http://zoklet.net/bbs Science is the literature of Truth and Math is its language. It is caused by the desire to know, and thus is never ending. Science is the great antidote to the poison of superstition and dogma. This forum captures the essence of Zoklet, as it requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious. en Sun, 26 May 2013 00:12:51 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.zoklet.net/bbs/images/clean_misc/rss.jpg http://zoklet.net/bbs http://zoklet.net/bbs/showthread.php?t=273835&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 02:02:13 GMT Image: http://src.sencha.io/http://i.imgur.com/4xPWp.jpg One thing that interests me is how the universe differs from the way we would assume it...

One thing that interests me is how the universe differs from the way we would assume it would be. Imagine if you had to design a duck from the ground up, and compare it to the way a duck actually works.

First of all the bird is small and infant. It'd be much simpler to reproduce asexually, like a duck just splits in two when it gets large. Instead we have elaborate reproductive stages, courtship, egg, infancy, growth, etc.

Second notice how the water is repelled by the hydrophobic oils on the ducks feathers. It'd be much simpler to have a duck operate like a whale, with thick skin and fat as insulation, but instead, because flight is so difficult when you're big like a whale, the duck has evolved very light, very warm, waterproof coverings to keep it comfortable and buoyant.

Notice the birds feet, at a temperature with the water. Usually we assume warm blooded creatures have to stay warm, but bird feet almost never heat up that much, in fact they are specifically designed to operate cold. Yet the muscles don't suffer any obvious ill effects from it.

Fourth notice how the water is waving. Water acts in all sorts of weird ways (check out the misces caused by surface tension against the glass), and waves can be one of the most counter-intuitive things in the world. The way most people get around this is simple, they don't think about it, but understanding of waves is essential to understanding light, electricity and magnetism. But instead we like to think digitally, 1+0, on and off. It either is or isn't. Waves are complicated. ]]> Math, Science, and Engineering Issue313 http://zoklet.net/bbs/showthread.php?t=273835 http://zoklet.net/bbs/showthread.php?t=272701&goto=newpost Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:30:00 GMT Two guys with exactly the same skill and condition, wielding typical Roman infantry weaponry face each other in the coliseum. One wears the lorica... Two guys with exactly the same skill and condition, wielding typical Roman infantry weaponry face each other in the coliseum. One wears the lorica segmentata and the other chainmail. Who wins?

And apologies, I'm banned from w&c. ]]> Math, Science, and Engineering Captain Falcon http://zoklet.net/bbs/showthread.php?t=272701