Shit your professors say

[dallen68]

I had a BIOLOGY prof who claimed that the most efficient way for humans to make use of the plants growing on Earth would be to eat them directly.

Apparently, he didn't know that most mammals (including all primates) lack any means to effectively digest almost all the plant matter on this planet.  Ruminants, on the other hand...

I don't know, I would assume there's a reason that any nutrition chart you look at has grass (yes, corn, wheat, and other grains are grass) as the primary thing (usu. about 9 servings), then just slightly less than that other fruits and vegetables (avg. 4 servings), and then on top of that meat (usu. about 2 oz.) and diary (1 or 2 servings), then sometimes sugar. I'd be guessing there isn't a 40yr conspiracy going on here.

[evensgrey]

I don't know, I would assume there's a reason that any nutrition chart you look at has grass (yes, corn, wheat, and other grains are grass) as the primary thing (usu. about 9 servings), then just slightly less than that other fruits and vegetables (avg. 4 servings), and then on top of that meat (usu. about 2 oz.) and diary (1 or 2 servings), then sometimes sugar. I'd be guessing there isn't a 40yr conspiracy going on here.

OK, did anyone ELSE manage to completely fail to understand my post?

[Travis Retriever]

OK, did anyone ELSE manage to completely fail to understand my post?

I figured it meant your professor didn't know that most of those plants are mainly made of cellulose which we humans can't turn into energy.  So that's why many of them are fed to animals.  Because 10% energy from the plants total potential is better than the 0% we'd otherwise get?

[evensgrey]

I figured it meant your professor didn't know that most of those plants are mainly made of cellulose which we humans can't turn into energy.  So that's why many of them are fed to animals.  Because 10% energy from the plants total potential is better than the 0% we'd otherwise get?

Well, not QUITE 0%, but pretty close, since we're also quite poorly equipped to efficiently mechanically smash the cellulose structure open to extract the bits we can digest.

Another problem is the protein component.  To get the right amino acid balance, humans need to eat large quantities of both cereals and legumes.  It's much more efficient to eat some meat instead.  That also gives you essential B12, which is a real problem without animal products.

[Travis Retriever]

Well, not QUITE 0%, but pretty close, since we're also quite poorly equipped to efficiently mechanically smash the cellulose structure open to extract the bits we can digest.

Another problem is the protein component.  To get the right amino acid balance, humans need to eat large quantities of both cereals and legumes.  It's much more efficient to eat some meat instead.  That also gives you essential B12, which is a real problem without animal products.

Ah. Okay. Good to know I was at least close and on the right track.

[Travis Retriever]

And adding to the economic insanity bit,
My econ professor (the same one in the mentioned thread) once argued 'against' minimum wage but...
well, I put 'against' in quotes because his argument was so weak it was like he was either that uninformed/stupid and/or just trying to not offend anyone.
He stated that while the poor would get the increased wage, so would richer kids taking the job who don't need the money.
I wish I was making that up.

[dallen68]

He stated that while the poor would get the increased wage, so would richer kids taking the job who don't need the money.
I wish I was making that up.

So saying someone doesn't deserve the same compensation for doing the same job as anyone else because of background isn't supposed to offend anyone? Nice.

[nilecroc]

Was there a string of accidents in the 90s caused by desensitization to brake lights?

[dallen68]

My guess would be no, but if the sun or other light source is at the exact wrong angle, it can be difficult to see the brake light. This is why you need to look at the entire car in front of you. If it's not moving, or is moving slower than you are, you need to either go around it or apply your brakes.

[nilecroc]

Paraphrase: When you lie, your pupils dialate automatically unless you're a psychopath. It doesn't work all the time.

[MrBogosity]

Was there a string of accidents in the 90s caused by desensitization to brake lights?

I'm not aware of any, and even if there were I have no idea how it could be linked to brake lights.

Paraphrase: When you lie, your pupils dialate automatically unless you're a psychopath. It doesn't work all the time.

In other words, it works, except when it doesn't. Gotta love it.

[nilecroc]

I'm not aware of any, and even if there were I have no idea how it could be linked to brake lights.

In other words, it works, except when it doesn't. Gotta love it.

He said there was a bunch of car crashes that caused insurance comanies to give out millions in clains. He AAA did a study and determined it was due to desensitization of the break lights, so they moved break lights. I searched for the study, and found nothing about it. Oroving once again that professors have no clye what their talking about half of the time.

[MrBogosity]

He said there was a bunch of car crashes that caused insurance comanies to give out millions in clains. He AAA did a study and determined it was due to desensitization of the break lights, so they moved break lights. I searched for the study, and found nothing about it. Oroving once again that professors have no clye what their talking about half of the time.

The closest I can find is AAA talking about how distractions while driving can cause someone to miss brake lights.

[dallen68]

Paraphrase: When you lie, your pupils dialate automatically unless you're a psychopath. It doesn't work all the time.

There are certain physical clues to indicate that someone might be lying, but even under the best circumstances they are not 100% reliable. There's a number of reasons for this:

1. If the person is aware of the indicator, they will avoid the indicator. For example, if he is aware that people that are lying tend to maintain to much eye contact, he will make sure not to.

2. Any number of other factors could be involved. For example, the person might be nervous about something else.

3. You have to be like right up on someone to tell whether or not there eyes are dilating, so out of the indicators that are known, this is one of the least usable. Besides, his eyes might be "automatically dilating" because of the shadow of your head reducing the amount of light to his eyes while you were getting close enough to tell if his eyes were "automatically dilating."

[nilecroc]

Federal regulators went around and found sumimnal messages that said buy coke. They were fined for "brain washing".

Edit: Now he's going on about something called the mirror effect i.e. sprint puts up a billboard that says buy one phone, get another free for six to eight months and you stop consvously noticing it. I asked what if i hate sprint and he daid it doesnt matter. He then went on to say that subliminal message is used to brainwash the public. He said consumer psychologists can get sway with this because its not subliminal advertisement or some horseshit. Im glad i skipped this class for two days. Now if I could just drop it.

Edit:The belief in the power of subliminal messaging to manipulate behavior seems to have originated in 1957 with James Vicary, an advertising promoter who claimed to increase popcorn sales by some 58% and Coke sales by some 18% in a New Jersey movie theater simply by flashing very briefly the messages "Drink Coca-Cola" and "Hungry - Eat Popcorn." Even though the claim has been shown to be a hoax, and even though no one has been able to duplicate the event, belief in the legend lingers. This story and several others were retold by Vance Packard in The Hidden Persuaders (1957), a book that became required reading for a generation of college students.
http://www.skepdic.com/subliminal.html
This clown should be fired.