Random Thoughts 7

[fresh_42]

The main contributions = subject
are from the last century = predicate
all = object

Note: all but one, namely Hilbert's Nullstellensatz von1893, the rest was > 1900

"cum grano salis" means for me

Der Ausdruck wird im Deutschen heute meist verwendet, um eine Aussage einzuschränken und darauf aufmerksam zu machen, dass das Gesagte möglicherweise nicht in jeder Hinsicht wörtlich zu nehmen ist.

The expression is mostly used in German today to limit a statement and to point out that what is said may not be taken literally in every respect. [Hilbert was outside last century, but only him and only by 8 years.]

My question is whether I can use it the same way in English.

 

[Ibix]

My question is whether I can use it the same way in English.

No, I don't think so. The expression is used in English (not usually Latin) to mean "you should maintain a healthy degree of skepticism about this". E.g. "the weather forecast says it's going to be sunny today, but the clouds look very black out of my window so I'd take that with a grain of salt" (or a pinch of salt, or a very large pinch of salt, depending on how much emphasis you want to put on the skepticism).

I don't think we have an idiom meaning "...well, nearly", which is what I think you are trying to say here.

 

[fresh_42]

I don't think we have an idiom meaning "...well, nearly", which is what I think you are trying to say here.

I once told a student who was about to write his diploma thesis: "Write it down so that you can understand it, and then erase every third line." A kind of predetermined breaking points for the professor's nitpicking, but easily to fill.

I guess I will write "all in the last century" waiting for the nitpickers here to complain about.

 

[Ibix]

I guess I will write "all in the last century" waiting for the nitpickers here to complain about.

"All but one in the last century"? (Or all but two, or whatever).

 

[fresh_42]

"All but one in the last century"? (Or all but two, or whatever).

That would be the bigger trapdoor because it is "all but the one I know of". An invitation for an off-topic discussion.

Decision made: plus minus a decade.

 

[fresh_42]

However, it is interesting how the same idiom has so different meanings.

 

[jack action]

Cum grano salis ("with a grain salt") is a Latin phrase. The expression is mostly used in German today to limit a statement and to draw attention to the fact that what has been said may not be taken literally in every respect but is partly inaccurate, exaggerated or sarcastically formulated and is therefore only to be taken seriously with cuts. The sentence is also used more rarely that a previous assertion does not have to be true in every respect, but does contain “a grain” truth.

@fresh_42 You seem to want to use the "used more rarely" meaning. Not only it is not used in English for this meaning, but the German version seems to be more about "inaccurate information" whereas the English version is more about "untrusted source":

To take something with a "grain of salt" or "pinch of salt" is an English idiom that suggests to view something, specifically claims that may be misleading or unverified, with skepticism or not to interpret something literally.

I was ready to tell you that in French, we have the same meaning as in English, but then I read the French Wikipedia page that explains how French Canadians are influenced by the sea of English people surrounding them:

Linguistic nuances​

The term is less widespread in France than in English-speaking countries, where it is literally translated with with a grain of salt The e20th-century Larousse states that in cum grano salis "the word salt has the figurative meaning of play, of drunkenness, and that one uses to make it clear that what one says must not be taken seriously", like the Dictionary of Latin Words in French, for which this formula means "what one says wants to make people smile and must not be taken litteraly". The nuance of humor seems less present in the English language, more clearly focused on the idea of reserve, of scepticism.

Fredelin Leroux fils adds: "In Canada, Latin expression is rare. We are happy to use the French turn, most often with the meaning of "English". It also notes that most of the occurrences he has studied are between the two.

 

[fresh_42]

@fresh_42 You seem to want to use the "used more rarely" meaning.

No, I wanted to use it as ...

The expression is mostly used in German today to limit a statement and to draw attention to the fact that what has been said may not be taken literally in every respect.

It fitted perfectly in that meaning: "all examples but one which was almost an example, too" means "with a pinch of salt all in Latin" means "don't take it literally" means "don't mislead the debate by nitpicking on unimportant and marginal exceptions".

I used it for years that way, and I wouldn't even have asked if it wasn't for the word "with" in Latin that collides in its false English pronunciation with another quite vulgar word. I thought that especially Latin is even more distributed in English than it is in German so I didn't even think about a translation either.

Anyway, I should post this in TIL and decided to follow ...

I don't think we have an idiom meaning "...well, nearly", which is what I think you are trying to say here.

... and wrote nearly.

 

[collinsmark]

Lately, I've seen a lot of nasty debates between electric and gas-powered cars. [...]

Coincidentally, yesterday's xkcd has some thoughts on this.

