I tip my hat to them. We need some boldness to move forward.

Algorithms aren't rituals, they are more concrete.

I personally am not, but only because I have a secondary thing I have to devote a lot of time to.

China produces so much steel that it is often accused of dumping.

China produces so much steel that even it itself can not consume it all. Yes, Chinese steel output is going UP with vigor despite steel mills being closed left and right!

India is extremely protectionist with steel, but even it, with its own construction boom going on, gets overflown with semi-legally imported Chinese steel.

Steel production in China is heavily state subsidized, its a relic of old communist policies focused on heavy industry growth.

Seems bubbly.

"non-carbon based life"

I guess isn't silicon the only other that bonds four ways? Not a chemist but I feel that 4 bonds are a big thing.

This might be interesting:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothetical_types_of_biochemi...

I don't think it is just the valency but also that the strength of the bonds it forms with many other elements fall into a 'goldilocks' range.

Between them, carbon and water have a bunch of unique properties. AFAIK, its hard to come up with any other suite of materials offering the same prospects for complexity, at any temperature.

I had a debate about this with a friend - is there a chemical cycle using silicon that could work like respiration does for organic life? Silicon dioxide is, well, glass...

Is breathing a requirement for "life"?

Are you referring to it being a solid? Silicon dioxide would be a gas at some temperature - likewise CO2 is solid below -78.5c. Extraterrestrial life doesn't have to be anywhere near the same temperatures as us.

Also I don't see why you couldn't have an organism that "breathes" solid material.

I researched this topic for a while, and I came to conclusion that Si-based life is nearly impossible for several reasons.

> Silicon dioxide melting point: 1710 °C

No complex chemistry can survive these temperatures. SiO2 is only soluble in HCl and HF, which are very reactive, so no solubility either.

> Also I don't see why you couldn't have an organism that "breathes" solid material.

All of known biological chemistry relies on some sort of solubility for reagents. I don't think there's any known organism that can get rid of solid waste from the entire volume of the organism.

You could react silicon with fluoride instead of oxygen. Silicon tetrafluoride melts at −90 °C (and boils at -86).

You can also have chlorine as your oxidizer and make Silicon tetrachloride which melts at −68.74 °C and boils at 57.65 °C, that temperature range is perfect.

What else will change by having a chlorine instead of oxygen atmosphere?

There is a documentary from BBC about the history of philosophy of happiness that was on YouTube, in the documentary it is mentioned that the Greek Philosphers had discussed advertising as lowering our happiness in order to replace the hole with their product. I think it was epicurus but I am not certain. the narrator is Alain de Botton

Well if you are looking at large risky breakthrough, Maybe AI to control fusion plasma? Or maybe something to help promising ideas in carbon capture?

Notepad++

It is minimal and I think Im not supposed to use it.

Well they had a vote already, so then with a do over precedent, do officials just keep asking for do overs until they get the desired results? It's messy.

If the "people" do not "accept" the result of the previous vote, but are more accepting of the results of the new vote, there's nothing wrong with it. That's kind of how democracy works. It may feel wrong, but if the people's opinion change, then so can the result

And if the second vote fails, do you have a third and a fourth vote? Until the outcome is desired?

I think it is more important that the second vote could be more definitive. Hopefully it would split more than 2% one way or the other this time. And indeed, if it once again goes leave, then I think it's reasonable for the UK to leave basically right away, no plan or anything. It's only right

if you agreed to get ice-cream next year, then become lactose-intolerant, do you refuse to reconsider?

Not the same issue really.

Political stunts can cause damage. I call it a stunt because it was never meant to pass, but it did...