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1500 questions
42
votes
21 answers
In a World Where Gods Exist Why Wouldn't Every Nation Be Theocratic?
In a world I am building, gods exist; they are extremely powerful, omnipresent and active. While thinking up some larger scale empires for the world, I realized that their gods would be so powerful that a theocracy would be the best government by…
TrEs-2b
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Standardisation of Time in a FTL Universe
Here on Earth, time standardisation was enabled by the invention of accurate time pieces which allowed us to create a global constant (GMT/Zulu time) and regional offsets. If we travel outside our time-zone for a meeting, we can be sure to know…
user10945
42
votes
4 answers
How many coconut trees would be necessary to support a single, middle-aged human on a deserted island?
It basically says it all in the title. I assume the human will eventually succumb to malnutrition, but I wonder what the minimum number of trees are necessary to provide the human with enough energy to survive the longest.
Assuming the human:
has…
n_b
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12 answers
How would society be different in a sentient species that does not care for its young?
A lot of species on earth do not care for their offspring; they spawn thousands of eggs, that hatch into larvae, and then grow up towards full size.
If a hypothetical species was sentient in the final steps of that process, then what sort of society…
Tim B
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42
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15 answers
Keeping supplies for 1000 years
My main protagonist is going to fast-forward himself in time by 1000 years. He will simply reappear in the same place (marked by a small beacon), the process being instant for him (no hibernation etc). This is the only "magical" technology in the…
Michael
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42
votes
19 answers
Currency that can stand extreme temperatures
In one of my stories people often visit areas which have extreme temperatures.
Humans can stand these temperatures due to spells that only work on living beings and some items of clothing.
What physical material could I use to create currency…
Terry
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42
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10 answers
Is there a working law of gravity in 2D?
I am constructing a two dimensional world, but ran into a problem with one of the fundamental forces, gravity.
I first tried to see what would happen if I just used the normal law of gravity, $\frac{m_1m_2}{r^2}$. As it turns out, it has a…
SE - stop firing the good guys
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Can I keep our universe, but without the speed limit (of light)?
It seems like nothing can move faster than light and this is quite bothersome for interstellar travel. It takes decades in the best case to get anywhere interesting in our little Milkyway (Many thousands of years to travel an appreciable distance…
overactor
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42
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11 answers
What would people on multi-generational ships wear?
Conventional materials used in today's textile industry are not sustainable. But 'natural' materials (silk, cotton, ...) and synthetic (polyester, ...) require a lot of resources to produce and then labor to make into proper clothes.
Plus, one…
ahmed
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What would an Earth with no timezones be like?
If we abolished the system of time zones, and everywhere followed UTC (or another arbitrary timezone), what would the possible advantages or disadvantages of this system be? If you can think of any specific activities that would be disrupted or…
kairavichahal
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42
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What could cause an avian species to become intelligent?
There have been a few questions about an intelligent avian species lately and they have gotten me thinking.
It seems to me that it would be hard for an avian species to evolve to be more intelligent past a certain point. The main problem being that…
overactor
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42
votes
11 answers
How would a human livestock facility run by aliens operate?
The older man looked at the younger one. He took a deep breath and began to tell his tale, just like he was told before when he himself was that young.
I've been here way longer than you, let me tell you how this all started and why are you here…
zovits
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22 answers
Is it possible for a developed society to practice human sacrifice as a ritual?
Definition from Wikipedia:
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one
or more human beings, usually as an offering to a deity, as part of a
religious ritual.
The person to be sacrificed can be part of a ritual with or without consent, but it…
Vincent
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This dungeon/ruin has been known to locals for ages. Why would it still have undiscovered portions ripe for looting?
There's a ruin of an ancient structure built by an old powerful civilization thousands of years before. Nearby is one of the fresher cities of this world, currently undergoing an industrial revolution. The ruins are known to the denizens of the…
Darth Biomech
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11 answers
Clothes in a vegetarian society?
Two of the societies in my world are supposed to be vegetarian/vegan.
Society 1 lives in a temperate climate, similar to central/eastern Europe. I've thought of cotton-like plants for clothing and high protein/high-calorie plants and mushrooms they…
Lisa
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