[cringethursday]

My physics professor just told the class the wildest story from when he was in grad school about building a high voltage unauthorized Tesla coil with the ability to kill a man

[cringethursday]

No I’m still not over this - this man along with two other graduate students rigged a Tesla coil and a faraday cage without a budget and the arcs of electricity that came off of it hit things in the room like exposed gas pipes. He found a thick piece of plexiglass that he sawed into smaller pieces, he found a screwdriver that he filed down to a sharp point, and he reasoned that by charging the plexiglass with a shit ton of excess electrons and striking it with the screwdriver-ice pick immediately after flipping the coil off but before the energy in the room had a chance to dissipate, they could see the physical path of the conducted electricity as it conducted through the excess electrons.

These men rigged up an empty storage closet in their lab with the faraday cage and Tesla coil and ran their little experiment. My professor ran into the room the instant the coil was turned off, grabbed the grounded screwdriver-ice pick, and stabbed the plexiglass millimeters away from the edge where he could’ve missed.

And it worked.

This man captured a god damn lightning strike in physical media. That shape is from the electricity breaking through the structure of the plexiglass. That’s literally the conduction path.

Anyway I was talking to one of the lab instructors about it and she put her head in her hands and literally groaned. “I wish John hadn’t told you that story.”

[gacorley]

Lichtenberg figures in plexiglass. Wonderful art medium. May result in the artist dying an untimely death.

[bigblissandlove1]

This is phenomenal

[hallowworld98]

Why some climate policies are more popular than others – a psychologist explains

Climate action does not just need good policy, it also needs good psychology.

[hallowworld98]

Keir Starmer’s immigration plans: research shows you don’t beat the far right by becoming them

In a speech to launch his tough new immigration plans, the prime minister parroted the right’s rhetoric.

[hallowworld98]

To fend off Reform, mainstream parties must address the tangible decline of British towns

This is not a passing trend but a response to long-term institutional failures.

[hallowworld98]

It’s a day late but it honour of Star Wars Day

Some ‘Star Wars’ stories have already become reality

There are elements of these ancient, distant George Lucas stories that might seem like science fiction but are, in fact, science reality.

[blackkatmagic]

Hi! I think you've mentioned finding canon!Obi-Wan a fascinating character and that a lot of people miss a lot of stuff about him, can you expand on what your favourite parts of his character are or what you like to explore in him?

Tbh 'fascinating' is probably vastly overstating things - he's never going to be my favorite, but I like the canon version of him a lot more than the fanon version that's so common. I also definitely think people...mh. Flanderize isn't quite the right word, since it's not just his canon traits that get exaggerated, but. woobified, basically. Fandom very clearly tries to fit him into a certain mold, and I just personally don't think it really fits.

To me, Obi-Wan is sharp and fairly aggressive once he's encountered something/someone in his way. He's stubborn and a bastard and competitive, and he fits in just as well with Bane and the rest of the bounty hunters in that arc as he does with the other members of the Jedi Council. He's also self-assured and humble but not in any way shy or retiring. He can be very grumpy when things don't go his way, and he's snarky, almost cutting, even with allies. He's ruthless when it's necessary, and overprotective of the people around him, and he has a tendency to be morose and pessimistic when things go wrong, though he always keeps going anyway. He thinks he knows how people are going to act and can be too set in his beliefs about others, and he's kind but he's not exactly gentle.

Just - I think he's so much more interesting than a lot of fandom gives him credit for. And I am aware that fandom tends to make complex characters more one-dimensional, but god, Obi-Wan gets it so bad.

Also, if I hear one more person call him a twink I'm going to end up on the news.

[grandfather-paradoxx]

I think Obi-Wan’s ruthlessness is one of my favorite things about him. And one of the things that is most overlooked, at least by the fic writers that I’ve come across. What’s that Katherine Applegate quote?

People don't understand the word ruthless. They think it means "mean." It's not about being mean. It's about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end. It's about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it.

I think in a lot of ways, Obi-Wan is this kind of ruthless. Especially, but not limited to, TCW. He commits a war crime on Christophosis because it’s the most efficient way to achieve his goal*. He bisects Maul as a padawan after calming down and cuts Anakin into four pieces before walking away while he burned**. Everything about the whole Rako Hardeen arc - on assignment he didn’t let anything get in his way, including witnessing the murder of people just doing their jobs***. Just, so many examples.

He cares - about his fellow Jedi, the men he serves with and leads as General, civilians. He’s Light with a capital L. But he lets very little get in the way of achieving his goals.

Whether this ability to be ruthless is a matter of singular focus or having mastered Jedi non-attachment, I’m not sure. But I’ve seen compilations of gifs from both the movies and show where he’s almost causally dispatching unimportant enemies with most of his focus ahead to where he’s going, on getting to whomever he’s hunting, on whatever his goal is. There’s no hate in the action. It’s almost - but not quite - apathetic; these [droids or whatever] are in his way, he needs them to be out of his way to reach his objective, so he removes them (lethally).

