The Best Solutions: Thought Provoking, Inspired & Hilarious

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around various creative and humorous ideas related to problem-solving, particularly in the context of political systems, technology, and innovative concepts. Participants share anecdotes, fictional scenarios, and personal inventions, exploring the intersection of humor and ingenuity.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes a fictional scenario from a Dr. Who episode where a dictator is vaporized if voted out, prompting discussions on political accountability.
  • Another participant humorously suggests that such a system could be controversial, especially among those who believe elected officials should act independently of public opinion.
  • Several participants share humorous or inventive ideas, such as wiring an electric blanket to an alarm clock to combat cold mornings.
  • One participant mentions a unique concept for a car transmission that expands and contracts, likening it to an infinite transmission, which has been a long-sought goal in automotive design.
  • Discussion includes references to various sci-fi stories and episodes that inspire thoughts on societal structures and technological advancements.
  • Participants also delve into the design of weapons, with one sharing a variable suppressor concept and another discussing a unique gun design from history.
  • There are mentions of innovative technologies like pneumatic landing systems for Mars and the concept of a space elevator, highlighting the excitement around these ideas.
  • One participant references the "Caspian Sea Monster," a large wing-in-ground-effect craft, discussing its specifications and capabilities.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features a mix of humor and serious ideas, with no clear consensus on the viability or appropriateness of the proposed concepts. Participants express differing views on political systems and technological innovations, indicating a range of opinions and interpretations.

Contextual Notes

Some ideas presented are based on fictional narratives and may not have practical applications. The discussion includes speculative concepts that are not fully fleshed out or agreed upon by participants.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in creative problem-solving, humorous takes on politics, innovative technology concepts, and speculative fiction may find this discussion engaging.

Ivan Seeking
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I have run across a number of ideas, both real and fictional, that are either thought provoking, or inspired, hilarious, all of the above, or on rare occasion, flat out brilliant.

One funny one that comes to mind was from an old Dr. Who episode, I believe. The setting was some planet similar to Earth but with entire planet ruled by an elected dictator - a single person who had absolute power, until election day.

When his term of office is up, he is held accountable for his actions by an electronic vote of the people; world wide, and in just minutes [or hours at most]. The dictator sits in a chair, on camera, with the entire planet watching while they vote. If he receives more than 50% of the vote, he remains world leader for some number of years. If he is voted out, he is vaporized on the spot.
 
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Ivan Seeking said:
...If he is voted out, he is vaporized on the spot.
Excellent--if only we could get this past the pro-life folks. Oh, and the folks that don't believe elected officials should represent the American people (e.g., pay attention to polls, etc.), but should do the "right thing" whether it's popular or not.

There was an old sci-fi movie I saw once about an alien crash near a small town. Because the aliens did not have a large crew, they would put the towns people into a trance at night to help repair the alien ship. Sometime when I wake up feeling stiff and sore, or really tired, I wonder... :rolleyes:
 
Representation by vaporization. I think it would work! :biggrin:
 
SOS2008 said:
Sometime when I wake up feeling stiff and sore, or really tired, I wonder... :rolleyes:
Have you checked for dog hair?
 
How about the joke "state prison farms" by George Carlin. Good solution to crimeAND good television. talk about a win win situation!

Fibonacci
 
Please post in the appropriate forum, issues dealing with "electronic vote" should be in the Electrical Engineering forum.
 
mathlete said:
Please post in the appropriate forum, issues dealing with "electronic vote" should be in the Electrical Engineering forum.
Yur nuts, man! It's politics! The 'Debunking' forum, if anywhere.
 
I heard once about the idea of political offices being filled similar to jury duty. I can't remember all the details -- has anyone else heard about this?

As for sci-fi, we read a short story in high school about a scientist that creates micro-organism type of life. The scientist conducts controlled experiments by changing the environment, etc. The life forms create shelters etc. with the materials provided, and continue to progress--until, of course, they blow each other up. South Park did an episode like this, and I thought it had to have been based on this story. (I wonder if I went to high school with those guys...)
 
Here are a few more of my favorites:

I would have to go back and review to be sure of the specifics, but I remember being really impressed by the logic used to deduce the structure of Werner Complexes. IIRC, it is an unusually impressive example of pure deduction used to arrive at a complete answer.

Of course: If the SOL remains constant, then allow time to vary according to the observer.

I think the pneumatic bag landing systems used on Mars are an incredibly brilliant design concept. So far they seem to work very well.

The Space Elevator. WOW! It boggles the mind to imagine the ride; and the reduced cost per Lb as compared to all other options.

Hydrogen as the world's base energy carrier and currency. See https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=29373

Burt Rutan's wing - his re-entry solution: He actually made it look easy. Shame, shame, shame, NASA. :mad: Bye bye.

Mag-Lites

Direct TV :biggrin:
 
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  • #10
My best solution so far is to a multiple problem—sleeping in and being cold. I just wired the electric blanket and the toaster into my alarm clock, so now it pops me out of bed right on time. :approve:
 
  • #11
Do you really design weapons or was that a joke?

Come on, surely you have seen some brilliant ideas kicked around. :-p
 
  • #12
Ivan Seeking said:
Do you really design weapons or was that a joke?
I really do. Although it's not the most technically ingenious, my favourite is a variable suppressor so you can balance loss of muzzle energy with sound for longer ranges. I'm also partial to the electric switchblade, but it really has no advantage whatsoever over a regular one. Then there's the cam gun attachment that converts a Ross rifle into a poor man's chain gun. I have some really unpleasant stuff too, but I probably shouldn't mention it here. :biggrin:
 
  • #13
Not to make this a gun thread, but this was unique.

angle-gun.jpg

http://www.factsofisrael.com/blog/archives/000710.html
 
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  • #14
Ivan Seeking said:
Not to make this a gun thread, but this was unique.
Heh heh. I'd forgotten about that sucker. If I'm not mistaken, it's based on an uzi grip frame and trigger. They tried something far less technical back in WWII. I remember seeing an Enfield with the barrel curved through close to 30°. Primitive, but surprisingly effective when the other guy doesn't know what you're up to.
 
