Can Anyone Stump My All-Knowing Dad?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shippo
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The thread revolves around the challenge of stumping a highly knowledgeable father with difficult questions across various subjects, including physics, mathematics, and philosophy. Participants share potential questions and discuss the nature of knowledge and understanding in these fields.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks suggestions for challenging questions to stump their father, who has a diverse academic background.
  • Another participant questions the accuracy of the father's answers and suggests that he may not always provide correct information.
  • Several participants propose specific mathematical problems, such as the integration of x*sec(x), noting its complexity and the lack of an elementary solution.
  • There are humorous suggestions, such as asking the father what women want or what he doesn't know, which may catch him off guard.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the father's knowledge in certain areas, such as the concept of centrifugal force.
  • Multiple participants share ideas for questions that span various topics, including history and logic, indicating a broad interest in the challenge.
  • There are conflicting views on the solvability of certain mathematical problems, with some asserting that they can be solved while others disagree.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best questions to stump the father, and there are competing views on the complexity and solvability of specific mathematical problems. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the effectiveness of the proposed questions.

Contextual Notes

Some mathematical claims are made without full exploration of the underlying assumptions or methods, and there are references to specific problems that may not be universally recognized or agreed upon.

Shippo
I have been trying for quite some time now to stump my dad on just one question. I've tryed out physics, Astronomy & Cosmology, Mathematics, Philosophy, logic, tecnology, almost every subject! It is getting to the point where i stay up late on the internet trying to find something. :bugeye: can anyone suggest a question please?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Do you need to understand the problem? What is your dad's background?
 
Perhaps you can give us some examples of the questions you've asked and some answers he's provided. It porably wouldn't be fair to ask him to porivde a rigourous mathematical proof of the shape of an electron D orbital.
 
how do you know your dad's answer is accurate, not necessarily bogus, but he might be off the mark
 
Shippo said:
I have been trying for quite some time now to stump my dad on just one question. I've tryed out physics, Astronomy & Cosmology, Mathematics, Philosophy, logic, tecnology, almost every subject! It is getting to the point where i stay up late on the internet trying to find something. :bugeye: can anyone suggest a question please?


Well there is a question in Mathematics which My teacher asked me when i was in 11th class and i haven't come across anybody who could suggest or even hint a way out!

integration of x*Sec(x)

If your Dad succeeds at this,Pls tell me the solution too! :smile:
 
mattmns said:
Do you need to understand the problem? What is your dad's background?
well he has done a lot of things...he was a mathmatiton, he designs software, was an Engineer, has a masters in physics um...thats all i can think of at the time being.
 
GCT said:
how do you know your dad's answer is accurate, not necessarily bogus, but he might be off the mark
I don't know, witch is pretty stupid. If i eventuoaly find a question that stumps him and he says the rong answer he won't beleve that its rong.
 
I can't get my father to acknowledge that there is no such thing as centrifugal force. He insists (or did 10 years ago) that the bucket on the string will go flying away at an angle instead of tangential to the circle.

Some day ... some day ... I will prove it to him. I will probe him wrong. I will prove them ALL wrong. They laughed at me. They mocked me. But I will show them. I will how them my POWER. They will flee, like ants under my feet. I will...

What? Is this thing still on? **
 
Last edited:
The easiest way to stump your genius dad? Ask him "what's something you don't know anything about?" He'll definatly be stumped. And if he has an answer, just find a question about that topic to ask him!
 
  • #10
"What is the purpose of meaning?"

-Dexter's lab
 
  • #11
Do the questions have to be about logic, or can they be history questions? Surely he won't know all of history :D
 
  • #12
Is he physcic? Ask him what number your'e thinking of. Better yet ask him what commercial will be on next.
 
  • #13
heman said:
Well there is a question in Mathematics which My teacher asked me when i was in 11th class and i haven't come across anybody who could suggest or even hint a way out!

integration of x*Sec(x)

If your Dad succeeds at this,Pls tell me the solution too! :smile:

The integral of x*sec(x) cannot be expressed as an elementary function- meaning usual nice finite combinations of exponentials, logarithms, polynomials, trig functions, etc. This is the same situation as the more common e^(-x^2).
 
  • #14
Tell him to go on jeapordy. He should do awesome. Except you said he answered every question right, I don't know how he'd fare given only answers. But he should go on some quiz show for big bucks!
 
