Random Thoughts Part 5: Time to Split Again

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Discussion Overview

The thread features a variety of informal discussions, including personal anecdotes, reflections on dreams, cultural comparisons regarding education systems, and thoughts on numerical scales. Participants share their experiences and opinions on topics ranging from literature and dreams to educational standards in the US and UK.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share personal dreams involving a community member, Borek, and discuss interpretations of these dreams.
  • There is a discussion about the differences between the long and short scales of numerical values, particularly regarding the term "billion" and its usage in different cultures.
  • Participants express differing views on the quality of higher education in the US compared to the UK, with some asserting that American high school courses can be equivalent to university-level courses.
  • One participant mentions their experience with Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the US, arguing against the notion that American education is "dumbed down."
  • Another participant shares their experience with the discomfort of playing guitar after a long break, tying it into a creative project related to fish.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on educational standards, with no clear consensus on whether American education is comparable to British education. The discussion on numerical scales also reveals differing interpretations and understandings among participants.

Contextual Notes

Some statements regarding educational comparisons may depend on personal experiences and regional differences in curriculum. The discussion on numerical scales highlights potential confusion stemming from varying definitions and terminologies used in different countries.

  • #1,171
Astronuc said:
AT&T tells its 280,000 workers: adapt to new technology, or else
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/technology/headlines/20160215-att-tells-its-280000-workers-adapt-to-new-technology-or-else.ece

Adapt/innovate or perish
But it doesn't say perish. It says that else: you won't have much of a future. To which I would reply: Go on, it's not like I ever had much of a future. :oldlaugh:

I'm probably watching to much Hollywood. :biggrin:
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #1,172
Psinter said:
This rings so much truth in my mind that I could not not share it: http://themetapicture.com/this-just-completely-changed-the-way/

Read it. It's someone's interpretation, not what the author really means. Even if it were, you cannot expect a child to deduce all that in the short time they've been in this world. But still, I find it a truthful interpretation. So called 'functional adults' with the task of defining society being depicted in a child's movie. What a shame.
That's why in the past stories and myths were discussed by adults as well. It's just our so called civilised society that thinks stories are only for kids.
I love stories and myths. They contain centuries of human experience. Both good and bad, and often so true.
 
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  • #1,173
Sophia said:
our so called civilised society
That reminds me of a short visual joke:
ME_499_Civil1-640x199.png

Sophia said:
That's why in the past stories and myths were discussed by adults as well.
I did not know this. It's great to know. Although I do remember something about how the Persians dealt regarding decisions of important stuff:
[PLAIN]http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.mb.txt said:
[/PLAIN]
It is also their general practice to deliberate upon affairs of weight
when they are drunk; and then on the morrow, when they are sober,
the decision to which they came the night before is put before them
by the master of the house in which it was made; and if it is then
approved of, they act on it; if not, they set it aside. Sometimes,
however, they are sober at their first deliberation, but in this case
they always reconsider the matter under the influence of wine.
:DD "Let's reconsider this important matter under the influence of wine, guys."
Sophia said:
I love stories and myths. They contain centuries of human experience. Both good and bad, and often so true.
Me too! :-p
 
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  • #1,174
I have seen more people becoming more open these days. That is great isn't it ? Cheers! :-p
... there is a thread named "Unusual set of 3 or 4 integers" in the math forum above that really interests me. :DD I really just need one reply, not all answers. It's enough for me then.
 
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  • #1,175
Silicon Waffle said:
I have seen more people becoming more open these days. That is great isn't it ? Cheers! :-p
Hey, that's just because I felt comfortable around you, Sophia and lisab and zoobyshoe. Don't tease me or I'll close myself.

Initiating closing sequence... Done
Initiating seclusion sequence... Done

Now I'm untouchable.

Some comics and funny introvert stuff:
funny-introvert-girl-fear-call-comic.jpg
extroverts-be-all-up-in-my-hamster-ball.jpg
6a00d8341c5f3053ef01b8d187349b970c-800wi.png
funny-introverts-company-people-quote.jpg
 
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  • #1,176
You will always feel good with me Psinter, get in here quick because the timeout is predetermined with only a small value, I am open by now.
 
