Thanks, Liu Xianping. You made my day.

Woah. Polyamory is illegal?

It is an interesting thing to think about. I've often wondered if some of the absolutely rare individuals we call "geniuses" were mostly de novo mutants of some kind or other.

I think you are misunderstanding me. Please just google de novo mutation. All I was half-jokingly alluding to was the possibility that Einstein had a first generation or de novo mutation. I don't think that is the case really. Obviously, I have no idea. I was merely speculating that he may be one of a kind in…

Lol. I hope you are just kidding. It's a legit classification of mutation. All it means is that it just happened for the first time in this individual.

look up the legal definition.

Of course. Just don't be harassing about it.

Personally, I advocate nudism as a part of the cause of liberalism. It always amazes me the taboo and superstition that still surrounds the human body to this day. Freedom of the individual applies to how one wishes to dress or not dress doesn't it? People should have control over their own bodies as long as they…

Seeing someone naked does not constitute that person harassing you. Now if the person starts to harass you, then that person is harassing you. And of course, someones motive for wearing or not wearing an item of clothing should be no business but their own. If a guy wants to be naked because he thinks it's awesome…

If the parents are choosing from a set of possible embryos derived from their own genetic material (like in Gattaca), it will be similar enough to natural birth. These will probably be the tentative first steps. Many of the new genes will offer things like disease immunity, cancer prevention, more efficient…

Perhaps he meant to say that Einstein is a de novo mutant, a first generation mutant.

It's like asking why an article about being a tailor doesn't bring up sweatshop labor.

Totally with you on the music being used during vacuum scenes. Outer space scenes are often great opportunities to explore different kinds of musical soundscapes. Also, to me the lack of sound provides a peculiar tension of its own. It's almost like holding your breath. This was also one of my favorite things…

I mostly agree (though ending slavery was really the opposite of expedient at the time). I really do hope they show a more balanced view. I'm definitely not interested in propaganda pieces, no matter what light they cast him in.

I still maintain that Lincoln was an abolitionist, but I concede that he definitely was not always forthright about it. The statements were made during the Civil War because Union soldiers didn't want to hear that they were dying in droves due to a crusade against slavery. This was the most important time to…

Actually, a careful study of Lincoln's statements and writings reveals that he did have a passion for emancipation that he was unfortunately obliged to mask with cold pragmatism because of the political climate of the time. To justify civil war as a moral crusade against slavery would have been a very unpopular idea.…

Lol. I know all this "condescendingly referring to white men all the time by their race" just never stops, does it? Damn it if it isn't always white this and white that, everywhere I go. (sarcasm) I don't mind one bit being of the pale-skinned variety, but I can see that you are struggling with some guilt issues. …

The problem with this statement is the term "beliefs". I have a belief that the earth is spherical, and that it rotates on its axis. This belief is perfectly admissible in politics, because it is based on evidence.

This person clearly picks his or her sources very carefully in order to confirm biases.

I think that children's rights should be of the highest priority, ethically speaking. The tendency to view offspring as property in a society where this is accepted practice, seems to me very likely. On the other hand, I don't see that this would become a mainstream practice unless this method was somehow shown to…