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π Link 16
Link 16 is a military tactical data link network used by NATO and nations allowed by the MIDS International Program Office (IPO). Its specification is part of the family of Tactical Data Links.
With Link 16, military aircraft as well as ships and ground forces may exchange their tactical picture in near-real time. Link 16 also supports the exchange of text messages, imagery data and provides two channels of digital voice (2.4Β kbit/s or 16Β kbit/s in any combination). Link 16 is defined as one of the digital services of the JTIDS / MIDS in NATO's Standardization Agreement STANAG 5516. MIL-STD-6016 is the related United States Department of Defense Link 16 MIL-STD.
π Eternal September
Eternal September or the September that never ended is Usenet slang for a period beginning in September 1993, the month that Internet service provider America Online (AOL) began offering Usenet access to its many users, overwhelming the existing culture for online forums.
Before then, Usenet was largely restricted to colleges, universities, and other research institutions. Every September, many incoming students would acquire access to Usenet for the first time, taking time to become accustomed to Usenet's standards of conduct and "netiquette". After a month or so, these new users would either learn to comply with the networks' social norms or tire of using the service.
Whereas the regular September student influx would quickly settle down, the influx of new users from AOL did not end and Usenet's existing culture did not have the capacity to integrate the sheer number of new users. The influx was exacerbated by the aggressive direct mailing campaign by AOL Chief Marketing Officer Jan Brandt, which most notably involved distributing millions of floppy disks and CD-ROMs with free trials of AOL.
Since then the popularity of the Internet has led to a constant stream of new users. Hence, from the point of view of the early Usenet, the influx of new users in September 1993 never ended.
Dave Fischer appears to have coined the term in a January 1994 post to alt.folklore.computers: "It's moot now. September 1993 will go down in net history as the September that never ended."
Discussed on
- "Eternal September" | 2024-03-31 | 37 Upvotes 29 Comments
- "Eternal September" | 2022-06-17 | 95 Upvotes 50 Comments
- "Eternal September" | 2015-12-26 | 12 Upvotes 11 Comments
- "It's moot now. September 1993 will go down in net.history as the September that never ended." | 2008-02-24 | 24 Upvotes 14 Comments
π Wikipedians are hung up on the meaning of Madonna
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- "Wikipedians are hung up on the meaning of Madonna" | 2024-07-04 | 24 Upvotes 5 Comments
π Whistler (Radio)
A whistler is a very low frequency or VLF electromagnetic (radio) wave generated by lightning. Frequencies of terrestrial whistlers are 1Β kHz to 30Β kHz, with a maximum amplitude usually at 3Β kHz to 5Β kHz. Although they are electromagnetic waves, they occur at audio frequencies, and can be converted to audio using a suitable receiver. They are produced by lightning strikes (mostly intracloud and return-path) where the impulse travels along the Earth's magnetic field lines from one hemisphere to the other. They undergo dispersion of several kHz due to the slower velocity of the lower frequencies through the plasma environments of the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Thus they are perceived as a descending tone which can last for a few seconds. The study of whistlers categorizes them into Pure Note, Diffuse, 2-Hop, and Echo Train types.
Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft detected whistler-like activity in the vicinity of Jupiter known as "Jovian Whistlers", implying the presence of lightning there.
Discussed on
- "Whistler (Radio)" | 2020-06-09 | 25 Upvotes 7 Comments
π Simpson's Paradox
Simpson's paradox, which goes by several names, is a phenomenon in probability and statistics, in which a trend appears in several different groups of data but disappears or reverses when these groups are combined. This result is often encountered in social-science and medical-science statistics and is particularly problematic when frequency data is unduly given causal interpretations. The paradox can be resolved when causal relations are appropriately addressed in the statistical modeling.
Simpson's paradox has been used as an exemplar to illustrate to the non-specialist or public audience the kind of misleading results mis-applied statistics can generate. Martin Gardner wrote a popular account of Simpson's paradox in his March 1976 Mathematical Games column in Scientific American.
Edward H. Simpson first described this phenomenon in a technical paper in 1951, but the statisticians Karl Pearson et al., in 1899, and Udny Yule, in 1903, had mentioned similar effects earlier. The name Simpson's paradox was introduced by Colin R. Blyth in 1972.
It is also referred to as or Simpson's reversal, YuleβSimpson effect, amalgamation paradox, or reversal paradox.
