Comment Everything makes sense now! (Score 5, Funny) 644
But no! Really, the problem is that they've been coding everything in base 9!
Comment Re:Misattributed to P.T. Barnum (Score 1) 206
Comment Re:And with that yoiu get POWER! (Score 2) 420
Lets say you go moderately deep, and have a pressure differential of 10 atmospheres (say 11 atm on the outside, and 1 on the inside). The pressure differential causes water to be pumped into the container until there is no pressure difference and the water flow stops. To restore the pressure differential you need to pump the water out - so you'd need the pump to provide 10 atm of pressure to evacuate the chamber.
At that point, why not just have a pump here on the surface to provide the 10 atm of pressure and not deal with the hassle of pumping it up from under the ocean needlessly? You negate the energy gained from the ocean depths by bringing that water back up the surface.
This is magical thinking where you coast your bike down a 10 foot ramp and expect to go 20 feet up on the other side.
Comment Re:Muh freedoms! (Score 1) 230
Building an Open Source Nest 195
Comment Science-Based Medicine (Score 1) 554
I know people have been hating on this article because it only addresses a few specific conditions, but it is one in a long line of studies that have shown vitamin supplements to have no positive (and occasionally negative!) effects, unless you are actually deficient in that vitamin.
People are so taken by advertisements and anecdotes about vitamins that they neglect the reality. If you hear a commercial that says "You might be deficient in X!" you suddenly need to take that vitamin/mineral "just in case." Rinse and repeat for every single vitamin, mineral, or "energy/immune/etc booster," and suddenly you're taking 100+ supplements and spending an excessive amount on useless pills.
The takeaway is this:
Unless you actually have a condition that requires you to supplement a specific nutrient, you do not need to take vitamins, to say nothing of multivitamins.
If you are concerned that you are actually deficient, go get a blood test from your doctor. Saving yourself the cost of supplementation over the next 20 years when you find out that you don't actually need them will more than pay for the appointment.
Comment The DARE of DDoS (Score 4, Funny) 46
Comment Re:Peer review (Score 1) 707
Yes, he had two nobel prizes in a completely unrelated field. Just because he was an expert in that field does not mean that he is an expert in all fields, nor does it mean that he even felt he should use the scientific method in other fields. (Obligatory SMBC.)
There had already been studies showing Vitamin C didn't cure colds before Pauling made his claim. His (completely anecdotal) claim made other people do *more* studies which also showed no link between Vit. C and curing anything. From the article: "Although study after study showed that he was wrong, Pauling refused to believe it, continuing to promote vitamin C in speeches, popular articles, and books."
Yes, he was a smart guy and brilliant in some ways. But in medicine, he was a quack, by your own definition.
Comment Obligatory SMBC for Perspective (Score 1) 583
Comment Re:Nothing will change (Score 1) 208
Comment Re:This isn't as bad as it looks (Score 1) 741
It's interesting that you can get over two years of prison time just for *thinking* about doing something bad, but if you are in the right position, you can murder 24 civilians and get away with it.
Comment Differing Standards (Score 4, Insightful) 591
Comment Re:Boats... (Score 1) 314
I think the idea behind coating electronics is that you can coat them both inside *and* outside. When you are applying such a thin layer of (what is apparently) plastic, you have to worry about friction wearing off the coating on the outside. When it's also applied to the inside electronics, which are not exposed to wear and tear, those parts can stay waterproof over a long time, keeping the device safe.
A boat is different, however. Instead of applying this waterproofing to inside, non-worn parts, you'd be applying it to the outside of the hull. Those are the parts which would receive the most friction, and would likely cause the coating to wear off very quickly. Unless you plan on coating your boat before every ride, I have doubts that this would be terribly (long-term) useful.