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

[fresh_42]

What the heck could this be:
ping PF - check
ping NYT - check
ping facebook - server unknown
ping aol - check
ping aol.mail - server unknown
ping msn - check
ping outlook - server unknown

 

[WWGD]

Ouch! No one seems to care much for Wolfram's ANKOS, other than Steve himself.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I went to a first family party after Covid. In this party was said to me:

"Is the cat dead or alive? (It was asked about 20 times)
What about the particle that is a wave at the same time?
Calculate the cake speed.
Calculate the time i take to make a drink.
Why do i got drunk?
What about to do a time travel machine?
He can't play cards with us because he will calc all the possibilities and will win.
Just need to go faster than light !
What if the light go faster than light?
You already seem crazy.
Why do i don't feel that the car is at 100 km/h?
Sheldon!
Multiverse?
What is heaviest? One kg of cotton or steel?"

That happens with you guys too?

I had an engineer at work ask why physicists never have to prove anything. Clearly some engineers need to be better educated! They literally think physicists study philosophy! The attitudes and beliefs I find regarding physics grads are often absurd and based in ignorance; esp with engineers.

I have had a number of people come to me with energy schemes. The saddest was a retired gentleman who had spent most of his retirement money developing a floating generator platform intended for use on rivers. He had even purchased a large crane for dropping them into rivers. It was a terrible design and he would be lucky to get a couple of hundred watts out of it. He was expecting something more like 100 HP. He figured he could power his house and sell energy back to the grid. How do you tell someone they just wasted their retirement money?

 

[BillTre]

I have had a number of people come to me with energy schemes. The saddest was a retired gentleman who had spent most of his retirement money developing a floating generator platform intended for use on rivers. He had even purchased a large crane for dropping them into rivers. It was a terrible design and he would be lucky to get a couple of hundred watts out of it. He was expecting something more like 100 HP. He figured he could power his house and sell energy back to the grid. How do you tell someone they just wasted their retirement money?

This level of delusion reminds me of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos fame. (In the news now due to her trial.)
Lots of delusion (probably not on her part, but by her suckers) by people looking for a wonder investment.
Her whole enterprise seemed highly unlikely to me from the start (amounts of blood too small for almost any test, certainly not for a whole bunch of them simultaneously), but a lot of smart people (probably with no lab background) fell for her spiel, in hopes of financial reward.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

This morning we had our weekly meeting in a restaurant for breakfast, as we often do. And we often get the same waitress. Suffice it to say she is about 30 years younger than me and very attractive. I have learned that there are a lot of women who will date much older men. I've been dating much younger women for 9 years now. You just have to be smart, funny, respectful, and go for it. So I gave her THE look. And sure enough, she responded. I'm about 90% sure she would go out if I approach her in the right way. But I have a GF her age. I like to flirt a lot just to practice but she kind of gets to me. But I don't want to break up with my current GF. And I don't cheat. Grrrrr! Course a harmless coffee date wouldn't really be cheating. It would just be...intelligence gathering.

 

[WWGD]

Kind of sad to see, of all people, Angela Merkel, a Phd scientist, making questionable decisions on nuclear energy. Maybe @fresh_42 and @mfb can clarify why Germans are preferring green energy that is not yet viable to nuclear energy?

 

[fresh_42]

Kind of sad to see, of all people, Angela Merkel, a Phd scientist, making questionable decisions on nuclear energy. Maybe @fresh_42 and @mfb can clarify why Germans are preferring green energy that is not yet viable to nuclear energy?

Nuclear energy is debated since the late '70s here. Chernobyl and Fukushima didn't help, either. But the most serious objection is, that nobody wants to have the leftovers stored in his backyard. Germany is rather densely populated, so it's hard to find a region where the risk of storage would be at an acceptable level. The most likely geologic formations are in the northern half of the country, and most people who support nuclear energy live in the south. I doubt that this is only by chance. And the most likely formations are old salt mines. But salt and a possible intrusion of water don't go together well. Germany has been exposed to nuclear weapons and the risk of a nuclear conflict for decades. This created a strong aversion to any related risk.

Edit: ... and 3-mile-island.

 

[WWGD]

An alternative to Le Pen in France is Le Pencil.

 

[WWGD]

Re what I had said about claims that children are pure and adults corrupt them. This is just one example of such claim:

 

[WWGD]

The New Delhi old deli delivers.

 

[kyphysics]

@WWGD

That's a touching photo. Children are precious. And, yes, they often are naturally loving.

I was at a Walmart years ago and a baby of another ethnicity from my own and his mother were standing in line to pay in front of me. The baby she held in her arms kept smiling at me and we exchanged funny and happy faces. He was giggling and his face/eyes lit up.

After a while, the mother, whose back was turned to me, saw what was happening and made the baby/child turn his head back around and told him to stop interacting with me. I didn't say anything, because I wasn't sure how to interpret her actions and didn't want to cause any tension. But, it was a fun moment.

Yeah, us adults are less trusting and loving at times. Sometimes it's for good reasons, but sometimes its from hate, cynicism, etc.

 

[kyphysics]

So, when you're in a medical facility that requires masks, what do you make of people who wear one, but have their nose exposed and/or staff who pull theirs down and expose their mouth when talking?

Saw both today in a hospital. I assume lots of patients are very vulnerable there with all sorts of serious ailments.

