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Questions related to Astrology
Sumit Bhowmick
Sumit Bhowmick
  • asked a question related to Astrology
How Octo-Alloy is stabilized and made into ornaments?
Question
3 answers
  • Oct 30, 2019
Octo-Alloy, also called Ashtadhatu, is a traditional alloy to produce religious idols, ornaments and sculptures in indian subcontinent. My question regarding the alloy is
  • According to wikipedia,( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ashtadhatu ), the alloy consists of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin, iron and antimony or mercury . Does this alloy consisting of so many dissimilar metals undergo phase separation during casting? Are there any research papers available about microstructure of this alloy, or about phase separation prevention of this alloy?
  • Again, some ornaments, especially bangles made of this alloy are made in forms of two interwinning wires of different color. Which metals are incorporated into which wire?
  • Where can I get credible Archeometallurgical and contemporary methods of casting (temperature, composition, time)and metalworking ( embossing, scribing) of this alloy? Was this work of a jeweler, a sculptor or a metallurgist?
  • Is there any possibility that the alloy is a high-entropy alloy? Have there been any research on molecular dynamics simulation of high entropy alloy of these particular alloying elements? I have not found any in interatomic potential repository
  • Had there been any research on MEDICAL (NOT ASTROLOGICAL) benefit of using octo-alloy( more specifically its self-disinfecting capability and heavy metal poisoning hazard)?
Relevant answer
  • Nov 4, 2019
Answer
You have raised a very attractive querry.You may get clarification and understanding on some points raised in your querry by approaching prof b s murty, director iit hyderabad. He has a book on high entropy alloys and is an ex-student of eminent metallurgist&material scientist Prof.S Ranganathan of iisc bangalore.
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Fazleh Mahomed
Fazleh Mahomed
  • asked a question related to Astrology
Genetic testing offered by the NHS: Pros and Cons?
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1 answer
  • Mar 21, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47013914
So, what are the Pros and Cons?
Do you want to know if you will get an un-treatable disease in the future? Is that healthy for you?
What does the government want to do with your data?
If the government makes a huge discovery on your data, will they share the profits with you?
Risk of getting a disease is often modified by environmental factors- how reliable will these predictions be? will this all just be another level of Astrology?
By limiting this test to those that can pay, is there not already a bias to the higher classes of society?
What is your opinion?
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  • Mar 21, 2019
Answer
The whole genetics field is opening up.
There needs to be more education of the public about their rights.
And there needs to be a government panel to assess genetic issues, especially the ethical issues. And this needs to have representation from across society
Regulation and monitoring is lagging behind scientific progress
https://www.google.com/search?q=south+korea+gene+editing&oq=south+korea+gene+editing&aqs=chrome..69i57.12055j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
It is a dangerous state of affairs
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Karl Pfeifer
Karl Pfeifer
  • asked a question related to Astrology
Do Erdös numbers show anything of significance?
Question
16 answers
  • Nov 23, 2018
To me, an Erdös number seems like a harmless piece of trivia, akin to having the same astrological sign as some celebrity or sleeping in the same hotel room that a famous person had once slept in. I realize that a network of linked Erdös numbers may have interesting topological properties, but other than that, do they show anything of general significance?
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  • Nov 24, 2018
Answer
If E(x) represents Erdős number, then
E(x): H→R
is a mapping, where H is the set of all human beings, and N is the set of nonnegative integers.
H is an increasing variable set with time.
The solution of E(x)=0 has a solution x ∈ K where K is the set of all humans who are not co-authors with Erdős and not any co-author of any co-author of Erdős up to any order!
K is a nonempty set almost all elements in H are in K except a very few.
E(x)=1 has a few numbers of solutions, that is x∈C, where C is the set of co-authors of Erdős and the cardinal number of C is 511.
Now I raise the following question:
Assume that r >1 a positive integer. Is E(x) = r solvable?
In other words Is E(x) onto?
Another important question: What is E(Erdős)?
If the answer is E(Erdős) = 0 because Erdős is not a co-author of himself.
But on the other hand: Erdős is a co-author with some Erdős co-authors, and then E(Erdős) is not zero !
Is it a paradox like that of Russell's paradox?
Best wishes
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Al Amin bin Mohamed Sultan
Al Amin bin Mohamed Sultan
  • asked a question related to Astrology
Why we need to convert angles to radian before calculating for cartesian coordinates?
Question
5 answers
  • Oct 3, 2017
In the calculation to change the latitude and longitude to Cartesian (x,y,z) the first step is converting latitude and longitude to Radian. Anyone know why we have to do this and not just use the angles of longitude and latitude?
This is the instruction that i got from one of the reference:
"All latitude and longitude data must be converted into radians. If the coordinates are in degrees.minutes.seconds format, they must first be converted into decimal format. Then convert each decimal latitude and longitude into radians by multiplying each one by PI/180"
Please share if you know why we have to convert the data to rad?
Relevant answer
  • Oct 4, 2017
Answer
The sin and cos functions usually take angles expressed in radians as input.  Although this is merely a convention, its probably a good one because many problems involving angles express those angles most naturally in radians.
Of course, there are many exceptions as well.  The MATLAB programming language provides functions sind and cosd that behave exactly like sin and cos but take their inputs in degrees.  Apparently the developers of MATLAB believe that angles expressed in degrees come up often enough to justify providing the sind and cosd functions.
The bottom line is that, unless your programming language provides functions like sind and cosd, you will have to convert degrees to radians prior to applying the sin and cos functions.
The link below is a series of short videos that explore the relationship between radians and degrees and beyond.
https://www.brightstorm.com/math/trigonometry/trigonometric-functions/radian-measure-of-angles/
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Anup Kumar Bandyopadhyay
Anup Kumar Bandyopadhyay
  • asked a question related to Astrology
How many of us believe in astrology?
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44 answers
  • May 8, 2017
After seeing so many questions related to astrology in RG I would like to know how many of us believe in it?
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  • May 10, 2017
Answer
Most people seem to think there is something in astrology although they would not consciously let it influence their decisions. It is nonsense to say, “I believe in it,” because belief is something you do when you have no direct experience. Astrology is something that requires experience and hands-on work to see whether it conveys any meaning or relevance.
http://horoscopicastrologyblog.com/2008/12/11/31-percent-of-americans-believe-in-astrology/
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Anthony G Gordon
Anthony G Gordon
  • asked a question related to Astrology
Do hallucinations have any meaning?
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51 answers
  • Oct 28, 2016
Some famous non-psychotic people have found meaning in and been inspired by their hallucinations. Many others in the past were convinced that devils or spirits had taken over their minds.  Nowadays, we regard these as malfunctions in the brain or mind, and therefore unlikely to have meaningful content.  However, there is an influential movement which wants to revert to the pre-scientific situation, where the person's interpretation of their hallucinations is regarded as valid.  This can only result in some with distressing hallucinations presenting to exorcists, religious representatives or terrorist organizations rather than going to or being sent to psychiatrists.  Medical treatment of psychosis is far from perfect, but still much better than no treatment or unproven or dubious alternatives.
See here the first lines from an article by John Read in The Conversation 0ct 21 2016: Hearing voices that other people can’t is a meaningful experience. Like dreams, they can usually be understood in terms of one’s life experiences.  
So, what is the evidence that, for example, auditory hallucinations during fevers or after taking drugs have any meaning?  Hopefully, people will not be using the Astrologers' Gambit, ie that their vague generalised predictions are valid and true since undoubtedly many clients are convinced such predictions are accurate and derive comfort and reassurance from them.
Relevant answer
  • Nov 2, 2016
Answer
Since meaning is a fuzzy concept, the question of whether hallucinations have meaning will yield a fuzzy answer.  Under the "medical model" of mental illness, historically it was believed that psychosis was the result of brain chemistry, which one could argue, has no intrinsic meaning. In fact, the general opinion of psychiatrists until recently has been to treat hallucinations as meaningless abnormalities of the brain.  An anecdotal observation might be helpful...
Mark Ragins is a psychiatrist who went to medical school in the days when the experts warned students about inviting patients to talk about their auditory hallucinations, with the explanation that talking about them would “feed into them and make them worse.” “I was taught that the psychoanalysts wasted a lot of time trying to connect to people with psychosis and find meaning in their psychosis,” he said. “I was taught that there is no meaning. All we needed to know was enough to prescribe medications and assess if the meds worked.”
But, in the course of his career, he began listening to reports of several promising developments for the treatment of psychosis: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis, dialogic therapy, and voice hearers. But he knew that none of them were used often.
“Why?” he asks rhetorically. “I think one reason is that we’d have to actually talk to people in depth about their individual psychotic experiences, and we’re unable, or simply refuse, to do that. Think about it for a minute. How can we help people develop more positive ways of thinking about and interacting with their voices without talking in detail about how they think about and relate to their voices now?”
Bottom Line: Dr. Ragins thinks it is counterproductive to label someone’s compelling reality meaningless. The better we understand and accept a voice hearer’s reality, the more we can eliminate the barriers, so those patients can get help. To judge their experience as meaningless can be stigmatizing and disempowering, and may close a path to recovery.
