Today I Learned

[Bystander]

d the traffic circle and other traffic safety things, all by one man.

"Traffic circle" and "safety"? Oxymoron.

 

[phinds]

"Traffic circle" and "safety"? Oxymoron.

Not when you aren't used to them. Scared the hell out of me when they suddenly appeared many years ago on a route I took frequently in NJ. Didn't seem safe 'til I got used to them.

 

[fresh_42]

... and they are far better than traffic lights. Only problem, if they are big, then you have to watch one side while heading to the other and there is always someone who sleeps in pole position. The smaller ones are easier. I even overtook someone once in a one lane circle of about 30 m in diameter.

 

[BillTre]

I grew up just outside of Washington DC, where there are a lot of traffic circles. They use them there where many roads come together in a single intersection. Too complex for just lights or signs. I found these to be easy to deal with and useful.

Out here in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon, they put little ones in places where 4 roads come together and I don't find them more useful than a normal intersection, mostly because I am worried about other people not navigating them correctly and causing problems. I think they maybe using them as traffic slowing obstacles.
Generally, I don't like these smaller ones, as they make navigating the intersection more difficult for some people and that is contrary to what should be the prime directive of intersection design.

 

[phinds]

Out here in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon, they put little ones in places where 4 roads come together and I don't find them more useful than a normal intersection, mostly because I am worried about other people not navigating them correctly and causing problems.

Exactly. That's why I found the ones in NJ a bit scary until I got used to them and even then I never liked them.

 

[fresh_42]

At an intersection or traffic light one has to stop. Not so at roundabouts. I like them.

 

[phinds]

At an intersection or traffic light one has to stop.

Exactly; no one is going to come at you from the side without stopping.

 

[BillTre]

TIL that Deep Brain Stimulation (used to reduce symptoms in Parkinson's patients) in some cases can block their ability to swim. This seems to occur in a small percentage of cases.
In some cases, this is immediately reversible by turning the simulator off.
It has possibly been responsible for a some drownings.

 

[jbriggs444]

In some cases, this is immediately reversible by turning the simulator off.
It has possibly been responsible for a some drownings.

Simulated drowning?

 

[BillTre]

That should be stimulator!
I may have been improperly spell checked. Its trying to do it again.

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that the most likely astronomic event (Jupiter - Saturn conjunction) which led to the star of Bethlehem took place on Dec. 4th 7 BC. I assume Gregorian not Julian calendar. Close.

 

[mfb]

They can't have been very wise if they followed two planets and then decided "we are here" in a random place.

A Jupiter-Saturn conjunction seems unlikely, even if the story is not pure fiction.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

They can't have been very wise if they followed two planets and then decided "we are here" in a random place.

A Jupiter-Saturn conjunction seems unlikely, even if the story is not pure fiction.

Nah, it wasn't a planetary conjunction or star, but the same brightly-lit flying saucer that appeared to the shepherds as the "glory of the lord" and in various other places, linking the Old Testament and the New Testament, as Ezekiel's "glory of the lord", a pillar of fire, chariot of fire and various other manifestations involving light and cloud. Merry Christmas!

 

[fresh_42]

They can't have been very wise if they followed two planets and then decided "we are here" in a random place.

A Jupiter-Saturn conjunction seems unlikely, even if the story is not pure fiction.

Lesch explained it in all detail, including all conjunctions this year, the position in the sky, the duration of a journey from Babylon to Bethlehem per camel (Oct. 3rd - conjunction seen in Babylon, end of Nov. in Palestine), the N-S direction Jerusalem-Bethlehem of the planets' position on Dec. 4th, plus the ancient astrological meaning of both planets and the star sign where it appeared in.

Plus the fact, that this dates back to a calculation from Kepler 1603, later supported by a finding of a cuneiform by Schnabel.

All in all, far more convincing than anything else I've seen so far.

P.S.: You sound like all the other scientists who vilified Kepler's finding in the 18th and 19th century as rogue statement by a charlatan (Lesch's comment). Not that they ever checked the calculations.

