Random Thoughts...or...What's on Your Mind?

[Butters]

If all the people in a big city flushed their toilets at the same time, would something bad happen? If so, what?

Probably not. The differences in distances between the toilet and the drain to sewer in different buildings would be enough to desynchronise the flush, and volume going down mustn’t be larger than the throughput during a heavy storm.

This is based on assumptions I made without any research.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

If all the people in a big city flushed their toilets at the same time, would something bad happen? If so, what?

Shit happens.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

Pinched nerve in neck? Check.
Torn cartilage in shouldet? Got it.
What are we missing? Oh yeah, having a dental nerve go into its death throes at 2am and keep pounding away on the one week I can't get time off until Friday.
Yep, that should cover it.

At any rate it explains a lot. I noticed that you've continually gotten less merry over the last months and wondered what might be the cause. I hope you'll heal in record time and that the dentist will be able to fix the nerve.

Three times luck is better than just one (sorry that they are a bit nibbled at - slugs want luck, too)
(note to Mods: linked to Twitter but it's my own account and my own pic)

Um, wow, your employer really goes all-in!
All we do is they set off the alarm and then they time how long it takes us to evacuate.

The employer is ok it's just that the 2 guys responsible for fire drills happen to be in the local fire brigade and tend to exaggerate rather a lot. After I sarcastically inquired (within hearing range of the boss) whether they were planning to apply for the special effects Oscar they've calmed down considerably, much to everyone's relief. I suspect the boss agreed with me and had a little chat with them.

Probably not. The differences in distances between the toilet and the drain to sewer in different buildings would be enough to desynchronise the flush, and volume going down mustn’t be larger than the throughput during a heavy storm.
This is based on assumptions I made without any research.

Since wastewater management is part of my job I can confirm your theory. However, even the deysnchronised volume would still be rather a challenge at least for the first basin in the local wastewater treatment facility.
Also, there's frequently a considerable pressure drop in the drinking water pipes (required for the flushing) at 8:15 pm in Germany, when everyone flushes the toilet in the ad-break after the news/before the movie starts. I presume there are similar effects in other countries, depending on their TV schedules (baseball finals for example seem a good candidate to me).

 

[PureCrimson]

"What do I do now? What am I even really thinking?"


That's a lot what it's like right now for me. Hard to explain.

 

[Discofan]

Some people we meet because it was very probable to begin with, like if the two of you work in very close places and go to the same restaurants for lunch, you could say that sooner or later the two of you would have met. However, there are some important people in our lives that we meet by pure chance and a fraction of a second could have made the difference between the two of you meeting or not, and this likely forever. That means that a fraction of a second could change your life radically!
Also when you analyze most deadly accidents, it's often obvious that for a fraction of a second delay, that accident wouldn't have happened. So even the length of your life could be changed radically because of a fraction of a second!!

 

[Butters]

At any rate it explains a lot. I noticed that you've continually gotten less merry over the last months and wondered what might be the cause. I hope you'll heal in record time and that the dentist will be able to fix the nerve.

Three times luck is better than just one (sorry that they are a bit nibbled at - slugs want luck, too)
(note to Mods: linked to Twitter but it's my own account and my own pic)


The employer is ok it's just that the 2 guys responsible for fire drills happen to be in the local fire brigade and tend to exaggerate rather a lot. After I sarcastically inquired (within hearing range of the boss) whether they were planning to apply for the special effects Oscar they've calmed down considerably, much to everyone's relief. I suspect the boss agreed with me and had a little chat with them.


Since wastewater management is part of my job I can confirm your theory. However, even the deysnchronised volume would still be rather a challenge at least for the first basin in the local wastewater treatment facility.
Also, there's frequently a considerable pressure drop in the drinking water pipes (required for the flushing) at 8:15 pm in Germany, when everyone flushes the toilet in the ad-break after the news/before the movie starts. I presume there are similar effects in other countries, depending on their TV schedules (baseball finals for example seem a good candidate to me).

Interesting. I’ve not heard of pressure drops. But over here we do have power surges after Eastenders as everyone rushes to put the kettle on.

 

[Gary7]

Saw some photos of Ennis House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most ambitious residential constructions in Los Angeles, CA.
https://icdn4.themanual.com/image/themanual/ennis-house-view-700x394-c.jpg

GQ made a video:

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It took a while of searching, because Memory Alpha fails to call out this mansion by name. It was used once in Star Trek Next Generation, Blood Oath (the Albino character had a compound, that was Ennis).

 

[Discofan]

Paradox: Say you have a favorite color, so to indulge yourself you surround yourself with that color and exclusively with that color. Well, after a long while you'll become blind to that color, you won't see it anymore.

 

[Sibyl]

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[Discofan]

How do we know that someone other than us is self-aware? Currently, there are no tests, that allow us to prove that someone is actually self-aware or just mimicking self-awareness. The only thing we can say is they are similar to me, DNA, Biology etc... so since I AM SELF-AWARE then they must be! This, of course, is a flawed argument, IE a false positive. In maths, it would be totally unacceptable. Plus if someday we make someone/something that seems to be self-aware we'll never be able to tell if it's true or just putative. Unless we devise a physical/objective way to prove it. however, It seems unlikely that we'll ever achieve that.

 

[Avro Arrow]

This is based on assumptions I made without any research.

Well, if it's good enough for government, then it should be good enough for you too.

Saw some photos of Ennis House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most ambitious residential constructions in Los Angeles, CA.

The imgur one is obviously fine, but the first image appears to be hotlinked, so I changed it to a link. If you own that site, please let me know, and I can change it back. Or, of course, you can always load it to imgur too.

