non-speaking question I posted does not satisfy the requisite dumbness of the questions in this thread?


Thanks for making me cry.

Not necessarily. Did you verbalise the question first? If so, you have then proven the fact that you are not, in fact, dumb. If you have not yet verbalised it, simply do so, thereby proving you are not inflicted with dumbness.

What? You're advocating equivocation through vocalization?