Electric vs Gas

(Source: https://xkcd.com/2948/)

 

[jack action]

Coincidentally, yesterday's xkcd has some thoughts on this.

Electric vs Gas
View attachment 347179

(Source: https://xkcd.com/2948/)

It's actually this comic strip that made me write the random thought. I have previously seen a lot of nasty debates - "social media" style - in the last few weeks. They were all initiated by electric car people stating how much electric cars are so cheap compared to ICE cars. Now, with xkcd, it makes it more "official" (compared to social media trolls) that apparently the electric car is such the obvious choice that anyone not buying one is just throwing money down the drain to get less. For the last 100 years or so, people were just stupid to not use the electric car that existed all along.

There was this Facebook post about Tesla lasting 300,000 miles on the same battery pack and thus comparing maintenance costs that lead to dozens - yes, dozens! - of thousands of dollars in economy when using an electric car vs an ICE car.

Not even wanting to fall into the trap of arguing with the numbers, a simple logic test is the following: I never heard a single person saying «I have to buy an electric car because I'm not rich enough to buy an ICE car.» Come to think of it, I only see people with larger-than-average means buying electric cars, even with government rebates and tax-free electricity (i.e. not paying the taxes on gasoline).

According to all this hype: "more efficient", "more powerful", "more torque at a standstill", and - apparently now - cheaper, why don't we see more of those on the race track leaving the ICE cars in their dust? I'm not even sarcastic, I genuinely ask the question. Even considering a possibly shorter range, it seems to be the ideal vehicle for a ¼-mile drag race. Where are they? I never heard of a racer holding to deprecated technology for nostalgia.

I like electric cars. I think they do offer certain advantages in certain situations, even though I don't believe they will "save" us in any way, shape, or form. My point is why does it matter so much to put in the face of others - especially in a condescending way - that you made the right choice for yourself? (That addresses the ICE car people as well.)

 

[gmax137]

Even considering a possibly shorter range, it seems to be the ideal vehicle for a ¼-mile drag race. Where are they?

Top fuel dragsters make about 12,000 hp. I've seen 10,000 hp electric motors, not something that would fit on 4 wheels, lol. Those motors will run for decades. I don't know what a hot rod electric motor looks like. If the mission statement for an electric motor is 10,000 hp for 4 seconds, how would that be done?

 

[PhDeezNutz]

So I was watching a History Channel short on the “scissor takedown” and one of those random sciencey looking equations came up across the screen

It makes zero sense to me (I’m not even sure it’s supposed to make sense to anyone)

Angular velocity, angular acceleration, and angular jerk are all functions (the same function) of KE and PE?

 

[jack action]

Top fuel dragsters make about 12,000 hp. I've seen 10,000 hp electric motors, not something that would fit on 4 wheels, lol. Those motors will run for decades. I don't know what a hot rod electric motor looks like. If the mission statement for an electric motor is 10,000 hp for 4 seconds, how would that be done?

I don't know about Top Fuel drag racing but there are other classes. The guy in the next video put a Tesla powertrain in an otherwise stock 1972 Plymouth Satellite. Very cool car. You should watch the whole video to see how it is built. The video below starts near the end where he races it against his other car, a 1969 Dodge Dart with a 340 ci engine, modified with a turbo, producing 700 hp. The electric car just leaves it in its dust. From a standstill or starting at highway speed.

​

So how come there are not more people doing mods like this, or even bringing original Tesla to the track, and just saying "OK grampa, nice car. Now let's see what real sports cars can do!" I'm not talking about the "I want to try my Tesla" kind of guy but true racers who are in for the competition. As I said, racers usually are ready to sell their family to get a few tenths of a second advantage: modified camshaft, exhaust, oversized carburetors, fuel injection, NO₂, turbo, supercharger, etc. Any modification is welcome. They even accept swapping a more powerful modern Corvette or Hellcat engine to replace their obsolete original engine. Why not electric conversions like this guy did? The previous video - which I already knew existed - was found with the search "electric muscle car" and it is about the only video of such conversion I could find.

 

[Astronuc]

Top fuel dragsters make about 12,000 hp.

I could see 1200 hp, maybe. Back in the 1970s/1980s, the standard railroad locomotive was 3000 hp (2,200 kW), e.g., EMDs GP40/GP40-2 (4 axle) and SD40/SD40-2 (6 axle) with a V16 turbocharged 16-645E3 diesel motor. Competitors were GE's U30B/U30C and ALCO's C430/C630, respectively.

