Temperature is average kinetic energy. It is very easy to put kinetic energy into an object and much harder to take it out. Microwaves do it by shining a “light” tuned to microwave frequencies on objects. So you can imagine the problem is about as hard as shining a lamp on something and having it get colder. Laser-based cooling methods do exist but they’re quite expensive and mostly operate on the atomic scale. For now, the best way we know of to cool large items in bulk is to put them next to something that’s even colder—in short, a refrigerator.

I originally wrote this for [email protected] but it works pretty good for me too:

NATO Astronaut 1: It never gets old, huh?

NATO Astronaut 2: Nope.

Astronaut 1: It kinda makes you want to...

Astronaut 2: Break into a song?

Astronaut 1: Yep.

I love the trenches,

I love the roadside mines,

I love blown bridges,

I love when turrets fly.

I love the whole world

And all its sights and sounds.

Boom-de-yah-da, boom-de-yah-da (twice)

I love my plane-fus,

I love nuke submarines,

I love logistics,

I love democracy!

I love the whole world

And all its craziness

Boom-de-yah-da, boom-de-yah-da (twice)

I love dictators

(I like to watch em hang)

I love Three Gorges

I love when things go bang!

I love the whole world

It's such a brilliant place

Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da (repeating until fade)

But what about the comic?! The comic says I don’t have to change my lifestyle to align with my purported values! It absolves me of my responsibility to do anything beyond complain, no matter how trivial the change required! Doesn’t the comic say complaining about a problem is basically just as good as actually contributing to fixing it?

Nope, the placebo effect can have physical effects and be genuinely curative. The level to which this is the case is highly variable from patient to patient, but it is inaccurate to say that is limited to improving sensation and perception of illness. Not to mention, in many cases the malady being treated is one of perception, for example, in pain management. And alleviating pain in itself has downstream positive effects on disease progression and patient QOL.

Each individual actor in the system has less incentive to provide value and no incentive to maintain continuity. As a result, you are basically reliant on a small number of unconnected and pseudonymous volunteers who could walk away at any time. Add to that managing a server with thousands of users is basically a part-time job with little pay and you have a system that is sustained by the kindness of a couple dozen strangers.

Ask your questions here! The lemmy archives aren’t as deep as Reddit’s yet, but one by one well get there!

The ability to access a dopamine drip feed at any moment instantly kills any motivation to seek long-term pursuits, especially when there’s a learning curve involved.

I can’t even start new games these days because the thought of spending time being bad at something seems so awful compared to just watching someone else.

There’s a good smbc about this but I can’t find it.

Holy shit, the tl;dr bot has made it over. Thank the lord!

Yeah, was just poking fun at OPs wording of the question. Internet weirdos seem obsessed with manipulating those around them when really all it takes to get people to like you is a modicum of personal hygiene and a friendly demeanor. You ever seen the key & peele skit about the bank job? Basically that.

Oh absolutely. Like, could I do some weirdo cold reading magic based on her wedding ring to ask about her kids? Sure. But it’s much more natural if it comes up organically during conversation.

By simple, I mean the cliched small talk questions that people on the internet seem to have a lot of contempt for. Had a great conversation with a lady yesterday that stemmed off of asking about the weather. Mentioned my work, she had a son in the same area, I asked her how many kids she had, how she met her husband, etc. Ended up talking about her cousin with a law degree who can’t find work here after immigrating. People have so much contempt for the simple questions, but they’re cliches because they work. You just have to listen and latch on to the things they mention.

Edit: Lets say a simple question is one where 100% of people have an opinion on it, 90% of that opinion is guaranteed to align with yours, and the remaining 10% won’t be a dealbreaker. Weather, families, sports, etc.