u/3_Stokesy

Man's dream of achieving flight has been with us for basically as long as we have been a species. I just recently watched the video of Tom Scott Paragliding over Rutland and what surprised me was that the equipment required to do it seemed pretty simple - a large parachute, rigging, a towcable to take off (which isn't even required when there is decent wind) and that was about it. After take-off its just a matter of finding thermal uplifts to maintain height.

It made me wonder - why haven't I heard of medieval or ancient people using this as a method of travel? I personally can't think of anything here that couldn't be made without modern technology.

Also, some of the hobbyists he spoke to were able to travel fair distances doing so in single days, essentially as the crow flies. Especially in mountainous regions, the ability to travel long distances with little regard for terrain where taking off over mountainsides is easier.

Maybe I am being stupid and missing something obvious here, but this seems like this could have been a pretty viable and useful method of travel.

So, does anyone know of any examples of paragliding being used this way in pre-modern times? And if not, why not?

I keep hearing it thrown around that it is easier to convince over 50% of people to vote blue than it would be to get everyone to vote red, so I am here to walk everyone through the statistics of this and show that that is not the case.

First, you need to know that people aren't voting at random. If they were then sure the odds of a 100% red are a lot slimmer than over 50% blue. People are voting based on criteria known only to themselves. Furthermore, the simple number required doesn't matter here because your asking people to vote for completely different things - in one scenario, your trying to get 100% of people to vote to save themselves, in the other your trying to get over 50% of people to risk their lives.

The actual, true odds of either outcome are both unknowable. The fact that 50% blue requires fewer people to achieve is actually completely irrelevant to the odds.

However, if I was to make an educated guess, I would suggest the odds of both outcomes are in the same category of unlikely. If this sounds surprising consider this:

The polling on this topic generally suggests somewhere between a 55% and 65% favourability for blue. However, remember the above point - only blue voters are voting to risk their own lives. The way people vote in a poll when the stakes don't actually apply is going to be very different from when they do, but only for blue voters. Red voters are almost guaranteed to be being honest, Whereas many proclaimed blue voters will not have the strength to take the gamble.

Some will be taken by fear, others will want to press blue but won't be convinced it is a safe choice and see it as throwing their lives away for no reason. And remember, this is an entirely anonymous vote with 0 accountability either way. No social pressure, no need to keep up appearance, you rely solely on an individual's raw conscience.

Never forget humility in the face of death or underestimate the instinct to preserve one's own life. I think that blue could get 30% or even 40% but the idea that over half of humanity is capable of this does not ring true to me.

And on that note, vote red. The more of us who do, the more of us survive.

Hello all,

I have a trip to China in a couple of weeks. Me and my gf will spend 2 weeks travelling around various places. I am a UK citizen and she is a Chinese citizen.

I have read online that foreigners need to register themselves with the police within 24hrs of arrival but that hotels do that automatically. However during the middle part of the trip we will be staying with my Girlfriend's family in Wuhu, Anhui province. The rest of the time, including at the start of our trip we are in hotels.

I was wondering how I go about doing this?

Thanks.