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1500 questions
46
votes
23 answers
Can I reduce the crime rate by penalizing criminals' children socially?
This is a social engineering method.
The government takes background checks very seriously. A person's moral standing is not only determined by the actions of the person themselves, but also by his/her relatives (parents, grandparents, siblings,…
Haha TTpro
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46
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24 answers
Why do aliens who visit us have higher tech than us? Couldn't they wait for us to have it too?
It is a well known fact that if aliens invaded, it would be our puny kill-one-person-then-reload-for-half-a-second-or-more-firearms against their super-cool-ultra-mega-thingy-laser-mumble-quantum-force-unobtanium-whatever-ray-guns.
We might also…
Mark Gardner
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46
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29 answers
What distinction could there be between space torpedoes and space missiles?
In the game "Stelaris" torpedoes and missiles are different categories of weapon. Presumably they wanted to include numerous kinds of weapons for the player to chose from. These weapons are all launched from spaceships in deep space. (They only ever…
Lorry Laurence mcLarry
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46
votes
15 answers
Effects of bullets firing while in a handgun's magazine
A pacifist pyrokinetic in my story is accosted by several armed men. They have handguns, but they are currently holstered and do not have rounds in their chambers (these nameless thugs are all about firearms safety). The pyrokinetic's ability is…
SPavel
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46
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11 answers
In a world without corpses, why build "burial halls"?
Across countless worlds, the concept of the "burial hall" is an oft-used construct for adventurers to cut their teeth. These locations are often teeming with the animated dead or other necromantic entities. They also serve as an excellent place to…
Frostfyre
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46
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15 answers
What are the primary triggers for the decline and fall of great empires?
Let's focus specifically on the devolution of empires. How is it that something so powerful falls?
The collapse of Rome, Byzantium, the Han, the Mayans and so on. What similarities can be seen in the fall of these great empires? Whether natural…
James
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46
votes
22 answers
Would a 100% simulated war be a way to solve national conflict?
My world is similar to our daily world except that fully immersive virtual reality is already well-developed. The virtual reality is built by scanning real environment. The system was first used to do scientific research on military to test how…
cytsunny
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46
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13 answers
A person with no magic in a magic dependent world
In the story I am writing has a person, let's call him John Doe, who has been transported to an alternate reality/parallel universe. This world is very magic dependent (he doesn't know this yet of course). This includes - but is not limited to -…
Mr.Burns
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46
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18 answers
How can I make money work across separate planets?
Over time separate countries have adopted common currencies, and a world can be imagined where a planet has a single currency. However, in building a world spanning a multiplanet system (several inhabited planets plus asteroid settlements and moon…
trichoplax is on Codidact now
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46
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10 answers
How does Santa keep the elves from revolting?
As it's that time of year I thought I'd do a Christmas themed question that is a big problem for the old man up north; Why don't the elves rise up and kill Santa?
First let us consider the horrible conditions elves are forced to work in;
They work…
TrEs-2b
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46
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11 answers
Anatomically Correct Phoenix
The Phoenix appears in Greek mythology and are most commonly seen as beautiful golden birds that burst into flame and are reborn from the ashes. Is there a realistic way that they could evolve? Using earth or near earth biology how close could I get…
TrEs-2b
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46
votes
6 answers
What happens if the sun disappears and then reappears some days later?
In the Norse prophesy of Ragnarok, Fenrir eats the sun. Considering the Earth is not immediately consumed by a supernova, it must be assumed that he swallows it whole and it just ceases to exist on the material plane. (Taking its gravity and solar…
Danny Reagan
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46
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5 answers
How do seasons work in a binary system (planet orbits one star, not both)?
I have a planet orbiting one star in a binary system. When the planet is exactly between the two stars it will experience a double day; when the primary sun sets the secondary one rises, no overlap. (My second star sheds enough light to make a…
Monica Cellio
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46
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10 answers
If humans were the size of ants could we have campfires?
Had a dream that I was the size of an ant and I was being chased by spiders and other small horrors. I created a campfire and was able to scare off the insects. When I woke up I came up with a TTRPG campaign that is basically 'Honey I shrunk the…
VedHanna
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46
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18 answers
The USA breaks up. Who gets the nukes?
When the USSR broke up into fifteen independent states, it's well known that Russia inherited the nuclear arsenal of the dissolving state. I don't know exactly how this was decided: if it was just "obvious" given Russian dominance in the Soviet…
Rand al'Thor
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