Makes me wonder why they allow people to wear masks with nose exposed? Is it because some medically need to do so (maybe have breathing problems)? And what's with the employees pulling theirs down to talk to you? One woman did this constantly. I surmised that it had to do with sounding muffled when talking with the mask. But, the risk of spreading germs/virus would seem more important when you're at a hospital of all places.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My little brother and I were very different in many ways. But we shared a sense of humor and a love of the great music from the 60s and 70s. He died last May and I find it hard to listen to many of my favorite songs now.

He was born at the end of the 60s but had one of the most impressive music collections from those years most people had ever seen.

 

[WWGD]

@WWGD

That's a touching photo. Children are precious. And, yes, they often are naturally loving.

I was at a Walmart years ago and a baby of another ethnicity from my own and his mother were standing in line to pay in front of me. The baby she held in her arms kept smiling at me and we exchanged funny and happy faces. He was giggling and his face/eyes lit up.

After a while, the mother, whose back was turned to me, saw what was happening and made the baby/child turn his head back around and told him to stop interacting with me. I didn't say anything, because I wasn't sure how to interpret her actions and didn't want to cause any tension. But, it was a fun moment.

Yeah, us adults are less trusting and loving at times. Sometimes it's for good reasons, but sometimes its from hate, cynicism, etc.

See, my point was that this thinking leads to an infinite regress. The baby's innocent; he learned his malice from his parent...who was once a child...who learny his malice from his parent...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

See, my point was that this thinking leads to an infinite regress. The baby's innocent; he learned his malice from his parent...who was once a child...who learny his malice from his parent...

Until you reach the primitive who couldn't trust anyone different because they were likely dangerous.

 

[nsaspook]

This is why we love research.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0256198

The power of Dionysus—Effects of red wine on consciousness in a naturalistic setting

There is lack of research on effects of red wine on consciousness when drank in wine bars designed to enhance the pleasurableness of the wine drinking experience. Effects of a moderate dose of red wine (≈ 40.98 g of ethanol) on consciousness were examined in a naturalistic study taking place in a wine bar located in one of the most touristic areas of Lisbon, Portugal. One hundred two participants drank in one of three conditions: alone, in dyad, or in groups up to six people. Red wine increased pleasure and arousal, decreased the awareness of time, slowed the subjective passage of time, increased the attentional focus on the present moment, decreased body awareness, slowed thought speed, turned imagination more vivid, and made the environment become more fascinating. Red wine increased insightfulness and originality of thoughts, increased sensations of oneness with the environment, spiritual feelings, all-encompassing love, and profound peace. All changes in consciousness occurred regardless of volunteers drinking alone, in dyad or in group. Men and women did not report different changes in consciousness. Older age correlated with greater increases in pleasure. Younger age correlated with greater increases in fascination with the environment of the wine bar. Drinking wine in a contemporaneous Western environment designed to enhance the pleasurableness of the wine drinking experience may trigger changes in consciousness commonly associated with mystical-type states.

 

[ergospherical]

Autumn is such an underrated season! Comfy sweaters, pumpkin spice lattés, colourful leaves … I’m liking the vibes

 

[Tom.G]

Some nails have a coating of plastic that melts from the heat generated when they are hammered in.
Its like hot glue gun glue.

Yup.
They are called Box Nails and have a somewhat shiny finish, often with a bluish color cast.

 

[kyphysics]

I rarely listen to audio books, but I started this one (finished half) after constantly hearing about the book.

Surprised how bad medical doctors can be at managing money in lots of these stories.

 

[WWGD]

I just read Tom Cruise at some point saved the life of Elizabeth Shue, grabbing her shoes to avoid her being beheaded by the rotor wings of a helicopter. I believe that Elizabeth Shue shoes, should be in a museum!

 

[ergospherical]

Bloody hell the freshers flu is brutal this year, guess that’s what a year of lockdown does to your immune system

 

[WWGD]

Security risk warning at...127.0.0.1
?

 

[ergospherical]

Security risk warning at...127.0.0.1
?

 

[WWGD]

View attachment 290600

But wait... Windows does not consider Outlook a trusted site.

 

[WWGD]

Some argue that language acknowledges that focus, mental concentration is a limited resource through the use of expressions like ' Paying Attention', in that you have to 'Pay'. But not all languages use expressions of this sort.

 

[nsaspook]

A "redshirt".

 

[BillTre]

View attachment 290645

A "redshirt".

How many came back?

 

[BillTre]

If I were going up with Shatner (AKA Kirk), I think I would have tried to obtain a phaser for the occasion, just to keep everyone in line.

 

[ergospherical]

Nothing more awkward than watching some physicist lecturing and thinking "I can't wait for the complicated bit to end", only then for the guy to say "...so now onto the technical bit..."

 

[Jarvis323]

Anyone else ever buy a bottled drink, be impressed with the bottle design and labeling, and then suddenly realize how insane it is that people forge brand new bottles with fancy labels just for a person to drink 20 ounces of liquid from one time?

 

[dlgoff]

Yea William Shatner!

 

[nsaspook]

How many came back?

We should ask Dr. McCoy.


Space is dangerous.

 

[BillTre]

Inspired by the above, here is a video I found of Shatner reviewing impressions others have done of him:

 

[WWGD]

View attachment 290600

But wait... Windows does not consider Outlook a trusted site.

 

[WWGD]

Sign of the times:
Use site so and so to fact check.
Then check whether fact check site is accurate. Sites differ in their assessment. Some claim it is, other say it isn't. Then check the fact checkers of the fact checkers for accuracy/bias...