How Come

[Shirosaki]

I thought up a fact-finding thread. Basically, someone asks a question and until that question is answered, other people are restricted to answering that question.

If the answer is true and preferably verified by a source, the answerer can introduce a new question.

How come they call it a headache and not a brainache?

 

[Tsuyu]

It is called headache because the brain itself incapable of feeling pain.

Are zebras white with black stripes, or wise-versa?

 

[Firis]

Embryonic research suggests they start black then get white stripes.

Why can I not eat peanuts much when I have hypo-thyroidism?

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

peanuts do not contain any naturally occuring thyroid blockers. there has not been enough and/or any research as to the cause.

is there any known relationship between ears ringing and playing a musical instrument?

 

[HobbeBrain]

Yes.

:|

Why actually IS the sky blue? I've been told this one but I keep forgetting...

 

[Arseface]

Because the way the atmosphere absorbs and diffracts light. Red and green light is absorbed by the atmosphere, leaving only blue to be seen.

How can faster than light travel, or something similar be achieved?

 

[HobbeBrain]

By exerting enough force on an object to make it travel in excess of 299,792,158 miles per second. Unfortunately this will most likely cause said object to burn up in a matter of seconds, so chances are you wouldn't live to tell the tale.

Why can't elephants jump?

 

[Shirosaki]

The construction of their legs (and massive body size) is such that it precludes the ability to jump.

Are lighthouses turned off during the day?

 

[HobbeBrain]

Yes, I actually know this for a fact. I'd think it was mainly due to the fact that it'd be a HUGE waste of electricity if they were left on during the day.

Shouldn't this thread belong in Pub Games?

 

[Shirosaki]

Yes, I actually know this for a fact. I'd think it was mainly due to the fact that it'd be a HUGE waste of electricity if they were left on during the day.

Shouldn't this thread belong in Pub Games?

I would say no because I designed it so that it can't be spammed. The questions are not supposed to be answered in just one or two words, and a source is preferable. Plus, people can't just keep asking questions so that limit's the ability to spam the thread even more.

I'd think that that would eliminate the purpose for the pub games section, which is there to stop post-count boosting threads I'd imagine.

How come we're more tired when we wake up than we were before we went to sleep?

Actually, how come when we're ill we lose our appetites completely and can go days without eating?

 

[SelfAppointedGunslinger]

You can go for days sometimes weeks without eating as long as you stay hyrdrated.

How come we crap ourselves when we die?

 

[Shirosaki]

You can go for days sometimes weeks without eating as long as you stay hyrdrated.

How come we crap ourselves when we die?

Gases being released from the orifices of the body push out liquid and stuff. From the anus, poop is pushed out.

You didn't answer my question in the context I meant, so I'll rephrase it. How come when we're ill we lose our appetites completely and can go days without the feeling of any hunger?

 

[Tyloric]

Gases being released from the orifices of the body push out liquid and stuff. From the anus, poop is pushed out.

You didn't answer my question in the context I meant, so I'll rephrase it. How come when we're ill we lose our appetites completely and can go days without the feeling of any hunger?

There are actually quite a few explanations.

One of them is psychological. If you are in a state of high depression, confusion, and just generally upset your body will suppress appetite. Appetite suppression takes on the form, in some cases, as a defense mechanism. Hunger is a type of pain, so when pain is suppressed so is hunger.

It's also a survival mechanism. The body can release enzymes to break down its own tissue for fuel. When a person is starving the body's metabolism slows way down in order to conserve nutrients, and also begins storing higher amounts of any nutrition that comes its way. That's why skipping meals will actually make you fatter rather than skinnier.

This was all from memory, so I don't expect it to all be right. But that's the general idea.

If not led, what are pencils made of? :O

 

[Shirosaki]

There are actually quite a few explanations.

One of them is psychological. If you are in a state of high depression, confusion, and just generally upset your body will suppress appetite. Appetite suppression takes on the form, in some cases, as a defense mechanism. Hunger is a type of pain, so when pain is suppressed so is hunger.

It's also a survival mechanism. The body can release enzymes to break down its own tissue for fuel. When a person is starving the body's metabolism slows way down in order to conserve nutrients, and also begins storing higher amounts of any nutrition that comes its way. That's why skipping meals will actually make you fatter rather than skinnier.

This was all from memory, so I don't expect it to all be right. But that's the general idea.

If not led, what are pencils made of? :O

Graphite because lead is poisonous I believe.

How come you can get sued for free advertising?

 

[Arseface]

There's a difference between free advertising, and unwanted free advertising. If you're depicting a company in a way it doesn't want to be depicted, then free or not, that's illegal.

What is the nature of consciousness? Say, if I were to take out my brain, and replace it with a completely identical robotic brain. It seems pretty logical in that situation to say that I'm not me at all, even though no one would be able to tell the difference without an MRI.

But say I gradually replaced parts of my brain over time with this robotic brain, cell by cell. Would my consciousness continue into the robot brain? If not, at what point would I cease to be me?

 

[ssjcb1186]

The first time you replace the very first cell is when you're not you. It's an inorganic change, therefore, it's not a natural occurance, therefore, it wasn't meant to be, therefore, you are not "you." Every connection of synapses made withing the cranium is made from your experiences throughout life and, without these, you cease to be who you were before. However, how is this much different from Amnesia. This makes my point moot. EDIT:...no it's not, because it's more of less "natural" so it's a part of you.