Discussed on
- "Simpson's Paradox" | 2024-03-11 | 365 Upvotes 106 Comments
- "Simpsonβs Paradox" | 2022-02-06 | 11 Upvotes 3 Comments
- "Simpson's paradox" | 2011-07-29 | 174 Upvotes 34 Comments
- "Simpson's paradox: why mistrust seemingly simple statistics" | 2009-08-28 | 152 Upvotes 17 Comments
π Lazy Dog (Bomb)
The Lazy Dog (sometimes called a Red Dot Bomb or Yellow Dog Bomb) is a type of small, unguided kinetic projectile used by the U.S. Air Force. It measured about 1.75 inches (44Β mm) in length, 0.5 inches (13Β mm) in diameter, and weighed about 0.7 ounces (20Β g).
The weapons were designed to be dropped from an aircraft. They contained no explosive charge but as they fell they would develop significant kinetic energy making them lethal and able to easily penetrate soft cover such as jungle canopy, several inches of sand, or light armor. Lazy Dog munitions were simple and relatively cheap; they could be dropped in huge numbers in a single pass. Though their effects were often no less deadly than other projectiles, they did not leave unexploded ordnance (UXO) that could be active years after a conflict ended.
Lazy Dog projectiles were used primarily during the Korean and the Vietnam Wars.
Discussed on
- "Lazy Dog (Bomb)" | 2024-05-31 | 17 Upvotes 2 Comments
π Wikipedia Has Cancer
Alternative Title: Just because you have some money, that doesn't mean that you have to spend it.
In biology, the hallmarks of an aggressive cancer include limitless multiplication of ordinarily beneficial cells, even when the body signals that further multiplication is no longer needed. The Wikipedia page on the wheat and chessboard problem explains that nothing can keep growing forever. In biology, the unwanted growth usually terminates with the death of the host. Ever-increasing spending can often lead to the same undesirable result in organizations.
Discussed on
- "Wikipedia Has Cancer" | 2024-04-20 | 110 Upvotes 52 Comments
- "Wikipedia Has Cancer" | 2022-10-31 | 42 Upvotes 15 Comments
- "Wikipedia has Cancer (Wikipedia costs growth over time)" | 2021-03-17 | 41 Upvotes 6 Comments
- "Wikipedia Has Cancer (2017)" | 2019-12-04 | 528 Upvotes 310 Comments
- "Wikimedia Foundation's runaway spending growth" | 2017-10-08 | 150 Upvotes 121 Comments
- "Wikimedia Foundation spending" | 2017-05-07 | 1054 Upvotes 406 Comments
π Choking game, also known as the fainting game
The choking game (also known as the fainting game and a wide variety of slang terms) refers to intentionally cutting off oxygen to the brain with the goal of inducing temporary loss of consciousness and euphoria.
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- "Choking game, also known as the fainting game" | 2019-06-30 | 25 Upvotes 25 Comments
π Anvil Firing
Anvil firing (also known as anvil launching or anvil shooting) is the practice of firing an anvil into the air with gunpowder.
In the UK, the term refers to a method of testing anvils. Black powder was poured onto the top of the anvil and ignited. If the anvil did not shatter it was deemed safe to use.
Discussed on
- "Anvil Firing" | 2019-04-06 | 174 Upvotes 89 Comments
π Protestant Work Ethic
The Protestant work ethic, also known as the Calvinist work ethic or the Puritan work ethic, is a work ethic concept in scholarly sociology, economics and historiography. It emphasizes that diligence, discipline, and frugality are a result of a person's subscription to the values espoused by the Protestant faith, particularly Calvinism.
The phrase was initially coined in 1905 by Max Weber in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber asserted that Protestant ethics and values, along with the Calvinist doctrines of asceticism and predestination, enabled the rise and spread of capitalism. It is one of the most influential and cited books in sociology, although the thesis presented has been controversial since its release. In opposition to Weber, historians such as Fernand Braudel and Hugh Trevor-Roper assert that the Protestant work ethic did not create capitalism and that capitalism developed in pre-Reformation Catholic communities. Just as priests and caring professionals are deemed to have a vocation (or "calling" from God) for their work, according to the Protestant work ethic the "lowly" workman also has a noble vocation which he can fulfill through dedication to his work.
The concept is often credited with helping to define the societies of Northern, Central and Northwestern Europe as well as the United States of America.
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- "Protestant Work Ethic" | 2023-04-09 | 10 Upvotes 1 Comments