I had an idea for a sci-fi story based along these lines the other day — it's your typical alien war, Space-Marine kind of setting, but because humanity's technology at the start of the conflict is still comparatively primitive, and every little bit of efficiency counts, joining the space navy becomes "women's work"…

Of all the people screaming "sexism!" I wonder how many would defend a proposal for an all-male crew? I can see it now. "Oh, sending men just makes sense! It's not sexist, it's basic science and biology! Our cave-man ancestors evolved to go into space — haven't you all seen that movie with the homicidal computer and…

Eh, that doesn't seem too bad. Could have been "Grievous" or "Maul" or "Darkbad McEvilton" or something.

If true, this will be the biggest technological breakthrough of the past hundred years, unless there's some really big catches that aren't apparent yet. But we've all been stung by faster-than-light neutrinos, and Fusion has been "just around the corner" for a very long time... I'm cautiously excited, but I'll wait to…

Effectively, you have none at all...

Meh. The comic is a fun exploration of the idea, but the justifications in all these comments don't ring entirely true to me. Like, is it the Sphinx' "nature" to be a predator that preys on humans? But it's an intelligent being. To what extent can an intelligent being be totally defined by its nature, or forced by its…

... But yet, I still want my flying car.

No, there is very important new information. No dragon knows what the other dragons know until they hear it.

Yeah, I'm... stuck here too. :P I can't figure out why the statement would set off any new chain of reasoning or logic among the island's inhabitants, either in this or xkcd's version of the puzzle.

But how does the statement of the island's visitor play into this? How does a person saying "I see at least one dragon with green eyes" contribute to this chain of events? If the dragons follow your logic, they should have all turned into sparrows on their very first night on the island, since they're all perfect…

I am completely stumped, both by this and the xkcd version. In both cases, it seems that the speaker offers no new information whatsoever. We are assuming that the dragons know what green is; that each dragon already knows that all the other dragons have green eyes; but that they never communicate about each other's…

But they already know what 'green' is; each dragon already knows that every other dragon on the island has green eyes. They just, uh, never talk about it. :P

People touching that handrail would only be at risk if they had open wounds on their hand, or subsequently touched their eyes, nose, or mouth with that hand. Thoroughly washing your hands after using public transit should eliminate the risk. And you should absolutely be doing that anyway, Ebola or no.

Well... in order to infect a lot of people on the London Underground with Ebola, your unfortunate tourist would probably have to literally bleed all over them. Since Ebola does not travel through the air. Also, aside from involving disease in some way, your comment has almost literally nothing to do with the content…

Er... You don't think it's useful for us humans to study the way we think and the way our minds work? And the possible problems and errors that our thought processes may be prone to?.. I suppose you could argue these experiments are not beneficial because most people never hear about them, or ignore them if they…

Er... You don't think it's useful for us humans to study the way we think and the way our minds work? And the possible problems and errors that our thought processes may be prone to?.. I suppose you could argue these experiments are not beneficial because most people never hear about them, or ignore them if they do,…

So true. :) "Cognitive distortions are for other people. I know that I'm a rational actor who would always act in the logical way!"

Get a group of confidants to add more keys to the middle of the hallway as they pass by. Secretly film the psych students to observe their reactions. :P

A 'dip' could mean a decrease in a specific area of something. A "dip in the road" doesn't mean that the entire length of the road is now at a lower elevation; it generally means that one specific spot in the road is lower than might otherwise be expected. A "dip in the Earth's gravity" could simply mean that gravity…

io9 had an article on this play a year ago! http://io9.com/what-will-the-…