  • #15
one time i thought of making a single gear for a car, and that would be it, just that one, a normal car would switch gears, while this car's gear would expand and get smaller, it would be like having thousands of gears but not.
 
  • #16
moose said:
one time i thought of making a single gear for a car, and that would be it, just that one, a normal car would switch gears, while this car's gear would expand and get smaller, it would be like having thousands of gears but not.

The so called infinite transmission, which is your idea, was long the Holy Grail of automatic transmission design. Of course, electric motors, along with advanced motor control techonologies, accomplish the same goal.
 
  • #17
moose said:
one time i thought of making a single gear for a car, and that would be it, just that one, a normal car would switch gears, while this car's gear would expand and get smaller, it would be like having thousands of gears but not.
That's actually a pretty decent idea, if you can make discrete jumps so the pitch doesn't vary and strip it out. I've seen an expanding sprocket that does the same sort of thing for a chain drive. :smile:
 
  • #18
Ivan Seeking said:
The so called infinite transmission
There is such a thing, but it can't handle an awful lot of torque. I plan to use one or maybe two in the hovercraft. It's based on two cones ass-to-snout with a sliding idler between them. :approve:
 
  • #19
  • #20
Ivan Seeking said:
Have you seen these?
http://www.hovercraft.com/

Be sure to watch the video if possible. Awesome!
Thanks, but I have. If you're referring to the ones in the main picture, though, they're not hovercraft. The technical name is 'wing in ground effect craft'. They 'fly' on the boundary layer of compressed air under the wings, sort of like that last-second floating that you get landing a small plane.
The Russians have (or had) one honkin' mother of a WIGEV. The real name was 'Ekranoplane', but most called it the Caspian Sea Monster. It's 74 metres wide, 44 metres long, and weighs 400 tons. Powered by 8, count 'em 8 Kuznetsov NK-87 turbojets, with a top speed of 550 km/h. It carries 400 passengers (troops). I'm rather fond of the 6 AS missile cannisters on top, too. :biggrin:
 
  • #21
Danger said:
Thanks, but I have. If you're referring to the ones in the main picture, though, they're not hovercraft. The technical name is 'wing in ground effect craft'. They 'fly' on the boundary layer of compressed air under the wings, sort of like that last-second floating that you get landing a small plane.
The Russians have (or had) one honkin' mother of a WIGEV. The real name was 'Ekranoplane', but most called it the Caspian Sea Monster. It's 74 metres wide, 44 metres long, and weighs 400 tons. Powered by 8, count 'em 8 Kuznetsov NK-87 turbojets, with a top speed of 550 km/h. It carries 400 passengers (troops). I'm rather fond of the 6 AS missile cannisters on top, too. :biggrin:

I wondered if these were a hybrid or purely ground effect. Yes, we have talked about the Ekranoplan before.
ekranoplan.gif

http://www.gizmohighway.com/transport/ekranoplan.htm

If you haven't seen it, you should really enjoy the What Was It thread in the GD classics.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=18777&highlight=Harley+Davidson
 
  • #22
Ivan Seeking said:
I wondered if these were a hybrid or purely ground effect. Yes, we have talked about the Ekranoplan before.
Awesome link, man. Thanks. Since I've been on the net such a short time, and almost all of that time right here, I've never gone strolling around to find things like that. I feel like a bit of a dummy for telling you about something that you know more about than I do, but I'll get over it.
What amazes me the most about that thing is how it can be so massive, so efficient, so governmentally produced... and still look so damned good.
 
  • #23
Danger said:
I feel like a bit of a dummy for telling you about something that you know more about than I do, but I'll get over it.

I only have a passing familiarity with the subject. I just had the link. :biggrin:
 
  • #24
Ivan Seeking said:
I only have a passing familiarity with the subject. I just had the link. :biggrin:
I have only a passing familiarity with anything, and no links, so you're way ahead of me. :redface:
 
  • #25
I link therefore I am.
 
  • #26
Ivan Seeking said:
I link therefore I am.
Arrrrrggghhhhh... :-p
 
  • #27
Ivan Seeking said:
I link therefore I am.
:smile: Ivan, that was a LOL for me! :smile:

Okay so about the RoboDoc -- The "bedside manner" of many doctors is so poor (often impersonal) perhaps no one would notice...?

(This is a "thread-jack" joke.)
 
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  • #28
Danger said:
Have you checked for dog hair?
Well I have noticed some greyish hairs--certainly NOT mine, now that I think about it.
 
  • #29
SOS2008 said:
Well I have noticed some greyish hairs--certainly NOT mine, now that I think about it.
Good grief. This thread was so far down the page that I didn't notice you'd sneaked in. My apologies for the grey. Mine is still jet-black of course, but Lucy sheds a lot so sometimes some white gets mixed in and the two together look... well, greyish.:rolleyes:

(Are you sure you're a Yank? I thought you all spell 'gray' wrong. :wink: )
 
  • #30
Danger said:
Good grief. This thread was so far down the page that I didn't notice you'd sneaked in. My apologies for the grey. Mine is still jet-black of course, but Lucy sheds a lot so sometimes some white gets mixed in and the two together look... well, greyish.:rolleyes:

(Are you sure you're a Yank? I thought you all spell 'gray' wrong. :wink: )
Just want to make sure you guys let me over the border in the future... :-p So what color is the doggie suit?
 

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