Random Thoughts Part 4 - Split Thread

[Lisa!]

I miss pizza!

 

[zoki85]

I miss lasagna!

 

[zoobyshoe]

Yesterday my sister flew from Santa Barbara, Ca. into the belly of Winter Storm Neptune in New England. It's 77F here and somewhere around 15F there.

 

[Cake]

The first time I saw ZapperZ's avatar I thought it was a freeway looking over a rocky hillside and a car was careening out of control and crashing through the median.

 

[WWGD]

I haven't been living under a rock for the past 4 years, but in the blissful paradise of having a Mac.

In comparing them, it is wrong to characterize a PC as merely ignoring ease of use. The PC is outright user-hostile. It deliberately seeks to destroy your peace of mind. It actively attempts to eat your soul. Owning a Mac compared to owning a PC is like owning a golden retriever compared to owning a hyena.

So I guess , unlike me, you don't dream of breaking into bill gates' house and moving everything around every week? Hey, bill, I just randomly decided I would move your bed to the laundry room. Hey, bill, your soap and shampoo are in the kitchen--this week-- maybe next week I will put them in the garage. And your car will be... take a guess, bill, and get a sample of what windows users put up with. If I was more computer savvy, I would use Linux or some other operating system. But I'm not bitter...

 

[Enigman]

Inkscaping is fun.

 

[WWGD]

Still more fun. I accidentally slid my finger through the mouse and the font size suddenly became around 4 times larger. I knew
how to change this in previous versions of Windows but microsoft has decided to change the PC organization and interface with every "upgrade". Recently, gates has decided to turn PCs into tablets and changed the interface
2 hours wasted trying to figure out how to get the font back to its original size, and this is because someone in the coffee shop was nice -enough
to help. Thanks again for nothing, gates.

 

[Enigman]

Failure is not an option, it comes bundled with Windows.

 

[fluidistic]

Just saw turbo in the chat, he didn't saw me. Been a long while I didn't see him around!

 

[jim hardy]

If I was more computer savvy, I would use Linux or some other operating system. But I'm not bitter...

/start ramble/

well I am bitter.
Son put Linux on a thumb drive and set his startup to boot from there if it's present.
Must get him to show me how.

I'm relieved to see i am not the only one who thinks Bill Gates is "The Crown Prince of Mediocrity".
A whole generation has been corrupted to not only tolerate but reward sloth.
I figure it's Biblical - he was sent here to 'confuse our tongues'.

Oh well, western civilization had a pretty good run.

/end ramble/

i feel better now

 

[Borg]

Recently, gates has decided to turn PCs into tablets and changed the interface
2 hours wasted trying to figure out how to get the font back to its original size, and this is because someone in the coffee shop was nice -enough
to help. Thanks again for nothing, gates.

If I was more computer savvy, I would use Linux or some other operating system.

I tried Windows 8 on a tablet that I briefly had at Thanksgiving. The interface looked like it was built for someone with ADHD. I frequently got into areas where I couldn't figure out how to get back out again. When Windows 7 is retired, I will probably switch to Linux.

 

[zoki85]

T-100

 

[zoobyshoe]

When Windows 7 is retired, I will probably switch to Linux.

Consider saving up for a Mac. They are so user friendly it is like heaven.

 

[WWGD]

Wow, maybe we can write an internet/email letter, have, say 100,000 people email-sign it and send it as a gift to gates for helping make our life better. I was thinking of dedicating a Queen song to gates, but there is a word in the title I don't like (though the word has nothing to see with the theme of the song ) . It is" D... on Two Legs", part of it goes: "you're a sewer rat decaying in a cesspool of pride, (you) should be made unemployed, (you) should be made null and void..." and " is your conscience alright, does it plague you at night... " AFAIK the memebers of Queen sent it (or at least dedicated it) to a (former, of course) manager of theirs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_on_Two_Legs_(Dedicated_to ...)

 

[JonDE]

People never cease to amaze me. I'm currently in pre-cal at a local community-college (I'm a history major, but I want to take physics which requires calculus). I learned that I got the highest grade on the first test (it was just a review from algebra). It was pretty basic, no tough questions at all from Algebra.

Then the teacher said she didn't calculate the average, but by just looking at it, the average appeared to be around 50. 50?! Half the class wants to be engineers and they can't do simple algebra?

 

[Astronuc]

This is why we need regulation.

West Virginia train derailment sends oil tanker into river - and another into someone's house!
http://news.yahoo.com/west-virginia-train-derailment-sends-oil-tanker-river-204306095.html

 

[Enigman]

I like canonic Mary Sues.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I like canonic Mary Sues.

I watched a few of those Sherlock Holmes TV episodes with Jeremy Brett. I had the weird feeling that if he spoke in a French accent and wore a moustache he would be indistinguishable from David Suchet as Poirot. In other words, I think Suchet was heavily influenced by Brett.

