TIL: Today I Learned

[Hrothbern]

In the SF novel Supermind written by A. E. van Vogt we humans are at a poor level indeed.

 

[Birdjaguar]

TIL of the theory of cosmological evolution. The theory goes that if black holes create new universes, that the new universes that are spawned may have different cosmological constants from the parent universe. Over time, many of these new universes will fail to grow and spawn new black holes if the conditions (dictated by cosmological constants like the speed of light or force of gravity) are not right. This means those universes 'fail to reproduce' and what happens is that over time you will wind up with a universe like ours where all the cosmological constants are 'just right' to lead to the conditions we see because they are necessary conditions for black hole formation.

How oddly specific the cosmological constants are is an ongoing area of inquiry in physics. Our universe is extremely sensitive to very small changes in most of the constants and it is weird that we wound up with the exact values necessary for the universe to be stable long enough to spawn intelligent life.

I see the whole idea of "new universes" as a bit of a stretch. Exactly how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

 

[Chukchi Husky]

Exactly how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

None. Angels can't dance.

 

[Takhisis]

Angels can't dance.

Provide evidence, young man.

 

[Hrothbern]

Provide evidence, young man.

There is not much in the Bible where people dance and have joy and laughter
unless you just killed Goliath the Philistine

 

[Birdjaguar]

There is not much in the Bible where people dance and have joy and laughter
unless you just killed Goliath the Philistine

Did they dance in Sodom and Gomorrah?

 

[Hrothbern]

Did they dance in Sodom and Gomorrah?

haha
As icon of sinn

But no dancing there mentioned in the Bible IIRC

 

[Takhisis]

There is not much in the Bible where people dance and have joy and laughter
unless you just killed Goliath the Philistine

There's that wedding thing where Jesus makes water into wine.

 

[bernie14]

TIL angels require a tremendous amount of alcohol to get drunk....really, Google it!

 

[Commodore]

TIL: Circumcision reparations is apparently a real movement. Also, apparently people have been able to successfully sue the doctor that performed the circumcision, even though their parents consented to the procedure for them as a baby.

If I were a doctor, I would refuse to perform any more circumcisions just to avoid getting slapped with a lawsuit 18 years later.

 

[Arakhor]

Well, if you botch a job, it shouldn't matter if your patient agreed to the job or not.

 

[Commodore]

Well, if you botch a job, it shouldn't matter if your patient agreed to the job or not.

That's just it, the people suing aren't suing for botched jobs, they are suing for the procedure even being done in the first place. Their cases apparently cite new research that indicates the procedure can cause lasting psychological harm as the grounds for the lawsuits.

I do think it's unfair to use new knowledge to punish doctors for things they did that, at the time, were considered legitimate procedures and weren't seen as malpractice back then.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

The idea of circumscribing infants (who, as I recall, can't be safely anesthetized) bothers me.

EDIT: Well that's an interesting mistake. I guess I should be more careful with the spell-checker.

 

[The_J]

I guess the people suing have really nothing better to do in life o_O.
(I'm affected, I can say that ^^)

 

[Arakhor]

I'm always a bit baffled that apparently it was standard practice in the US to get it done, whether you were Jewish or not. Unnecessary medical procedures are just that.

 

[Zkribbler]

apparently people have been able to successfully sue the doctor that performed the circumcision, even though their parents consented to the procedure for them as a baby.

Are you sure? This doesn't sound right to me. If only the baby can consent to a circumcision, then it follows that a baby's consent is needed for any operation.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I'm always a bit baffled that apparently it was standard practice in the US to get it done, whether you were Jewish or not. Unnecessary medical procedures are just that.

There was a lot of propaganda that drove parents to it in the US. It claimed that retaining a foreskin encouraged masturbation and bad hygiene. Eventually the anti-masturbation reasoning faded but now it's all about hygiene, a belief that it lowers STD infection rates and just that it is an entrenched norm.

I wonder if Europeans that hook up with American men assume they're all Jewish?

Are you sure? This doesn't sound right to me. If only the baby can consent to a circumcision, then it follows that a baby's consent is needed for any operation.

They don't need a baby's consent to do it. I think it is a bad thing to do and the lack of consent is a big part of that but it's completely normalized in the US.

 

[Hrothbern]

There was a lot of propaganda that drove parents to it in the US. It claimed that retaining a foreskin encouraged masturbation and bad hygiene. Eventually the anti-masturbation reasoning faded but now it's all about hygiene, a belief that it lowers STD infection rates and just that it is an entrenched norm.

If it's the entrenched norm in the US or other regions in the world... why change that without compelling reasons ?

The same for regions that do not have that tradition.

Hygiene should not be an issue I think in developed countries. As sexual sensitive skin, removing it... well... for me a good reason not to change the design of mother nature.
And on the aspect of mother nature... I think that having a foreskin has the natural advantage of always having as male a lubricant beneath your foreskin... that's not a bad evolutionary design.

On those lower STD infection rates... without going into details (forum rules)... is that also true compared to proper foreskin hygiene in a steady relation or at all ?

If so, and really significant, I would accept it. When adding, if so, that doing this at infant age is easier and more effective... I would accept parents deciding it.

Discarding possible parrot behaviour of medical experts preaching for the choir of their own country culture...
Are there statistics that show that the US (the droves there) has much better health statistics for related health effects than some countries in for example Europe where this is not a tradition ?
Have we facts instead of theories ?

 

[The_J]

I looked up once what there is regarding the evidence of the STD claims, and there seems to be some support, but not exactly a very strong, convincing one.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

If it's the entrenched norm in the US or other regions in the world... why change that without compelling reasons ?

The compelling reason is that some people see it is as genital mutilation and others are bothered by the lack of consent (or both things).

I do not really think the hygiene/std reasons are based in reality. They have an air of truthiness to them but that's about it.

What other countries also have this tradition other than Israel?