The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXXI

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BAH. I recommend googling a list of Atari 800xl games and sniffing around until you spot a name you might recollect.
 
Was Isaac Asimov a creationist?
Not even remotely.

He was Jewish. The creationists you're thinking of are all Christian.
He was Jewish by birth, but at some point in his life he put that into the category of "this is what my parents and ancestors believe(d), but it's not what I believe." I don't remember how strictly his family followed Jewish customs when he was younger.

Asimov was also an atheist, though it took a long time for him to admit it. There's a whole section on his religious beliefs on his Wikipedia page.
I seem to recall reading that Asimov often referred to himself as a secular humanist, as did Carl Sagan (they were friends).

Well, given that he was neither a neurologist nor an astrophysicist, his thoughts on the relative complexity of the human brain are not that important. Besides, the usual creationist argument is that of irreducible complexity and I think we can be fairly certain that he never claimed that was true.
Asimov was a chemist. He had a doctorate in that field, and did research and taught in a university. He had been a writer for at least 20 years before giving up his job at the university to write full time. And back then, there wasn't this "technobabble and BS will get me through anything" attitude to science fiction writing. SF writers were expected to include plausible science in their science fiction. And since Asimov took pride in his work, if he wanted to write a story that included some element of biology or geology or astrophysics, he would read up on the subject so he would have a good idea of what he was talking about. It's the mark of a professional, which he strove to be.

If you want to know his views about creationism, the Jewish faith, atheism, etc., I recommend reading his autobiography. It's in three volumes (the first two are very long... literally heavy reading ;)), and quite interesting. I've read the first two volumes twice, and the third volume once.

Asimov did write some articles and at least one book about the Bible (there's not much he didn't write about), so he obviously had strong views about it. But he wasn't a creationist.
 
What would happen to the global economy if every nation on the planet made it illegal to charge interest on any debt? I'm talking everything you'd have to pay interest on, whether it be a car loan, credit cards, or even national debt.
 
Then debt would cease to meaningfully exist and the economy would completely crash since it is entirely built on debt.
 
What would happen to the global economy if every nation on the planet made it illegal to charge interest on any debt? I'm talking everything you'd have to pay interest on, whether it be a car loan, credit cards, or even national debt.


They'd all do work arounds that that accomplished the same thing. Alternatively, 6 billion people die in the coming economic collapse.
 
What would happen to the global economy if every nation on the planet made it illegal to charge interest on any debt? I'm talking everything you'd have to pay interest on, whether it be a car loan, credit cards, or even national debt.
For historic examples, see the abolitions of debts under the Tokugawa shogunate (4 times IIRC) and why Catilina was shot down. Regardless of politicking and Marcus Tullius Cicero's speeches, Catilina tried to declare all existing debts cleared (tabulæ novæ) and redistribute lands. And he had been a murderer and extorter as provincial governor earlier, too.
 
I have a question about the Second Amandement. The discussion is always about firearms, but what about other types of weapons ?
If you live in an open carry state, can you just walk around with a sword or a halberd ?
 
Hmm, too bad there's no National Blade Association.
 
Why is drunk driving called "drink driving" in Great Britain? "Drunk driving" makes sense to me, you are driving drunk. But "Drink driving" to me seems to imply that you are driving with a drink in your hand. Yet I am pretty sure they use it to mean that you are driving drunk.

Is it a weird use of the verb I'm not aware of or just an odd historical accident that lead to this terminology, or something else?
 
You don't even need to be drunk, which is half the point. You can be well over the legal limit and still feel 'fine'.
 
I'm just curious what the "drink" in "drink driving" is. Is it a verb? Or a noun? Or something else? Or is the whole phrase "drink driving" just a historical accident that can't be analyzed grammatically? (sort of like the "isn't it" thing Brits add to the ends of sentences sometimes, even in cases where it makes 0 grammatical sense)
 
I've never thought about it before, to be honest. In the phrase, 'drink' is an adjective indicating being under the influence at the time, but I don't know why that particular choice was made.

Think, Don't Drink was one of the memorable slogans, though.
 
Can you use a coupon on the day of the printed expiration date? I'd always assumed the printed date was the final day of it's validty, instead of the first day of it being expired.
 
even in cases where it makes 0 grammatical sense)
Tell me about it.
Can you use a coupon on the day of the printed expiration date? I'd always assumed the printed date was the final day of it's validty, instead of the first day of it being expired.
It's supposed to be.
 
I'm just curious what the "drink" in "drink driving" is. Is it a verb? Or a noun? Or something else? Or is the whole phrase "drink driving" just a historical accident that can't be analyzed grammatically? (sort of like the "isn't it" thing Brits add to the ends of sentences sometimes, even in cases where it makes 0 grammatical sense)

It's a participle. Specifically a past participle acting adjectivally. You are driving, having drunk [alcohol]. That's why it's called "drunk driving". Drink driving is ungrammatical, so if you hear somebody saying it, you've either misheard them (perhaps they were slurring the words because they are drink) or they've mis-analyzed the phrase or else learned the phrase from someone who mis-analyzed it.

Alternatively you could be confusing the phrase "drunk driving" with another phrase used to describe the act, "drinking and driving", which is composed of two gerunds.
 
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