Today I Learned

[OCR]

Today I learned: There was never a published randomized double-blind trial on whether parachute use prevents death when jumping out of airplanes.

Sure ?

 

[Jonathan Scott]

Today I learned that just because Windows Update has been saying "Checking for Updates" day and night for 18 days (with the Windows Update service under svchost.exe showing 100% CPU for all of that time) that doesn't necessarily mean it's not making progress!

This morning, I found it had just applied 40 updates and had two more ready to install, after which it now reports it's up to date.

This is a Windows Vista system that I hadn't used since July, when I tried but failed to update it to Windows 7 (which it claimed should be compatible), getting some extremely obscure error in "specialization" processing after it had all apparently installed fine, probably due to the hard disk having been replaced a couple of years ago by someone who didn't do the right incantations to initialise the new disk correctly for Windows. Or perhaps the disk controller doesn't support the new disk properly. Or it's a side-effect of a known bug in the original CD version of the Windows 7 Update package to do with RAID controllers. Or something. Or something else. Grrr.

 

[phinds]

Today I learned that just because Windows Update has been saying "Checking for Updates" day and night for 18 days (with the Windows Update service under svchost.exe showing 100% CPU for all of that time) that doesn't necessarily mean it's not making progress!

This morning, I found it had just applied 40 updates and had two more ready to install, after which it now reports it's up to date.

This is a Windows Vista system that I hadn't used since July, when I tried but failed to update it to Windows 7 (which it claimed should be compatible), getting some extremely obscure error in "specialization" processing after it had all apparently installed fine, probably due to the hard disk having been replaced a couple of years ago by someone who didn't do the right incantations to initialise the new disk correctly for Windows. Or perhaps the disk controller doesn't support the new disk properly. Or it's a side-effect of a known bug in the original CD version of the Windows 7 Update package to do with RAID controllers. Or something. Or something else. Grrr.

Yeah, my bet is it's your last suggestion, "something else". It's ALWAYS "something else" with *&#^@%%# Windows.

 

[StevieTNZ]

Today I learned a judge granted an emergency stay on the executive order Trump signed regarding travellers holding certain passports.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

TIL about Göbekli Tepe while reading Sapiens: A brief histry of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.
It “is an archaeological site atop a mountain ridge in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of modern-day Turkey, approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Göbekli_Tepe​

What is fantastically unusual about this site are the very large carved monumental structures built there

about 9500 BCE by hunter gathers rather than by farmers who archeologists have determined have built all other similar kinds of structures found so far.

 

[Nugso]

TIL about Göbekli Tepe while reading Sapiens: A brief histry of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.
It “is an archaeological site atop a mountain ridge in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of modern-day Turkey, approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Göbekli_Tepe​

What is fantastically unusual about this site are the very large carved monumental structures built there
View attachment 112250
about 9500 BCE by hunter gathers rather than by farmers who archeologists have determined have built all other similar kinds of structures found so far.

Heh. I've actually been there.

Also, why it isn't a TIL, I would like to ask you lot: How do you "learn" all those things? For example I learn something every day, but forget in a few days/weeks. Do you write them down too? Or just not care whether you'll remember?

 

[dkotschessaa]

Heh. I've actually been there.

Also, why it isn't a TIL, I would like to ask you lot: How do you "learn" all those things? For example I learn something every day, but forget in a few days/weeks. Do you write them down too? Or just not care whether you'll remember?

If we all used spaced repetition we could remember all those facts almost forever!

 

[Buzz Bloom]

Do you write them down too? Or just not care whether you'll remember?

Hi @Nugso:
I generally bookmark or download stuff I learn. Most of what I learn day-by-day is that I have problems understanding what I am learning. I don't post about those things as a TIL item, but very occasionally I actually come to understand something, or at least I am pretty confident that I have, and then I post about that. When I learn something I don't understand, I sometimes start a thread to seek someone who can explain it to me.

Regards,
Buzz

 

[BillTre]

TIL that some fish can communicate via their urine (like dogs, but shorter term).

Previously IL that some fish can communicate via their farts!
So, both numbers one and two.

These are such Earth shacking revelations that I will just remember them!

