u/stjs247

I read somewhere that two full-blooded chimpanzee siblings can have more genetic diversity between them than two humans from opposite sides of the planet. It was said that this is because the ancestral population was reduced to not much more than 1000 about 900k years ago, but multiple species of homo have arisen since then, including us. How is it that enough time passed for us (our ancestral species, not homo sapiens) to diverge into multiple different species, but we still have such low genetic diversity? I do not understand.

I am going to rant about some things that bother me when I see them. Prepare Yourself.

In Wuxia stories, the first major realm is usually some variation on body tempering. The problem is that it's very often done wrong.

Often, the first step will be either Blood or Muscles. The first is fine, but the second is not. It doesn't work. The order in which the parts of the body are tempered is partly arbitrary, however, Bones have to come before Tendons, which have to come before Muscles. The reason for this is simple:

The muscles are already too strong.

The brain has to limit how much force the muscles can exert, because if they exert too much, they will rip themselves off the bone, or even fracture the bone itself. This is what happens during hysterical strength. Even without hysterical strength, it's still common for people to injure themselves when they exert too much force in awkward positions, and their muscles damage or tear their tendons.

So, if you temper your Muscles first, then you, either, won't be able to access that new strength because your brain will stop you, or you'll cripple yourself every time you use it, as your super strong muscles destroy their own tendons and ligaments and/or break the bones they're attached to.

So, you can't start with Muscles.

If you temper your Tendons first, there will be less likelihood of the muscles ripping themselves from the bone, so the brain should allow the muscles to exert more force, however, they would then just break the bones instead of the tendons. The force that would have damaged the tendons before would just be absorbed by the bones instead. So, you'd still either not be able to use any more strength, or cripple yourself when you do.

So, you also can't start with Tendons.

The only choice is to start with Bones. Since the connection point the tendons also involves the bone itself, this not only eliminates the risk of fractures from muscular force, but also somewhat reduces the likelihood of tendon tears. So, the brain will release the limiter somewhat on the muscles, and you would get stronger in addition to being more durable.

Technically, Tendons and Muscles could be the same stage, since, the tendons are just the parts of the Muscles that attach to the bones. If you treat them as separate, then doing Tendons next eliminates any risk of the Muscles tearing themselves, and so the brain would allow you to use all of the Muscles' strength. You would get much stronger and more durable, without doing any tempering of the Muscles themselves. Then, you can move on to tempering the Muscles.

It would be smart to keep the Bones and Tendons more tempered than the Muscles at all times, or use a technique that prioritizes them. What use is extra Muscle strength that you can't even use, anyway? Alternatively, count Tendons as part of Muscles, and do both of them in one stage. That could vary based on the specific technique.

Another thing:

There's usually a Marrow Cleansing stage or some such. The problem is, that there will often also be a Blood Tempering stage as well, which shows that they don't understand what Marrow is.

Bone Marrow is where blood is produced. tempering Marrow and tempering Blood should be the same thing. trying to temper only the Blood flowing through you currently, without touching the Marrow, would be a temporary measure.

It would make sense to do Bone Tempering first, and then conclude that with Marrow Cleansing to advance to the next realm. Bones and Blood are therefore your Foundation Realm, which I think is quite neat and proper. Then you can do whatever afterwards.

This gives me a segway into another thing that annoys me:

Other times, they'll start the schema with Skin Toughening instead. This is slightly better than starting with Muscles, but is still largely pointless. Toughening the Skin to the point where it's impenetrable to conventional cutting and slicing attacks really doesn't help you much. It just transforms cutting attacks into blunt attacks. The blade doesn't penetrate, but the force still carries through and can break bones relatively easily. Tough skin gives you minimal protection against blunt force impact, so you'd end up with tons of internal injuries, and if you ever need surgery, you need a surgeon that is also a master stronger than you.

These things bother me because they turn the entire schema into a plot-hole, one that could be avoided if the authors just thought a bit about them first and realized that they don't work.

Another thing: There are two parts of the body that I have never once seen incorporated into a schema, that very much should be.

The first is Connective Tissues. Ligaments and Joints. These seem to get folded into Tendons, but they're not the same thing, so it would make sense to give them their own thing. A Ligament Tempering stage would make you more durable and more kinetically stable.

The second one is even more important: Nerves. The Nervous System. You know, the part of the body that controls everything. Nerve Tempering could sharpen senses, quicken reflexes, refine motor control, and increase muscle recruitment, allowing the body to use all of its strength. That is very important, but I've never seen someone think of it.

That is all I have for the moment. Have you had similar thoughts?

If some engineers were to get together and design an optimal suit of armor for swordfighting, a modern equivalent of a knight's full plate or chainmail or some such, what would that look like?

I would imagine that modern technology should allow us to make something more effective than the medievals could, but I understand that kevlar is actually quite bad at stopping blades. Would a kevlar jacket be more effective than an arming doublet?

It's normal for a brother to be concerned about the possibility of his sister ending up with a guy who treats her poorly.

So then, if you've got a good friend and your sister takes a liking to him and vice versa, isn't that a good thing? Who would you rather trust to take proper care of her, if not your friend who you already know and trust?

The only reason I can think of is that you don't trust him with her, because you know him to have mistreated the women he has dated, and you just don't want him to do the same to a woman you consider under your purview.

Am I missing something?