user/Mithalanis explains the passive voice

The passive voice has been explained.

What is the passive voice?

April 17, 2017

Passive voice is when the object of an action (the thing that has something happening to it) ends up as the subject of the sentence.

user/haalidoodi on how China's government appeals to Confucian "social harmony" to legitimize itself

What Confucius says is no joke...

Is the Chinese government using Confucian rhetoric to maintain power?

April 6, 2017

It's something we only started seeing under President Hu Jintao, who took power in the early 2000s, but have only intensified since Xi Jinping took his place about five years ago.

user/MayContainNugat explains Newton's bucket, Mach's principle and Einstein's relativity

My question is of course inspired by the idea of creating artificial gravity in space. To put it into other words: if Newton's laws apparently act differently in a rotating frame of reference, does this mean there is some absolute inertial frame of reference in our universe?

If you were to stand in the rotating part and look at the rest of the spacecraft, the rest would appear to rotate and not yourself. Why is the artificial gravity applied onto your own frame of reference and not that of the rest of the craft? I understand the principle of fictitious forces being necessary in non-inertial frame of references to explain this phenomenon - just not how to differentiate the two types without an absolute reference.

Given a spacecraft with a rotating section, which part of the spacecraft is actually rotating or staying stationary?

March 15, 2017

Newton and Einstein wondered this too. Neither really came up with a satisfactory answer, or even a satisfactory statement of the problem.

user/zbonn181 on the possible reasons why we dream and have nightmares

So, basically, your brain likes watching you suffer?

Why do we have nightmares?

March 12, 2017

Although it is not entirely known why we even sleep and/or dream in the first place, there are a few rather well accepted theories.

user/truemcgoo and /SerMerynTrance argue the pros and cons of the DIY lego home

At first glance, EVERYTHING (about it) IS AWESOME!

Why build one of those Brikawood "Lego" houses?

March 9, 2017

Brikawood: is it the dumbest kid at that family reunion or a kosher, vegan, zero calorie cheeseburger?

user/Do_it_4_science and /Camio give us the skinny about body fat

user/stikkit2em asks "If they can be part of different systems, are there other examples of tissues that are not strictly monogamous?

What body system does fat belong to?

March 7, 2017

Brown adipose on the other hand tends to be around only when you are an infant, and it actually actively burns carbs and fat to create heat.

user/weeeaaa describes an average day in Switzerland

What would happen if we put our flag on all our army knives?

What does a standard day in Switzerland look like?

February 18, 2017

06:00:00 Be woken up by precise swiss alarm clock.

Tao Tan explains why it probably won't be Mandarin

And it most definitely won't be Esperanto.

What non-English language will be the most useful to know in the future?

February 13, 2017

I don't quite know the answer, but I would disagree that it is Mandarin.

user/zuzahin on the history of early photography

“The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.”

Why do old photographs appear to be of such high resolution?

February 10, 2017

They don't appear to be, they are.

user/migatoesmipadre describes what makes a veterinarian want to give up

"14.4 percent of males and 19.1 percent of females who are veterinarians have considered suicide since graduation. This is three times the U.S. national mean."

Why do 1 in 6 veterinarians consider suicide?

February 9, 2017

Veterinary school is very similar to medical school, usually at least 8 years of university academic commitment - however, veterinarians do not typically enjoy the same level of professional respect or income that a human physician receives.

user/yodatsracist adds some context to Vanity Fair's article on Trump's Chief Strategist

Could Trump really just be a pawn in an anti-globalization, pro-conflict vision of the future? Is chaos Shannon's ladder?

Who is Steve Bannon and what is his endgame?

February 8, 2017

Even after all of this, I don't know that much about Steve Brannon's philosophy, except that it's strongly skeptical of the non-West, strongly anti-elite, anti-amoral capitalism, in favor of blue collar jobs and somewhat apocalyptic.

user/Snoopy20111 on the gold standard that Jimi Hendrix set for his time

'scuse me while I kiss this guy...

What made Jimi Hendrix a guitar god?

February 7, 2017

Basically, Hendrix had a number of things going for him that culminated in being a revolutionary player.

user/josefjohann reminds us that Daniel Dennett may have found a key to unlock Mary

But maybe others would call it a deus ex machina...

How do we step out of Mary's Room?

February 6, 2017

It's what Dennet calls 'Philosopher's Syndrome': mistaking a failure of imagination for an insight into necessity.

user/jrafferty digs up an old NY times piece showing what Carter did to prevent conflicts of interest as POTUS

Although, it didn't prevent stagflation...

Didn't Jimmy Carter have conflicts of interest too as President?

February 4, 2017

In order to prevent possible financial conflicts of interest while President, Governor Jimmy Carter took the following actions.

user/LiedAboutMyExpertise may have just accidentally (and facetiously) solved buddha boy

Ram Bomjon is a Nepali monk who allegedly fasts and meditates for months on end... or does he sneak a little something when he takes a leak? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

How does Buddha Boy do it?

February 2, 2017

By far the best food for price is our friend, the pea.

user/deggit and /sotonic investigate the blue and red wealth distribution across the USA

Are megacities blackholes of wealth?

In the United States, why do red states tend to be poorer and blue states, richer?

February 1, 2017

The USA is fairly unique among nations in terms of the distribution of its cities across the country - this is more a matter of geopolitics than history, but you could say there are historical roots.

user/magic-moose and /ibreakbathtubs reveal how Spielberg and his team made less CGI into more

I guess life found a way...

Why does the CGI of Jurassic Park hold up so well?

January 30, 2017

They spared no expense.

user/aleph473 explains the clock that's been ticking since the start of the Cold War

The face of modern eschatology.

What is the Doomsday Clock and why does it tick?

January 29, 2017

The closer we are to midnight, the closer we are to such a catastrophe.

user/cleomedes attempts to define what it means to be a Stoic

"The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain.”

How do we define the Stoic?

January 27, 2017

Many aspects of the philosophy are adopted by at least some modern people, sometimes as the primary elements in their philosophy of life, sometimes incorporated or adopted into another philosophical or religious system.

user/oth_radar explores the very definition of ghosts

Who you gonna call?

Ghosts aren't real, are they?

January 23, 2017

Let's start with ghosts. What might a ghost be? There are a ton of different explanations for this, some of them more theological, others more theoretical.

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