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

[WWGD]

Awkward moment of the day, Halloween.
Me: " Ha ha man, great costume"
Reply: " What costume?"
...

 

[Rive]

Weeding an overgrown cacti in an undersized pot gives new dimensions to preeminent practice to handle high voltages. Pliers, tweezers, thick gloves, meticulous planning of next moves...

I wonder if this could be incorporated into lab safety training somehow

 

[WWGD]

This guy,

Claims if y=y(x), then dy/dx is the slope of the graph. Fine. But then he additionally claims that
dx/dy is the slope of x=x(y). Problem is x, may not be a function of y. Guy wrote 17 videos on Covariant Differentioation for free, so I don't want to disagree with him.

 

[Borg]

Three days working on a bug in some code I was trying to implement. Finally resolved it by removing a single asterisk.

 

[WWGD]

Three days working on a bug in some code I was trying to implement. Finally resolved it by removing a single asterisk.

I see it as your pc/program being your autistic friend. 99.999% right, yet a comma or asterisk missing? Impossible to understand.

 

[Bystander]

Three days working on a bug in some code I was trying to implement. Finally resolved it by removing a single asterisk.

"Skooshed a spider," huh?

 

[Borg]

"Skooshed a spider," huh?

Something like that.

Now I'm chasing a new bug that is likely due to removing the asterisk... sigh.

 

[Ibix]

Something like that.

Now I'm chasing a new bug that is likely due to removing the asterisk... sigh.

To the tune of "Ten Green Bottles":
Ten little bugs, hiding in the code.
Ten little bugs, hiding in the code.
Fix one bug,
And re-compile the lot.
Eleven little bugs, hiding in the code.

 

[pinball1970]

The COVID19 deniers seem to be re-emerging on YouTube. Admittedly I should just watch Dr Becky and Sabine and stay away from these comments but hey.
Anyway I have been challenged to debate and I have accepted. Perhaps it was a bluff but let's see.
I am actually interested on how these people think, how did they get to the point where they distrust the medical/ Science community so much.

 

[fresh_42]

There is still hope ...

 

[pinball1970]

There is still hope ...

View attachment 316755

Don't get your hopes too high.

https://www.nationalnumbers.co.uk/blog/2020/10/funny-number-plates.html

 

[fresh_42]

Today, 9.11. (9th of Nov.), is the most frightening day of the year for several reasons in our history (1848,1918,1923,1938,1989). Strange to see the association due to the notation.

 

[WWGD]

Today, 9.11. (9th of Nov.), is the most frightening day of the year for several reasons in our history (1848,1918,1923,1938,1989). Strange to see the association due to the notation.

It's a " mirror day", like all days where the day of the month is less than 12, i e., the swap mm/dd <-->dd/mm produces a legitimate date. Here,
9/11 <-->11/9.

 

[fresh_42]

It's a " mirror day", like all days where the day of the month is less than 12, i e., the swap mm/dd <-->dd/mm produces a legitimate date. Here,
9/11 <-->11/9.

Sure, but both days mark historical events if written in the local notation. That's eerie.

 

[berkeman]

But why do 5.11 tactical pants and short have that strong strap in the back? What is it's purpose?

Spoiler

Turns out the 5.11 brand of tactical gear started with mountain climbing (hence the 5.11 climb difficulty rating), and the strong strap in the back was for holding carabiners on the climbs. It's not a reference to 911 emergency stuff...

http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6qcf9ViQ41qcb5h6.jpg

 

[Jarvis323]

I've been watching youtube videos of people describing extreme and nightmarish psychedelic experiences.

One person claimed, in their drug induced visions, to have watched humans evolve and progress from apes to the present day and beyond. First opposable thumbs, then, fire, metallurgy, industrialization, the internet, and eventually colonization of space. Anyway, in his vision, some time after space colonization, Earth was obliterated by nuclear war. At that point, the youtube algorithm decided it was a good time to show some commercials. Probably, it thinks the heaviness of Earth being depicted as being destroyed is a good setting to make a sell. So, the first commercial is for some product sold by a company which happens to share the same name as me, and the commercial ends by saying my name. Then a second commercial starts and the first words are "This is the future you created".

