Dumb Questions Thread

[Dotini]

Why do conspiracy theories flourish?

Anomalies, mysteries, problems, questions, curiosities, and all other manner of unexplained activities or phenomena are available for review courtesy of media, eyewitnesses and personal experience. In lieu of satisfactory explanations, various conjectures, hypotheses and theories can be invoked in the attempt to address the question. Conspiracy theories are an inevitable result. Some conspiracy theories are resolved, like the assassination of Lincoln, and some are not, like the assassination of Kennedy. All that said, some conspiracy theories have a charm - an interesting story - that makes them attractive to consider apart from their relation to reality. Some people like to read poetry, literature or listen to music, all of which are charming inventions of amusement.

 

[wfooshee]

Why do conspiracy theories flourish?

Ignorance.

The lack of understanding of some principle causes wildly outlandish explanations to be proposed. Flat Earth and the NASA conspiracy, chemtrails and Big Pharma. The more sinister the explanation, the better.

 

[Exorcet]

Ignorance.

The lack of understanding of some principle cause wildly outlandish explanations to be proposed. Flat Earth and the NASA conspiracy, chemtrails and Big Pharma. The more sinister the explanation, the better.

I think it has to be more than ignorance. I got fairly deep into conspiracies for a while, FE especially, because I wanted to understand how people could believe them. Believers in the conspiracies were given as much evidence as you could want but would not change their minds.

Ignorance is certainly something that allows strange ideas to take hold more easily, but I don't think it's what ultimately sustains them.

 

[wfooshee]

The fact that they ignore the factual and scientific evidence counts as ignorance... Not ignorance as lack of awareness, but ignorance as ignore it because it doesn't fit with what I think.

 

[HenrySwanson]

The fact that they ignore the factual and scientific evidence counts as ignorance... Not ignorance as lack of awareness, but ignorance as ignore it because it doesn't fit with what I think.

Willful ignorance?

 

[Daz555]

Why do conspiracy theories flourish?

Because people can make connections.

Back in the day your average conspiracy nutjob would have been surround by people who were nothing like him. He would have been branded the village idiot and simply ignored. Today, in our modern connected world however these individual village idiots make a community. A community that provides validation of their ideas and encourages those on the fringe of village idiocy to jump in and join them.

 

[TexRex]

Because people can make connections.

Back in the day your average conspiracy nutjob would have been surround by people who were nothing like him. He would have been branded the village idiot and simply ignored. Today, in our modern connected world however these individual village idiots make a community. A community that provides validation of their ideas and encourages those on the fringe of village idiocy to jump in and join them.

 

[Liquid]

Why is not not possible to take blood samples from people who have successfully recovered from covid and use their antibodies to create a vaccine?

Or is that what is happening but it just takes that much time and money to do so?

 

[Northstar]

Why is not not possible to take blood samples from people who have successfully recovered from covid and use their antibodies to create a vaccine?

Or is that what is happening but it just takes that much time and money to do so?

I’ve heard some people that have beat it are donating blood for the purpose of creating a vaccine, I’m not sure how much progress has been made though.

 

[strela]

Why is not not possible to take blood samples from people who have successfully recovered from covid and use their antibodies to create a vaccine?

Or is that what is happening but it just takes that much time and money to do so?

I am not a doctor but you don't make vaccines with antibodies. You need an agent that resembles the virus but it is not dangerous to the body. Once the agent enter the body the antibodies attack it and remember the process. I guess is not that simple to recreate an agent that resemble covid 19 without potential threats.

 

[Exorcet]

Because people can make connections.

Back in the day your average conspiracy nutjob would have been surround by people who were nothing like him. He would have been branded the village idiot and simply ignored. Today, in our modern connected world however these individual village idiots make a community. A community that provides validation of their ideas and encourages those on the fringe of village idiocy to jump in and join them.

As much as the internet allows people to more easily find like minded friends, it also allows open minded people to fact check more easily. Overall the modern world might allow for conspiracies to spread more quickly, but it's not like it was difficult for those ideas to get around in the past. One of my favorite examples is the 1910 passage of Halley's Comet which prompted a fringe astronomer to warn that the close passage could end life on Earth despite the consensus of astronomers being that no such thing could happen. It was enough for people to make money off the falsehood, though I couldn't easily find numbers to support how widespread the belief was.

I am not a doctor but you don't make vaccines with antibodies. You need an agent that resembles the virus but it is not dangerous to the body. Once the agent enter the body the antibodies attack it and remember the process. I guess is not that simple to recreate an agent that resemble covid 19 without potential threats.

This is my understanding as well, though I know that infants can be passed maternal antibodies through breastmilk, so it would seem that at some level you can pass defense between people. I wonder if in that specific case though it requires genetic similarity or a weak immune system (to prevent foreign antibodies from being marked as threats themselves).

