Most Popular
1500 questions
45
votes
19 answers
Can there be a planet with no dust?
What restrictions this planet must have to make it possible?
Planet can have any size, be made of any material
A human must be able to land in it and observe it, dust added to the planet from the human's clothes or equipment may compromise the…
Ítalo Lessa
- 661
- 2
- 6
- 11
45
votes
5 answers
Why does my species tock like it ticks?
Starting with a creature and its environment, how does one create its psychology?
Evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology attempt to explain attributes that we observe in our fellow humans and in the animals that inhabit Earth in terms of…
Green
- 52,750
- 10
- 130
- 260
45
votes
16 answers
Modern soldiers carry axes instead of combat knives. Why?
In my alternative history story, taking place at the end of the 20th century, one country has an army with platoons of airborne scouts. But unlike modern special forces they don't use combat knives as side-arms, but combat axes. Like this one:
So,…
vodolaz095
- 5,815
- 2
- 20
- 35
45
votes
17 answers
Surviving an Overwhelming Siege
The evil enemy has us surrounded. They outnumber our forces, they have us outgunned. These helldogs have a trillion dollars/year for their war budget, and they can afford the fanciest toys, numerous mercenaries, the most advanced munitions, have…
Serban Tanasa
- 60,095
- 35
- 188
- 310
45
votes
10 answers
How would societal development be impacted if humans were not an apex predator?
We are used to a world where humans are basically an apex predator; we don't really need to worry much about becoming some other animal's next meal.
If that wasn't the case, and humans had to be wary of the possibility of a predator either lurking…
user
- 28,950
- 16
- 108
- 217
45
votes
11 answers
Can Cloud Nine be built?
Cloud Nine is the name given by Buckminster Fuller to his proposed tensegrity sphere airborne habitats. The principle is simple and the physics seem to be sound.
For a sphere, as its radius is increased, the volume increase outpaces the surface…
Samuel
- 48,522
- 10
- 144
- 232
45
votes
17 answers
Zombie army is bad idea. But why actually?
In my custom fantasy world, raising the dead is really simple. Before the Great Act of Beautiful Death, raising a body and keeping it alive (undead?) for at least a week was a part of entrance exams for any University of Magic worth its wands. The…
Feanorek
- 589
- 1
- 5
- 12
45
votes
17 answers
What are the enabling factors for melee combat in modern or future settings?
Swords are neat. Unfortunately, they aren't very practical with guns around. What sorts of technologies, social circumstances, environmental factors or magics would allow for people who train to fight primarily in melee to be competitive (or at…
Saidoro
- 2,062
- 1
- 14
- 26
45
votes
24 answers
What single change would have given the best chance for the Soviets to win the Cold War?
A common topic in alternate history fiction works is the question what would have happened if a major conflict had been won by the other side. These usually focus on the events after the conflict, and the change itself is not depicted in a realistic…
Serban Tanasa
- 60,095
- 35
- 188
- 310
45
votes
33 answers
Could I have a culture where stealing is not wrong?
I'm working on differentiating primarily nonhuman cultures from human cultures in a fantasy world by adding a bit of Blue and Orange Morality. One way I'm considering adding a unique element to one cluster of them where stealing is considered…
Midwinter Sun
- 2,568
- 1
- 14
- 26
45
votes
15 answers
How do I safely sell off gold coins of unknown provenance?
Wow, of all the amazing luck! I just met a visitor from a magical world. He was able to use his magic to establish common communication, and after a bit of talk he decided he wanted to bring some stuff from my world back with him, so we worked out a…
user14356
- 517
- 4
- 3
45
votes
18 answers
Papers, please: Can characters trapped in our reality acquire enough paperwork to be legal?
Being at Anime Expo last weekend got me thinking about all the "trapped in another world" anime I watched as a kid: Inu Yasha, Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne, etc. The general plot of these is that a high school girl from "our" reality is magically…
thatgirldm
- 1,012
- 9
- 16
45
votes
13 answers
On our way to Mars: how do we do the laundry?
A human crew of 6 has been sent on mission to Mars
The lowest energy transfer to Mars is a Hohmann transfer orbit, which would involve an approximately 9 month travel time from Earth to Mars, about five hundred days at Mars to wait for the transfer…
L.Dutch
- 286,075
- 58
- 587
- 1,230
45
votes
10 answers
Realism of throwing knives or daggers
It lots of fictional settings and worlds, 'rogues' and other skilled martial fighters are constantly throwing knives and daggers at people. Furthermore, assassins/rogues are often pictured as having a ridiculous amount of knives on their bodies and…
Dragongeek
- 22,684
- 2
- 47
- 101
45
votes
9 answers
Famous conjecture or unsolved problem that could be plausibly proven/solved by freshman mathematician?
Is there any conjecture or famous unsolved problem, that doesn't require much prerequisite knowledge and could be plausibly proven / solved by freshman?
My hero is average freshman in mathematics, that proves a famous conjecture by mistaking it for…
ragac
- 469
- 1
- 4
- 8