"Keith F. Lynch" <kfl@KeithLynch.net> posted:
Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> wrote:"The circulation pattern quarantines the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres, keeping the pollutant-laden northern air dirty and the
southern air clean. There is some exchange between the two, but
the process takes a year or two, versus about a week for air to
circulate within a hemisphere" -
<https://www.abc.net.au/science/archive/articles/2008/09/29/2377123.htm>
For worst results, be sure to build *two* doomsday devices, one in
each hemisphere, wired so that if either goes off so does the other.
Of course the original idea was that a single doomsday device would be
set up to automatically go off if it detects a nuclear war anywhere on
Earth. That would effectively deter all possible nuclear wars, hence
would keep the world safe. Nothing about that plan could possibly go
wrong.
Fortunately, for some reason no doomsday device was ever built. Maybe
because enough people watched Dr. Strangelove and similar movies.
Another similar dystopian novel, on the other hand -- Down to
a Sunless Sea -- suggested that a refugee plane that headed to
Antarctica was overtaken by radioactive fallout soon after arriving
there.
There's something called the logistic curve. It's the integral of its
more famous cousin, the bell curve.
You presumably mean the Gaussian distribution or normal distribution. However,
there are plenty of other ways an approximately bell-shaped curve can arise.
The most obvious (for me) is the curve for a bell-shaped pH profile of an
enzyme, which looks superficially like a Gaussian curve, but isn't one.
It implies that for every person
who dies because he slipped and hit his head and drowned in his cat's
water dish, there's another who survived more than a year floating
alone across the Pacific Ocean.
Hmm. That's a very weird definition of the logistic curve!
For every person who dies because
he fell out of his chair, there's another who survived falling tens
of thousands of feet without a parachute. For every person who is
frightened to death by a harmless Halloween prank, another person
survived both the Holodomor and the Holocaust. For every person who
was killed by a routine chest X-ray, another survived both the
Hiroshima and the Nagasaki nukes.
Our species has survived countless plagues, wars, famines, invasions,
crimes, evil governments, and natural disasters. Not to mention the
Ice Age and the Black Death. It would take a *really* bad day to make
us go extinct.
If Project Sundial had ever been built, and had gone off, I have no
doubt that we would have survived. Not all of us, but some of us.
Maybe like in Stapledon's wonderful 1931 novel _Last and First Men_,
few enough that the survivors gave rise to a new human species. In
that novel -- which is now finally in the public domain hence can be
read online for free -- this sort of thing happens 18 times over the
next two billion years.
--
athel
Living in Marseilles for 39 years; mainly in England before that,
with long periods in Singapore, California, Chile and Canada
| Date | Sujet | # | Auteur | |
| 18 Jul 26 |  Retronym? | 222 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 18 Jul 26 |   Re: Retronym? | 1 | Stefan Ram | |
| 18 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Evelyn C. Leeper | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 138 | Tim Merrigan | |
| 19 Jul 26 |  Re: Retronym? | 130 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 49 | Phil | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 11 | occam | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 3 | Evelyn C. Leeper | |
| 24 Jul03:09 |  Re: Retronym? | 2 | Cryptoengineer | |
| 24 Jul08:41 |  Re: Retronym? | 1 | Charles Packer | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 7 | Phil | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | The True Melissa | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Bertel Lund Hansen | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Bertel Lund Hansen | |
| 24 Jul03:10 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Cryptoengineer | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Hibou | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 36 | Steve Hayes | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Phil | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Bertel Lund Hansen | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 32 | Adam Funk | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Adam Funk | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 28 | Steve Hayes | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 27 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 20 Jul16:41 | Re: Retronym? | 26 | Steve Hayes | |
| 20 Jul18:04 | Re: Retronym? | 25 | athel.cb@gmail.com | |
| 20 Jul18:25 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 21 Jul06:42 | Re: Retronym? | 23 | Hibou | |
| 21 Jul07:38 | Re: Retronym? | 4 | Steve Hayes | |
| 21 Jul08:03 | Re: Retronym? | 3 | Hibou | |
| 22 Jul07:36 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Steve Hayes | |
| 22 Jul10:27 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Hibou | |
| 21 Jul20:07 | Re: Retronym? | 18 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 22 Jul06:47 | Re: Retronym? | 17 | Hibou | |