I also felt that Brett plays Holmes as much more of a narcissistic sociopath than anyone before him, and that it was he who opened up the way to House, and the current Sherlock by Benedict Cucumberbund. (Or Cabbagepatch, or whatever his name is).

 

[WWGD]

People never cease to amaze me. I'm currently in pre-cal at a local community-college (I'm a history major, but I want to take physics which requires calculus). I learned that I got the highest grade on the first test (it was just a review from algebra). It was pretty basic, no tough questions at all from Algebra.

Then the teacher said she didn't calculate the average, but by just looking at it, the average appeared to be around 50. 50?! Half the class wants to be engineers and they can't do simple algebra?

You may want to look at the full distribution, i.e., mean and standard deviation ( or median and IQR, depending on the plot) ; some outliers may have pushed the mean down.

This reminds me of a book I started reading but did not finish (not fully related to the post I am replying to, but still, it reminded me of it.): "The Flaw of Averages" , about the general mistakes that may result when assuming a given situation may happen /turn out as it does in the average case scenario. A person decides to take a 2-year trip to the North Pole. Since each coat lasts _on average_ one year(lets assume this is true for the sake of this point), the person decides to take just two coats --assuming the average case scenario --and the two coats last only one-and-a-half years. The flaw in the thinking is clear in this case, but not always as obvious.

 

[WWGD]

I hate to admit it but some times it is spoiled customers/patrons that make stern rules necessary:
there used to be Wi-Fi and a few outlets at the local B&N. But then people plugged into outlets in such a way that
there were wires hanging around all over the place. And people would end up fighting with each other for the spots close
to the outlets. And then others would buy nothing and spend 5 hours at a table. Now seating is regulated and the outlets
have been capped. That's what happens when customers act like spoiled brats; no one else to blame.

 

[PWiz]

How does one pronounce "Poisson"? I tried and it sounded like something straight out of anime xD

 

[Ibix]

Pwasson. Like "pass on", but with a w sound after the p.

 

[JonDE]

You may want to look at the full distribution, i.e., mean and standard deviation ( or median and IQR, depending on the plot) ; some outliers may have pushed the mean down.

I understand some of the limitations of averages, especially in a situation like this where the professor was guessing. Unfortunately the professor didn't show the results, so we can't look at the actual numbers. Now personally, if I was just looking at a paper with numbers on it, like in this case, I would probably use the median to get a better guess, although I cannot speak for the professor and what she meant by average, or how her mind works in that situation.

Anyways...I don't understand how the mean can be wrong? Does the average person not have one fallopian tube?

 

[WWGD]

Well, what I meant is that if there are 50 people in the class, you may have 20 100's 5 80s and 25 4's. All you can tell from the mean is that the sum of all values divided by the number of values equals the mean, 50 in this case. But this allows for a lot of different possibilities, more so when n is large. Look at the distribution of income in some countries --arguably the U.S at this point. Distributions may be skewed either to the left or to the right.

What I mean is that there are many ways of accomplishing a mean of 50. For two values, you may have :
1)(0+100)/2
2) (1+99)/2
...
And similar for 3, 4,.. values.

 

[zoki85]

^^ That's kind of how the legend of J.C.F. Gauβ started

 

[JonDE]

Well, what I meant is that if there are 50 people in the class, you may have 20 100's 5 80s and 25 4's. All you can tell from the mean is that the sum of all values divided by the number of values equals the mean, 50 in this case. But this allows for a lot of different possibilities, more so when n is large. Look at the distribution of income in some countries --arguably the U.S at this point. Distributions may be skewed either to the left or to the right.

I understand what you are saying. In your example, half the class still failed. Now it is possible that 70% of the class got in the 70s and a few really bad grades brought that down to 50, meaning only a small portion failed, but I find it unlikely. Especially since I got a 98 on it.
The two main problems I really have on it was, 1) how easy it was, 2) why the people were in the class. To compare how easy it was I scored an 85 and my college Algebra final last semester, which was all multiple choice. Here I scored a 98, and the only reason I didn't score a 100 was because I forgot to put a y= before one equation.
The other problem is that, at least here, pre-calculus is not required for most, if not all, of the art type degrees. Only college algebra is required. These are almost all science majors, or in the case like me, taking it almost "for fun".

I dunno, maybe I just expect too much.

 

[Ibix]

Aargh! There are rules for a reason! Even if only to say "think before breaking"!

Double parking on a bus route which is one of only two streets out of a busy town center¹ during the evening rush hour is stupid! Treating this kind of stupidity as the price of doing business is stupid too!

...and breathe. Cultural differences get me sometimes.

¹ It's on an isthmus; the easily defensible choke point was a good idea when the place was built.

 

[WWGD]

Yes, I used to be a hothead, opposing all rules, but I agree with you, some rules make sense, and
sometimes if one does not see the sense it may be one's thickness, and one cannot automatically
conclude that the rule makes no sense.

 

[Borg]

I love a good karma story.

 

[Borek]