 

[Astronuc]

Majorca hit by ‘mini-tsunami’ with mega wave swallowing streets in tourist area

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/t...wallowing-streets-in-tourist-area/ar-BB1oEgWp

The phenomenon, known as a meteotsunami, involves rapid changes in sea levels caused by atmospheric events such as storms and squalls.

 

[jack action]

I could see 1200 hp, maybe. Back in the 1970s/1980s, the standard railroad locomotive was 3000 hp (2,200 kW), e.g., EMDs GP40/GP40-2 (4 axle) and SD40/SD40-2 (6 axle) with a V16 turbocharged 16-645E3 diesel motor. Competitors were GE's U30B/U30C and ALCO's C430/C630, respectively.

Get ready to be amazed:

​

It runs on nitromethane which is, IIRC, 53% oxygen. And then the air-fuel mixture is compressed before going into the engine.

There is so much fuel in the cylinder that it is on the verge of hydrolock. Long story short, you get 1000 bar pressure on the piston!

​

 

[fresh_42]

This part of the discussion reminds me of a short dialogue I once had with my brother-in-law, John.

Me: "Why are you so obsessed with horsepower? You aren't allowed to drive fast. 50hp would do on your roads."
John: "Yes. That's why we at least want to be fast at the traffic lights."

Needless to say, he enjoyed driving around on German autobahns.

 

[gmax137]

I still want to hear from the EEs. How do you hot rod an electric motor? How do you take your 400 hp Tesla to 800 hp?

 

[gmax137]

You aren't allowed to drive fast. 50hp would do on your roads."

Yes, but generally, there's no legal limit to how long it takes you reach to the posted speed. Acceleration is above the law, lol.

 

[gleem]

Acceleration is above the law, lol.

Maybe the law but not the insurance companies. I recently learned that some apps on your phone can monitor your speed and acceleration and make this info available to insurance companies. Jackrabbit starts are considered a sign of a risky driver.

 

[WWGD]

When you see a history book written by someone named " Victor", it just reinforces the stereotype.

 

[fresh_42]

When you see a history book written by someone named " Victor", it just reinforces the stereotype.

It depends.

Esmeralda: What is your name?
Butch: Butch.
Esmeralda: What does it mean?
Butch: I'm American, honey. Our names don't mean s***.

 

[gmax137]

When you see a history book written by someone named " Victor", it just reinforces the stereotype.

That didn't click until I stopped trying to figure it out.

 

[WWGD]

Ah, the pro -electric crowd. Reminds me of another group

 

[fresh_42]

When you see a history book written by someone named " Victor", it just reinforces the stereotype.

I think it is more than a stereotype.

 

[BillTre]

I think it is more than a stereotype.

Winner gets to keep score.

 

[fresh_42]

Winner gets to keep score.

The German version is nicer: "Wer schreibt, der bleibt." (who writes (the scores) stays (at the table))

 

[WWGD]

The joke goes , the USSR was the only country with an unpredictable past. I suspect the same is the case with most countries, depending on the mood, politics of the day.

 

[WWGD]

That didn't click until I stopped trying to figure it out.

" History is written by the (V)ictors".
I admit it was obscure.

 

[pinball1970]

England v USA in the Cricket world cup right now and we are at the crease. May the best man win guys.

 

[WWGD]

England v USA in the Cricket world cup right now and we are at the crease. May the best man win guys.

I gave up long ago trying to figure out whether England, Scotland, Wales, were countries and why they don't have a single team for the whole of the UK.

 

[russ_watters]

I still want to hear from the EEs. How do you hot rod an electric motor? How do you take your 400 hp Tesla to 800 hp?

Electric motors output whatever you tell them to or die trying. 400hp and 800hp are just ratings, based on duty cycle. You can rate a motor for a lot higher output if you only plan on running it for 10 seconds at a time vs for hours at a time.

That's what Tesla's "ludicrous" mode does; it just ups the demand (torque) by 60%

 

[BillTre]

I gave up long ago trying to figure out whether England, Scotland, Wales, were countries and why they don't have a single team for the whole of the UK.

The would be like the states where I have lived (Michigan, Maryland, Indiana, Oregon, and California, and also DC but, not a state) each having a team for the Cricket world cup.
However, it looks like an all US final four would be possible!

 

[WWGD]

The would be like the states where I have lived (Michigan, Maryland, Indiana, Oregon, and California, and also DC but, not a state) each having a team for the Cricket world cup.
However, it looks like an all US final four would be possible!

I wasn't aware cricket was so popular in the US. Thougt it was more of a Commonwealth thing.

 

[BillTre]

Many sports are becoming more international.
I would guess a lot of it is money driven.
You'd have to clone yourself if you wanted to watch everything.