Activity for JDSweetBeat‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Question	—	How would life adapt to survive in an environment with winters of varying length? In his answer to a question on our Science Fiction and Fantasy SE about how Westeros in Game of Thrones produces food during the winters, Superbest says: "Martin's conception of a multi-annual winter is a little bizarre in my opinion. If this has been going on a geological time scale (eg. millions o... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	How to get two culturally and ideologically similar Martian colonies on good terms and with adequate resources to go to war? My scenario It is 2150, and there are two major human settlements on Mars and a dozen smaller branching-colonies. The colonies, Genesis and Metropolis, founded by Space X and Mars One respectively, both have a population of two million people. Genesis is a direct democracy, while Metropolis is an in... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	How to negate the effects of long-term close relative inbreeding in a ruling dynasty? This is inspired by GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire, where for millennia House Targaryen wed brother to sister at all possible opportunities, and Aunt to nephew, Uncle to niece, and cousin to cousin where that was not possible. As a result, the family had a propensity for madness, and often times child... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Question	—	Is homicidal smiley gas possible? In the 1989 Batman movie[1], the Joker uses a gas that makes the muscles on your face contract into a "smile" to kill people. My question is simple; is there currently, or is there a way to make, a chemical that can make someone "smile to death". I imagine that such a substance would cause the... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Is this reptilian race realistic? Well, I have been having computer problems and I decided that now is as good a time as ever to continue to waste my time developing my reptilian, honor-obsessed militaristic race of lizards for a planned Stellaris AAR. Here is a description of them for the first draft of my planned four part preluid... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How would the 2016 human scientific community react if a massive space-faring alien "whale" entered the Solar System? I got the idea from this answer, which suggests a species that evolved early in the existence if the universe and spreads between stars upon their death. If one of said creatures enters the inner Solar System and modern Earth confirms that it is a living creature, how would human scientific communit... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Redesigning the human body to flourish on a high-gravity world? This answer states that "guided evolution" would help babies develop under constant 3-4g's. This answer has inspired me to ask , what sort of genetic tinkering would help humans adapt to life on a planet with 3-4 G's? Basic background information: Humans have mastered star travel. FTL travel and FT... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	What adaptations would a water-dwelling species need to survive by primarily hunting pre-industrial humans? I have a species of creatures that live in packs off the coast of my fictional world's one super continent. Humans have lived there for millions of years. At one point these humans had achieved the level of technological domination that we have over Earth. They mercilessly exploited resources and mix... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	How long will it take to restore genetic diversity if it is reduced drastically in a human population? I read in this question that the minimum viable population without causing large problems in genetic diversity is about 50. If we have a larger population (say a hundred) and genetic diversity becomes a problem and the effects of incest kick in, the population is not guaranteed to go extinct. This wi... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Underwater spider webs made of slime? I am imagining a race of spider-like creatures that remain still in the water. They glow to attract prey/would be predators. They surround themselves with a thick layer of slime that can catch creatures much larger than them. I need my creatures, however to be able to quickly get through their own cl... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to go from a free person to a slave My father was in the USMC and they screamed and exercised his defiance out of him. If he didn't exercise and obey he got beat up (it was in the late 60's) and screamed at until he did. After a while he mindlessly obeyed without question. Run your future slaves through some sort of boot camp where tho... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Would a sapient species have to be the dominant species? There have been countless (literally) stories written that have contained within their pages monsters that are stronger, faster, and bigger than the human heroes. I can think of more than a few where the monsters are a relatively common species. Right off the bat I think of one of the trilogies in t... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How would an earth-like planet with a habitable moon work and how to get there? I have a planet approximately 3.5 times the mass of the Earth. I have a moon orbiting that planet that has to be habitable as well, because my story will take place on the first expedition to this moon. What size would my moon have to be it sustain life? The reason I ask is because a body the size of... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What would the weather on this continent be like? I am developing a world on this continent: To know the world, I have to know how the weather works. Inside the white line is the continent. The blue arrows denote the flow of water. Up is north, down is south, left is west and right is east. The red blobs are mountain ranges. The gaps in between t... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Macroscopic life in the Dead Sea? James MacGuffin, famous archaeologist goes on one of many expeditions to Egypt. He crosses the Dead Sea from Jordan, and about halfway through, he is amazed at what he finds. A small group of large fish are swimming through the water! He quickly scans the internet via a hotspot on his ship and comes ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	At what point in climate change do we reach the Tipping Point? Assuming we have a world at the same stage in global warming as the Earth, with all other properties similar (population, carbon emissions, general climate, orbit, etc.) How long will it be until the Earth reaches a 'no going back' point? That might be worded badly, so let me give you an example. I... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How would a plant evolve to germinate inside a person (or other animal)? For the sake of the question, assume conditions are Earth-like in all manners other than those which would be required to spur the development of such a plant. I want the plant to gestate in the digestive tract and slowly kill the 'infected' by sucking the nutrients from them (like a tape worm). When... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What would the average tech level be for the common folk in a space empire? In Star Gate, the Ori are notorious for keeping the tech level of their planetary subjects at or under medieval tech levels. It has been said (still looking for the exact source) that if everyone lived like an American it would take the combined resources of 4 Earth's(link) to support our population.... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Animal life on a planet orbiting a red dwarf I am envisioning a world around a red dwarf star. The planet has violent and accelerated (due to higher geological activity) plate tectonics and has a magnetic field about 75% the strength of the Earth's. The planet (we'll call it GF10) is roughly 40% the size of the Earth. The planet used to be near... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How to make the orcs meet these biological standards? This is loosely linked to my nature Mage questions. In my fantasy world I want a race of Orcs. These are the characteristics they have to have: Stand between 6 and 7 feet tall Have crude weapons Reproduce quickly Reach Sexual maturity at age five and mental maturity at age 15 Live a maximum of 25 y... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How can an intelligent race on a methane world achieve basic space travel (e.g. satellites)? Linked What would the flora on a methane world be like? What would animal life on a methane world look like and how would it evolve? What would the conditions on a methane world be like? How would an intelligent race on a methane world achieve a fire equivalent? Question: How could an intellige... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What would the flora on a Methane world be like? Linked: What would animal life on a methane world look like and how would it evolve? What would the conditions on a methane world be like? How would an intelligent race on a methane world achieve a fire equivalent? Question: I have asked how an animal species evolved to live on a methane world w... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How would an intelligent race on a methane world achieve a fire equivalent? Linked: What would the conditions on a methane world be like? What would animal life on a methane world look like and how would it evolve? Background: Okay, an intelligent race has evolved on a world like Titan where methane is the dominant solvent. There is no oxygen in this world, so you cannot... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What would animal life on a methane world look like and how would it evolve? Linked: What would conditions on a methane world be like? Question: As mentioned in the linked question, Titan is the second most likely world in the Solar System to harbor life. One of the answers also mentions that 'warm' days would cause the oceans to boil. Taking this into account, how would ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What would the conditions on a methane world be like? The picture above is a representation of a Methane Earth. I pulled it from this Wikipedia article on alternative solvents. Several questions deal with whether life would be possible on a world with alternative biochemistry and the answer is a resounding yes. However very few explore what conditio... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How to Design a Plague that Causes Insanity? Has a loose base in this earlier question of mine, although today we will be working with modern (roughly) tech levels and bacteria. It was pointed out in the accepted answer that bacteria might be better at causing my desired symptoms because at large they are already developing resistance to many a... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How to Design a Flying Tree Spider and its Evolutionary Tree? In my world there is a trading city in the middle of a vast stretch of wild, untamed forest. It was built to serve as an in-between for merchants as there is a peaceful kingdom both north and south of it. The city is on the banks of a north-south flowing river. My giant spiders have evolved over the... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How to render Venus semi-habitable? It must be very dark and hot on the surface of Venus, but my humans want to change that and make a Venusian colony. The problem? The extremely thick atmosphere would make it problematic to say the least. There would be a contest between heat and atmospheric pressure to see who can do the colonists in... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How to build a planet Without giving spoilers, this idea comes from the movie Titan A.E. How would one create an Earth-like planet in a reasonable time frame (100-250 years) that has both the gravity of Earth and a magnetic field? For the purposes of this question, assume that the people have sufficiently advanced inters... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Could a Snowball Earth drive us to extinction? Could a Snowball Earth drive our species into total extinction? The most obvious problem is: How would we grow food to sustain any grouping of people? (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What gravitational impact would moving Jupiter to the inner solar system have on the outer? Based on my recent series of questions: here and here. The giant known as Jupiter has moved to the inner Solar System and Earth and Mars have become it's moons (despite all the odds). The moon of the Earth will be ejected after a short stay in the Jupiter system and it will settle in the asteroid be... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What would happen to the moon if the Earth was captured by Jupiter? See this question for further details I also know how unlikely this situation is, so please refrain. From telling me "it won't happen." Jupiter is sent on a spiral into the inner Solar System. Both Earth and Mars enter orbit around the gas giant and extreme chaos is caused now by the unexpected tid... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How to enter the orbit of a gas giant? A great many questions have been written about a habitable moon around a gas giant. This is my take on it. Somehow (extra points to whoever figures out exactly how it is possible) Jupiter gets knocked out of orbit and plunges towards the inner Solar System. At first we think it will eat the Earth an... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How many people would it take to crush a modern society on another planet? We are an interplanetary human empire at war with an alien species. On the brink of defeat, this alien species designed a virus to turn the tide of war. This virus is airborne and highly contagious, and disrupts the brain's ability to use serotonin. Alien spies have released the virus into the loc... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Would Secondary Pandemics Result From an Apocalyptic Pandemic? A deadly super flu gets out and kills 90% of the population. During the exponential spread of the virus, it infects people working in a military base that deals in bio weapons. Is there a way to calculate the statistical probability of another virus escaping during the panic and further depleting the... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How to effectively deliver a flu virus that destroys the brains ability to absorb serotonin? I have an interstellar war in which us humans fight an alien nomad fleet. The aliens begin to lose the war and need something to fall back on. Humanity over many millennia has built star gates(kinda like Star Gate) and has ten colonies. The aliens took one and are using the gate in that system to att... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How can I make humans not negatively affected by radiation? My people are traveling in a generation ship. For some reason they can't make the ship radiation-proof. Their solution: genetically modify their descendants to be radiation proof. How could one modify a cell to resist radiation? Is it plausible to modify our genetic structure to be radiation-proof? ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	We saw that in orbit....wait, how did it get down here? My entry for the fortnightly topic challenge: You are a space explorer. You are visiting this weird habitable planet in the Alpha Centauri System as part if the first manned expedition to another world. You see weird things floating in the upper atmosphere/space but think nothing of it, despite how ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Flu Rage virus used as interstellar weapon? Don't scream zombies at this question. That is not meant to be what it is about, regardless of how it sounds. I have an interstellar war between humans and an alien race. The humans are winning, so the aliens design a virus based off of the original flu that used to go pandemic in early human histor... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How would an ocean of jello evolve I watched a youtube video on the Darwin IV probe mission to this planet has lower mass than the earth, about the size of Mars, and has a single sea. According to the movie, the microbes that resided in the early oceans somehow recognized that the oceans were evaporating due to some unknown catastroph... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Would Building a Waypoint/Colony station in Slip Space be Logical? Definitions: Slip Space - The area of space separating planes of the universe. Think of the universe as a flat piece of paper. Now imagine this flat piece of paper wrapped into a spherical ball. The surface of the paper is our universe. The area of space in between the separate ends is Slip Space. O... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Are religion, emotion, and individuality binding factors for evolution of a technology-based society? If you look at our society, you can see why we developed technology. Each individual wanted an easier life, therefore we invented tools and overcame obstacles to achieve this easier life. One could also argue that the driving factors for our civilization have been things like religious beliefs, emoti... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How could a sentient life form move an exoplanet the mass of the Earth? Okay. I have been piecing together the elements of another story for my school PDF newspaper (we publish one to a wiki page every two days). Yesterday I asked this question on whether a second habitable planet could evolve life in the solar system and what its location could be if we kept all of the ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What would the consequences be if there was a planet other than Earth, Venus, or Mars that was in the habitable zone? Okay, there are two habitable worlds in the Solar System. One of them is Earth. Human history goes mainly the way it really went. Then, there is another planet with a sentient, equally advanced species of humanoids on it. EDIT The other habitable planet would be on a separate orbital path from the... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How could a sentient plant evolve and what conditions would be required for this evolution? This is my entry for the fortnightly topic challenge In Day of the Triffids, many people go blind and the basic summary is this: virulent plague makes most of humanity blind giant, semi-intelligent plants take over. In the world I am creating, humans have to face off with an intergalactic plant ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How would human-sized colonial organisms develop This question is based off of an earlier question of mine that dealt with what would happen if humans and our Neanderthal cousins were dropped off on a world with large, technologically developed ants (compared to them from the standpoint that they have a queen, live underground, and communicate usin... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Would a clone army be a viable means of reproduction? I have been reading on Wikipedia about cloning and am considering it a possibility for reproduction in my world. I am finding it slightly difficult to find all of the cons and pros associated with it. I have these: Pros Faster reproduction is theoretically possible Get one good "template that has... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago
Question	—	Does Intelligent life require oxygen? This question is related to the following question on whether complex life is possible without oxygen but is not a duplicate. I was doing some searching and found this and this link, the first on whether complex life requires oxygen and the second on the first multicellular creature discovered that d... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago
Question	—	Would a gelatinous mass be possible? In the world I have been working on my planet has a gelatinous mass of cells coexisting but not a technical single creature. It bridges the gap between single celled and complex and it grows in size as it consumes organic matter (any organic matter). It divides in two like a bacteria when it reaches ... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago
Question	—	How would humans have developed without fossil fuels? I am designing a world where humans have somehow developed or have been put onto a planet in a primitive state. This world has only been habitable for about ten thousand years and therefore only has the most basic of life, including a few sea animals and slug/worm creatures that can be eaten safely. ... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago