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π American cover-up of Japanese war crimes
The occupying United States government undertook the selective cover-up of some Japanese war crimes after the end of World War II in Asia, granting political immunity to military personnel who had engaged in human experimentation and other crimes against humanity, predominantly in mainland China. The pardon of Japanese war criminals, among whom were Unit 731's commanding officers General ShirΕ Ishii and General Masaji Kitano, was overseen by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur in September 1945. While a series of war tribunals and trials was organized, many of the high-ranking officials and doctors who devised and respectively performed the experiments were pardoned and never brought to justice due to the US government both classifying incriminating evidence, as well as blocking the prosecution access to key witnesses. As many as 12,000 people, most of them Chinese, died in Unit 731 alone and many more died in other facilities, such as Unit 100 and in field experiments throughout Manchuria.
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- "American cover-up of Japanese war crimes" | 2026-03-21 | 42 Upvotes 10 Comments
π Binaural beats
In acoustics, a beat is an interference pattern between two sounds of slightly different frequencies, perceived as a periodic variation in volume whose rate is the difference of the two frequencies.
With tuning instruments that can produce sustained tones, beats can be readily recognized. Tuning two tones to a unison will present a peculiar effect: when the two tones are close in pitch but not identical, the difference in frequency generates the beating. The volume varies like in a tremolo as the sounds alternately interfere constructively and destructively. As the two tones gradually approach unison, the beating slows down and may become so slow as to be imperceptible. As the two tones get further apart, their beat frequency starts to approach the range of human pitch perception, the beating starts to sound like a note, and a combination tone is produced. This combination tone can also be referred to as a missing fundamental, as the beat frequency of any two tones is equivalent to the frequency of their implied fundamental frequency.
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- "Binaural beats" | 2013-08-01 | 35 Upvotes 46 Comments
π Confused Deputy Problem
In information security, a confused deputy is a computer program that is tricked by another program (with fewer privileges or less rights) into misusing its authority on the system. It is a specific type of privilege escalation. The confused deputy problem is often cited as an example of why capability-based security is important.
Capability systems protect against the confused deputy problem, whereas access-control listβbased systems do not.
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- "Confused Deputy Problem" | 2023-10-18 | 11 Upvotes 2 Comments
π Earth as a nuclear furnace (geothermal heat is mostly from radioactive decay)
Geothermal gradient is the rate of increasing temperature with respect to increasing depth in Earth's interior. Away from tectonic plate boundaries, it is about 25β30Β Β°C/km (72β87Β Β°F/mi) of depth near the surface in most of the world. Strictly speaking, geo-thermal necessarily refers to Earth but the concept may be applied to other planets.
Earth's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion, heat produced through radioactive decay, latent heat from core crystallization, and possibly heat from other sources. The major heat-producing isotopes in Earth are potassium-40, uranium-238, uranium-235, and thorium-232. At the center of the planet, the temperature may be up to 7,000Β K and the pressure could reach 360Β GPa (3.6 million atm). Because much of the heat is provided by radioactive decay, scientists believe that early in Earth history, before isotopes with short half-lives had been depleted, Earth's heat production would have been much higher. Heat production was twice that of present-day at approximately 3Β billionΒ years ago, resulting in larger temperature gradients within the Earth, larger rates of mantle convection and plate tectonics, allowing the production of igneous rocks such as komatiites that are no longer formed.
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- "Earth as a nuclear furnace (geothermal heat is mostly from radioactive decay)" | 2011-04-03 | 44 Upvotes 14 Comments
π Sad clown paradox
Sad clown paradox is the contradictory association between comedy and mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. These comedic performers are characterised by feelings of deprivation and isolation in their early lives, where comedy evolves as a release for tension, removing feelings of suppressed physical rage through a verbal outlet.
A series of psychological experiments first published in 1981 by psychologist Seymour Fisher indicated certain behavioural traits exclusive to comedians and not matched in regular actors. Later work conducted by Kaufman and Kozbelt re-interpreted these results, drawing the understanding that whilst comedy serves as a coping mechanism to hide trauma, it may also motivate a comedian to use humour as a way of forming relations and gaining acceptance.
Humour has been shown to develop from a young age, fostered by parental behaviour. A parent's immature nature can lead to additional responsibilities forced onto children, which can evoke issues of self-worth and a need for acceptance. The constant search for approval may cause mental health issues such as anxiety or depression and when untreated can lead to suicide in extreme situations. Laughter can evolve as a medium for self-preservation, detaching the individual from any adversity faced allowing for perceived control over uncomfortable situations.
Sad clown paradox is characterised by a cyclothymic temperament, which encourages the creation of light-hearted humour in a professional setting, despite inner turmoil. The use of humour as a form of self-medication provides short periods of satisfaction, repeatedly needing to deal with inner turmoil. There is an ever present anxiety amongst comedians that their popularity may disappear tomorrow and hence are driven to exhaustion in their work.
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- "Sad clown paradox" | 2023-11-08 | 206 Upvotes 124 Comments
π Wi-Fi over Coax
Wi-Fi over Coax is a technology for extending and distributing Wi-Fi signals via coaxial cables. As an in-building wireless solution, Wi-Fi over Coax can make use of existing or new cabling with native impedance of 50 ohms shared by a Wi-Fi access point, cabling run, and antenna. Coaxial cables with characteristic impedance of 75 ohms, such as RG-6 cables used for in-building television distribution, can also be used by incorporating impedance converters. As part of a distributed antenna system, Wi-Fi over Coax can connect multiple floors of a home or office via power dividers and zoned antennas either passively or via amplifiers, potentially eliminating the need for multiple access points.
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- "Wi-Fi over Coax" | 2020-04-27 | 185 Upvotes 142 Comments
π Battle of Alesia
The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia was a military engagement in the Gallic Wars that took place in September, 52Β BC, around the Gallic oppidum (fortified settlement) of Alesia, a major centre of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by the army of Julius Caesar against a confederation of Gallic tribes united under the leadership of Vercingetorix of the Arverni. It was the last major engagement between Gauls and Romans, and is considered one of Caesar's greatest military achievements and a classic example of siege warfare and investment. The battle of Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in France and Belgium.
The battle site was probably atop Mont Auxois, above modern Alise-Sainte-Reine in France, but this location, some have argued, does not fit Caesar's description of the battle. A number of alternatives have been proposed over time, among which only Chaux-des-Crotenay (in Jura in modern France) remains a challenger today.
At one point in the battle the Romans were outnumbered by the Gauls by four to one. The event is described by several contemporary authors, including Caesar himself in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico. After the Roman victory, Gaul (very roughly modern France) was subdued and became a Roman province. The Roman Senate granted a thanksgiving of 20 days for his victory in the Gallic War.
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- "Battle of Alesia" | 2020-01-08 | 77 Upvotes 91 Comments
π Ghoti
Ghoti is a creative respelling of the word fish, used to illustrate irregularities in English spelling and pronunciation.
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- "Ghoti" | 2020-06-20 | 317 Upvotes 239 Comments
π You'll own nothing and be happy
You'll own nothing and be happy (alternatively you'll own nothing and you'll be happy) is a phrase originated by Danish Politician Ida Auken in a 2016 essay for the World Economic Forum. After appearing in a WEF video in 2016, the phrase began to be used by critics of the World Economic Forum (WEF) who accuse the WEF of desiring restrictions on ownership of private property.
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- "You'll own nothing and be happy" | 2023-05-22 | 70 Upvotes 52 Comments
π List of oldest continuously inhabited cities
This is a list of present-day cities by the time period over which they have been continuously inhabited as a city. The age claims listed are generally disputed. Differences in opinion can result from different definitions of "city" as well as "continuous habitation" and historical evidence is often disputed. Caveats (and sources) to the validity of each claim are discussed in the "Notes" column.
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- "List of oldest continuously inhabited cities" | 2020-04-22 | 323 Upvotes 214 Comments