Great one-liners from PF members

[BillTre]

Well it easy to get psyched up if you don't know the problems.

 

[PhDeezNutz]

In a thread about those who decide to build a particle accelerator in their basement

I think this stems from Michio Kaku’s book “hyperspace” where he claims to have built a “particle accelerator” in his garage while in high school.

He’s rather trite imo.

Personal Commentary: I hate pop-sci. Sometimes it seems necessary to get the general public interested……and at other times it seems like a ploy for some to glean unwarranted notoriety;

“look at me I’m so smart I argue with neckbeards about Bigfoot on twitter, I am the embodiment of intellect”

None of this serves to help actual Physics students advance.

 

[PeterDonis]

I think this stems from Michio Kaku’s book “hyperspace” where he claims to have built a “particle accelerator” in his garage while in high school.

Maybe he did and the radiation exposure did something to the part of his brain that is supposed to instantiate humility.

 

[PeterDonis]

Personal Commentary: I hate pop-sci.

You might feel even more strongly about it if you had to moderate here...

 

[PhDeezNutz]

You might feel even more strongly about it if you had to moderate here...

That is not a burden I am ready for. I am not advanced enough in my general understanding of physics (partially because I was disillusioned by pop science for many years) nor as an emotionally stable adult.

To that end I appreciate the efforts of the Mentors to keep discussions substantive and “in bounds”.

 

[PeterDonis]

That is not a burden I am ready for.

To be clear, I wasn't implying that you should become a moderator, just commenting on how "pop-sci" looks to moderators. (Michio Kaku is currently number 2 on my list of "people whose pop sci I wish would totally disappear", not far behind Brian Greene at number 1.)

 

[PeterDonis]

To that end I appreciate the efforts of the Mentors to keep discussions substantive and “in bounds”.

Thanks for the kudos!

 

[PhDeezNutz]

I wasn't implying that you should become a moderator, just commenting on how "pop-sci" looks to moderators. (Michio Kaku is currently number 2 on my list of "people whose pop sci I wish would totally disappear", not far behind Brian Greene at number 1.)

I know you weren’t implying I was ready for it, it was just a set up to say that I appreciate your efforts and those of other Mentors.

 

[Ibix]

But nobody wants to tell billionaires "no" when they have their checkbooks out.

True facts.

 

[Vanadium 50]

From a discussion of using waveguides rather than free-space propagation:

Think inside the box.

 

[berkeman]

From a thread on determining the volume of a star in GR:

Is it worth pointing out that the difference between Newton and Einstein is much, much smaller than the uncertainty on where a star's surface actually is?

 

[phinds]

In a thread on the maximum energy of a photon based on frame of reference

the total energy in the observable universe is an upper bound on photon energy ... the ability to collect that energy into a single photon would pose a significant engineering challenge.

Love that dry humor.

 

[Tom.G]

From a discussion about hiking in the Grand Canyon in the summer.

It's easy to get in serious trouble if you don't appreciate the risks.

Seems to be applicable to much in life.

 

[phinds]

in this thread (now locked) muon-travel-distance-vs-atmosphere-thickness

@Vanadium 50 said

Appeal to authority is not a good argument, but it is better than an appeal to idiocy.

 

[berkeman]

From the Crowdstrike Debacle thread:

Too many clones almost wiped out bananas.

(well, I guess you had to be there...)

 

[berkeman]

Sorry, sorry, more than one line. But way too classic...

From the Olympics:
" Are you a Pole Vaulter?"
" No, I'm German. How did you know my name is Walter?"

 

[PhDeezNutz]

Experimenters are not the oompa-loompas of science.

Need I say more? It's a very delicate symbiotic relationship between theorists and experimentalists. One is not greater than the other.............and people who think this are just not experienced enough to realize this. And if they have enough experience and still think this........they are willingly ignorant.

Edit: not sure if this one has already been mentioned.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It's from The Big Bang Theory.

 

[gmax137]

It's from The Big Bang Theory

Don't forget Roald Dahl!

 

[Vanadium 50]

I believe those were the Oompa-Loompas of Loompa Land.

I doubt that the original message did any good. Too many people come here and say "I got an A in 12th grade physics. I do not wish to soil my hands with your dirty, filth experimental work. And with grades like mine, I shann't have to!"

Whatever.

 

[PhDeezNutz]

I believe those were the Oompa-Loompas of Loompa Land.

I doubt that the original message did any good. Too many people come here and say "I got an A in 12th grade physics. I do not wish to soil my hands with your dirty, filth experimental work. And with grades like mine, I shann't have to!"

Whatever.

Yeah it’s definitely a misconception and a problem.

 

[berkeman]

From a thread discussing differentiation and its definition(s)...

I like to say that if you read two authors you will find four notations.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Is that like "If you lined all the economists in Washington end to end you still wouldn't reach a conclusion"?

 

[jrmichler]

And those that try to help you are not from the telepathy department.

This was in response to:

I am not from control theory background.

 

[DaveE]

How much repulsion do you need to add together to make it attractive?

LOL. I *think* he's referring to the electrons, but it may also be the thread.

 

[berkeman]

From the Academic Advice forum:

As I have said before, your PhD thesis will not be "We finally understand the universe." It will be "The spectrum of glopolium".

 

[Vanadium 50]

Sadly, not the first time I have said that. People just don't believe it. "Yeah, maybe for those other guys...."

 

[Mayhem]

Sadly, not the first time I have said that. People just don't believe it. "Yeah, maybe for those other guys...."

I have no idea how people cannot fathom that university will be anything but a pain once they have completed a few semesters. "It gets better!" Nope, it just gets worse and worse and worse and then one day you have your degree, and since I'm not quite there yet, I'll pretend that it gets better then. Probably not.

 

[pinball1970]

I have no idea how people cannot fathom that university will be anything but a pain once they have completed a few semesters. "It gets better!" Nope, it just gets worse and worse and worse and then one day you have your degree, and since I'm not quite there yet, I'll pretend that it gets better then. Probably not.

Change stuff. Where are you? Talk to people on your course, talk to people in the union bar, talk to people in the scientific club.

 

[berkeman]

From V50 in an Academic Advising thread:

The most important factors, though, are not where you go. They are what you accomplish wherever you go.