 

[Gary7]

How do we know that someone other than us is self-aware? Currently, there are no tests, that allow us to prove that someone is actually self-aware or just mimicking self-awareness. The only thing we can say is they are similar to me, DNA, Biology etc... so since I AM SELF-AWARE then they must be! This, of course, is a flawed argument, IE a false positive. In maths, it would be totally unacceptable. Plus if someday we make someone/something that seems to be self-aware we'll never be able to tell if it's true or just putative. Unless we devise a physical/objective way to prove it. however, It seems unlikely that we'll ever achieve that.

How do we know that we're truly self-aware, and not just outright delusional? I think consistency is the key. When you run into a life situation where there's suddenly a break in consistency across more than one aspect, it can really throw you and question reality. We're that in tune. By that very measure, I think we can sense whether others are self aware. Alas, it's not truly binary. There are degrees of self-awareness. Like, are you aware of your potential legacy as a person? Do you ever think of it? I've asked several people from different walks of life. Some laugh and say they'd never consider that, because it doesn't matter--all that does is here/now. And there are others who would smile in knowing that someone else "gets it."

I have met people who, when I talk to them, their eyes are just a touch glassy. Their life interests and motivations are so limited in scope. And you find they're just not capable of thinking beyond that. It's almost like their mind is a simplistic form of artificial intelligence.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

In biology, we consider self-awareness proven if an individual recognizes itself in the mirror. Personally, I think that test has a methodical flaw since it doesn't work for species that are less vision-dominated as we humans are, for example dogs (where smell prevails) or sharks who mostly rely on their sense for electrical and magnetic fields.
By the mirror test, all sorts of apes and monkeys, almost all birds and rodents, all whales, all terrestric predators and even certain fish match the criterium for self-awareness.
From my personal experience I'd say self-awareness goes down all the way to amoeba and other single-cell organisms. My test being based on the "ouch! that bright light of the microscope is unpleasant - I must speedily get away"-principle. (In order to feel threatened as an Individuum one must be aware of actually being one. A mere general threat would be less likely lead to individually different reactions). Also, some micro organisms show curiousity which imo is also a sign of self-awareness as it implies the organism thinks "why, this is curious - I've never encountered something like this. Must take a coser look". It acts based on ist personal experience which necessitates that it is aware of actually having any experience which in turn means it must know that it is alife and feeling.
I am not certain yet whether bacteria or viruses are self-aware but I'd say everyone else pretty much is.

Btw, it doesn't stop at animals: plants that get attacked (for example by caterpillars or fungi) often warn their neighbours using special chemicals. In order to warn others they need to be aware of the fact that they themselves as individuals are under attack and that there are others who might profit from a warning.

I blame western religions for our un-awareness of other organisms' self-awareness. These religions tend to be sadly anthropocentric. Buddhism or many religions of indigenous peoples are much more open-minded in that respect.

 

[Discofan]

How do we know that we're truly self-aware, and not just outright delusional? I think consistency is the key. When you run into a life situation where there's suddenly a break in consistency across more than one aspect, it can really throw you and question reality. We're that in tune. By that very measure, I think we can sense whether others are self aware. Alas, it's not truly binary. There are degrees of self-awareness. Like, are you aware of your potential legacy as a person? Do you ever think of it? I've asked several people from different walks of life. Some laugh and say they'd never consider that, because it doesn't matter--all that does is here/now. And there are others who would smile in knowing that someone else "gets it."

I have met people who, when I talk to them, their eyes are just a touch glassy. Their life interests and motivations are so limited in scope. And you find they're just not capable of thinking beyond that. It's almost like their mind is a simplistic form of artificial intelligence.

I don't believe that we can "sense" self-awareness in someone else. It's just a gamble based on similarity. I am a human being so I assume that another human being is like me, IE I AM self-aware, so he/she must be, especially if he/she does things that I think are indicators of self-awareness. But there are cases when people are not self-aware and seem to be, like when someone is hypnotized, for example, they can do a lot of things and not remember any of them when they wake up. Anyway, if someday we are confronted with something different from us, like a machine for example or an alien form of life, all our experiences and "intuition" will mean nothing and the question of whether they are self-aware may remain without a satisfying response... possibly forever.

 

[Butters]

I don’t know about other people being self aware, but I treat plenty of inanimate objects as if they are. I talk to my car, often with supportive words, and I can’t rule out malicious intent where the photocopier is concerned.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

that works frequently Computers, too, are grateful for a few encouranging words.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

I wanna be a Solipsist, but I took CPR training this morning, and I’d hate to think I’d wasted my time.

 

[Butters]

I wanna be a Solipsist, but I took CPR training this morning, and I’d hate to think I’d wasted my time.

That reminded me of a solipsism joke. It’s very funny.

On my mind right now. I hope she tries to get some money off. I want the pleasure of saying no.

 

[Discofan]

If the all the people in America stood on one another's shoulders... they would cover the distance between the Earth and the Moon!!!

 

[Jayson1]

I don't believe that we can "sense" self-awareness in someone else. It's just a gamble based on similarity. I am a human being so I assume that another human being is like me, IE I AM self-aware, so he/she must be, especially if he/she does things that I think are indicators of self-awareness. But there are cases when people are not self-aware and seem to be, like when someone is hypnotized, for example, they can do a lot of things and not remember any of them when they wake up. Anyway, if someday we are confronted with something different from us, like a machine for example or an alien form of life, all our experiences and "intuition" will mean nothing and the question of whether they are self-aware may remain without a satisfying response... possibly forever.

Well you have those crazy NPC theories about people. Of course I think all people are real. I have a theory though that all people are mentally ill and crazy. Mental Stability is a ruse or a lie people tell themselves and are better at hiding their insanity and also becoming self-aware can only happen with insanity being part of the picture.

Jason