Comments

  • Climate change denial
    You're always so gracious. I love that about you.

    Thermal conductivity depends on the composition of rocks.

    Thermal conductivity of rocks falls usually in the range of 0.40–7.00 W m−1 K−1 [8]. Low values are characteristic for dry, not consolidated sedimentary rocks, as gravels and sands. Higher thermal conductivity values are for most sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, while very high are typical for felsic igneous rocks. Rocks with high quartz content (e.g. quartzite, sandstone), as well as water-saturated rocks, are the best heat conductors [9]. Balckwell and Steele [10] provide thermal conductivity values for sandstones in the range of 2.50–4.20 W m−1 K−1, for shale: 1.05–1.45 W m−1 K−1, and for claystone and siltstone: 0.80–1.25 W m−1 K−1.Labus

    Near volcanoes it will therefore be high because that's igneous rock. Let's assume there's no temperature drop, how much rock do you need to power a city like New York? How many holes?

    How about the engineering part? What existing machines come close and how are you going to make them suitable for those environments? How much is it going to cost? Is it economically viable? How does it compare to other renewable energy sources?

    And finally, are there any long term risks? Let's say we only use geothermal energy, how much faster will the core cool? Are we sure that's neglible? If people think "unlimited energy" how will energy usage develop differently?
  • Climate change denial
    Cool, I wasn't aware as I'm only familiar with the oil and gas industry. That's pretty interesting.

    You should work out the numbers boethius has asked for. How much square meters of rock do you need and what will be the recharge rate. Then you also need to prove it's an economical viable option aside from some obvious engineering challenges of operating equipment under high pressure and high temperatures with moving parts. Generally, engineers aren't happy with both high pressure and high temperature.
  • Is Racism a Natural Response?
    Good, maybe it will be an end to racism someday then.
  • Climate change denial
    It is kind of frustrating though, after repeatedly talking about drilling "close to magma chambers and subduction zones" to have you say I propose drilling into a magma chamber under pressure. Also, the melting point of carbon steel drilling equipment is around 1500 degrees centigrade; so drilling rock at 700'C is not going to melt the drill.counterpunch

    As I've pointed out it's silly to call it magma energy for obvious reasons. It's geothermal energy. But it's nice to see how you've not done any research on how drilling works. It's not about the melting point of carbon steel but making sure your equipment doesn't break. Here's 157 degrees celsius, our current record for drilling at high temperatures: https://www.hartenergy.com/ep/exclusives/high-temperature-drilling-pushes-limits-176820

    Drills need lubricants. Oops.

    And yeah, great fucking idea to drill close to areas proven to be under pressure (there are volcanoes) and fuck around with the structural integrity of the rock above it. And while we're at it, let's add water! That will definitely go well.
  • Climate change denial
    Glad you realise you're an idiot then.
  • Climate change denial
    The geothermal claims were vague. References to magma are confusing with respect to geothermal energy. I'll remind everyone of the operating temperatures of drilling equipment and what happens when you open up a hole to something under tremendous pressure.
  • Boycotting China - sharing resources and advice
    So you of course know China hasn't felt any sting from your embargo.

    I see your tact as reverse charity, where instead of giving to the victims of society you withhold from the perpetrators upon society. That's moral behavior in theory, but I'm troubled with an ethic that is of good intent but no good consequence unless you accept a view that good thoughts and peaceful acts actually change the world in some indirect mystical way. I don't think that's where you're at though, but maybe, although I'm likely projecting.

    With charity, I don't live under the illusion my small token will cure hunger, but I do need to know it will alleviate some amount of hunger somewhere for me to give.

    I ask this because what you're doing is meaningless goodness, and you know it at a rational level, but you do it anyway. I suspect you feel good for doing it and feel some obligation to do it. Is this how atheists pray?
    Hanover

    It's called leading by example, raising awareness and having consistent morals. Spending money on Chinese goods is inconsistent with taking human rights to heart. This thread raises awareness and my actions may convince others to do likewise. I do more outside of this site.
  • Poll: The Reputation System (Likes)
    I personally think the feature is worthless. It had no noticeable positive effect in the past and it doesn't now. Twitter and Facebook have like options too and we can all see how much that has done for quality.
  • Euclidea
    I have to admit, I've stopped caring about stars for ages. I'm happy if I manage to solve the question. Currently stuck at 8.6
  • Euclidea
    You need two circles through the existing circle to get another point for the line which comes about from the intersection of the two circles. The first circle has to be placed correctly. The second circle's placement is dependent on the first.
  • Boycotting China - sharing resources and advice
    When Trump hit China with tariffs, Netgear moved its production to other Asian countries. But for how long? Probably a safer bet is Asus for any networking equipment.

