Great one-liners from PF members

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Discussion Overview

This thread invites members to share and discuss humorous or insightful one-liners from Physics Forums, highlighting wit and cleverness in responses related to various topics in physics, mathematics, and science in general. The scope includes pithy remarks, humorous exchanges, and notable quotes from members, as well as some commentary on broader themes in science and reasoning.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share one-liners that reflect humor in scientific discussions, such as comments on relativity and the limitations of crayons.
  • One participant notes the irony in the assertion that "thinking outside the box" requires understanding what is inside it.
  • Another humorous remark discusses the absurdity of "table/pillow duality" in relation to everyday objects.
  • A quote from a departed member emphasizes that interesting scientific questions often arise amidst conflicting ideas.
  • Several participants share humorous takes on homeopathy, including a quip about overdosing on homeopathic medication.
  • One exchange humorously highlights the redundancy of stating that wood is as strong as wood.
  • A participant reflects on the challenges of estimating forces in a humorous context, suggesting a light-hearted take on serious topics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share humorous observations and witty remarks, but there is no consensus on the validity or implications of the statements made, particularly regarding homeopathy and scientific reasoning.

Contextual Notes

Some remarks may rely on specific contexts or definitions that are not fully explored, such as the nature of homeopathic remedies and their purported effects. Additionally, the humor in some exchanges may depend on shared knowledge of prior discussions or scientific concepts.

  • #121
The surest indicator of the quality of a human is how they treat those with less power. ##-## @hutchphd
 
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  • #122
Vanadium 50 said:
For what it's worth, I had determinants years before knowing anything about cross-products.

I would guess that this is unusual. My expectation was that most of my students had seen cross products before in vector calculus or physics classes and I thought it worthwhile to give a linear algebra perspective. I taught them about determinants a couple of weeks prior, so they better had known about them...

sysprog said:
The surest indicator of the quality of a human is how they treat those with less power. ##-## @hutchphd

Related (and hopefully not too well known to be worth posting): "The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." -Dostoevsky
 
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  • #123
Infrared said:
I would guess that this is unusual. My expectation was that most of my students had seen cross products before in vector calculus or physics classes and I thought it worthwhile to a linear algebra perspective. I taught them about determinants a couple of weeks prior, so they better had known about them...

Related (and hopefully not too well known to be worth posting): "The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." -Dostoevsky
Maybe my first calc teacher was a baseball, but maybe I didn't know that then ##-## my calc teacher was great ##-## I started operations research before linear algebra, so what do I know ##\dots##
 
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  • #124
Why use that as an excuse to bring in photons? ##-## @sophiecentaur
 
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  • #125
You could approach your problem like any other project: write a functional specification document, classify the duties, estimate the necessary time to achieve each of the goals, prioritize, and make a project schedule. ##-## @fresh_42
 
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  • #126
“One does not simply read a textbook, one works through a textbook” - @Vanadium 50
 
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  • #127
Is this better?

1610035805622.png
 
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  • #128
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  • #129
"Problems worthy of attack, prove their worth by hitting back." - Piet Hein
 
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  • #130
PhDeezNutz said:
“One does not simply read a textbook, one works through a textbook” - @Vanadium 50
I just look at the pictures!
 
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  • #131
PeroK said:
I just look at the pictures!
You also at least read the captions, too, right?
 
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  • #132
sysprog said:
You also at least read the captions, too, right?
Yes, but sometimes I just skip to the end to see what happens.
 
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  • #133
PeroK said:
I just look at the pictures!
That is you who @BillTre wants to write a book for?
BillTre said:
What do people use for drawing molecules (in a digital manner)?

I would like to make space filling type models as well as letters representing the atoms connected by lines at different angles.
The second kind I could make with ad drawing program, but there's got to be a better way.
 
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  • #134
PeroK said:
I just look at the pictures!
For some subjects that works better than for others.
 
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  • #135
You're not going to make this easy, are you? ##-## @Vanadium 50
 
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  • #136
It's like using a piano keyboard as 'proof' that only certain frequencies of sound exist. Then talk to a violinist. ##-## @sophiecentaur
 
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  • #137
gmax137 said:
I worked with a guy for over thirty years before he told me he was an accordion player. "I just don't talk about it," he said.
Just out of curiosity, what is funny or witty or interesting about this one ?
 
  • #138
timmeister37 said:
Just out of curiosity, what is funny or witty or interesting about this one ?
The accordian is the Rodney Dangerfield of musical instruments.
 
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  • #139
timmeister37 said:
gmax137 said:
I worked with a guy for over thirty years before he told me he was an accordion player. "I just don't talk about it," he said.
Just out of curiosity, what is funny or witty or interesting about this one ?
Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty,
playing "Rogers & Clarke" in the movie "Ishtar"
in the song "Dangerous Business":

Telling the truth can be dangerous business​
Honest and popular don't go hand in hand​
If you admit that you can play the accordion​
no-one will hire you in a rock & roll band​

In the mid-'80s I was a not-so-great accordionist ##-## only a little bit better on guitar ##-## my girlfriend could sing very well and was very good on piano ##-## we got a good laugh ##\dots##
 
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  • #140
phinds said:
The accordian is the Rodney Dangerfield of musical instruments.
Its also Weird Al's favorite instrument!
 
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  • #141
phinds said:
The accordian is the Rodney Dangerfield of musical instruments.
If you play the accordion, then musically you are on the road to nowhere:

 
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  • #142
@PeroK, isn't the road to nowhere better than the highway to hell?



and yeah Steve Vai is a lot better at guitar than I am ##\dots##
 
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  • #143
timmeister37 said:
Just out of curiosity, what is funny or witty or interesting about this one ?
As I recall, @Vanadium 50 had posted something about gentlemen not playing trombones, I just followed up with accordions in a similar vein.

BTW, when I lived in New Orleans I saw a guy in the Quarter playing Jimi Hendix's "Voodoo Chile" on an accordion. That's something you don't forget.
 
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  • #144
gmax137 said:
BTW, when I lived in New Orleans I saw a guy in the Quarter playing Jimi Hendix's "Voodoo Chile" on an accordion. That's something you don't forget

As much as you might want to.
 
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  • #145
I thought of doing the Alan Parsons Project "I, Robot" song as an accordion piece ##-## bass on the left hand, chords on the right ##-## I wasn't good enough ##\dots##
 
  • #146
If you want to learn QFT, you should be looking at textbooks, not Wikipedia. ##-## @PeterDonis
 
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  • #147
Vanadium 50 said:
[Boromir: "...one works through a textbook..."]
... but not the way Boromir would do it, i.e., slashing it into a zillion pieces with his trusty broadsword...
 
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  • #148
strangerep said:
... but not the way Boromir would do it, i.e. ...
... and then dying halfway:nb)
 
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  • #149
Proof by personal incredulity does not count. ##-## @jbriggs444
 
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  • #150
sysprog said:
Proof by personal incredulity does not count. ##-## @jbriggs444
I think that could apply to a lot these days.
 
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