So to summarize, the world is depicted as being destroyed and then I get, "<My name>. This is the future you created." Yeah, so I guess I understand the algorithm's logic. Heavy moment in the content, make it personal (how about a commercial with my name in it), make it relatable (how about a commercial that shares keywords with the title). No sophistication is required in the explanation. It's just good psychology to use association and leverage powerful sentiment, I guess. But I have to admit, if I were some other person who were more gullible, knew less about technology, or who were otherwise susceptible, I might be sitting here thinking I was a real life anti-John Conner or something. Youtube, or the universe, or what have you, did kind of blame me for destroying Earth, after all.

Instead, I just felt worry. Because, the world is full of people who are susceptible to this kind of thing. And, probably, the core audience of these videos (psychedelic experience videos) are some of the more susceptible. Other ads I've seen on Youtube lately include an ad for a secret bible verse which the government is covering up, because it contains the key to having your prayers be answered, and if all prayers were answered, then the pharmaceutical industry wouldn't make money, because nobody would be sick. Another ad I saw claimed that there was an impending truly apocalyptic attack on American patriots by the left.

So, anyways, it scares me a little the way algorithms seems to try to get personal, feed into people's fears, and help manipulators and charlatans target the vulnerable, etc.

 

[berkeman]

I've been watching youtube videos of people describing extreme and nightmarish psychedelic experiences.

It sounds like you should stop doing that. Just sayin'...

 

[dlgoff]

I don't know where my daughter finds the time; working to pay the bills, school homework & studying, and airplane flying.

 

[Enigman]

Gosh, y'all. I hope you have been well.

E: Oh look, I broke my hiatus and my comment count made the devil's number

 

[WWGD]

Gosh, y'all. I hope you have been well.

E: Oh look, I broke my hiatus and my comment count made the devil's number

Make sure you put a cast on it until it heals ;).

 

[Enigman]

I cast a heal, on the broken seal,
But a string cut, cannot be whole,
Except with a knot.

 

[fresh_42]

Memories: https://www.conservethesound.de/
(not meant as advertisement; listening to the samples is for free)

 

[WWGD]

Kind of weird; barely heard a thing about the world soccer cup.

 

[fresh_42]

Kind of weird; barely heard a thing about the world soccer cup.

How is that weird? It is the men's championship, and thus irrelevant in the US. But your girls have beaten ours in a friendly match.

The question of whether and how to boycott the championship is all around here.

Don't be sad, Here is some news for you: Tom Brady is the only player who has won regular games in three different countries outside the US.

 

[WWGD]

How/why are the men's championship irrelevant?

 

[fresh_42]

How/why are the men's championship irrelevant?

Because they are all male, and neither your women nor your Latin population is allowed to play.

Edit: It is for the same reason as nobody here talked about the "World" series, although I saw some scenes on tv.

 

[WWGD]

Ah, I didn't notice they didnt qualify.

 

[fresh_42]

Ah, I didn't notice they didnt qualify.

They did qualify. Group B with England, Wales, and Iran.

 

[WWGD]

They did qualify. Group B with England, Wales, and Iran.

Then I don't get your initial point.

 

[fresh_42]

Then I don't get your initial point.

You have a world-class women's team but a third-class men's team.

 

[WWGD]

You have a world-class women's team but a third-class men's team.

Ah, ok. Still, iirc, the women's team was beat by a men's high school team.

 

[Orodruin]

Kind of weird; barely heard a thing about the world soccer cup.

Now, lets get one thing clear

 

[Ibix]

Ah, ok. Still, iirc, the women's team was beat by a men's high school team.

That's fairly routine, I think. Men (even adolescents) are bigger and stronger than women, and there are limits to what advantages you can overcome with skill.

 

[Orodruin]

That's fairly routine, I think. Men (even adolescents) are bigger and stronger than women, and there are limits to what advantages you can overcome with skill.

Same reason there are weight classes in boxing and martial arts.

 

[Astronuc]

Too much generation, nowhere to send the surplus.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...ff-from-national-electricity-grid/ar-AA146XXm

Wind farms and rooftop solar installations could be switched off in the coming days to protect South Australia's energy grid, with experts warning of the risk of more blackouts following the weekend's extreme weather.

The state remains cut off from the national electricity market after key infrastructure was toppled in the state's east.

High winds during Sunday night toppled a tower in the South Australia-Victoria Interconnect.