 

[dkotschessaa]

Previously IL that some fish can communicate via their farts!

I wasn't aware fish were farters, so that's kind of a 2 for 1 deal there...

On the other hand I'm not sure I want to remember this one.

-Dave K

 

[Nugso]

If we all used spaced repetition we could remember all those facts almost forever!

Hehe, that's where Anki comes in handy I guess :)

Hi @Nugso:
I generally bookmark or download stuff I learn. Most of what I learn day-by-day is that I have problems understanding what I am learning. I don't post about those things as a TIL item, but very occasionally I actually come to understand something, or at least I am pretty confident that I have, and then I post about that. When I learn something I don't understand, I sometimes start a thread to seek someone who can explain it to me.

Regards,
Buzz

I see. I'm currently taking notes of what I'm learning every day such as Nuremberg Trials and hCG. Would be good to remember them forever!

 

[dkotschessaa]

Today I learned that Trebuchet Memes are actually a thing on the internet. http://www.collegehumor.com/post/7041587/19-trebuchet-memes-because-well-we-dont-really-know

 

[Hypercube]

Today I learned the new word: pareidolia.

 

[nsaspook]

Today I learned what might be the loneliest job in the world.

https://sputniknews.com/art_living/201702021050289083-austrian-town-loneliest-job/

The local community in Saalfelden, Austria, offers one of the loneliest jobs in the world. The locals are looking for a hermit, who is expected to live in a hut in the mountains without any modern facilities.
The person who will be chosen for this position will have no access to electricity, heating, internet or even a salary.

The applications are being received by a local priest, Alois Moser. Several applicants have already demonstrated their interest in the vacancy.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Today I learned what might be the loneliest job in the world.

https://sputniknews.com/art_living/201702021050289083-austrian-town-loneliest-job/

Sometimes I think that sounds lovely. I'm not sure how long I'd make it in practice though.

-Dave K

 

[OmCheeto]

Sometimes I think that sounds lovely. I'm not sure how long I'd make it in practice though.

-Dave K

Current temperature in Saalfelden, Austria: 34°F
Current temperature in Tampa, Florida: 78°F

Crawl into your refrigerator, and see how long you last.

ps.
Current temperature inside my refrigerator: 37.4°F
Current temperature outside my house: 36°F (wind consistent at around 38 mph. Sorry, but I don't know the equation for wind chill, off the top of my head.)
Nominal OmCheeto refrigerator temperature: 32.5°F (we're doing refrigerator experiments)

 

[fresh_42]

Sometimes I think that sounds lovely. I'm not sure how long I'd make it in practice though.

-Dave K

The last one made it a year. Priest and therapist. He returned to Vienna.

Btw.: deadline is 2/20

 

[dkotschessaa]

Current temperature in Saalfelden, Austria: 34°F
Current temperature in Tampa, Florida: 78°F

Crawl into your refrigerator, and see how long you last.

Only because my wife would find me!

 

[mfb]

The "mission" is just from April to October/November. Temperature should be fine.
Not sure how you get water and food there.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

TIL (finally after almost two years of making errors and correcting my errors) the technically correct form of the matter term in Friedmann's equation.

It all started with

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/how-does-a-particles-kinetic-energy-vary-with-a-t.811627/ .​

It is well known that this form is wrong for sufficiently small values of a for which matter particles become relativistic. For that case, matter particles behave gravitationally approximately like photons, so the term would be approximately

(1) Ω_M a^-4 .​

The form that is correct for the full range of values for a is:

(2) Ω_M a^-3 × √[ 1 + Q² × (a^-2 - 1) ]​

where Q = v/c, where v is the average speed of the particles for a=1. It should be clear that for very small values of a, Q will become close to 1, and (2) will be approximated by (1).

I plan to start a new thread soon to hopefully get someone here at PF to check my math, and to discuss some implications.

 

[BillTre]

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/trump-administration-blacks-out-animal-welfare-information?utm_campaign=news_daily_2017-02-06&et_rid=33537079&et_cid=1147411:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a statement that it revoked public access to the reports “based on our commitment to being transparent … and maintaining the privacy rights of individuals.”