    Another interesting site, especially for Americans :

    https://www.americanmanufacturing.org/made-in-america/
  • Euclidea
    Android app.
  • Euclidea
    double checked but it really is 4.11. Maybe you need a certain amount of stars.? I have 24 in delta.
  • Euclidea
    @Banno any hints for 4.11?
  • Standards for Forum Debates
    Well, we could put something like that to a vote. I'm not married to a number, 2 is what I'm used to as a lawyer and if life and death situation can be decided in 4 rounds...

    Another idea could be to have debaters submit their opening positions blindly and then have them start a debate. But this has benefits and disadvantages. Main benefit will probably be that differences in definitions and usage of terms will be laid bare early on.
  • Standards for Forum Debates
    I think debates could improve if a limit to the amount posts is established. 2 each should be enough.
  • Euclidea
    2.7 with only 1 line is fun. I had to think about that again.
  • What is Law?
    Then at least with regard to the Grundnorm we're in agreement. I hated it already in my first year of law school. Hart always made the most sense, for a legal positivist that is.
  • Euclidea
    Yeah, I have that solution in my history but I no longer understand why this gives me the correct points. If I ignore 1.5 for now I can solve at least until 2.5 and ongoing.
  • Euclidea
    Meanwhile, still stuck on 1.5 :rofl:
  • Euclidea
    Take the base line, extend it to the left with the length of the diagonal, extend it to the right with the vertical length, divide that total length by 2 and you have your point.
  • What is Law?
    My inclination is to consider the law as something which derives from our interaction with each other and the rest of the world of which we're a part,Ciceronianus the White

    That's a bit of an "open door" as we say in Dutch. Dancing could be a source of law based on such a description. I was hoping to go a bit deeper than that!
  • Euclidea
    Not for me thanks. I remember that if you don't really understand why a solution works you'll get stuck again at a later point. So if someone explains it, I tend to not really understand why unless I figure it out for myself.
  • Euclidea
    I just started again. Already stuck at 1.5. Can't understand how I ever got to theta! :sweat:
  • Boycotting China - sharing resources and advice
    thanks. Google translate resulted in fomenting legible and understandable. :up:
  • Euclidea
    Are you getting all the stars? I only got all the stars for beta and never got beyond theta level 1.
  • Boycotting China - sharing resources and advice
    Do you have links in English to those cases against inditex and zara? Could be a blueprint for more.

    In an ideal world, we would be raising tariffs. Not a democracy? Bam, 25% Mark up. Human rights abuses? Here's another 25%.

    I'm all for global economic integration because ultimately that's the way to peace but the playing field needs to be level and workers protected.
  • Euclidea
    I got stuck regularly in this game and never finished it. I did complete that one about 2 years ago and just started it again and I'm stuck in level 2. :cry: BTW, from the same makers xsection! Which I did finish and I'm sure you will like.

    I'll have a look if I accidentally remember how 7.1 goes.
  • Boycotting China - sharing resources and advice
    So I've just written to an electronics review site to start including information about sourcing of materials and start taking human rights abuses into account when awarding rewards. Especially in the cheaper segments it's all Chinese products.
  • What is Law?
    It's a pretty well tread argument. But why do we want to know whether international "law" is actually law? Would anything change about international relationships if it were called, say international norms?Echarmion

    Does anything change because we discussed it here? I'm discussing it because I think it's interesting and I'm in a good mood which means I'm more open to different viewpoints.

    Why would the first law not be established by procedure? The procedure doesn't need to be established by law. A constitutional assembly has / is a procedure, and isn't necessarily itself based on a law.

