The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread XXXIV

[Broken_Erika]

straws are like 0.0003% of our plastic waste though

why not start with something significant and not inconvenient

'Cause that's not how environmental politics work!

 

[Yeekim]

https://iq-research.info/en/average-iq-by-country

I took the "free" IQ test on that page, and while I don't know my score, because I won't pay 10 bucks for a "certificate", I (believe I) could identify the logic behind every pattern.
Except the last one. Here, I totally fail to see the it.
Which greatly bugs me.

Any takers?

 

[Arakhor]

I can't view that attachment.

 

[Yeekim]

I can't view that attachment.

Sorry, fix'd.

 

[The_J]

Not seeing the logic either .

straws are like 0.0003% of our plastic waste though

why not start with something significant and not inconvenient

Straws are probably the least inconvenient thing out there, I'd say.

 

[Snerk]

The global problem of plastic marine litter is so immense that it can't be approached by just focusing on single products, but a complete reevaluation of our use of plastics as a whole. All non-essential single-use plastic products will have to go. Straws are not really necessary for drinking out of a cup. For those really into straws can bring or buy a metal one which are cheap and reusable.

 

[Hrothbern]

I took the "free" IQ test on that page, and while I don't know my score, because I won't pay 10 bucks for a "certificate", I (believe I) could identify the logic behind every pattern.
Except the last one. Here, I totally fail to see the it.
Which greatly bugs me.

Any takers?

Spoiler the solution :

It is the first second one of your choices
The one without black dots

I am not going to tell the logic
yet

EDIT
Oops..... I made a mistake
So it is not a nasty test, it is the same kind of logic as applied in the other 39 cases.
It is only differing in having a kind of distraction, like the elevator riddle.


but I give another riddle to help out
There is this guy that lives at the 24th floor of a big appartment building
When he leaves to his job, he pushes ground floor in the elevator
and when he gets back home he pushes 20th floor in the elevator
except during rainy days than he hits the 24th floor button when he gets home

or in other words
sometimes you have to think outside the box
and if this IQ test would be really nasty
they would have applied the game theory method you use when you have an army that has to cross the river and has the choice between two bridges of which one bridge is easier to do (less casualties) than the other bridge when... when your opponent is waiting there for you.... but your opponent has also the forced choice to be at one of the bridges only.

 

[Lohrenswald]

It makes good sense if you take into account how we're really using up petroleum for one-use convenience items that give no real benefit and we are just turning our oceans into landfill (while at the same time, incidentally, using up so much sand for construction projects that it's now worth smuggling). Some people need a challenge to their ‘common sense’.

I know it makes sense, but that's not the question. My question is is it happening?

I'be only got 2 very conflicting answers: that it's just Starbucks, or England and vast parts of America. So which is it?

 

[Samson]

I know it makes sense, but that's not the question. My question is is it happening?

I'be only got 2 very conflicting answers: that it's just Starbucks, or England and vast parts of America. So which is it?

In the UK there is a big push to reduce "single use plastics". Disposable straws are one of the things that are targeted. So it is much more than starbucks in England.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Yeah, but I'm not looking for precision. Just how generally profitable a waterless trade route over 80 miles would be.

It's hard to think about how profitable a trade route would be without knowing what you're trading. Presumably it's not something easily perishable in the heat, or something that would significantly slow down a caravan.

Your priority obviously has to be getting everyone from Point A to Point B without anyone - human or pack animal - dying of dehydration. If you're not taking water with you, are there any wells or caches? I think you did indicate that water wouldn't be available along the route.

So what kinds of food will the traders be eating?

I'm asking, because I dug out my old AD&D Wilderness Survival Guide - one of the sourcebooks that guides a DM in designing wilderness adventures, and includes practical advice on how many days people can go without water, depending on if they're men or women (I don't know if this is a fantasy story or if all your characters are human), how much exertion they're putting themselves through, what kind of desert terrain they're coping with, what kind of food they have to eat (food with more water/moisture content will help offset the lack of water along the route), what food is available for the pack animals, and so on.

Once you've got the survival angles figured out (ie. the costs involved in keeping everyone alive), you should be able to decide whether or not this trade route will be profitable.

Now that you ask... yes. Don't know much about desert travel.

I would recommend a trip to the library, or online sources for information about how the RL desert traders did (and do) things. Camel caravans might seem an outdated thing now, but they're still used.

Of course any regular route would presumably be one with wells or oases, that are at least seasonably reliable.

what's this thing about straws that has gone on lately?

