The struggle to attract the opposite sex is something that humanity has struggled with since the beginning. Finding others to carry on your genes, and continue humanity, is the core instinctual purpose of most human beings to this day. Countless tomes and other guides have been written on how to attract the opposite sex, but much, or most of it, is based in theory or feeling. However, scientists have also spent a lot of time over the years studying attraction, and how it affects us on a cognitive level. These studies have led them to understand many ways that you can use scientifically proven methods to make yourself more attractive to the opposite sex.

What REALLY Turns People On (Explained by SCIENCE), TopTenz

Gravity – it’s weird and it makes stuff fall down. That’s about all you need to know for most stories unless your story happens to include leaving the Earth in any way. Today we find out how gravity works.

Basic gravity (Newton)

The simple way to understand gravity is through Newton. Newton’s explanation is good enough for most things and easy to work worth.

More gravity (Einstein)

Einstein took all of that and explained why gravity works. For this, we needed two videos. The second one is a visualisation which will help you understand gravity a little better.

Do what now?

Shall we visualise this?

Further reading

• Forces of Attraction, Physics 4 kids
• How does gravity work? (How Stuff Works)

How do writers research?

According to the author, Andy Weir, the first problem is that the Internet is not always reliable. I know, shocker, right.

The first problem you run into is the inherent unreliability of information on the internet. A lot of it is inaccurate, most of it is slanted, and some of it is deliberately misleading.

Andy Weir, How to Research Like a Writer

To combat this we writers have to put our journalistic hats on and varify what we find. That means checking multiple sources – not just Wikipedia (useful though it is). However, there comes a point where you know as much as you can usefully learn and you just have to admit that you are going to make some stuff up. We are writers. We make stuff up. That’s our job.

Writers use all sorts of methods to gather information to make our settings seem realistic. The best is to actually live through whatever you are writing about. However, if that something is a bomb going off, you might be better off interviewing a survivor. There is only so much “method” that makes sense here.

If you cannot visit the setting or get the inside scoop from someone who has, the next best thing are experts. The best source of expert insight are books. Libraries are your best bet for books if you just want to borrow them. You local book shop, if you have money to throw at your research are also good.

In fact, most writer research boils down to reading and talking to people. Sometimes with a museum or location visit thrown in. Writers research by asking questions. Lots of questions. Research is questions all the way through.

A Quiet Place showed us a world where being silent was key to survival, but what would the quietest place in OUR world be like? Kyle lowers the volume on this week’s Because Science!

Because Science

If you are thinking about writing in a fantasy setting you may find yourself wondering about medieval warfare. In this Ask, I will attempt to gather research resources on how medieval warfair worked and what it might have been like.

Medieval warfare is the European warfare of the Middle Ages. Technological, cultural, and social developments had forced a dramatic transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery (see Military history). In terms of fortification, the Middle Ages saw the emergence of the castle in Europe, which then spread to Western Asia.

Medieval warfare, Wikipedia

Medieval warfare strategy and tactics

• quora.com: How did medieval field battles work

This section requires more resources. You can help us add more resources by suggesting them in our discussion forum.

Medieval martial arts

There are a few terms taht relate to martial arts from the medieval period.

• WMA (Western Martial Arts)
• HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts)

There is some debate about the best term to use to describe these medieval martial arts.

Film and TV swordplay vs medieval reality

Medieval fortifications

Fortifications were a very important part of warfare because they provided safety to the lord, his family, and his servants. They provided refuge from armies too large to face in open battle. The ability of the heavy cavalry to dominate a battle on an open field was useless against fortifications. Building siege engines was a time-consuming process, and could seldom be effectively done without preparations before the campaign. Many sieges could take months, if not years, to weaken or demoralize the defenders sufficiently.

Medieval warfare, Wikipedia

Castles

This section requires more resources. You can help us add more resources by suggesting them in our discussion forum.

Army organization

Despite the rise of knightly cavalry in the 11th century, infantry played an important role throughout the Middle Ages on both the battlefield and in sieges. From the 14th century onwards, there was a rise in the prominence of infantry forces, sometimes referred to as an “infantry revolution”.

Infantry in the Middle Ages, Wikipedia

Medieval armies consisted of various units often divided by social standing, personal wealth and level of skill, arms and amour. Common elements include infantry and mounted knights (nobility).

• Infantry in the Middle Ages, Wikipedia
• Evolution of medieval knighthood, Wikipedia

Medieval warfare equipment

Medieval weapons covers many different types of ranged and hand-held objects. Likewise, amour and protective equipment had a gret deal of variety. So much so that this is almost certainly a topic for further Asks.

See also: List of medieval weapons (and armour), Wikipedia.

This section requires more resources. You can help us add more resources by suggesting them in our discussion forum.

Relics in medieval warfare

The practice of carrying relics into battle is a feature that distinguishes medieval warfare from its predecessors or from early modern warfare and possibly inspired by biblical references.

Medieval warfare, Wikipedia

This section requires more resources. You can help us add more resources by suggesting them in our discussion forum.

Related Questions

These are questions that might (or might not) deserve their own Ask.

Would it work to kill a knight’s horse?

Links and sources

Other medieval warfare and combat-related resources.

Suggested channels and blogs

I’ve listed a few general sources that I have found useful and informative. I have almost certainly missed some and will add more as I remember, rediscover, or you suggest them.

• Shadiversity
• Knyght Errant
• Metatron

Useful Search Results

• Google
• YouTube (Hema)
• How did medieval field battles work? (quora.com)

Further reading

• Suggested further reading (Wikipedia)
• medievalwarfare.info
• medievalists.net

Images used