... Inspection reports contain little, if any, personal information about individuals.

 

[Enanimate]

Today i learned that infinite data compression is possible

 

[fresh_42]

Today i learned that infinite data compression is possible

... or as I call it: the WOM.

 

[Enanimate]

... or as I call it: the WOM.

It's actually really simple

 

[jim hardy]

... or as I call it: the WOM.

years before Microsoft achieved it with software,
http://www4.vmi.edu/faculty/squirejc/Research/IC_Datasheets/digital_cmos/Write Only Memory.pdf

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

I have learned something important from the discussion about the Doomsday Clock. I learned that I think more clearly and communicate better when I avoid satire, sarcasm, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and figures of speech in general. I must also avoid humor, because I am not very good at it, and people usually take me seriously even when I am trying to be funny. I need to clear my thinking of the many literary techniques I learned in high school, and from the bad influence of comedy in TV and movies.

From now on my rule is to say what I mean as clearly as I can, knowing that even then, I could fail to make my meaning clear to some. Also, I will avoid Utopian scenarios.

For example, in an earlier post I came up with a purely fanciful scenario about Germany developing a "green weapon" that could immediately neutralize all nuclear weapons. I hope people realized it was a sort of "modest proposal" inspired by Swift. But if they did not, I blame myself.

In an earlier scenario, I suggested the USA and Russia team up to force global nuclear disarmament. Even if this is technically possible, it is politically Utopian.

"Nothing unreal exists" (First rule of Vulcan metaphysics.)

 

[dkotschessaa]

I have learned something important from the discussion about the Doomsday Clock. I learned that I think more clearly and communicate better when I avoid satire, sarcasm, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and figures of speech in general. I must also avoid humor, because I am not very good at it, and people usually take me seriously even when I am trying to be funny. I need to clear my thinking of the many literary techniques I learned in high school, and from the bad influence of comedy in TV and movies.

I've found this helpful for online argumentation, when I can get myself to comply...https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/03/28/daniel-dennett-rapoport-rules-criticism/

 

[Buzz Bloom]

"Nothing unreal exists" (First rule of Vulcan metaphysics.)

Hi @David Reeves:

You may like the book I am currently reading and enjoying greatly.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.​

Here is an abbreviated quote from pp 113-116.

Three main factors prevent people from realising that the order organizing their lives exists only in their imagination.
a. The imagined order is embedded in the material world.
. . .
b. The imagined order shapes our desires.
. . .
c: The imagined order is inter-subjective.
. . .​

From my perspective the book makes very clear that a great deal of what almost everyone believes exists is unreal. Of course his meaning for "real" and exists" may differ somewhat from yours.

Regards,
Buzz

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

Today I also learned that I really need to remember to edit my posts on PF in the text editor, before I publish them, so I don't need to edit after the post has been published.

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned (from a PBS documentary) that up to 20% of squirrels steal their nuts from other squirrels instead of foraging for them. They watch a nut being buried, then dig it up when they think the burier is gone. But if the burier catches them in the act... now I know why they chase each other so often!

 

[EnumaElish]

years before Microsoft achieved it with software,
http://www4.vmi.edu/faculty/squirejc/Research/IC_Datasheets/digital_cmos/Write Only Memory.pdf
View attachment 112839

WOM was "invented" as a spoof: http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/W/write-only-memory.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write-only_memory_(joke)

http://www.sigwom.com/?page_id=17

But WOM has real applications: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write-only_memory_(engineering)

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learned (from a PBS documentary) that up to 20% of squirrels steal their nuts from other squirrels instead of foraging for them. They watch a nut being buried, then dig it up when they think the burier is gone. But if the burier catches them in the act... now I know why they chase each other so often!

I wonder if they learned to lie as well, as crows or chimps do, to fool the others.

 

[nsaspook]

Why UPS trucks never turn left.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Why UPS trucks never turn left.

I hate turning left, especially on certain Florida roads. I always wondered if they could make a "no left turns" option on a GPS.

Because two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

Why UPS trucks never turn left.

Hi nsaspook:

Over the many years I have been driving I have had a few accidents, and almost all of them have involved either me of another car making a left turn.

Regards,
Buzz