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  • #1,177
  • #1,178
Psinter said:
Not too long ago I saw this machine that specialized in creating water from air. It was very interesting I must say.

EDIT: Here it is: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/24/tech/innovation/machine-makes-drinking-water-from-air/
It says:

The system produces 250-800 liters (65-210 gallons) of potable water a day depending on temperature and humidity conditions and Kohavi says it uses two cents' worth of electricity to produce a liter of water.
I wonder how they power it. If it's used by soldiers who are in the field and off the grid, they have to have batteries or solar panels, or generators. Otherwise, it's a cool invention.
 
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  • #1,179
I can't really see how this is anything more than a ordinary air conditioner/refrigerator system, except that it collects the water instead of just letting the resulting ice melt/evaporate when it's in the off cycle.
... and yes it would need a substantial power supply.
It wouldn't be very much use in hot dry climates where there isn't a lot of water to be collected anyway.
 
  • #1,180
rootone said:
I can't really see how this is anything more than a ordinary air conditioner/refrigerator system, except that it collects the water instead of just letting the resulting ice melt/evaporate when it's in the off cycle.
... and yes it would need a substantial power supply.
It wouldn't be very much use in hot dry climates where there isn't a lot of water to be collected anyway.
They're not claiming it's innovative, just that it is engineered to collect moisture more efficiently than an air conditioner:

Capturing atmospheric humidity isn't a ground-breaking invention in itself -- other companies already sell atmospheric water generators for commercial and domestic use -- but Water-Gen says it has made its water generator more energy efficient than others by using the cooled air created by the unit to chill incoming air.

"Several companies tried to extract water from the air," says Kohavi. "It looks simple, because air conditioning is extracting water from air. But the issue is to do it very efficiently, to produce as much water as you can per kilowatt of power consumed."
 
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  • #1,181
rootone said:
It wouldn't be very much use in hot dry climates where there isn't a lot of water to be collected anyway.
Yeah, that's the catch: in a really arid climate there's not much moisture to collect.
 
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  • #1,182
I wondered, was intrigued, by the teller lady who referred to "The ATM" and " The PIN" , instead of the usual
,redundant use of "ATM Machine" and "PIN Number". A correct but very unusual use of the terms. How come?
 
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  • #1,183
rootone said:
It wouldn't be very much use in hot dry climates where there isn't a lot of water to be collected anyway.
Now that you bring that up, if you allow me to derail the subject a little, I live in a very humid climate. Trees keep the humidity over 90% almost always. Which sucks because for some reason I'm allergic to the apparent eternal atmospheric fungus that appears in this humidity and never disappears. That's why I prefer life in the city. The air is dry and no fungus to cause me allergies. I'm happy in the city, and terribly sick with allergy in the forest. Humid forests are nice to visit and spend a few days, but not to live in because of human pathogens and allergens in the atmosphere. Some humans appear to be immune and live happily there, but not me.

I'm a dunce when it comes to biology, but here is something I found: (the study appears to be from Europe)
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/31/12814.full said:
Moreover, some fungi are major pathogens and allergens. The diversity of airborne fungi is, however, not well-known. By DNA analysis we found pronounced differences in the relative abundance and seasonal cycles of various groups of fungi in coarse and fine particulate matter, with more plant pathogens in the coarse fraction and more human pathogens and allergens in the respirable fine particle fraction (<3 μm).

Some fungi are major pathogens or allergens for humans, animals, and plants, and air is the primary medium for their dispersal (18–20), but the diversity of fungi in air particulate matter is not well-known.

Note that fine particles have longer residence times in the atmosphere (multiple days to weeks) and that they can reach the alveolar region of human lungs upon inhalation, whereas coarse particles are rapidly removed from the atmosphere (sedimentation, scavenging, and precipitation) and are deposited in the upper airways when inhaled. Thus, the scientific investigation and public discussion of climate and health effects are mostly focused on fine aerosol particles (11).