| 22 Jul07:53 | Re: Retronym? | 16 | Steve Hayes | |
| 22 Jul08:05 | Re: Retronym? | 6 | Peter Moylan | |
| 22 Jul10:09 | Re: Retronym? | 5 | Hibou | |
| 22 Jul11:40 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Peter Moylan | |
| 27 Jul01:33 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Peter Moylan | |
| 27 Jul08:05 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Bertel Lund Hansen | |
| 27 Jul10:57 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Liz Tuddenham | |
| 22 Jul16:06 | Re: Retronym? | 9 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 22 Jul16:50 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | athel.cb@gmail.com | |
| 23 Jul07:26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Peter Moylan | |
| 22 Jul18:11 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Rich Ulrich | |
| 22 Jul19:39 | Re: Retronym? | 4 | Snidely | |
| 23 Jul07:52 | Re: Retronym? | 3 | Peter Moylan | |
| 24 Jul16:28 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Adam Funk | |
| 25 Jul01:02 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Peter Moylan | |
| 23 Jul06:25 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Hibou | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Snidely | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Scott Dorsey | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 5 | The True Melissa | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 4 | Dorothy J Heydt | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 20 Jul20:22 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Scott Dorsey | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Peter Moylan | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 74 | Tim Merrigan | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 69 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 22 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 5 | Snidely | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 4 | Snidely | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 3 | Evelyn C. Leeper | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 20 Jul23:58 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 20 Jul16:30 | Re: Retronym? | 16 | Paul Dormer | |
| 20 Jul18:19 | Re: Retronym? | 15 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 20 Jul23:56 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 21 Jul12:54 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | athel.cb@gmail.com | |
| 21 Jul13:01 | Re: Retronym? | 12 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 21 Jul13:28 | Re: Retronym? | 11 | Adam Funk | |
| 21 Jul19:57 | Re: Retronym? | 10 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 21 Jul20:57 | Re: Retronym? | 3 | Snidely | |
| 21 Jul20:59 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Snidely | |
| 22 Jul22:23 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 22 Jul08:31 | Re: Retronym? | 5 | athel.cb@gmail.com | |
| 22 Jul18:12 | Re: Retronym? | 4 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 22 Jul19:14 | Re: Retronym? | 3 | Silvano | |
| 22 Jul22:48 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Keith F. Lynch | |
| 23 Jul06:43 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Hibou | |
| 22 Jul12:23 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Adam Funk | |
| 20 Jul19:46 | Re: Retronym? | 46 | Rich Ulrich | |
| 21 Jul01:37 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Snidely | |
| 21 Jul08:07 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Steve Hayes | |
| 21 Jul07:48 | Re: Retronym? | 43 | Steve Hayes | |
| 21 Jul10:59 | Re: Retronym? | 34 | Anders D. Nygaard | |
| 22 Jul08:21 | Re: Retronym? | 33 | Steve Hayes | |
| 22 Jul23:36 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Anders D. Nygaard | |
| 23 Jul05:52 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Steve Hayes | |
| 22 Jul23:58 | Re: Retronym? | 30 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 23 Jul05:55 | Re: Retronym? | 29 | Steve Hayes | |
| 23 Jul06:47 | Re: Retronym? | 28 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 23 Jul08:19 | Re: Retronym? | 20 | Tim Merrigan | |
| 24 Jul00:20 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 24 Jul05:44 | Re: Retronym? | 18 | Steve Hayes | |
| 24 Jul08:13 | Re: Retronym? | 16 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 24 Jul14:54 | Re: Retronym? | 15 | Steve Hayes | |
| 25 Jul03:15 | Re: Retronym? | 14 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 25 Jul03:31 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Tim Merrigan | |
| 23 Jul12:52 | Re: Retronym? | 7 | Steve Hayes | |
| 22 Jul02:30 | Re: Retronym? | 2 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 22 Jul12:21 | Re: Retronym? | 6 | Adam Funk | |
| 20 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 4 | Steve Hayes | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 1 | Ross Clark | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 6 | Richard Tobin | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 67 | Steve Hayes | |
| 19 Jul 26 | Re: Retronym? | 3 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro | |
| 27 Jul02:13 | Re: Retronym? | 11 | Lawrence D’Oliveiro |
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