 

[RacingGrandpa]

That is simply and obviously not true. The rich do not have the same responsibilities as everyone else. I believe that the more money one makes, the more they should contribute to society. And since people are naturally greedy and likely won't voluntarily give up some of their income to fund the military, education, services for the poor/disabled, etc, we have a tax system in place. A flat tax system would leave the lower class paying more than they should and the rich not paying enough. The uber-wealthy in the US pays fewer taxes than the middle-class on average. How is this fair?

Capitalism is not inherently corrupt. With the right amount of regulations and oversight, a capitalist economy can run smoothly with very little corruption. Like Finland for example, it has been called the "capitalist paradise". There is a market economy there, yet poverty is very low, everyone has healthcare access, wages are fair, while there still are many large corporations in Finland that are able to churn out immense profits. Free-market capitalism, however, relies on corruption; the exploitation of the poor so that the capitalists in control can be uber-rich. Capitalism does not free people from being treated unfairly; under free-market capitalism, workers, usually lower-wage ones, are oppressed by the capitalist class in the sense that they barely have enough money to get by (leaving them no buying power) long and inflexible hours, little or no sick/vacation days or paid leave, and if they protested any of this, they'd almost certainly get fired. This is not freedom by any means. That being said, there will always be poorer people in any society and people who own corporations have the right to wealthy, but this does not mean that low-wage workers should be injusticed just so the rich can be rich. Think about all the workers protections we have in first world countries (America included) like no child labor or unsanitary/hazardous conditions, ability to protest/strike, and equal pay laws for women and minorities. The free market didn't do this. Common people protested and progressive politicians listened to them. Don't you think there's a reason why during these times, big corporations would fight hard against these reforms? Because they care about their bottom line far more than the welfare of their employees. There are still many strides that need to be made.

At the time when the US economy was at its most flourishing rate the US had the highest tax for the rich in the world.
The theories of Keynes was driving economy.
Then came the Reaganomics, saying that if the rich where allowed to be richer and richer the money would trickle down to the middle class and workers.
The last 40 years that has been driving the economy in the western world. During this time the rich has gotten richer and richer but I see no trickle down. The middle class is getting poorer and poorer in the western world,while new economic super powers rise in the eastern hemisphere.

Where I live, Sweden, you pay 30% in taxes as a worker, middle class. When you reach a certain paygrade your taxes goes up. On top of that we pay sales taxes and road taxes etc etc.
So the average tax amount is around 60%
Now, I have friends in the US that think this is terribly much. But we get free health care,free education, free daycare (almost), a public pension when we get old, free insurance for all school kids etc etc.
It's far less than whet most people have to pay for a private version of the same.
We have some of the best health care and education in the world, we are usually in the top 3 of happiness indexes and we are one of the most equal countries in the world.
This was driven by social democracy and workers unions.
I think it's been a very good system although it's under heavy attack from Reaganomics...

 

[Joey D]

So the average tax amount is around 60%
Now, I have friends in the US that think this is terribly much. But we get free health care,free education, free daycare (almost), a public pension when we get old, free insurance for all school kids etc etc.

It's not free if the government is taking 60% of your income.

If I was taxed at 60% I wouldn't be able to afford my living expenses despite having a really good job because I wouldn't be bringing home nearly enough money.

 

[RacingGrandpa]

It's not free if the government is taking 60% of your income.

If I was taxed at 60% I wouldn't be able to afford my living expenses despite having a really good job because I wouldn't be bringing home nearly enough money.

No, it's not free, because I pay by taxes.
I am taxed 30%, the rest is tax I can control myself, as in sales tax, gasoline tax, road tax.
Our minimum wages allow us to be able to pay our living expenses even with the tax.
But I fully understand that one can not just compare what you would have after 60% with what I would have.

 

[HenrySwanson]

Why is not not possible to take blood samples from people who have successfully recovered from covid and use their antibodies to create a vaccine?

Or is that what is happening but it just takes that much time and money to do so?

What you are talking about is passive immunity, which @Exorcet alluded to in the maternal-infant transfer of antibodies.

This page can explain it better

The passage below taken from there shows that antibodies are still used in the treatment of some diseases in certain cases:

...antibody treatment may be used as a preventive measure after exposure to a pathogen to try to stop illness from developing (such as with respiratory syncytial virus [RSV], measles, tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rabies, or chickenpox). Antibody treatment may not be used for routine cases of these diseases, but it may be beneficial to high-risk individuals, such as people with immune system deficiencies.

These prescriptions would be for immunoglobulins (antibodies), and in the cases of tetanus and chickenpox (Varicella Zoster) among others the medication contains specific antibodies whereas intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) may be used in the treatment of something like Kawasaki disease.

-----

Relevant to your original question, there is this article asking the very same question but as a treatment rather than vaccine

 

[Liquid]

When wasps, mosquitoes and other insects disappear in the winter, where do they go?

If the answer is "hibernation", as I suspect it is at least in some way, I literally mean where do they go. You seldom hear of someome accidentally tripping over and waking up 10,000 wasps in the middle of winter.

