• 4 Posts
  • 222 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 17th, 2023

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  • Most of the problem with lasers come from focusing them. The eye is incredibly good at it. This means even a small laser pen can reach MW/m^2 ranges by the time it hits the retina.

    IR is a different story (at longer wavelengths). Without the ability to see it, our eye will not attempt to focus on it. Also, our eyes lenses are not particularly transparent to it. 3rd, the ultra short pulses mean that there is no time to focus.

    As for the mosquito, the laser is tuned to a frequency that is strongly absorbed by their wings. Given their size and how delicate their wings are, a tiny amount of energy can cause significant damage. Conversely, the same energy on our eye will just cause a slight amount of heating. The bulk mass of the eye will absorb this fine, with no damage










  • Just noticed a slight typo, fixed now. Also, at that point, most of the tests are useless and distinguishing the differences.

    It’s also quite weird. To me, it’s completely normal. It actually took significant mental training to match up with how others think. I knew I was quick, but not that quick.

    Unfortunately, it’s also a coping mechanism (adhd + autism + a few more quirks). My brain handles certain tasks abnormally. E.g. I can’t read emotions intuitively. I have to brute force it with general intelligence methods. I also have memory issues, again, compensated for with brute calculations.

    It’s a bit like being terrified of riding vehicles. You learn to cope. You then get slightly surprised when people complain how hard marathons are. You jog the 15 miles to work and back everyday! It’s not that hard. You develop the skills because you need them.

    Intelligence (particularly IQ) is also only a subset of being smart. I know people far smarter than me. Their IQ might not be at the same level, but they can leverage it massively more than I can. I’m a hot rod, amazing on a 1 mile track, crap on normal roads.


    1. Yes, I even have the paperwork to back that up. (99.7 percentile)

    2. No, I’m also a classic example of the difference between intelligent and smart. I’m a 1000hp engine in a reliant Robin van. Immense power, but limited in my ability to apply it to useful tasks.

    3. I’m the main character in my story. I know, logically, that I’m just another speck of humanity to others, but my ego can’t function in that state, so it doesn’t.

    Edit: apparent an extra 9 slipped in.



  • It was tried, quite extensively, early on in the reprap movement. No-one managed to get it working reliably. The issue is that the pellets don’t feed consistently enough. This means the flow is inconsistent. This massively messes with the quality of the print.

    There are theoretical ways to compensate. Unfortunately, most result in a huge jump in complexity and weight on the head. Neither is a good thing.

    Basically. The benefits aren’t generally with the costs, outside of a few, very niche areas. It’s also now easier to source filament most places, compared to pellets. So even that isn’t a game changer.



  • Then I spend about 30 minutes forcing myself to do whatever task until it no longer is forced.

    Ok, HOW do you “force yourself”? I can do it for tightly aligned tasks, for a short period, but burn out rapidly. Back at university, I managed to induce heart arrhythmia pushing myself this way.

    It also doesn’t help with the initiator issue. HOW do you get yourself moving in the first place? I can reliably do it a couple of times a day, but day to day life needs more than that for basic maintenance.

    Oh, and don’t get me wrong, I’m functional, but it runs me at my mental limit all the time. Parenting pushed that to the next level. I’m permanently riding the knife edge of burnout.