Matthew‭

No. The way we define latitude and longitude is based on the planet's axis of rotation. You can certainly (AFAIK) have a planet with a 90° axial inclination, or (probably) a planet that is identica...

posted 6y ago by Matthew‭  ·  edited 6y ago by Matthew‭

Let's say I have a bunch of pre-pubescent children (circa 8-12 years old). Let's also say I subjected them to some drug/process/whatever that caused them to stop growing. In particular: Whatever...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by Matthew‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

You should read Ringo's Looking Glass series, which comes fairly close to dealing with exactly this question. The short answer is "see Nathaniel's answer"... but playing around with this will make ...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

Global Usability However advanced your average tech level, you probably still have a few people that can't afford "” or for whatever reason, don't use "” the necessary equipment to deal in digital...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

I think SealBoi hit the right note, in that the question you should be asking is "how do my critters nurse their young?". If they always lay down to let their babies suckle, there is no reason for ...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

Following up on Christian's comment about seven day weeks... your aliens could use any base you want, for the same reason weeks have seven days: because their deity/religion said to do that. (This ...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by Matthew‭

I can think of a couple options: Gray Goo An unstoppable swarm of nanites, or maybe even larger (e.g. insect-sized) creatures that destroy all non-bio-associated metal, would probably do the tric...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

This is roughly the same as Bald Bear's (first) answer, but more fleshed out... The "ruins" are built (and removed) by "cloaked" repair mechs of unknown origin. These mechs have some form of proba...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

Consider a magic system that follows the Eragon model; "doing it by magic takes just as much (biological) energy as doing it the mundane way". In Eragon, magical energy can be drawn from other liv...

4 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Matthew‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by Matthew‭

[Would a dichromat] necessarily not be able to detect large light wavelengths (red)? I would much rather them not being able to detect small (blue) instead, and have a similar vision to tritanop...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by Matthew‭

This is a little outlandish (and, for the record, no I am not actually a pastafarian), but might give you ideas regardless... What is this "gravity" you speak of? Everyone knows there is no such ...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

"It's the smell!" -- Smith I think the easiest answer is that there is something in Earth's biology that disagrees with them... something that can be "managed" with continuous medical interventio...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

I imagine your character would become incredibly frustrated, if not go insane outright. I would try to imagine how you would feel if you were unable to speak and had your hands tied behind your bac...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

They can "swim" If they're "dragging" in atmo, and they have some power source (solar would be fairly trivial), perhaps they can have some sort of propulsion system that leverages that for station...

posted 7y ago by Matthew‭

(Regardless of what you believe in this Earth...) You already answered (part of) your question; they'll believe in Intelligent Design¹. Genuine science does not a priori reject extraordinary expl...

posted 6y ago by Matthew‭