Category: Uncategorized

#is the biology crowd awake atm i have a question#is there an actual reason for the general assumption that all life forms have to be carbon based or#is that just an earth-centric approach to extra terrestrial life??

@vidvilts this is a day old post but: 

well, first off, carbon is particularly important/useful because of its specific properties, incl that it has four valence electrons and can form four stable, flexible bonds, which allows for a lot of the specific properties of biological molecules that allow them to be versatile, changeable, highly complex, and therefore replicating, which is to say, alive

i mean i do think there’s a lot both of sci fi and scientific speculation that deals with the question of e.g. silicon based life forms (silicon specifically because it’s right below carbon on the periodic table and they share some properties). the chemistries would have to be incredibly different but it’s not inconceivable, and i would actually be interested to know more about what you’re referring to when you say that’s a general assumption, because i think there’s a decent amount of very serious scientific discussion/research based on the idea that life isn’t necessarily carbon based. not to mention that it’s pretty heavily discussed in sci fi, at least ime, though that might be because i have a limited and probably biased sci-fi experience.

also uh i mean at the moment we assume all life forms are carbon based on the i think not unreasonable grounds that we’ve never met a life form that did anything else. while this is of course because of the common origins of life on earth, it is worth noting that e.g. the chemical building blocks of some essential molecules like DNA have been found on rocks from space, so it’s also not ridiculous to imagine that other life would at least be plausibly carbon based, given that such molecules seem particularly… inclined, to form, or whatever, though this last is just me being speculative with no background, and not actually evidentially supported by me doing any kind of research

cheeso:

While responding to early press descriptions of the allegorical intent of animal farm, Orwell was noted has having said “Omg. Nuuuuu,” leaving contemporary political commentators in confusion. “It was just about animals OTL LOL its kind of funny actually that you thought that.”[1] In later years, in order to reduce confusion, the book would be reprinted as Peppa Pig[2], Barnyard[3], America’s Funniest Home Videos[citation needed], and Kingdom Hearts.[4] Orwell later clarified his stance on the novel, saying it happened to him as a child.[5][6]
Some years before his death[when?] he is said to have learned about the Soviet Union, henceforth including a foreword in the book, the substance of which was only “Wtf?!”[9]

what’s the best lipstick (brand and shade, ideally) for 1. cicero 2. alexander the great 3. other figure(s) of antiquity of your choice, either in terms of one you think they’d wear or one that captures their ~vibe~

elucubrare:

oh this was not where i thought this was going to go from the snippet on my dash, it’s so much better

so. Cicero. Cicero wears neutrals when he’s at the rostrum – he’s very concerned with propriety and appearing dignified, because he’s a novus homo, and patricians like the Claudii can get away with wearing scarlet when they’re trying cases, but he can’t. His favorite, because I’m assuming he’s a little lighter than I am, but not that much, is Tarte Color Splash Lipstick – Rainforest of the Sea in, appropriately enough, Salt Lyfe. However, when he’s practising speeches, he’s a little bolder, though still classic. He wants something expensive and traditional, and goes for a bold, dramatic shade – Givenchy Le Rouge lipstick in Rose Stiletto. 

Alexander, on the other hand, doesn’t give a fuck about propriety, tradition, or cost, as long as he looks awesome. He’s wearing Milani Amore Matte Metallic Lip Creme in Pretty Problematic. 

Cato the Censor watches everyone else put lipstick on and says “don’t you know bare is beautiful?”

#the best question i’ve ever received

❤

nostalgebraist:

• Gateshead Council DOES NOT use 5G technology in any of its street lights, or in any other capacity. It has never done so.

• The street lights in Gateshead will not give you cancer.

• The street lights will not induce miscarriages in pregnant women, or cause insomnia, or nosebleeds, and they are not killing all the birds and insects.

• Gateshead Council is NOT carrying out secret government trials in 5G technology via our street lights.