 

[mfb]

Plus the fact, that this dates back to a calculation from Kepler 1603, later supported by a finding of a cuneiform by Schnabel.

Did you check the reference 8 on the Wikipedia page? According to it Kepler expected a nova to appear whenever such a conjunction happens and Mars is nearby - a claim that is just silly from a modern perspective.

There was a supernova in 4 BC recorded by other sources.

Anyway: "Matthew made it up" sounds far more plausible to me than some rich guys stopping at a barn being convinced that whatever they follow ends exactly at this barn.

 

[fresh_42]

According to it Kepler expected a nova to appear whenever such a conjunction happens and Mars is nearby - a claim that is just silly from a modern perspective.

That doesn't make Kepler's calculations wrong. And Lesch - tv presence or not - is still an astrophysicist, which I trust more than any Wikipedia entry.

Nobody ever said that the rich guys actually made this journey, only that celestial facts fit.

 

[pinball1970]

That doesn't make Kepler's calculations wrong. And Lesch - tv presence or not - is still an astrophysicist, which I trust more than any Wikipedia entry.

Best reading someone like Bart D Ehrman on this, he is NT scholar. Matthew and Luke wanted to place Jesus in Bethlehem for the Davidic connection and the prophecy in the OT. Those accounts contradict each other and there is no historical records of a empire wide census.

 

[mfb]

And Lesch - tv presence or not - is still an astrophysicist, which I trust more than any Wikipedia entry.

Reference 8 is from another astrophysicist or something like that. The Wikipedia article just makes a one-sentence summary of the longer explanation.

No one doubts that the conjunction happened, but that was not a surprising event even 2000 years ago. Someone trying to follow that to a specific point was at best foolish. Kepler's suggestion that people followed a nova created by the planets is just nonsense as we know today.

 

[fresh_42]

Someone trying to follow that to a specific point was at best foolish.

Any such claim is of course speculation. But the explanations Lesch offered to explain direction, time, and duration made sense. Novae can be ruled out. But Pisces, Jupiter, Saturn, and West had an astrological meaning in those days, so it is at least thinkable. I only said that the celestial data fit and that Kepler had calculated it in 1603. There was no need to emphasize equipped with modern knowledge, that Kepler's hypothesis about novae was wrong. So what? His orbit calculations were not, and that was all I claimed.

You (pl.) bring in novae, the bible and other stuff. Nothing which I even mentioned. There was a conjunction several times this year, and it pointed in north south direction on Dec. 4th in Palestine. The conjunction before was on Nov. 3rd. These are facts (if Lesch wasn't lying), and together with the symbolism they make the journey plausible. Nobody said it was a proof, only that the puzzle fits.

 

[pinball1970]

Reference 8 is from another astrophysicist or something like that. The Wikipedia article just makes a one-sentence summary of the longer explanation.

No one doubts that the conjunction happened, but that was not a surprising event even 2000 years ago. Someone trying to follow that to a specific point was at best foolish. Kepler's suggestion that people followed a nova created by the planets is just nonsense as we know today.

Also @fresh_42 From 33.30-46.50 Is a comparison of the details by Ehrman

 

[gleem]

TIL the "Matthew Effect" the erroneous attribution of some well known saying or work to more well known or famous persons rather than the true originator. Coined by Robert Merton a sociologist of science researcher after the Apostle Matthew's gospel.

"For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
— Matthew 25:29, RSV.

And how did I stumble on this tidbit. On perusing the internet on "why is physics so difficult" finding an article on the most difficult concept in physics (btw was classical mechanics of rotational motion of a rigid body) a reference was made to a saying attributed to R Feynman about interpretation of QM " Shut up an calculate" and the reference to a search for its true origin (M. David Mermin, Cornell )

 

[zoki85]

On December 29, 1959, American physicist Richard Feynman gave a visionary lecture on the importance of technologies on very small scales. That was 60 years ago, and is considered by many as birthday of nanotechnology.

