Humans might just be the stupidest animals on the planet when it comes to seasonal migration, we get tied down by our monetary system, taxes, government policies, borders, etc., while polluting our planet with patchwork solutions like air conditioning for the summer or burning fossil fuels to heat our surroundings in the winter. We can't simply just "move" to a different location like other animals.
Many older/retired Canadians migrate every winter; they're colloquially known as "snowbirds". Ontarians head to Florida, BCers head to Arizona.
Ask HN: Teach me something new
561–570 of 782 posts
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#562I've described this on HN before; forgive me if you've already seen it. I have chronic migraine. It sounds worse than it is; I rarely suffer attacks anymore, and when I do, they're usually mostly harmless, as in the case I'll describe below. Contrary to popular belief, migraine is not a headache. It's something a little more like an epileptic seizure. Intense headaches are one common symptom, but there are a lot of o…
I've never experienced what you have but it's fascinating. > our cognitive experiences are more complicated than we tend to assume I arrived at the same conclusion from different experiences. In my late teens and early 20s I worked for several years as a professional magician doing close-up slight of hand magic in nightclubs, restaurants, bars, parties, trade shows and corporate events. I performed for a lot of diffe…
I did later learn another set of similar skills, though, and owned a business in that field for a while: martial arts.
Some martial arts are like stage magic in that they work in part by training yourself to do things that most people find surprising because they don't know how you do them or what training it requires to pull them off.
Not all martial arts use techniques like that, but some of them do, and some of the tricks of the trade make pretty good party tricks.
One example of a party trick that I've witnessed (and even learned to reproduce, poorly):
I know a guy who can take a dart in his hand, hold it with his arm fully extended, and, without bending his elbow, stick it in a dartboard from normal playing distance. It looks like magic: the dart flies across the room and sticks in the board.
If you have the relevant kind of training, then you know exactly how he's doing it (although, simply knowing it doesn't make it easy to reproduce!), but if you don't, then odds are you don't believe it's even possible.
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#563The fuel gauge on a car's dashboard has a little arrow or triangle next to it that points to the side of the car with the gas tank. Extremely handy in rental cars. Example: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/know-instantly-which-side-you...
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#564Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting. I get these scotomas about every 6 months or so, usually lasting for 30 or so minutes. I was told they were called "ocular migraines", and a cursory glance over the internet doesn't seem to help me differentiate between the two, although I will say that [0] is a very accurate depiction of how it looks when it happens to me. I normally just take a break from whatever I'm doing and go for a walk. The first…
The image you linked is what I'm calling "flickering". My full-blown scintillating scotoma is much more vivid and fully-formed. In the incident I'm reporting, it was a 3D physical-looking structure of triangular prisms made of white light, with zebra stripes of utter blackness sweeping rapidly along them, surrounded by an aura that looked like a cross between the sun's corona and the aurora borealis. These links are…
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#565Earlier quoted context omitted.
In theory, not in practice. Revolutionary papers ignored by all are the rule, not the exception. I have seen hundreds. See e.g. This 410% reduction of ALL cause mortality. No side effects and in addition significant amelioration of quality of life (sleep, etc) It was twenty years ago and will keep being ignored for the rest of eternity. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12577695/ The human condition is miserable becaus…
I’d like a 410% reduction in all cause mortality as much as the next Joe, but the Pubmed similar articles list isn’t very encouraging. Nearly all the 90 articles listed spanning 40 years are from Russia, many from the same small group of researchers. I observe: 1) there HAS been a sustained effort and publication among a substantial group of investigators, and yet 2) these dramatic results have failed to attract furt…
By becoming a meta-researcher like me, you observe how beautiful and futuristic the world could be. And you also observe that the revolution people are waiting for has been discovered in the 90s and that it will never be used.
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#566Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have experienced this several times and almost never have a headache. I definitely can't read what's beyond/obscured by the scotoma. The first time it happened was during a test in high school and the splotch grew until I was forced to read the questions in my peripheral. I have an anecdote that corroborates your observation that cognitive experiences are more complicated then assumed: I was once very, very sleep d…
Do me a favor some time and try to read through the scotoma, if you remember to. I think that I would have just assumed I couldn't do it if I hadn't been reading something really interesting when the scotoma started. It's only because it came on while I was already reading that I discovered that I was able to continue. If you remember to try it, the results will be interesting no matter which way they turn out.
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#567I find this community very knowledgeable, smart and down to earth. It was impressive to see a 40+ year old body builder (he is no Arnold, but has impressive physique for an amateur) doing so well on this diet.
If someone is interested, spend some time googling this topic. It is well worth your time.
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#568Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some electromagnetic frequencies are colors, but not all colors are electromagnetic frequencies. That’s why parent stated that color is a brain phenomenon.
> not all colors are electromagnetic frequencies What do you mean? (Outside the detail that "hues" are electromagnetic frequencies, while colours are compositions - there I just simplified.) Which colour is not such?
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#569Harmonicas are amazing instruments. At first people assume them to be like toys (you can buy really cheap ones everywhere) and initially the concept seems really easy: 10 holes, drawing air produces some notes and blowing air produces other notes. But the more you get into it, the more amazing it gets. Soon you discover that you can bend notes by positioning your tongue in a specific way and your repertoire increases…
Fabulous addition. For anyone looking to see what a master harmonica player looks like, highly recommend looking up blues traveller / John Popper. In particular, there’s a live performance of no woman no cry that has John Popper alongside Ziggy Marley. Mind blowing. Watch it. You won’t regret it. https://youtu.be/9zk0HFG5mDw
Re: Ask HN: Teach me something new
#570The saying "blood is thicker than water" is from the Bible. The full quote is "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," which means the opposite of how "blood is thicker than water" is used.
And as social media has taught us, humour and irony get lost very easily. I have to wonder how much of history we misunderstand because we didn't understand the tone.