  • #15
If you had a tunnel that went straight through the Earth from New York City to Tokyo and dropped an unpowered train in the New York end, how long would it take to roll to Tokyo (assuming the tunnel was a sealed vacuum and the Earth was stationary)? It would speed up until the tunnel reached the midway point between New York and Tokyo and then slow down at the same rate. It would take about 42 minutes for it to gently roll to a stop in Tokyo.

How about from New York City to Sydney Australia? About 42 minutes.

New York City to Los Angeles? About 42 minutes.

Even if he's not stumped, he'll at least enjoy explaining why.

This link, http://www.physics4all.co.il/open.php?link=628 , explains the problem. Just scroll down to "A Boring Problem".

Some of the other problems might give you some ideas, as well.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #16
ask him for a valid argument of creationism :biggriN;
 
  • #17
Shippo said:
I have been trying for quite some time now to stump my dad on just one question. I've tryed out physics, Astronomy & Cosmology, Mathematics, Philosophy, logic, tecnology, almost every subject! It is getting to the point where i stay up late on the internet trying to find something. :bugeye: can anyone suggest a question please?
I made some quizzes here on PF, ask him these questions...just scroll down to the quizzes : https://www.physicsforums.com/journal.php?s=&action=view&journalid=13790&perpage=10&page=8

marlon
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #18
Ask him what women want. :biggrin:
 
  • #19
Or ask him who the REAL inventors of special relativity were. The guys, who came up with this idea PRIOR to Einstein.

Or ask him why there are only eight gluons ?
Or ask him who really invented heliocentrism
...check the quizzes
marlon
 
  • #20
Mental Gridlock said:
Tell him to go on jeapordy. He should do awesome. Except you said he answered every question right, I don't know how he'd fare given only answers. But he should go on some quiz show for big bucks!

sorry i phrased it rong insted of right it should be *correct. And yes he would be good on jepordy
 
  • #21
Right and correct mean the same thing, I meant you said he answered every QUESTION correct, but Jeopardy doesn't use questions, they use answers, so he could be screwed. It was just a lame attempt at a joke nevermind it!
 
  • #22
honestrosewater said:
Ask him what women want. :biggrin:
That's too easy. Women want a man that can dilate his eyes at will.
 
  • #23
honestrosewater said:
Ask him what women want. :biggrin:
money? :rolleyes:
 
  • #24
BobG said:
That's too easy. Women want a man that can dilate his eyes at will.
Why should I bother to learn how to dilate my EYES at will? :confused:
Yet another example of the inscrutable female psyche..
 
  • #25
BobG said:
That's too easy. Women want a man that can dilate his eyes at will.
An optometrist? Well, yeah, they do make good money and work regular hours; not a bad choice. :biggrin:
 
  • #26
Ask him what your thinking right now. Even if he does guess what your thinking tell him he's wrong anyway.
 
  • #27
Better yet, ask him whath es thinking about. Its an endless cycle of thinking about what your thinking about..
 
  • #28
whozum said:
Better yet, ask him whath es thinking about. Its an endless cycle of thinking about what your thinking about..

Watch out, his head might explode.
 
  • #29
don't put him on jeopardy, put him on millionare. you pick: $20,000 or $1,000,000
 
  • #30
arildno said:
Why should I bother to learn how to dilate my EYES at will? :confused:
Yeah, we really want someone with a huge e.g.o. anyway :wink:
 

Similar threads

I want to help Physics education. What should I do?
  • · Replies 76 ·
3
Replies
76
Views
8K
Is mathematics invented or discovered?
  • · Replies 64 ·
3
Replies
64
Views
3K
My list of the top five heavyweight boxers of all time
  • · Replies 35 ·
2
Replies
35
Views
9K
Studying Interested in Astronomy as a Freshman
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
2K
Studying How to self-study physics past High School Level?
  • · Replies 102 ·
4
Replies
102
Views
9K
Should the public know what you are thinking and concluding?
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
MHB Find the coordinates and the nature of any turning points (maximum and minimum)
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
Courses Where Should a Cloud Computing Engineer Start Learning Physics and Astronomy?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
Programs Where did all the “fundamentals-deepening” master’s programs go?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
Where Can I Learn the Theory Behind Stock Trading?
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K