"Plenty of room at the bottom"

Wiki article

Video of Feynman's lecture on same matters, but 25 years latter

 

[pinball1970]

TIL the "Matthew Effect" the erroneous attribution of some well known saying or work to more well known or famous persons rather than the true originator. Coined by Robert Merton a sociologist of science researcher after the Apostle Matthew's gospel.

"For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
— Matthew 25:29, RSV.

And how did I stumble on this tidbit. On perusing the internet on "why is physics so difficult" finding an article on the most difficult concept in physics (btw was classical mechanics of rotational motion of a rigid body) a reference was made to a saying attributed to R Feynman about interpretation of QM " Shut up an calculate" and the reference to a search for its true origin (M. David Mermin, Cornell )

Religious debate is not allowed on physics forums for good reason.
However the actual techniques employed to the manuscripts are methodical and quite scientific (besides carbon dating)
As per your mail, finding out who did or did not author certain texts is extremely interesting from a historical point of view.

 

[BillTre]

TIL that you can go to The National Academies Press and get copies of book they have produced.
You can buy the books or e-books for $50 to <$100, but you can download pdf's for free.
They seem to be the publishing outlet for The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and produce a lot of books. Since the Academies are supposed to provide scientific advice to the government, some of their subjects are pretty interesting, like climate issues and space/origin of life issues.
It can be difficult to find specific things on the site.
Here is a link to Search for Life in the Universe and there are lots of links to other spacey books.

 

[Astronuc]

TIL that there is a phenomenon known as the "Cheerios Effect"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerios_effect

I suppose there is a Rice Krispies Effect too. In Australia, the same breakfast cereal is known as Rice Bubbles.

 

[jtbell]

TIL that the orange dust covering my fingers after I eat Cheetos is called "cheetle."

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that the orange dust covering my fingers after I eat Cheetos is called "cheetle."

You must have been relieved. I bet you thought it was rust!

 

[gmax137]

I remember a comic strip from long ago (Shoe ?) where one character could tell whether the other got his news from newspapers, or from TV. The readers had black fingers, from the newsprint; while the TV viewers had orange fingers, from the cheetos.

 

[BillTre]

TIL that an un-named astronaut was treated for a blood clot in their jugular that was found by ultrasound done to study bodily fluid distributions of people in space.
A land based doctor got a unique opportunity to be a NASA consultant on the case:

Moll initially requested to visit the ISS and examine the patient personally; however, due to the time-sensitive nature of the situation, this was not possible.

“NASA told me they couldn’t get me up to space quickly enough, so I proceeded with the evaluation and treatment process from here in Chapel Hill,” Moll explained.

Nice work if you can get it. Too bad he didn't get up there.

His wife had a nice line:

“When the astronaut called my home phone, my wife answered and then passed the phone to me with the comment, ‘Stephan, a phone call for you from space.’ That was pretty amazing,”

Little story here.

 

[BillTre]

Late notice, but I just learned today is Dr. Strangelove Day.
The film (perhaps the best political satire film of all time) came out on this day, Jan. 29, in 1964.

Remember:
“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.”
in case you're ever in the war room.

 

[Adesh]

Today I learned (actually it was yesterday) that it Oliver Heaviside who gave us the Four Maxwell's Equations . Maxwell developed something around 20 equations.

 

[nsaspook]

Today I learned Sunday's date is a rare, extra-special palindrome.
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/sunday-s-date-is-a-rare-extra-special-palindrome-1.617181

 

[Ibix]

Today I learned Sunday's date is a rare, extra-special palindrome.
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/sunday-s-date-is-a-rare-extra-special-palindrome-1.617181

I was discussing palindromic dates with a colleague yesterday, but we didn't notice the double palindrome. I'll mention it to him on Monday...

 

[Borg]

TIL that today is the first palindromic day in 909 years - 02/02/2020. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[Ibix]

TIL that today is the first palindromic day in 909 years - 02/02/2020. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Only if you're American. Us Brits have one today too, but our last one was on 21/02/2012.

Edit: If I calculated correctly, we get 60 spread over the 2000s and 2100s. You only get 34, but spread over the 2000s, 2100s, and 2200s.