Great one-liners from PF members

[berkeman]

From a thread where a math major is complaining that when he had to take a mandatory Physics course, he found the math in it to be very non-rigorous and not based on axioms...

Do you already know what the axioms of nature are?

 

[berkeman]

While trying to give a B-level reply to a question about the speed of propagation of changes in spacetime...

It's actually quite difficult to come up with a well-defined way of saying what you are trying to say without either resorting to postgrad maths or saying something not really accurate and crossing your fingers behind your back and hoping nobody asks awkward questions.

 

[Rive]

From a thread where a math major is complaining that when he had to take a mandatory Physics course, he found the math in it to be very non-rigorous and not based on axioms...

From the very same thread:

I guarantee any stroke QM could give a mathematician, an engineer could make worse.

 

[Tom.G]

From a thread discussing WiFi and Routers, @Vanadium 50 observed:

The number on the box is really mostly irrelevant. "Up to X Mbps" just means that they promise you won't get X+1.

 

[pinball1970]

Vanadium on a post regarding David McCallum TV series.

The Invisible man" 1975 series

V50 "I could never see him in that role."

 

[pinball1970]

I could never see him in that role.

Not to be outdone our talented, the lovely,our very own @DennisN !!
"Also, as far as I can remember, the portrayal of the character was rather transparent."

 

[berkeman]

From a discussion in the Engineering forums about a part that a new user wants help designing:

If you have ignored the obvious failure modes, and so build a house of cards, that design failure may later be investigated by a Coroner.

 

[berkeman]

From a discussion thread in the Academic Advising forum where a newbie is asking for advice about learning resources...

As others have noted, learning physics by reading alone would be like learning to play piano by reading a book. It simply is not possible.

 

[jack action]

From a discussion thread in the Academic Advising forum where a newbie is asking for advice about learning resources...

As others have noted, learning physics by reading alone would be like learning to play piano by reading a book. It simply is not possible.

But the skills are transferable...

​

 

[gmax137]

If I tell you that a scribblex is a fooddely scribblex if the warghandle is zero you might (reasonably) complain that this does not help you to understand what I'm talking about.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Decisions made by emotional inclinations can be risky or just dumb.

 

[Haborix]

Exactly. How many times have you grabbed the vanilla ice cream only to beat yourself up later knowing you should have gotten chocolate?

 

[PeterDonis]

How many times have you grabbed the vanilla ice cream only to beat yourself up later knowing you should have gotten chocolate?

I solve this problem by not liking chocolate ice cream.

 

[topsquark]

Agreed. IMHO, (French) vanilla is the only real flavor of ice cream!

-Dan

 

[Vanadium 50]

Emack and Bolio's "Chocolate Moose" ice cream is excellent. But their "Vanilla Bean Speck" is outstanding.

 

[Haborix]

Well, if we are going to be picky, I’d almost always take butter pecan over either vanilla or chocolate.

 

[Tom.G]

By @Baluncore in Engineering and Computer Sci Homework Help

Be productive, play LTspice simulation of circuits, not video games.

 

[phinds]

Well, if we are going to be picky, I’d almost always take butter pecan over either vanilla or chocolate.

I would agree w/ you about that but then we'd both be wrong.

 

[berkeman]

Nice metaphor by V50 when giving advice in the Academic Advising forum to a user who is considering switching majors into a more narrow specialty...

If you shoot for such a narrow target, what happens if you miss?

 

[phinds]

Well worth keeping in mind, I think:

The fact that quantum systems behave highly non-classically in some cases does not mean they do so in all cases.

 

[berkeman]

All I can say is that you had to be there...

But officer....I was only going 0.577c!

 

[Bystander]

If someone comes on and tries to sell us a cold fusion water heater, then it's off to "banned camp."

 

[DrGreg]

Also, when people ask for clarification please just clarify without the guessing games. We are physicists not psychics.

(My emphasis.)

I checked the archives. Dale has used this phrase a few times before, but it's apt.

 

[phinds]

Paraphrasing Arthur C. Clarke:

sufficiently advanced cluelessness is indistinguishable from trolling.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Can you please read your post and agree that telepathy is required to make sense of it ?

 

[BvU]

And I didn't even get the message across ! :

What do you mean?

$\$

 

[Bystander]

But this seems like it's kind of bifurcating bunnies at this point.

Love it!

 

[pinball1970]

Vanadium again

"Numerology is not science. And approximate numerology is not even numerology"

 

[PhDeezNutz]

I think this is a really good point.

You know those posts, where the student is asking, 'but why is the work mgh?' -- I always think, "carry shingles up to the roofers for a week and then get back to me."

In a thread about teaching basic STEM concepts. Poster @Dr Transport mentioned that students can’t understand basic concepts because they lack hands on experience. I think manual labor could definitely help in cultivating physics intuition.

 

[BillTre]

V50 strikes again:

"Evolution works on the four F's - fight, flight, feeding and reproduction."