This leads (mostly religious) people to say “science is just another form of religion — I have faith in god, you have faith in science,” and that is ridiculously incorrect.

No, faith (in this context) is believing in something that *by definition* is not observable, and will *never* be observable. Science does not take a wild guess in the absence of any evidence and then say, “Well that’s it, we’re done here.”

Posted in response to another comment, but fits here as well: “Confidence,” would be a better word than “faith.” It’s not the same kind of faith religious people have in their deity. If Mark Watney calculated something and it didn’t turn out, he’d accept that his calculations were wrong, or something he didn’t know…

“Confidence,” would be a better word to use than “faith.” It’s not the same kind of faith religious people have in their deity. If Mark Watney calculated something and it didn’t turn out, he’d accept that his calculations were wrong, or something he didn’t know about happened, and roll with it. A religious person can…

I've tried consciously to press with my glutes/hamstrings, with no change. Any advice welcome.

Not sure how long Ian has been around, but the Ian Secure knot looks identical to the knot I learned from the Klutz Book of Knots back in the 80s. I've been using it on everything since. It's particularly useful on boat shoes. Even those leather laces will hold with it.

On my recumbent trike, I find exactly the opposite issue: it stresses my quads, and leaves my glutes un-worked.

51 days to digest trans fats? Citation needed.

As far as I’ve read (not extensively) multiple organizations all make recommendations and come to a consensus. If there is a measurable risk factor, it’s highly likely that the CDC is measuring it and publishes it. For example, I know they study — and publish — the effectiveness of the flu vaccine every year. It’s…

Well, the thing is, if a punch from Iron Man hurt, it would be really hard to fight him, even if there were little/no damage.

Serious question: I don’t get the grimace here. Isn’t she supposed to be fairly indestructible? I would imagine getting shot or punched by Iron Man would hurt a lot worse, no?

Seems likely that being the first doctor to successfully separate conjoined twins at the head shows two things equally: skilled hands and brass balls. Smarts might be optional (depending on whether some critical insight was required before the operation could be performed successfully).

Some diseases are most harmful/deadly in newborns, so the sooner they get the vaccine, the safer they are. When repeat vaccines are required, full immunity isn’t achieved until the course is complete, so again, time is of the essence.

Faster than 80% of portable PCs, not 80% faster than other portable PCs.

It’s amazing how a bad script/director/??? can make otherwise capable actors look like hacks.

Ha, when I first looked it was just a still and looked like Molly Ringwald. Not sure why it didn’t load as an animation then, but in any case, still an upvote for Alison Pill.

It’s the catastrophic extension of what he was describing earlier.

Your criticism would make so much more sense if five seconds later the plastic didn’t collapse onto him, indicating a distinct lack of, wait, oxygen? No, air.

Upvote for Molly Ringwald, in any case.

Here’s the thing: I can accept the force, because the movie (Obi-Wan) pretty much says, “there’s this thing called the force, and it’s magic.” I can accept that no storm trooper can shoot for crap because that’s the way they’re presented. But if a character says something that is obviously false, like “It sure is cold…