    Indeed if we did make an empirical study of laws, I think one can argue that laws are characterized by a process from which they derive their legitimacy, which is either a specific procedure or the more general process of custom.
    Echarmion

    If the procedure isn't law, what binding force does it have? None whatsoever. So it's entirely unsatisfying to consider it a requirement for a law. It's not the process that matters, it's the performative act of one or more persons, their intent on the outward effects of those performative acts and the social understanding and acceptance of a community of that intent and effect. Such performative acts can certainly be a process, for instance where codification is concerned, but can be as "formless" as one person making a promise to another.

    On the other hand, if a judge or chamber sets a precedent by a specific ruling, that ruling will acquire the force of law only after it is established. And I think it's not convincing to argue that judgements only apply or "discover" laws. Every judgement also generates new law, even in civil law traditions. Law is in this sense better understood as a living matter, consisting of a constant feedback loop between custom, codification and application.Echarmion

    Yes, precedents create law too. But when a judge applies a customary rule, the rule existed prior to the judge declaring it law. It was law before the judgment or the judge wouldn't have included it in his judgment. The content of law is living, sure. I never suggested otherwise. I'm also not alluding to objective sources of law - I specifically disavowed that early on.

    Hart remained sweetly superficial, describing and classifying law without explaining what law is. That was his point of course. I happen to think he's missing something even if there's a lot in Hart that I agree with. There's some overlap with what I'm trying to get at here and Hart's distinction between habit and social rule and how and why those differ. For me personally though, Hart's main worth was in identifying some aspects that are necessary for a law to be a good law (such as, for instance, universality).
  • Bannings
    Report. Report. Report.

    I have a lower tolerance for low quality posters in certain areas than other moderators, which means I often don't propose a potential ban anticipating that but I will quickly ignore those posters as I'm still part of this site for fun. And reading crappy posts just to moderate them isn't my idea of fun. So I miss plenty of stuff "going wrong" on this site.

    And I tend to not touch Philosophy of Religion with a ten foot pole since I think it doesn't have a place on a philosophy forum. Other moderators clearly disagree.

    If you think certain behaviour is banworthy, let a moderator know via a private message. It doesn't necessarily result in a ban for obvious reasons, but reports are always discussed by the moderators.
  • What is Law?
    Mainly this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_norm

    Hanover and I have a long-standing disagreement about whether, for instance, international law is law or not.

    And I disagree that all definitions are arbitrary. If we are attempting to describe reality, in this case a sociological phenomena like law, just making stuff up doesn't really cut it. Just including a "procedural requirement" in the definition of law doesn't resolve much. Is this procedural law a law? Yes, it was done by procedure. Until you end up with the first law, which wasn't established by procedure and we have to conclude it isn't law, subsequently invalidating all laws deriving from it.

    It also ignores the role of customary law. When a judge applies a rule based on custom, the judgment recognises a certain custom as law but it was law before the judge recognised it as such otherwise he would not have had an obligation to apply it in his judgment.

    I agree generally with what you said, but I think you underestimate the significance of bargaining power and that complex interactions involve complex agreements that go far beyond the four corners of a contract, especially when that contract is a highly complex and politically sensitive issue like a treaty.

    Consider your father told you that if you do the wash, he'll pay you $10. You do the wash, but he doesn't pay. Next week he asks you to do the wash, you protest over your outstanding debt, and then he explains how your debt to him is far greater than his to you and that the repercussions of your not doing the wash will far outweigh the relief of not having to do that wash. And so what do you do? You do the wash.
    Hanover

    Is this still a contract though? Or has it become an order? Or is it a promise made under duress? That's not to say orders can't form the basis of laws but I generally consider treaties the exchange of promises. A treaty established under duress (treaty of Versailles?) doesn't seem like an actual promise, just as me promising a mugger to "empty my pockets" isn't much of a promise either.

    While it is true I spent very little time on bargaining power, which might give the impression I think little of it, I didn't really deal with it because I didn't think it's relevant for this question. The reason I don't think it fundamentally changes what I said is because where bargaining power is successfully exercised, it skews the results of what one party gets out of it as opposed to the other party. So the promises exchanged are more favourable for one party than the other. However, I don't think it fundamentally affects the underlying rule that promises ought to be kept because this is implied in a promise.

