Great one-liners from PF members

[sysprog]

(whisper) Hey guys, there's plenty of room for discussion in re the axiom of choice and the continuum hypothesis available elsewhere on PF; thanks for not continuing those topics here.

 

[sysprog]

I don't understand it. I just quote experts. $-$ @Hornbein

 

[DrClaude]

Two lines, but it made me laugh

I come from quantum computing, where measurement is *extremely* well delineated. In your circuit diagrams, it's the box that has an M in it .

 

[berkeman]

The only accurate visualization of curved spacetime I know is to just look out at the real universe.

 

[Tom.G]

More like a Spoonerism... but worth a chuckle.

From a thread on Covid Variant Omicron (B1.1.529).

I would like greater availability of the Pfizer pill, which is 90% effective at parenting death.

 

[sysprog]

The self defeating mindset is really a problem. If you don't believe it, you'll most likely not going to pass. $-$ @0kelvin

 

[sysprog]

Yes, one can add riptides, sharp rocks, 'rogue' waves, cold water, strong currents, kelp tangles, live and dead jellyfish, oil and sewer spills, stoned surfers and boogey boarders, and sociopathic yachtsmen firing guns near shore to the dangers of open ocean swimming. $-$ @Klystron

 

[sysprog]

It would be pretty ironic if I had accidentally used the word “deliberately”. ##-# @Dale

 

[sysprog]

Why don't you calculate the escape velocity of the Moon from that and check online to see whether you are right? $-$ @PeroK

 

[Vanadium 50]

Writing your question with the erroneous assumption in bold is not going to make the assumption true.

 

[Ibix]

If you can blow up the sun, powering a dipping bird may not be high on your list of tasks remaining to be accomplished.

I guess it depends how big a dipping bird...

 

[sysprog]

What did work-energy ever do to you to deserve this abuse? $-$ @russ_watters

 

[sysprog]

Breaking an incalculable problem into two incalculable steps may not get you very far. $-$ @Vanadium 50

 

[berkeman]

From a thread in Academic Guidance where we were trying to help a struggling Engineering student who kept alluding to using cheating to get by...

Its probably worth pointing out that when engineers cheat, people die.

 

[fresh_42]

From a thread in Academic Guidance where we were trying to help a struggling Engineering student who kept alluding to using cheating to get by...

Its probably worth pointing out that when engineers cheat, people die.

When Ferdinand Sauerbruch [a famous surgeon] had Max Liebermann [a famous painter] portray him, he soon found sitting too long. But the artist reassured him: "There's no other way. If you make a mistake, the green lawn will cover it up the next day. But you can see my mistake hanging on the wall for a hundred years."

 

[valenumr]

From a thread in Academic Guidance where we were trying to help a struggling Engineering student who kept alluding to using cheating to get by...

It's a very good point. I remember very distinctly the Kansas city walkway collapse, and it really came down to a poor engineering decision. The original design should have been fine.

 

[berkeman]

LOL, this was asked of me in a thread today...

Odd. Why is Google your friend if you're looking it up in Wikipedia?

 

[sysprog]

The universe is not Euclidean. That doesn't mean there isn't (still) Euclidean geometry. $-$ @PeroK

 

[PeroK]

The universe is not Euclidean. That doesn't mean there isn't (still) Euclidean geometry. $-$ @PeroK

I'm glad someone understood what I meant!

 

[Ibix]

I would describe your theory in tauro-scatological terms.

 

[gmax137]

I would describe your theory in tauro-scatological terms.

That one took me a few minutes.

 

[PeroK]

That one took me a few minutes.

I stole it from Tom Wolfe, in The Bonfire of the Vanities.

 

[berkeman]

That one took me a few minutes.

It probably helps if you click the up-arrow in the quote to see the context of his reply.

 

[gmax137]

It probably helps if you click the up-arrow in the quote to see the context of his reply.

I tried that, and still sat and stared at it until the light bulb lit.

 

[DaveE]

Vanadium 50 said:
Its probably worth pointing out that when engineers cheat, people die.

Sometimes, that's the rub. Usually though, the people they work for make a bit more money, at least for a while until the market decides your product sucks or the regulators and lawyers find out.

Hence the quality/safety problem that isn't uncommon in engineering: Do I quit, or do what my idiot boss wants? This is often an extremely complex and subtle issue. No ethics class will give you the answer to your particular dilemma. Other times it's not a dilemma, you might be clueless working beyond your expertise, à la Dunning-Kruger.

Are the engineers that designed the Ford Pinto worse than the engineers that designed the Toyota Corolla? I think probably not, they just worked for different people.

 

[Astronuc]

I tried that, and still sat and stared at it until the light bulb lit.

You have one of those energy efficient bulbs that take a while to brighten?

 

[sysprog]

Do I quit, or do what my idiot boss wants?

Chicago Police: Who called the Police?
Beautiful girl (PhD candidate) working at coffee shop counter: My idiot boss.
Police: Why did he call the Police?
Beautiful: Because he's an idiot.
CPD: Tell your idiot boss don't call the Police unless he has a good reason.
BG: Well, I'll tell him, but I don't think he'll listen.
CPD [Leaves without comment]: (maybe a bit of a harrumph).

 

[anorlunda]

This might be a chance to teach the most useful general rule in all of science:

(Some of it) + (The rest of it) = (All of it)

 

[sysprog]

Mass is constant in a closed system. But in an open system where stuff can come in or out, it manifestly isn't constant, as the example of a person eating shows. $-$ @Ibix

 

[sysprog]

If I know it I will be able to figure it out. $-$ @rudransh verma