Like, we’ve all talked about that scene with Vader, but there’s been times where Obi-Wan moves through an area like the Terminator. Unmovable focus. Unstoppable force.

Tangentially related; I laugh whenever fic describes his fighting style as graceful or full of artful katas or whathaveyou. This man is efficient and he’s well trained but given half a chance he’ll fight like a damned brawler. It’s always weird to compare the (exhaustingly long) choreographed fight scene with Anakin at the end of RotS with those times he decides to just kick his opponent in the gut. Out-of-universe, it’s a difference in directors and vision and choreography. In universe though? When he’s not fighting other lightsaber wielders, he seems to err on a far more utilitarian, whatever works philosophy of battle.

(And yeah, the man is not a twink. Let’s just toss that idea into the sun, mmkay?)

* I’m aware SW doesn’t have Geneva Conventions but false surrender makes all future surrenders impossible, so I can’t see perfidy not being outlawed with the number of planetary, interplanetary, and galactic wars in SW history

** Admittedly, he felt bad about that last one

*** I have a hard time calling prison guards innocent, even in a kids show. Sue me

[hallowworld98]

The problem with saying Obi-Wan’s ruthless though is that while being mean isn’t the point, ruthlessness is still characterised by cruelty. Every single definition of the word has a variation of lacking empathy and compassion and just not caring about the pain you cause. And the thing about Obi-Wan is that he never not cares.

We’ve seen him show compassion to his enemies plenty of times and even with the most ‘ruthless’ decision he ever made (leaving Anakin to die) it’s obvious that hated himself for it and the trauma haunted him for a decade. Plus, taking Applegate’s quote on being ruthless into account, that wasn’t even a case of completing a goal, but abandoning it. Otherwise Obi-Wan would have stayed to make absolutely sure Anakin died or he would have outright killed him, but instead his love for Anakin meant he just couldn’t go through with it even if that meant there was the tiniest chance Anakin would live and continue on as a Sith.

Obi-Wan is relentless when pursuing his goals and is absolutely willing to make hard decisions, but the very fact he cares precludes ruthlessness. And personally it’s that which I find makes Obi-Wan an interesting character.

[hallowworld98]

Men’s concerns are real but backlash is not inevitable – the new rules guiding feminism

Recognising that some men feel left behind doesn’t mean giving in to misogynists.

[hallowworld98]

The UK’s food system is broken. A green new deal for agriculture could be revolutionary

A transition from animal proteins to more plant products could help with the food crisis while offering farmers a more sustainable income.

[hallowworld98]

Only 6% of gen Z actually favour dictatorship – not half, as some reports would have you believe

Gen Z don’t hate democracy, they have a problem with the way it is being delivered.

If we listen to how gen Z really feel about democracy they might stop telling us they prefer authoritarianism

Young people want to get involved with politics – but they’re held back by a vast sense of distrust.

[hallowworld98]

America’s “First Car-Free Neighborhood” Is Going Pretty Good, Actually?

Since breaking ground in 2021, Culdesac Tempe has had its share of detractors and skeptics. But none of them live there.

[hallowworld98]

Is Elon Musk taking over the US government? Here’s how ‘state capture’ works – and why we should be concerned

Elon Musk has been accused of attempting a coup or hostile takeover of the US government. His actions could better be described as a form of

[hallowworld98]

Ethiopia's Utopian Experiment in Gender Equality

Awra Amba, a picturesque village surrounded by rolling verdant hills, is a vision of a world of equal work.

[hallowworld98]

Post from Robert Reich

In light of Trump II’s first 18 days of mayhem — including his and Musk’s coup against our system of government — many are asking: “What can

[hallowworld98]

AI is bad for the environment, and the problem is bigger than energy consumption

When asked to suggest solutions for environmental challenges, chatbots reflected biases. This could have harmful effects on how we understan

[quanta-44]

Sorry to whoever actually believes that musk being autistic excuses him doing fascist salutes. Can confirm as an autistic person that I do not, and have not ever felt the desire to be a nazi. Leave the autistic community out of your rubbish please.

[actslikeacat]

Anyone who excuses Elon’s actions and beliefs because he is autistic

FUCK YOU!!!

You are villifying all autistic people by doing this.

Elon isnt a shitty person because he is autistic. He is just autistic AND a shitty person

And when I say shitty person I mean he is a misogynistic transphobic homophobic racist, NAZI

FUCK ELON MUSK AND HIS SUPPORTERS!!!

[magess]

These men just stole the personal information of everyone in America AND control the Treasury. Link to article.

Akash Bobba

Edward Coristine

Luke Farritor

Gautier Cole Killian

Gavin Kliger

Ethan Shaotran

Spread their names!