    I'll certainly accept that there will be grey areas where duress, orders and promises cannot be clearly distinguished. And I think it's making me realise my idea of law is incomplete because where it concerns contracts and treaties, the basis is cooperative when promises are exchanged freely and only if done freely can we reasonably derive implicit rules from such acts. Orders can be given based on powers freely transferred at some earlier time and if those orders move to far away from what a population in general would agree to if they were free to negotiate terms themselves, I guess we get bad law.

    But back to treaties. In my view, a way of accepting breaking treaties "for convenience", is arguing that promises made by governments (legal entities with legal personality) are fundamentally different from promises people make but that seems inconsistent with the fact that trust in government (by its citizens and, by extension, validly existing legal entities) is based on the government keeping its word. The only thing that really changes is to whom the promises are made, which in this case is another government. I don't see how the nature of the recipient of the promise, changes the nature of a promise itself though.

    I'm also wondering how you see the Supremacy Clause in relation to a ratified UN Charter. What status do you think the rules of the UN Charter have in the US legal system, if any, taking into consideration the Supremacy Clause, and why?

    EDIT: I realise I didn't reply to all your points. Sorry, time constraints and I don't want to put off answering for too long as that tends to kill discussions.
  • Bannings
    What are you trying to accomplish? That I'll suddenly change my behaviour because some internet random says I'm a coward and don't have integrity? What are the chances of that happening considering your chosen approach?

    I'm happy to discuss moderation choices if you have something that resembles an argument. So far your comments here do not invite any sort of discussion.

    Think about what you want out of this conversation and reply accordingly (or not). I'll interpret any further comments along the lines as above as venting and not actually about moderation decisions. I'll happily ignore the former.
  • Bannings
    I don't have balls so yeah, easy enough.
  • Bannings
    There's nothing inconsistent about it, you're just disappointed. You're welcome to vent in this thread.
  • Bannings
    The reason for banning has previously been given by Baden. He's previously been discussed by moderators for several reasons, given the benefit of the doubt before, but finally banned due to lack of improvement.
  • Bannings
    We're generally lax with moderating swearing and name calling because this is the internet after all and if it's accompanied with decent philosophy, we tend to not do anything. 3017amen has been on our radar for shitty posts for 2 years already.
  • What is Law?
    But this is what it ultimately is, circular. You have a constitution usually, which is a subtype of law requiring special majority to change, that determines how laws can be passed. Of course, behind those procedural requirements there are philosophical ideas, in case of democracies the legislative organ consists of representatives that are voted in by the people etc... So ultimately yes laws are rules that are devised according to a procedure that a certain community has decided on to be the procedure of passing laws.ChatteringMonkey

    It is a theory but it's not recognised as such in analytical jurisprudence. The closest to it would probably be legal positivism which suffers from "turtles all the way down". Kelsen reaches the undefinable and conceptually useless "Grundnorm", which is just "natural law" dressed up in different wording. I don't like the theory for the reason given in the previous post, the weakness inherent to it in establishing what is and isn't law and the fact I'm a firm believer in bad law, not being law. Civil disobedience is required sometimes.
  • What is Law?
    Yeah enforcement isn't necessary for something to be a law, it just makes the law largely ineffective. It is about intent and expectations, they are normative after all, but I wouldn't say that is what makes something a law. Whether something is a law or not is determined by it being approved in a legislative organ or not.ChatteringMonkey

    I reject procedural requirements because you end up with circular reasoning. Procedural laws are after all laws themselves, so you end up with: the law is only law when passed in accordance with the law. That strikes me as rather meaningless.

    Splitting hairs a bit probably... but signing a treaty is done by some executive power. In itself that doesn't lend legal power to that treaty. It's only after ratification (by a legislative power) that it gets that status in an internal legal order of that country... and even then, laws do conflict with eachother (even aside from treaties), it will depend on the internal rules of conflict resolution and hierarchy of norms which law should take precedence.ChatteringMonkey

    I mentioned this explicitly in my previous post but I tend to just refer to "signing" to avoid long sentences. I assumed current posters here know this and will forgive the inaccuracy.