My list of pros and cons of living in the forest.
Pros:
  • More silent (humanly speaking, fauna speaking there are always noises of other animals)
  • No foul smells from trash containers like in the city
  • Neighbors have this kind of humanity and kindness not found in people of the city
  • Real darkness at night, the city is always illuminated
  • Beautiful small birds singing
  • Rivers
  • Amphibians which I like
Cons:
  • Horrible Allergies
  • Spiders
  • All kind of weird and creepy arthropods which I'm scared of and come out when it heavily rains (despite the fact that it rains almost every day)
  • Rains almost every day so keeping things dry is a pain
  • Electronics get damaged faster because of high humidity
 
  • #1,184
WWGD said:
I wondered, was intrigued, by the teller lady who referred to "The ATM" and " The PIN" , instead of the usual
,redundant use of "ATM Machine" and "PIN Number". A correct but very unusual use of the terms. How come?
I didn't know if was unusual. Maybe ATM is a bit weird, but PIN sounded perfectly natural to me, because I thought N stands for number so you don't have to use it again. From now on, I will remember to say "PIN number" in English.
 
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  • #1,185
WWGD said:
I wondered, was intrigued, by the teller lady who referred to "The ATM" and " The PIN" , instead of the usual
,redundant use of "ATM Machine" and "PIN Number". A correct but very unusual use of the terms. How come?
Who did that horrible thing to you ? Sounds like a disaster.
 
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  • #1,186
WWGD said:
... instead of the usual ,redundant use of "ATM Machine" and "PIN Number".

Lol... RAS syndrome .... :oldwink:
 
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  • #1,187
OCR said:
Lol... RAS syndrome .... :oldwink:
Thanks for the post, please Reserve an RSVP the next post, please.
 
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  • #1,188
Sophia said:
I didn't know if was unusual. Maybe ATM is a bit weird, but PIN sounded perfectly natural to me, because I thought N stands for number so you don't have to use it again. From now on, I will remember to say "PIN number" in English.
No, PIN is the right way in here unless you think redundancy is necessary.
 
  • #1,189
  • #1,191
fresh_42 said:
rirez?
I leave it blank for people to fill in any verb they like themselves. Whatever! :biggrin: rirez is not the one I have in mind though.
 
  • #1,192
Regarding the post over here:

94PGLfV.jpg


 
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  • #1,193
mfb said:
1.2*1012/(300*106) = 4000, not 4 millions. This larger billion would be the US GPD of a month. Which makes sense, if you divide it by the population you get something of the order of a monthly income.

That larger billion not typically German by the way, it is widely used in Europe and some other regions. Long and short scales
Wikipedia has a map. Red=Short scale (1000 millions are a billion), Blue=Long scale (1 million millions are a billion)
That;s very interesting http://www.jimjamesnetwork.com/consult/
 
  • #1,194
WWGD said:
No, PIN is the right way in here unless you think redundancy is necessary.
...or if you think redundancy is necessary.
 
  • #1,195
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EScalas_corta_y_larga.PNG
I'm not sure which is which on the map since for some reason the zones are labelled in Spanish on that link.
However I see that as well as the two main scales there are some others.
One of these 'other' zones is comprised of China, Greenland, and Greece , very odd.
 
  • #1,196
The rocket again made honor to his nickname!
 
  • #1,197
Ibix said:
...or if you think redundancy is necessary.
I meant it may or not be necessary depending on the context.
 
  • #1,198
WWGD said:
I meant it may or not be necessary depending on the context.
I must say, I can't think of a circumstance where such redundancy is necessary. While PIN number and ATM machine seem to be common usages, I think they're incorrect and my inner pedant leaps to the fore every time I see them. I was just duplicating your comment on redundancy for - apparently ineffective - comic effect.
 
  • #1,199
There seems to be a certain attraction to three-letter-codes. The duplication of the last information is likely to clarify the meaning of the abbreviation. E.g. ATM machine in contrast to a ATF machine :smile: or a PIN number in contrast to just a pin or your last bowling score. Your inner pedant won't probably revolt at IBM computers or an OS/2 operating system, which are not less absurd.
 
  • #1,200
You recognize you study something unusual when you enter the common room and your colleagues play chess on a cylindric board. They would have chosen a torus if there wasn't the problem with the starting formation ...
 

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