A Sense of the Uncanny

[Aragorn]

An EMP blast, or similar solar event, would end up shutting down the cooling processes at various plants leading to a secondary nuclear disaster.

Um... Source?

An EMP is devastating to fine electronics, but I don't see how it could be devastating to anything mechanical ─ which the cooling process at nuclear power plants is. As the matter of fact, you could easily expose a 1970s-era automobile to an EMP, and the only thing that would be fried would be its radio. In a modern car however, the only things that would still work would be the power windows, the horn and the windscreen wipers. And maybe the lights too. But the engine management system and (if it is an automatic) the gear-shifting logic would be toast.

[Dreamtimer]

I must be wrong. I thought that such a thing would disrupt the controls at nuclear power plants.

[Wind]

That's a relief to know. I think when devices and gadgets were still mostly mechanical they were more foolproof, so to speak.
These days we rely so much on electronics. Can you imagine what people would do if social media went down? Let alone the internet?

Or what about cell phone reception. Worst case scenario, no electricity at all.
I suppose that's why there are preppers and those self-sufficient communities.

[Aragorn]

That's a relief to know. I think when devices and gadgets were still mostly mechanical they were more foolproof, so to speak.
These days we rely so much on electronics. Can you imagine what people would do if social media went down? Let alone the internet?

Or what about cell phone reception. Worst case scenario, no electricity at all.
I suppose that's why there are preppers and those self-sufficient communities.

Don't worry about cellphone reception. Your cellphone itself would be nothing more than a paperweight anymore. Only old-school electronics ─ i.e. vacuum tube technology ─ and simple electro-mechanical motors would still work. Computers, smartphones, smart TVs, modern-day washing machines, anything with transistors and diodes would be toast.

During the Cold War, the Russians used vacuum tube technology for the electronics in some of their jet fighters and bombers because it rendered them immune against an EMP. Eventually they abandoned it again because it made the jets so heavy that the weight of the electronics alone impeded the plane's performance.

In addition to that, vacuum tube technology has its own weaknesses. Vacuum tubes are not exactly shock-proof, and they have a limited lifetime ─ and quite unreliably so too, because you could never tell in advance how long any particular vacuum tube was going to hold up. It could last for years, or it could already die within days of being installed. And then there was the electrocution hazard too.

The above all said however, the one thing that will divert an EMP is a Faraday cage, and critical systems are usually put inside a Faraday cage, exactly because of the risk of an EMP.

[Wind]

The above all said however, the one thing that will divert an EMP is a Faraday cage, and critical systems are usually put inside a Faraday cage, exactly because of the risk of an EMP.

I don't think many people would have those. Some tinkerers have built them though.

The most worrysome part is that the power grids aren't really protected in any way as they should be for solar flares.

[Aragorn]

The most worrysome part is that the power grids aren't really protected in any way as they should be for solar flares.

That much is true, and especially on account of the above-ground power lines. That's an accident just waiting to happen. Those lines can carry an EMP over quite a large distance.

[Wind]

Solar flares could potentially bring down many of the satellites too. The sky filled with those burning things...

[Aragorn]

Solar flares could potentially bring down many of the satellites too. The sky filled with those burning things...

Yep. They're right in the line of fire, and there are literally thousands of them up there ─ both active ones and derelict ones that haven't come down yet.

[Emil El Zapato]

Many times I asked did someone want to know some answers, but the consensus seemed to be it's just one of the whose to know? You know I've spent about 40 years trying to find the answers to the uncanny, or the not to know, but even on simple questions about what do certain words mean, that we all use as if we fully understand a dictionary meaning for, we on TOT all had some idea , but all different.

What about squiggly lines ... between the fingers.

[Dreamtimer]

I hope there really are Faraday cages where needed. People do love to cut corners.

[Octopus Garden]

I can give a very simplistic view of the uncanny...Incidentally, the video is a very concise dissection of the concept.

The movie, "The Grudge", had scenes in it that were innovative and brand new to me, I think it was produced in Japan. It freaked me out so bad, I've never had the nerve to watch it again. I truly didn't want to explore those boundaries.

The Grudge has that crazy kid with the scraggly hair, correct? I think that figure is so super creepy because she is confusing on a very basic level, and the confusion doesn't let up upon closer examination.

She has what appears to be spider qualities, in the way she moves, yet her hair and body shape are human. But if human, there is no clear indication of age or sex, so that disrupts how we organize beings into categories. The lack of definition is a subset of terrifying.

I don't remember the movie, but wonder how long it takes before it is evident that she might be a predator?? Is that clearly established or is it left up to the viewer?

[Dreamtimer]

If I recall correctly there was or is supposed to be a sequel. Perhaps some questions were left unanswered in anticipation of another film.