What is the newest installment of 'Random Thoughts' on Physics Forums?

In summary, the conversation consists of various discussions about documentaries, the acquisition of National Geographic by Fox, a funny manual translation, cutting sandwiches, a question about the proof of the infinitude of primes, and a realization about the similarity between PF and PDG symbols. The conversation also touches on multitasking and the uniqueness of the number two as a prime number.
  • #7,421
WWGD said:
Still hearing about the whole " living in the moment" thing. Seems no one asks: If it's so beneficial, why don't more people do it naturally?

Technology & internet...?

(It's a bit like asking why some people don't eat healthily: because they're addicted to artificial foods pumped full of sugars, salt, etc.)
 
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  • #7,422
Not sure. My opinion, based on little research is that automation is necessary during a busy life. So maybe I am agreeing with you.
 
  • #7,423
WWGD said:
Still hearing about the whole " living in the moment" thing. Seems no one asks: If it's so beneficial, why don't more people do it naturally?

If High-Intensity Interval Training is so beneficial, why don't more people do it naturally?

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.​

If you are anxious you are living in the future.​

If you are at peace you are living in the present.”​


― Lao Tzu
 
  • #7,424
Ivan Seeking said:
If High-Intensity Interval Training is so beneficial, why don't more people do it naturally?

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.​

If you are anxious you are living in the future.​

If you are at peace you are living in the present.”​


― Lao Tzu
I personally was not even aware of interval training. But I read about the whole " living in the moment" thing all the time. I was not questioning the validity of doing it; just thought it was a question worth asking/answering.
 
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  • #7,425
But one could make a strong case that most things nowadays that are beneficial for you actually don't come naturally. 🙂
 
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  • #7,426
WWGD said:
I personally was not even aware of interval training. But I read about the whole " living in the moment" thing all the time. I was not questioning the validity of doing it; just thought it was a question worth asking/answering.

But the point is the same: There are plenty of things we should do that we often don't. Living in the moment requires practice. It is in our nature to plan, worry, and regret; to relive past events and then stress over them while thinking of what we should have done or said, and to worry about future events that may or may not ever happen.

As for living in the past, it is called "running the tape". Many of us tend to run the events of the day over and over like running and watching an old video tape over and over. And while there is a certain amount of contemplation and review that is appropriate and necessary for success in life, most of the time this is unproductive. We are just stressing. In the same sense, there is no value in stressing over something you cannot change. And while we can and should plan for the future, there is no value in stressing over things that haven't even happened yet and may not ever happen.
 
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  • #7,427
Oh and btw, HIIT [High-Intensity Interval Training] is an incredibly effective method of training! Everyone from Olympians to heart patients are doing it now.
 
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  • #7,428
Talk about running the tape, while trying to recall the dumbest things I have ever done, a number of incidents of extremely fast driving came to mind; in addition to one episode of very bad judgement. Nothing bad ever happened but that was pure luck. Just thinking about two of those events and what could have happened, still causes me to stress as if it just happened. And those took place around 40 years ago.
 
  • #7,429
Ivan Seeking said:
But the point is the same: There are plenty of things we should do that we often don't. Living in the moment requires practice. It is in our nature to plan, worry, and regret; to relive past events and then stress over them while thinking of what we should have done or said, and to worry about future events that may or may not ever happen.

As for living in the past, it is called "running the tape". Many of us tend to run the events of the day over and over like running and watching an old video tape over and over. And while there is a certain amount of contemplation and review that is appropriate and necessary for success in life, most of the time this is unproductive. We are just stressing. In the same sense, there is no value in stressing over something you cannot change. And while we can and should plan for the future, there is no value in stressing over things that haven't even happened yet and may not ever happen.
True. Still, don't want to turn this into class warfare, but this is usually proposed by/to those well-heeled for whom paying rent, etc is not a major issue. Easier to live in the present under those terms.
 
  • #7,430
WWGD said:
True. Still, don't want to turn this into class warfare, but this is usually proposed by/to those well-heeled for whom paying rent, etc is not a major issue. Easier to live in the present under those terms.

Nope, it got me through the worst of times; when I lost EVERYTHING. In fact I learned these coping skills because I needed to. :wink: It was that or put a gun to my head and pull the trigger.
 
  • #7,431
Ivan Seeking said:
Nothing bad ever happened but that was pure luck.
Ever got single-sided into aquaplaning at 110 mph?

The interesting thing I experienced, I mean except pure luck, was that time was incredibly slow during the incident. It felt like a little eternity, although it was at most 100 m which isn't much at this speed. You are pretty quick very alerted and awake. I wished my brain would always work on this level as it did within this short period of time.
 
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  • #7,432
WWGD said:
True. Still, don't want to turn this into class warfare, but this is usually proposed by/to those well-heeled for whom paying rent, etc is not a major issue. Easier to live in the present under those terms.

Look at it this way. If you don't have the money to pay the rent, there are a finite number of actions that you might take to remedy the situation. Stay focused on that. Whether you manage it or end up living in your friend's garage, stressing over it won't change a thing. That only detracts from your ability to think clearly about a solution. It hinders your ability to fix or best manage the problem. In fact it is common for people to stress themselves to a point where they freeze and do nothing. They get caught in an endlessly looping tape.
 