You've probably already went through this process yourself and I probably shouldn't send this, as it's in the OP, but eh. I won't be asking a question, anyway. Seems more philosophical (the question) so I went with a philosophical answer. I couldn't tell you if it's right or not, but that's what I'd determine from my minimal Social Science classes.

The nature of Consciousness...hm, good question.

Maybe this will help
Definition of CONSCIOUSNESS

1​

a : the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself
b : the state or fact of being conscious of an external object, state, or fact
c : awareness; especially : concern for some social or political cause

Definition of CONSCIENCE

1​

a : the sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good
b : a faculty, power, or principle enjoining good acts
c : the part of the superego in psychoanalysis that transmits commands and admonitions to the ego

 

[Arseface]

I don't think that's quite what I meant.

It's like an extension of the swampman experiment. An exact copy of me isn't me, even if it's exactly the same, with all the same memories and experiences. As soon as I die, I stop experiencing things, even if my clone keeps experiencing things.

My question is, where is that line? If I remove my brain and replace it with an exact copy, then I die, even though my body is still alive. Another version of my with all my memories and experiences is now living my life, and no one will be able to tell the difference, because for all intents and purposes, there isn't.

But if I slowly replace my brain cell by cell (like the regular cells in the body do) with the new brain, then will my consciousness remain intact and transfer to the new brain? Is the answer the same if it's an artificial brain?

 

[Shirosaki]

I don't think that's quite what I meant.

It's like an extension of the swampman experiment. An exact copy of me isn't me, even if it's exactly the same, with all the same memories and experiences. As soon as I die, I stop experiencing things, even if my clone keeps experiencing things.

My question is, where is that line? If I remove my brain and replace it with an exact copy, then I die, even though my body is still alive. Another version of my with all my memories and experiences is now living my life, and no one will be able to tell the difference, because for all intents and purposes, there isn't.

But if I slowly replace my brain cell by cell (like the regular cells in the body do) with the new brain, then will my consciousness remain intact and transfer to the new brain? Is the answer the same if it's an artificial brain?

Speaking from a psychological point of view, people will start noticing a change when the frontal lobe has been swapped, as that is the part of the brain which houses the personality. The left side of your brain houses logic and the ability to speak and do complicated math. The right side houses your emotions, and your emotional attachments and relationships.

Since your brain is you, you would effectively die. Specifically the frontal lobe, which as I say has personality, which is what makes you unique, if lost would strip you of your identity. A frontal lobotomy destroys nerve endings which connect the frontal lobe to the rest of the brain, which if you have seen documentaries etc you will know makes the person "a zombie."

A computer is by all intents and purposes, an extremely fast calculator. It could never replace a human brain no matter what for a simple reason: reasoning itself. Reasoning is a human quality and, although computers can have algorithms and the such which give probabilities and tell them what the "best" thing is to do, it will never be comparable to a human's reasoning. Think of a computer as being two dimensional, and the human brain being three or even four dimensional in comparison.

The human brain has billions of cells, and is by far the most intricate thing humans have discovered thus far in the universe. Each cell is capable of making approximately 500,000 links to other cells, and the total possible number of links in the brain, in written form with the numbers written side-by-side, would take a wall of 10,300,000km (6,400,123 miles) long to fit.

A computer will never compete with that. A robotic brain would be programmed, not organic. So to answer your question bluntly, people would notice that you are not you no matter which way you acquired the robotic brain, in a one-time replacement or over time, because only a blue print of who you are would be left behind.

How come women seem like such a different species to men even though we are only different genders?

 

[ssjcb1186]

(Good Answer and that's basically what I tried to say (with the extreme lack of facts))

Society/The Environment.
Because of those different parts.

 

[Arseface]

Speaking from a psychological point of view, people will start noticing a change when the frontal lobe has been swapped, as that is the part of the brain which houses the personality. The left side of your brain houses logic and the ability to speak and do complicated math. The right side houses your emotions, and your emotional attachments and relationships.

Even if it was replaced with an exact copy of my frontal lobe?

Since your brain is you, you would effectively die. Specifically the frontal lobe, which as I say has personality, which is what makes you unique, if lost would strip you of your identity. A frontal lobotomy destroys nerve endings which connect the frontal lobe to the rest of the brain, which if you have seen documentaries etc you will know makes the person "a zombie."

A computer is by all intents and purposes, an extremely fast calculator. It could never replace a human brain no matter what for a simple reason: reasoning itself. Reasoning is a human quality and, although computers can have algorithms and the such which give probabilities and tell them what the "best" thing is to do, it will never be comparable to a human's reasoning. Think of a computer as being two dimensional, and the human brain being three or even four dimensional in comparison.

The human brain has billions of cells, and is by far the most intricate thing humans have discovered thus far in the universe. Each cell is capable of making approximately 500,000 links to other cells, and the total possible number of links in the brain, in written form with the numbers written side-by-side, would take a wall of 10,300,000km (6,400,123 miles) long to fit.

A computer will never compete with that. A robotic brain would be programmed, not organic. So to answer your question bluntly, people would notice that you are not you no matter which way you acquired the robotic brain, in a one-time replacement or over time, because only a blue print of who you are would be left behind.

But say there was a computer which could perfectly simulate a brain, and I replaced my brain with that over time. AND it was an exact copy of me. I dont even have to know it's being replaced.


Thought experiments can't get bogged down in feasability.

And since ssjcb didn't, ima ask the next one. When will a developer release my perfect game? A subscription free MMO which is completely player-run and free of NPCs? The closest I can find is EVE, and that's hard.