At a larger level, one can draw a comparison between dreams and hallucinations since both are odd realistic manifestations of the brain and consciousness. It is clear that meaning can be extracted from dreams, sometimes deep meaning. Should we assume that hallucinations should be wildly different? I think not. This might be made more clear by looking in the value of Hearing Voices Network.  Again, an anecdote.
Eleanor Longden started hearing voices that became progressively worse, even menacing. Her life became a living nightmare as the voices became not only her tormentors, but her only companions.
She was hospitalized for three months and prescribed psychotropics, but they did little good. She felt “discarded by the mental health system” that didn’t know how to help her. She also began to self-harm, became suicidal, and was hospitalized.
A breakthrough came when she worked with a new psychiatrist who suggested Hearing Voices Network (HVN), a form of group therapy. Together, the members searched for meaning in their voices. Eventually she regarded the voices as entities tied to abuse she suffered as a child.
She found this supportive group format helpful. She started treating the voices with respect and viewing their messages as metaphorical. This allowed her to set boundaries for them and gain significant control over them. Over three years, she was able to reduce, then eliminate, medication. The voices sometimes reappear, when stress hits, but she is in control of them. She believes her voices are meaningful, so they are.
Bottom Line: Regardless of your beliefs about voices, treating them with respect as if they were real may dramatically decrease their impact. 
Another... Rachel hears thirteen different voices, some angry and violent, some scared, others mischievous. After joining a Hearing Voices Network group, she found ways to cope with the voices and no longer feels terrorized by them. Now she chooses whether she listens to them and how she responds if she does.
Some of the voices are now much more helpful, serving as a window into her feelings, letting her know what problems in her life need to be addressed.
In my opinion, in the final analysis, the individual experiencing voices is the arbiter that must define whether hallucinations have meaning or not.  If they feel there is meaning, then it seems appropriate to engage the individual and pursue that vector to see where it goes, since, if for nothing else, self-determination is widely recognized as a fundamental requirement for mental health recovery (see various SAMHSA material). 
Since some people find meaning in their hallucinations, then I think the answer to your question is, "Yes, there can be meaning in hallucinations, just as their can be meaning in any human thought and activity." Meaning is self-created.
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Max Emmanuel
Max Emmanuel
  • asked a question related to Astrology
Why don't we power Spacecrafts using electromagnetic pulses from an in Space source?
Question
5 answers
  • May 4, 2016
Since we can send electromagnetic pulses from Earth to Spacecrafts out of the solar system and induce an electric current in their communication circuitry. Why can't we send more powerful pulses to induce more power to enable the  working of the spacecraft besides communication.
How feasible is my proposal?
Relevant answer
  • May 4, 2016
Answer
Max,
Beamed power is an old old idea.
Do you not remember the SPSS of the 70s? (I guess not...)
The plan to harvest solar power in high orbit, convert it to microwaves, and then beam those microwaves back to the Earth, was interesting.
And the idea was revived by Bob Forward's Starwisp proposal in the 80s.
There's nothing wrong with it except for:
a) The need for large emitters to reduce diffraction spread
b) The need for low-mass and efficient absorbers/converters (optical? microwave?)
It's an old trope to install laser arrays on Mercury and power solar sails to the nearby stars.
Perfectly doable - but to justify it you need deep solar missions - and I suggest that you look at the problem of providing even 1kW of power at Jupiter orbit from the Earth.
(calculate the beam spread for a plausible transmitter, and see how large your 'telescope/laser' needs to be)
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James R. Hofmann
James R. Hofmann
  • asked a question related to Astrology
Does anyone have any knowledge on planetary order in 1500 astrology and astronomy?
Question
9 answers
  • Jul 5, 2014
 In her book, Influences: Art, Optics, and Astrology in the Italian Renaissance, Mary Quinlan–McGrath uses as one of her examples the Astrological Vault of the Sala dei Pontefici. The original version was commissioned by Leo X and apparently designed by Raphael just prior to his death in 1520. With the Sun located centrally for astrological reasons, the ordering of the remaining celestial bodies is Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Does anyone know of evidence as to how the sequence for Mercury and Venus was established in this case? The ordering of the planets with respect to their distance from Earth was under considerable discussion at this time.
 
 
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  • Jul 11, 2014
Answer
The order of the planets arises from knowledge of their sidereal periods computed by the ancient Babylonians.  They clearly recognized that closer objects closer moved faster while objects further away moved slower.  The initial order of increasing sidereal periods: Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn; the Sun was later placed in the middle of the listing. This order was later adopted by the Greeks, which was acquired, in translation, by Renaissance astronomers.
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