There's a movement to ban plastic straws, due to pollution. It's not just Starbucks. Other chains have made this decision, and some municipalities have said they want to ban them.

What none of the banning-advocates thought about are the people who need them - disabled people who can't hold cups or glasses, or who can't drink from cups or glasses without spilling. Metal straws can damage teeth, and become too hot if the person is drinking tea or coffee, and paper straws aren't much good for that, either. And how do you clean re-usable straws if you're not at home?

Some disabled people are afraid that straws will end up being sold in pharmacies and the price will skyrocket. This isn't a matter of an occasional milkshake or slushie. It's how they ingest liquids.

My take on this is that straws should be provided on request. They don't have to be automatically given to everyone, but no disabled person should be forced to stop drinking liquids outside the home because some corporation or municipality decided they don't matter.

 

[Lexicus]

It's hard to think about how profitable a trade route would be without knowing what you're trading. Presumably it's not something easily perishable in the heat, or something that would significantly slow down a caravan.

Your priority obviously has to be getting everyone from Point A to Point B without anyone - human or pack animal - dying of dehydration. If you're not taking water with you, are there any wells or caches? I think you did indicate that water wouldn't be available along the route.

So what kinds of food will the traders be eating?

I'm asking, because I dug out my old AD&D Wilderness Survival Guide - one of the sourcebooks that guides a DM in designing wilderness adventures, and includes practical advice on how many days people can go without water, depending on if they're men or women (I don't know if this is a fantasy story or if all your characters are human), how much exertion they're putting themselves through, what kind of desert terrain they're coping with, what kind of food they have to eat (food with more water/moisture content will help offset the lack of water along the route), what food is available for the pack animals, and so on.

Once you've got the survival angles figured out (ie. the costs involved in keeping everyone alive), you should be able to decide whether or not this trade route will be profitable.


I would recommend a trip to the library, or online sources for information about how the RL desert traders did (and do) things. Camel caravans might seem an outdated thing now, but they're still used.

Of course any regular route would presumably be one with wells or oases, that are at least seasonably reliable.


There's a movement to ban plastic straws, due to pollution. It's not just Starbucks. Other chains have made this decision, and some municipalities have said they want to ban them.

What none of the banning-advocates thought about are the people who need them - disabled people who can't hold cups or glasses, or who can't drink from cups or glasses without spilling. Metal straws can damage teeth, and become too hot if the person is drinking tea or coffee, and paper straws aren't much good for that, either. And how do you clean re-usable straws if you're not at home?

Some disabled people are afraid that straws will end up being sold in pharmacies and the price will skyrocket. This isn't a matter of an occasional milkshake or slushie. It's how they ingest liquids.

My take on this is that straws should be provided on request. They don't have to be automatically given to everyone, but no disabled person should be forced to stop drinking liquids outside the home because some corporation or municipality decided they don't matter.

You can make disposable straws with things other than plastic.

 

[Samson]

What none of the banning-advocates thought about are the people who need them - disabled people who can't hold cups or glasses, or who can't drink from cups or glasses without spilling. Metal straws can damage teeth, and become too hot if the person is drinking tea or coffee, and paper straws aren't much good for that, either. And how do you clean re-usable straws if you're not at home?

Some disabled people are afraid that straws will end up being sold in pharmacies and the price will skyrocket. This isn't a matter of an occasional milkshake or slushie. It's how they ingest liquids.

My take on this is that straws should be provided on request. They don't have to be automatically given to everyone, but no disabled person should be forced to stop drinking liquids outside the home because some corporation or municipality decided they don't matter.

Thank you for pointing this out, I had never considered this as an accessibility matter. I would ask what is wrong with paper straws? I do not like straws so I am not very familiar, but the waxed paper ones seem pretty functionally indistinguishable from plastic ones.

 

[Synobun]

I'll be honest, for something like a straw, I think that should be a disabled person's responsibility and not that of common society. "What if they forget their straw?" you ask. "What if they absolutely need to drink something?" you ask. And to that, my response is... you make sure you don't enter a public space without your necessities. Yes, that is more difficult for those who are disabled. I have to take a backpack with me wherever I go because I have things that I need, and it's not society's responsibility to have them on hand should I be forgetful. Businesses do not keep insulin and other diabetic medication on hand if a diabetic should forget theirs, and there are far more diabetics than there are people who have a niche enough disability where a plastic straw is the only thing that will work for taking in fluids.