  • #7,433
Something else I have learned along the way: Happiness is a choice.
 
  • #7,434
Ivan Seeking said:
Something else I have learned along the way: Happiness is a choice.
 
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  • #7,435
I read yesterday a perfectly clear explanation for why there is no permanent human settlement in the South Pole, unlike the case of the North Pole. Today I completely forgot what I read. Maybe I need more caffeine.
 
  • #7,436
WWGD said:
I read yesterday a perfectly clear explanation for why there is no permanent human settlement in the South Pole, unlike the case of the North Pole. Today I completely forgot what I read. Maybe I need more caffeine.
I think you may have forgotten another detail as well. (Clue: highlighted in bold above.)
 
  • #7,437
DrGreg said:
I think you may have forgotten another detail as well. (Clue: highlighted in bold above.)
Are you being Northist? EDIT: Otherwise my knowledge of science in this regard is pretty limited, and it may just be my ignorance.
 
  • #7,438
I think there are several permanent inhabited stations in Antarctica, e.g. Amundsen-Scott, Neumayer, and probably more rum by other countries. It should be the North pole where are none. Who wants to live on an ice shelf?
 
  • #7,439
fresh_42 said:
I think there are several permanent inhabited stations in Antarctica, e.g. Amundsen-Scott, Neumayer, and probably more rum by other countries. It should be the North pole where are none. Who wants to live on an ice shelf?
You do need ( at least) Rum . But both seem like ice shelves. Edit: I meant with "Native" populations, not teams of Scientists.
 
  • #7,440
Ok, this may be the (valid) technicality brought about in a previous post: It is the Artic and Antarctic circles; the poles are just points , i.e., 0 -D , while Arctic/Antarctic circles are regions.
 
  • #7,441
Branson is expected to go to space tomorrow.

Bezos is expected to follow in eight days.

Elon Musk has been living in space for a very long time already.
 
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  • #7,442
Ivan Seeking said:
Elon Musk has been living in space for a very long time already.
He was actually in the car. The guy you've seen since is a double.
 
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  • #7,443
Keith_McClary said:
He was actually in the car. The guy you've seen since is a double.
That's manufactured by another one of his companies.
 
  • #7,444
My company works closely with Blue Origin. Hoping to get some of that action. Grrrrrr!

A vendor of mine, a master machinist, was working closely with Bezos. In fact Bezos and his wife came out to his place one day. He made most of the parts for Jeff's 10,000-year clock. I told him to be sure to let me know when it works.
 
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  • #7,445
People keep asking me physics questions when they see me in coffee shops doing Math. " Why are there no large scale rectangular features in nature", i.e., why is nature fractal at large scales? Don't know. That's why I do non-physics. I just blurt out somethinf like " prolly has to see with gravity".
 
  • #7,446
It appears that Death Valley hit 130 degrees F on Friday.

"Yes it was hot" responded one climate change denier, "but it's a dry heat".
 
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  • #7,447
Ivan Seeking said:
It appears that Death Valley hit 130 degrees F on Friday.

"Yes it was hot" responded one climate change denier, "but it's a dry heat".
Wonder if that means more bush fires? Never heard of dry cold weather in the same context, i.e., not being so bad.
 
  • #7,448
WWGD said:
Wonder if that means more bush fires? Never heard of dry cold weather in the same context, i.e., not being so bad.
Here it comes: dry cold weather is by far more pleasant than wet cold weather!

I flew from an area with about ##\pm 1°C## where it was rainy, and cold - I call it rheumatism weather - to an area with about ##\sim -10°C ## where it was snowy, and the climate was continental (dry) rather than oceanic (wet). You bet, that I felt the colder climate far less to be cold than the rainy area significantly warmer.
 
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  • #7,449
fresh_42 said:
Here it comes: dry cold weather is by far more pleasant than wet cold weather!

I flew from an area with about ##\pm 1°C## where it was rainy, and cold - I call it rheumatism weather - to an area with about ##\sim -10°C ## where it was snowy, and the climate was continental (dry) rather than oceanic (wet). You bet, that I felt the colder climate far less to be cold than the rainy area significantly warmer.
It just seems the weather is pleasant while the snow lasts. But that's just out of casual observation.
 
  • #7,450
WWGD said:
It just seems the weather is pleasant while the snow lasts. But that's just out of casual observation.
To make it short: 0°C in NYC are far worse than -15°C in Minneapolis.
 
  • #7,451
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  • #7,452
fresh_42 said:
But it's even worse. You don't know how reliable the information is. The ecstasy of having ( just about) all information available and the agony of having to filter out the noise.
 
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  • #7,453
Wonder if young children, born in 2019, 2020 will grow assuming masks are part of a person's face. Maybe too for dogs.
 
  • #7,454
I guess congratulations to our French friends in Bastille day today.
 
  • #7,455
I guess it says something about me when I see someone and they remind me of Raymond Smullyan ( logician/set theorist) instead of a famous person/celebrity.
 
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