Recent content by Bran

I definitely hope to be able to ask questions about all sorts of subjects as I move along this path - as I look through the questions being posed in the forums here, I find the questions and volume of questions impressive; but I find the answers - the willingness to help that demonstrates not...

Partitioning is easier than you might think; but I remember how intimidating it was when I was first learning how to do it. I do it because I like the modular approach, and don't much like having to use a partition manager after I've already installed the OS. I'm using Kubuntu; so KDE is my...

Another really fun quiz! I got 7 / 12 ... there was one in particular that really surprised me, as I had never really associated Newton with any sense of humility, despite having read this quote from him before.

Well, I guess 1 is as good a starting point as any :-) Fun quiz - I learned from it!

I managed 6 / 12 ... you asked some very good questions!

I'm generally a fan of any free and open approach to knowledge and technology - most Linux distros seem to share this idea. I'm also always happy to encounter Linux fans (:penguin: - imagine this icon waving 'hello!' in your general direction)! The clean install is an old habit of mine, from...

I like the Marvel movies in general - I was a fan of comics growing up and am still a fan of the way they can inspire the imagination. Sci-Fi is something I enjoy for the same reason - science needs fertile imaginations, I think. To add my answer to the original question, it isn't currently...

Great thread idea! I also rely on Linux for personal use. I used to be a Windows user; but too many factors coalesced (efficiency when it comes to use of hardware resources, control over the OS, cost, business philosophy, and hubris with regards to the rights and needs of customers / users)...

My sincere condolences to those whose lives were touched by Marcus. Just from what I've read in this thread, it's clear he will be missed.

I think PopSci is part of what has confused me; and I'm still shaking my head at the fact that I haven't already taken a more disciplined approach to this interest of mine. The mathematics will be an interesting challenge for me. 20 years ago, after failing remedial algebra at the university, I...

Thank you so much for this! I looked it up in Google and got a link to a .pdf version ... it's a copy of the original, 1977 edition; but it gave me the chance to look through Weinberg's writings and get a feel for the writing. I've already got the 1993 edition in my shopping basket on Amazon and...

I want to thank everyone who has responded to my question in this thread, and helped me to understand where some of my thoughts concerning this subject were heading astray! I can say that while this discussion has shown me very clearly that I need to learn a lot more about this (the subject...

A recent discussion at the Expanding from and eventually to a singularity thread has been both interesting and informative, and it has shown me very clearly that I would benefit from a few good books, rather than the piecemeal approach I've been taking to understanding singularities and the Big...

Sherlock Holmes stories earn their place, in my opinion, as some of the best Crime Drama that can be had. I would have a hard time considering Conan Doyle's SH stories to be Sci-Fi because the technologies he employed in the stories were not themselves fictitious technologies, even if they were...

You raise a really good point here - and this is honestly an area where I find myself a bit confused. When I hear or read 'singularity,' what comes to mind is the origin of the Universe - in the General Relativity / Big Bang model, a gravitational singularity. As I understand it, this...