Pat @Pat@qoto.org

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If humans suddenly became extinct*, which species would eventually evolve to become the “dominate” species?

Possibilities…

- One of the other hominids
- A large land animal (elephant, bear, rhino…)
- One of the corvids (raven, crow, blue jay, magpie…)
- One of the parrots
- A cetacean
- Another sea animal (octopus, crab...)
- Small mammal with fingers (mouse, squirrel, raccoon, koala…)
- Eusocial insect
- Someone else…

(* assuming a species-specific extinction for humans like a disease or infertility, not a mass extinction event like an asteroid or gamma ray burst)

#extinction #humans #animals #Earth #intelligence #GreatApes #evolution #birds #mammals

@AmandaHilden

>"Scientists Find Massive Cloud Of Water In Space..."

You mean a comet?

Notice how she was able to save the first one, but... 😆

#FDIC #FED #FederalReserve #BOG #SVB #bankrun #MoralHazard #corruption

@tripu

It depends...

How long can we wait to abort them?

@bonifartius

>"yes, it's really a nice brain teaser :)"

I didn't mean it to be so clever. Honest.

-
Fed chair Jerome Powell, in a hastily organized appearance, tries to calm markets by explaining the recent bank failures...

#FDIC #FED #FederalReserve #BOG #SVB #bankrun

@jwhevans@mstdn.social

>" my inability to fit in socially as never been related to intelligence"

Welcome to the club...

@somcak @bonifartius

@bonifartius

That third answer is much more complicated than I thought when wrote the poll.

I thought it would be a clever answer, that someone would pretend not to understand the question, thus demonstrating "Yes".

But if they do that, then they are actually smart enough to understand the subtle humor, thus demonstrating "No". 🤔 😂

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Have you ever pretended to be less intelligent than you are in order to fit in socially?

#intelligence #social #poll

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In 2015, Brian Williams was fired from NBC Nightly News after he told a fib.

In 2023, Jeff Zients was given a promotion to WH Chief of Staff after he killed a million Americans.

The times, they are a changing...

#revolution #AmericanSpring

(images: zients PD; Williams CC-BY-SA-3.0, Shankbone, Mediawiki Commons)

@freemo

>"Stux is fromt he netherlands, not Denmark btw."

Yeah, I know. My comment wasn't directed at him. I picked Denmark because their tax policies have historically differed quite a bit from the US.

@stux

@freemo

>"Just saying you cant rely on the fact that a society that doesnt heavily tax mega corps are going to lack infrastructure."

I'll concede that point. There are also resource-rich nations that can fund infrastructure that way without high taxes.

My concern with the OP was the idea that counties should stick to some tax policy that the people may or may not agree with. In the US, that was the main driving force behind our revolution -- taxation without representation.

I don't think someone in Denmark should be dictating (or even influencing) how (or how much) taxes are collected in some other country in the world.

(Not to pick on the Danes specifically, they are very cool people. 🙂 )

@stux

@freemo

Yeah, I said generally...

But even a heavy tax of middle class can be a disincentive because the companies will need to pay workers more so the workers can afford the tax. Also, to some extent in certain professions and locations, workers will choose move to more favorable tax climates (but they're certainly not as mobile as corporations are). And in true democracies, taxing the middle class is more difficult for politicians.

@stux

@stux

I'm not as concerned about countries setting attractive tax rates, because the countries with the lowest taxes are generally going to have less government-funded infrastructure, which might be a disincentive for some companies.

I'm more concerned about counties offering reduced environmental regulation or slave labor as an incentive. That's truly harmful for everyone. I think treaties should set some minimum protection for the environment and freedom of choice for workers.

@javifields

Thank you for explaining that. Yes, if any publication intentionally makes false statements, especially a scientific journal, that's a deal killer for sure.

Some of the other stuff, I'm not as concerned about -- using email to contact potential contributors is not a problem as far as I can see, as long as they are truthful and upfront about everything.

Also, I don't care if anyone violates a copyright of a scientific paper -- all research should be open to everyone for free.

@rafaelcaricio

I guess once a country passes a certain threshold, comparisons are less meaningful.

Both of those countries just killed off a huge chunk of their populations because of corruption and greed.

@lupyuen

@acjay

>"I do know there are services that sweep cash across banks, effectively increasing insurance, with minimal added complexity."

TIL! 🙂

@LouisIngenthron

@javifields

So what exactly is a predatory journal? Is that a journal that publishes science that wealthy people don't like to hear?

I've never understood this at all. The journal should be irrelevant. It's the science that counts.