Straws are small beans compared to other single-use plastic but they're an easy win. More to the point, their removal and the switch to biodegradable solutions will make it easier to cut out the other plastics in the future (due to manufacturing retools). They are worth nothing in the grand scheme of ocean/landfill waste but they are step one in influencing the things that are worth something.

There are many straw bans being enacted. My city is one of them. I will plainly admit that I very much prefer the plastic straws over the replacements businesses have been going with. Paper straws, especially, are terrible. This'll be temporary, and should it become an annoying enough problem, I can just spend $5 and get 200 plastic straws at home.

Thank you for pointing this out, I had never considered this as an accessibility matter. I would ask what is wrong with paper straws? I do not like straws so I am not very familiar, but the waxed paper ones seem pretty functionally indistinguishable from plastic ones.

In the short term, they're indistinguishable. Kinda icky mouth feel but they serve the purpose. But they get soggy and break apart after a while. That's somewhat unhelpful if you're lugging a drink around for hours.

 

[Lohrenswald]

Samson and Valka used the words "push" and "movement", but has there been any actual like legislation or whatnot?

 

[Lexicus]

Samson and Valka used the words "push" and "movement", but has there been any actual like legislation or whatnot?

https://www.businessinsider.com/plastic-straw-ban-why-are-there-so-many-2018-7

 

[Synobun]

Samson and Valka used the words "push" and "movement", but has there been any actual like legislation or whatnot?

Yes. Hawaii and California have pending state legislation for it.

New York City has pending city legislation.

It's already banned in a few American cities, and like I said it's banned where I am (Vancouver).

 

[The_J]

Spoiler the solution :

It is the first second one of your choices
The one without black dots

I am not going to tell the logic
yet

I see your logic, but...mhh....really? Not believing that really.

 

[Hrothbern]

I see your logic, but...mhh....really? Not believing that really.

Spoiler my answer in the spoiler :

The Logic I see:
The sign of the black dots is positive or negative, depending on whether they are inside the circle or outside the circle.
So when you add up horizontally or vertically, the bottom pictures and the most right column pictures all have the correct number of dots.
If that is applied to the vacant position of the most right column bottom row it adds up to zero black dots, horizontally as well as vertically
With zero black dots, the clockwise orientation of black dots becomes irrelevant, making the empty circle consistent with number of dots and orientation of dots.
Any solution with orientated black dots would always be inconsistent with the number of black dots.

Did you saw that Logic ?

 

[Yeekim]

Spoiler my answer in the spoiler :

The Logic I see:
The sign of the black dots is positive or negative, depending on whether they are inside the circle or outside the circle.
So when you add up horizontally or vertically, the bottom pictures and the most right column pictures all have the correct number of dots.
If that is applied to the vacant position of the most right column bottom row it adds up to zero black dots, horizontally as well as vertically
With zero black dots, the clockwise orientation of black dots becomes irrelevant, making the empty circle consistent with number of dots and orientation of dots.
Any solution with orientated black dots would always be inconsistent with the number of black dots.

Did you saw that Logic ?

Spoiler :

I admit I don't follow.
In the first column and in the first row, there is a total of 4 dots inside.
In the second column and the second row, 1 inside, 5 outside.
If the missing piece has zero dots, we would get 2 inside, 2 outside for the last row and last column.

What numerical value do you assign them and why, so that it "makes sense"? Do you just mean that then the grand total of 7 inside, 7 outside adds up to 0 and that's it?
Or do you account for the clockwise orientation of them as well somehow?

 

[Hrothbern]

Spoiler :

I admit I don't follow.
In the first column and in the first row, there is a total of 4 dots inside.
In the second column and the second row, 1 inside, 5 outside.
If the missing piece has zero dots, we would get 2 inside, 2 outside for the last row and last column.

What numerical value do you assign them and why, so that it "makes sense"? Do you just mean that then the grand total of 7 inside, 7 outside adds up to 0 and that's it?
Or do you account for the clockwise orientation of them as well somehow?

Spoiler answer :

Say a protruding black dot is +1, and an black dot within the circle is -1
The upper row from left to right: -1 -1 should be -2 and is -2
The middle row from left to right: -1 +3 should be -2 and is -2
The most left column from highest position to lowest: -1 -1 should be -2 and is -2
The middle column from highest position to lowest : -1 +3 should be -2 and is -2

Applying that logic
The lowest row from left to right: -2 +2 = 0
The most right column from highest position to lowest: -2 + 2 = 0

hope that helps