The forums seem...... empty

[ZedZx]

Well, I have joined the day before yesterday, and already my limited observations have shown me that very few people browse the Science and Technology forum and even fewer topics are created.
I originally thought the Science and Technology sub-forum was the most active of the 4 sub-forums of Extended Discussion.
Am I wrong? And was this forum always like this, or was it more active before?

[Layra-chan]

This forum tends to move very slowly, from what I've observed. There is little in the way of loud debates over theory, and a lot of the questions that could come up here can be answered via Wikipedia. Most of the really interesting questions can't even be discussed here without providing walls of preliminary text, which means that fewer people in general will feel comfortable posting here.
Besides which, it's somewhat understandable that there might be less general interest in a subject that disallows righteous indignation in serious conversation.

[ZedZx]

Layra-chan

This forum tends to move very slowly, from what I've observed. There is little in the way of loud debates over theory, and a lot of the questions that could come up here can be answered via Wikipedia. Most of the really interesting questions can't even be discussed here without providing walls of preliminary text, which means that fewer people in general will feel comfortable posting here.
Besides which, it's somewhat understandable that there might be less general interest in a subject that disallows righteous indignation in serious conversation.

Just as I feared.
But shouldn't the user base of this community numbering in the millions have at least a few hundred people willing to partake in advanced discussion?

[General Awesome]

Seems to me like M&R's the fastest moving subforum.
I was kinda surprised to check the last page and see there were still topics from 2004 lingering about here.

[Layra-chan]

ZedZx

Layra-chan

This forum tends to move very slowly, from what I've observed. There is little in the way of loud debates over theory, and a lot of the questions that could come up here can be answered via Wikipedia. Most of the really interesting questions can't even be discussed here without providing walls of preliminary text, which means that fewer people in general will feel comfortable posting here.
Besides which, it's somewhat understandable that there might be less general interest in a subject that disallows righteous indignation in serious conversation.

Just as I feared.
But shouldn't the user base of this community numbering in the millions have at least a few hundred people willing to partake in advanced discussion?

But what are we going to discuss? We all have very different specialties and don't particularly feel like spending 20 pages explaining the machinery necessary to formulate our topics.
For example, perhaps I'd like to ask a question about symmetry reduction of the solution spaces of classical Hamiltonian systems. I'd say there are about 3 people here who know enough to be able to help me. And they're not always on, and this isn't exactly the best medium for giving that kind of help.
The simpler, more general topics have usually already been hashed out; these topics include: Creationism v. Evidence, QMwtf?, Relativitywtf?, Perpetual Failure Machine, God, Infinity, and the was-banned-but-apparently-not-anymore 0.999...=1? discussion.
Or there's the homework questions, which get answered or JFGI'd. Those go away pretty quickly.
So what is there to really talk about? Other than, say, "what's your favorite science?" Unless some new pieces of data or new theory pops up, there really isn't that much to say that hasn't been said before.

[Dr Dimari]

I agree with Layra-chan with this. Most people here have different specialties, and often it is hard to find people that know exactly what you are talking about. I mean I could talk about the specifics of HIV and its process of host take over, but very few people I could discuss this with. I also feel out of my depth or don't like to butt into the mathematicians and their discussion, generally because sometimes I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. There are a few more physicists than biologists here (and chemists are usually those from either background), but a lot of us don't have time write pages. Most of us either study like crazy or have busy jobs. I'm a student doctor, and my weeks are like uber busy. It is a bit of a shame, and I think some of us need to think of ways we can improve this situation.

The majority of threads are ones that to be honest should belong in the general discussion. Plus, it gets really annoying when you see yet again another thread of the LHC, there must be over 40 or so here. The homework ones can be a annoyance and something needs to be done to get rid of these too.

[JimTheCactus]

Ironically this type of off topic thread is probably one of the most discussable things in the S&T forum.

As with everyone else I'd love to discuss phase locked super heterodyne receivers and minimizing part counts on voltage controlled current sources. Or heck, even just blab about the various approaches to FPGA use and HDL optimization for hack-a-day kinds of projects, but the fact is that science is full of people who know a lot about a very small sliver of life. I might be an expert in my field, but Layra-chan and Dr Dimari's little examples are enough to make my head spin.