 

[TexRex]

When wasps, mosquitoes and other insects disappear in the winter, where do they go?

If the answer is "hibernation", as I suspect it is at least in some way, I literally mean where do they go. You seldom hear of someome accidentally tripping over and waking up 10,000 wasps in the middle of winter.

Those that hibernate typically take up residence in the bodies of trees. Abandoned man-made structures are also popular.

Some stay where they reside during the warmer months, and simply huddle up.

Then there's the countless insects that simply die after having desposited eggs that are much more capable of withstanding low temperatures.

 

[Liquid]

Then there's the countless insects that simply die after having desposited eggs that are much more capable of withstanding low temperatures.

This is the less frightening answer. Thanks.

 

[TexRex]

This is the less frightening answer. Thanks.

At least until you start thinking about where they lay eggs.



Migratory insects are also a thing.

 

[HenrySwanson]

Where did the common appearance of Jesus originate?

Why do (most) people recognise this:

as Jesus but wouldn't recognise this:

 

[Dotini]

The traditional image of Jesus was seen on many ancient icons, the religious paintings of early Christianity. One of the more influential was the Image of Edessa, later known as the Mandylion, and was venerated in Byzantium.

Earlier than 544, the first depictions were highly idealized images of a clean shaven innocent youth. After the 6th Century the image changed to a grown man with long hair, beard, and eyes that were abnormally large and ovate.

 

[Liquid]

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode The Measure Of A Man, Data quotes himself as having an ultimate storage capacity of 800 quadrillion bits and a linear operation speed of 60 trillion computations per second.

How does this compare with the current capacities of today's robotics and computers?

 

[Famine]

Data quotes himself as having an ultimate storage capacity of 800 quadrillion bits and a linear operation speed of 60 trillion computations per second.

800 quadrillion bits is 100 quadrillion bytes, or 10^20 bytes. A terabyte is 10^12 bytes, so Data's storage capacity is 100,000,000 TB, or 100 EB (exabytes). That's quite a lot, and roughly equivalent to ten Googles, allegedly, or about 20,000 human brains.

60 trillion computations per second is a little more difficult to quantify, because they could be mathematical operations (MOPS) or floating points (FLOPS), but 60 trillion FLOPS is 6^16 FLOPS, or 60 PFLOPS (petaFLOPS). We beat that with a single supercomputer in 2016, and Folding@Home has 30 times that - though neither can fit inside an android's skull.

 

[ScottPuss20]

How does the exchange rate work? How are some currencies worth more than others?

 

[Dotini]

How does the exchange rate work? How are some currencies worth more than others?

Basically, markets determine exchange rates. Markets are influenced by a number of factors, some of which have to do with the soundness and health of a country's economy. Various kinds of interventions and manipulations can also affect rates.

 

[RacingGrandpa]

Basically, markets determine exchange rates. Markets are influenced by a number of factors, some of which have to do with the soundness and health of a country's economy. Various kinds of interventions and manipulations can also affect rates.

Also inflation and deflation affects rates. Then there are a lot of countries that have their currency tied to a larger currency, like the members in the European currency co-operations who hasn't changed to the Euro. Like Danish Crown that follows the € no matter it's own economy which greatly limits the states possibility to adjust to financial fluctuations.

 

[Liquid]

Supply and demand.

If there is a demand for currency x, the exchange price to get it goes up.

If there is an oversupply for currency x, the exchange price to get it goes down.

 

[GranTurNismo]

Here's a dumb question. Why do some Brits pronounce the TH sound as F? For example, "finking" instead of "thinking", or "troof" instead of "truth". This is the only accent that I know of in which the TH sound is pronounced as F.

 

[CTznOfTime]

How does the exchange rate work? How are some currencies worth more than others?

Here's a dumb question. Why do some Brits pronounce the TH sound as F? For example, "finking" instead of "thinking", or "troof" instead of "truth". This is the only accent that I know of in which the TH sound is pronounced as F.

Your question isn't dumb, it's the pronunciation that is dumb...

 

[Liquid]

Here's a dumb question. Why do some Brits pronounce the TH sound as F? For example, "finking" instead of "thinking", or "troof" instead of "truth". This is the only accent that I know of in which the TH sound is pronounced as F.

Each linguistic microcosm has its own quirks and looks in bewilderment at how others don't do it the same way.

Often attributed to laziness and poor education, to which there is some merit, what you describe is actually a linguistic phenomenon called Th-fronting.

Many people this side of the water would ask why do people in North America mispronounce so many middle Ts as Ds?

What You Say
Battle
Kettle
Pattern
Data
Later

What We Hear
Baddle
Keddle
Paddern
Dada
Lader

To us, there is no difference in the North American pronounciations of grater grader. Try and say paddle/pattle without deliberately overstressing the T. Most Americans I have spoken to about this are seemingly unaware of the phenomenon, which is called flapping.