Intelligent life.

And, people apparently have stopped appreciating literature as art.

Some languages have 'gendered' words to describe the exact same thing. For example, the following picture shows waves of the ocean:
1757723228512.png

Just doing a Google image search produces a variety of pictures, all describing ocean waves.

Did you guys know that the native Hawaiian language, in spite of having only 12 letters that are borrowed from the English alphabet, has distinct names for every variety of those waves? And those names are not really translatable. Just because the waves in Hawaii are rather different than what you'd see elsewhere on this planet.

By contrast, the Japanese word 'Tsunami' is well known throughout the world, everybody understands what it means.

But beyond that, let's focus on the picture from Geographic Book.

In English, there's basically only one word for it: Storm.

In Russian, there's at least two words to describe the exact same thing:
  • шторм (Male-gendered)
  • буря (Female-gendered)
Both of those words are sometimes used to describe land-based inclement weather, as well.

My point is, it's pretty obvious why there's be a confusion about the gender of one of the characters in the book, and why it's so damn difficult to translate a book properly. A book may be beautifully written in the original language, but a translation may come off as pretty awkward in the target language.
 
blackbird9 said:
I generally try to stay away from anything political, but this seems particularly sad. How does it make any sense to cut your science research base, especially in an area that you have a world lead in, and such a long history of incredible discoveries. It's pretty sad. I hope posting this doesn't upset anyone!:-)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spw7nv79L5o
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Y'know, I'd suggest being careful with posts like this. YT is not exactly a regulated news outlet, and it is in fact Wild West. I sit in US, and I did a bit of Googling on the topic of NASA, and I discovered (via US-based traditional news outlets like USA Today, a newspaper that should be well-known even outside of US) that NASA's budget is getting a significant cut, to the tune of 25% for FY 2026.

It very well can feel like end of NASA if you read the list of programs and missions that are getting cut. It very well can feel like a hopeless, Kafkaesque morass, with insane news coming and leaving people wondering what's next, and if there's any hope for sanity on this planet. I personally think that something this sensational merits digging a bit deeper, and looking at things with a level head. Off-the-cuff, superficial conclusions (that betray a propensity to jump the gun, and are not based on any solid information) are the hallmark of many Youtubers. Even Youtube admins themselves are asking people to think before they post.
 
Yeah, maybe it looks pretty apocalyptic for someone watching it from the UK. And I agree there is always the clickbait factor, although that channel is usually one of the more respected ones, in fact that is what make me sit up and take notice, their content is usually extremely good, not like most of the other sensationalists, it's not like 'secureteam10' or 'thirdphaseofmoon'. I guess it's always hard to know all the real details when seeing these kinds of reports from another country. It will be pretty sad if it's all true, of course. But fair enough, some caution is required. I thought it was interesting, anyway. I guess even with some cuts, it's not actually the 'end' of NASA.
 
blackbird9 said:
Yeah, maybe it looks pretty apocalyptic for someone watching it from the UK. And I agree there is always the clickbait factor, although that channel is usually one of the more respected ones, in fact that is what make me sit up and take notice, their content is usually extremely good, not like most of the other sensationalists, it's not like 'secureteam10' or 'thirdphaseofmoon'. I guess it's always hard to know all the real details when seeing these kinds of reports from another country. It will be pretty sad if it's all true, of course. But fair enough, some caution is required. I thought it was interesting, anyway. I guess even with some cuts, it's not actually the 'end' of NASA.
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Same things can be said about USGS, and a lot of other things that Uncle Sam pays for. Even stuff of interest to me (volcano eruptions in Hawaii) is facing budget cuts for FY 2026. Yeah, I do have concerns that the webcams that I watch (see screenshots on my profile page they are all from USGS-operated cams installed around an active volcano), there might not be enough money in the FY 2026 budget to fund the maintenance - somebody has to make sure the cams don't burn down, or get dismantled. Why exactly? For most of the public, the content is just entertainment, y'know.
 
That's a shame, it's not like doing geology is super-expensive. At least not terrestrial geology! :) It just seems to me that cutting back on science is a mistake, it's one of the foundations of western civilisation. Cut back on tiktok, sure, I don't mind missing a few videos of kids dancing around with cardboard boxes over their heads. 😁
 
blackbird9 said:
That's a shame, it's not like doing geology is super-expensive. At least not terrestrial geology! :) It just seems to me that cutting back on science is a mistake, it's one of the foundations of western civilisation. Cut back on tiktok, sure, I don't mind missing a few videos of kids dancing around with cardboard boxes over their heads. 😁
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Did you know that Uncle Sam actually tried to bomb the bejeezus out of Kilauea in late 1950s, only to discover that not even carpet bombing can stop those eruptions from flowing whereever they choose to go, and that it's easier to tell people to move out of the way when lava comes too close for comfort? Kilauea ate Uncle Sam's bombs and continued on like it didn't even happen. Dropping bombs ain't free, so I'd say that was a pretty expensive lesson for the almighty American Army to learn.

BTW, when I was a kid, I did dance around with proverbial cardboardboxes over my head - I do have memories of constructing masks out of cardboard kits that were popular in 1980s. You cut out the panels, glue the flaps together, and have a fairly big mask. Kits included neat stuff like dragons, battle helmets (the kind worn in ancient times),and more. I had something similar to this dragon at one time:
1758214557725.png
 
astyle said:
For most of the public, the content is just entertainment, y'know.
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Untill that content comes for a visit. Then they call for state help... wait a second, will you? That money was needed elsewhere, but what for? </irony>

The fact is that Hawaii is a chain of islands that get smaller with time, and the reason is that, next to erosion, there are gigantic landslides going down all the way to the ocean floor. When the next one happens you can, if you live near the coast of the Pacific with direct line of wave to Hawaii, simply bend over, take your head between your knees, and kiss your sorry a$$ goodbye. It's a matter of when, not If. It would be really good to know more of the "when", but that costs money and then there is the question what to do with the answer. There is more expenses waiting, and it might sound bad in the news.

What is interesting about cutting NASA, just check who is willing to fill the gap with a private company. For a little money, surely. Maybe more than a little.
 
Crivens said:
The fact is that Hawaii is a chain of islands that get smaller with time,
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Population, yes. Land area, no. Those eruptions do add land area. One year, I visited the Isaac Hale black sand beach in Puna area. Came back next year. The beach was sticking out into the ocean a good 20-30 meters further than before, and there were about 20-30 more acres of it. All thanks to the 2018 eruption. Flabbergasting, I know, but that's reality. Those hot lava flows are what amounts to the 'Gigantic land slides', Crivens . That's how Hawaii grows. Not to mention there's an underwater volcano right next door, that should show up above the water sometime in the next 100 years.

Here's your gigantic land slide, happending at the same time as me posting this edit:
1758219602952.png
 
Crivens said:
astyle I don't think you got that right. These happen, and they are huge.
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Yeah, your landslide happened like, over a million years ago, according to the link you gave me. Yeah, the crater next to Maui collapsed. Yeah, that happens.

My info is much more recent, and is for a slightly different location. Maybe try to zoom out and look at the whole chain? We both have correct info, and our info has limitations. Just because you were right about something, that does NOT make my info any less correct. I was merely looking at a different spot on the volcanic chain.

BTW, I was referring to this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_lower_Puna_eruption... and yes, I was there in person to see the before and after scenes.
 
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