The only real threads that I think are really both on topic, and viable for reasonable general discussion are threads about science and technology's influence in our culture and those tend to be either gathering grounds for assorted doomsayers/scienceisevil people or "I luf cellphones!" responses; both of which are deterring for people who are familiar with the science involved.

[Morberticus]

Am I the only one who finds their field boring to talk about?

[Dr Dimari]

JimTheCactus

As with everyone else I'd love to discuss phase locked super heterodyne receivers and minimizing part counts on voltage controlled current sources. Or heck, even just blab about the various approaches to FPGA use and HDL optimization for hack-a-day kinds of projects.

What? I know what HDL is in biology... lol.

Yeah, I'm just reiterating this situation is true. I'm thinking I may make a blog on here or something to do with medical stuff. I cant remember if that is within the rules or not though. Ah well. So what is HDL? Its obviously not High Density Lipoproteins.

[ZedZx]

Well, I suppose someone could make a topic titled:
"DOES ATLANTIS EXIST?"
or
"Is the Large Haydron Collider the single largest waste of money ever?
or
"googolplex=googol^googol"

ninja

[Dr Dimari]

ZedZx

Well, I suppose someone could make a topic titled:
"DOES ATLANTIS EXIST?"
or
"Is the Large Haydron Collider the single largest waste of money ever?
or
"googolplex=googol^googol"

ninja

LHC topics make me mad indeed!
But each to their own.

[ZedZx]

Dr Dimari

ZedZx

Well, I suppose someone could make a topic titled:
"DOES ATLANTIS EXIST?"
or
"Is the Large Haydron Collider the single largest waste of money ever?
or
"googolplex=googol^googol"

ninja

LHC topics make me mad indeed!
But each to their own.

Well, if all goes well the U.S Military well get approval for a $100 000 000 000 raise in funding to a grand total of $600 000 000 000.00.
That makes me very mad. evil

[Dr Dimari]

ZedZx

Dr Dimari

ZedZx

Well, I suppose someone could make a topic titled:
"DOES ATLANTIS EXIST?"
or
"Is the Large Haydron Collider the single largest waste of money ever?
or
"googolplex=googol^googol"

ninja

LHC topics make me mad indeed!
But each to their own.

Well, if all goes well the U.S Military well get approval for a $100 000 000 000 raise in funding to a grand total of $600 000 000 000.00.
That makes me very mad. evil

That is way too many zeros for me to comprehend. I say they should divert some of that cash into more important things in the US ... like a bloody decent health service. The US seems to me like a first class country with a third class health service. What was it, America is ranked 30-something in best health organisations, under SERBIA of all places,!?

[ZedZx]

Dr Dimari

ZedZx

Dr Dimari

ZedZx

Well, I suppose someone could make a topic titled:
"DOES ATLANTIS EXIST?"
or
"Is the Large Haydron Collider the single largest waste of money ever?
or
"googolplex=googol^googol"

ninja

LHC topics make me mad indeed!
But each to their own.

Well, if all goes well the U.S Military well get approval for a $100 000 000 000 raise in funding to a grand total of $600 000 000 000.00.
That makes me very mad. evil

That is way too many zeros for me to comprehend. I say they should divert some of that cash into more important things in the US ... like a bloody decent health service. The US seems to me like a first class country with a third class health service. What was it, America is ranked 30-something in best health organisations, under SERBIA of all places,!?

The U.S Military also includes black projects that "do not exist" which uses up quite a lot of that funding.
i.e stealth technologies and nuclear warheads, etc.....

[underweargnome]

Honestly, the user base of gaia is mostly those in highschool... I think homework threads definatly have a place here- or, of course, highschool material which we all feel can be covered by wikipedia. The RNA thread was a decent example of this. If we don't like homework threads, we should do something about it- get a moderation system which deletes them, or create one thread to cover it.

Let's face it people... we're all minorities here. Each one of us speaks a different language with only a few overlaps. If we were looking for an in-depth argument about the roles of polo-like kinases as they relate to chromosomal separation, and whether or not the murine model is an accurate prediction on how they preform in humans... Gaia wouldn't be the right place for that.

So... I propose we kick back, toss aside the fancy talk, and let the kiddies join in on the party.