Today I Learned

[symbolipoint]

I was starting to get a sense of, and today did make a brief search for any better understanding if possible; but T.I.L. more exactly the meanings for "terminology" and "vocabulary".

https://thisvsthat.io/terminology-vs-vocabulary
https://www.askdifference.com/terminology-vs-vocabulary/

 

[sbrothy]

I was starting to get a sense of, and today did make a brief search for any better understanding if possible; but T.I.L. more exactly the meanings for "terminology" and "vocabulary".

https://thisvsthat.io/terminology-vs-vocabulary
https://www.askdifference.com/terminology-vs-vocabulary/

Where does vernacular fit in?

Nah, you are hopefully aware by now that I'm joking. I've always liked this saying:

"Succinct is verbose for terse."

Unfortunately I don't know who to ascribe the quote to. I copied it from someone elses footer on codeguru.com

 

[sbrothy]

Ooh that reminds of this one, also a favorite of mine:

"I'd be happy to deal with my problems one at the time, if they would only line up!"

I'm not sure here either. Perhaps Paul Cilwa Borland C++ Insider.

 

[symbolipoint]

Where does vernacular fit in?

That's a good question. I am not prepared to try to answer. I did do a search about "vernacular", just a few weeks ago.

 

[sbrothy]

That's a good question. I am not prepared to try to answer. I did do a search about "vernacular", just a few weeks ago.

Well I admit I hadn't thought too deepLY about it before asking it. I was basically just teasing you. Shame on me.

EDIT: that, and I love words. Etymology FTW!

 

[symbolipoint]

Well I admit I hadn't thought too deep about it before asking it. I was basically just teasing you. Shame on me.

EDIT: that, and I love words. Etymology FTW!

Some memory intuition happening here:
Vernacular is cultural or regional while terminology is occupational or expertise-dependent. Go ahead, check on the thinking and see if it works as a reliable fit.

 

[sbrothy]

Some memory intuition happening here:
Vernacular is cultural or regional while terminology is occupational or expertise-dependent. Go ahead, check on the thinking and see if it works as a reliable fit.

That sounds correct to me. I guess you could go even further and say vocabulary is the intersection of each.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

You can use the Fibonacci Sequence to convert miles to Kilometers.

The number of kilometers in a mile is k = 1.609344 which is close to the golden ratio φ = 1.6180334.

The ratio of consecutive Fibonacci numbers converges to φ, and so you can approximately convert miles to kilometers by multiplying by a Fibonacci number and dividing by the previous Fibonacci number. For example, you could multiply by 8 and divide by 5, or you could multiply by 13 and divide by 8.
https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2024/09/01/miles-to-kilometers/

or you can just remember 1.61...

 

[fresh_42]

You can use the Fibonacci Sequence to convert miles to Kilometers.

The number of kilometers in a mile is k = 1.609344 which is close to the golden ratio φ = 1.6180334.

The ratio of consecutive Fibonacci numbers converges to φ, and so you can approximately convert miles to kilometers by multiplying by a Fibonacci number and dividing by the previous Fibonacci number. For example, you could multiply by 8 and divide by 5, or you could multiply by 13 and divide by 8.
https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2024/09/01/miles-to-kilometers/

or you can just remember 1.61...

Do you have any idea how many versions of Miles there have been and are? I stopped counting somewhere above 60.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Do you have any idea how many versions of Miles there have been and are? I stopped counting somewhere above 60.

Obviously I mean 5000 Roman Feet = 1 Mile

 

[sbrothy]

... that "handstand" must have some kind of meaning I've never heard of (or maybe the editor meant to write "last stand"?

Found it here in the "timeline of incidents in 1993 that have been labelled as "terrorism" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government or its forces". in particular the "Columbian Conflict", October 5:

In the village of El Bosque, Piedras Portugal, 13 ELN guerrillas died in combat with troops from the Palacé Battalion of the III Brigade. They were surprised while they prepared a handstand.

---- Wiki: List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_1993#List (boldness mine)

Yeah, I go on wiki benders and get around pretty thouroughly, but really? A handstand? Is there some meaning of the word which escapes me?

EDIT: Removed Wiki link which initially escaped me.
EDIT2: Removed more Wiki links.
EDIT3: It just evoked a pretty obscure picture in my mind.

 

[sbrothy]

… that Platypuses (ii?) are actually venomous. Though apparently not fatal to humans (says Wiki).

Platypus venom: a review (Australian Mammaology)

 

[BillTre]

… that Platypuses (ii?) are actually venomous. Though apparently not fatal to humans (says Wiki).

Platypus venom: a review (Australian Mammaology)

Only the males.

 

[sbrothy]

Only the males.

Thanks. Haven’t yet read the paper I linked to in detail, hence my wiki “reference”. I like that cracked.com called the animals “deliriously ridiculous”.

 

[BillTre]

The males have a spur on their hind legs that is venous.

 

[sbrothy]

The males have a spur on their hind legs that is venous.

Yeah I caught as much. But only the males you say. It’s like “deliriously ridiculous” fits better applied to evolution.

 

[Ibix]

… that Platypuses (ii?) are actually venomous. Though apparently not fatal to humans (says Wiki).

Platypus venom: a review (Australian Mammaology)

You are behind on this thread:

Spoiler for anyone playing NY times Strands game.


TIL: Platypi are not only egg-laying mammals. Male platypi are also among the rare mammals that are venomous, delivering the venom through spurs on the hind legs. It is apparently quite painful.

I actually knew this already due to consuming reliable scientific sources on the subject.

 

[sbrothy]

You are behind on this thread:

Ouch!

I usually search the thread before posting, but mostly if I think I already posted something similar myself. In my defense the thread is getting awfully long and I put wiki "reference" in quotes.

 

[Ibix]

In my defense the thread is getting awfully long and I put wiki "reference" in quotes.

My linked reference is better.

 

[sbrothy]

Absolutely. No discussion there.

 

[gmax137]

I usually search the thread before posting

Maybe you missed it, searching on "platypus" vs. @Orodruin 's "platypi."

TIL: Platypi

 

[symbolipoint]

Watch for a misspelling. Looking into the wikipedia article about Platypus, those spurs on rear fin are VENOMOUS. To tell in the post that they are "venous" seems a misspelling.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I put together a curve-fitting program for a control system, using the least squares method for typically 100-1000 data points. The math gets a little crazy. In order to maintain five significant figures in my results, I had to go to seventeen significant figures in the calculations. A subtraction operation zeroed out the first twelve significant figures for real data having five sig figs. ACK!

 

[OmCheeto]

Actually seeing the results on TV can be very convincing, and it wasn't trash TV, it was a serious documentary on a serious channel with a serious Chilean biologist who discovered found that plant.

Well, your posts sent me on quite a rabbit-hole of a trip.

Boquila trifoliolata mimics leaves of an artificial plastic host plant {pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov}
2021

"...Here, we demonstrate that plant vision possibly via plant-specific ocelli is a plausible hypothesis. A simple experiment by placing an artificial vine model above the living plants has shown that these will attempt to mimic the artificial leaves..."​

Vision in Plants via Plant-Specific Ocelli? {sciencedirect.com}
2016

"...Although plants are sessile organisms, almost all of their organs move in space and thus require plant-specific senses to find their proper place with respect to their neighbours. Here we discuss recent studies suggesting that plants are able to sense shapes and colours via plant-specific ocelli. ..."​

And a more 'pop-sci' synopsis with other interesting facts(plant vision was hypothesized back in 1905!)
Can this Plant /Actually/ See? {youtube, SciShow channel, with host Hank Green}

Needless to say, TIL a lot.
And should I ever return to growing plants in my living room, I'll be sure and put some clothes on before walking by them.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Hey, pssssst, you all know about [Windows Key + G]?

 

[DaveC426913]

Do now!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Maybe you missed it, searching on "platypus" vs. @Orodruin 's "platypi."

1 Platypi = 3.14 platypuses.

 

[sbrothy]

Watch for a misspelling. Looking into the wikipedia article about Platypus, those spurs on rear fin are VENOMOUS. To tell in the post that they are "venous" seems a misspelling.

Did I make myself guilty of that?! I hate it when I don’t catch my errors, although they are legion and it’s comparable to the charge of the light brigade in hopelessness.

EDIT: Although didn’t the light brigade actually succeed? Gotta read up on history…

EDIT2: Nope. I remembered correctly there at least.

 

[jtbell]

TIL that avocado scanners are a thing.

 

[collinsmark]

I put together a curve-fitting program for a control system, using the least squares method for typically 100-1000 data points. The math gets a little crazy. In order to maintain five significant figures in my results, I had to go to seventeen significant figures in the calculations. A subtraction operation zeroed out the first twelve significant figures for real data having five sig figs. ACK!

Yep, fitting algorithms can sometimes push precision limits.

But beware of overfitting. Not only does overfitting waste computational resources, it can lead to erroneous conclusions -- and as possibly applied here: suboptimal control systems.

 

[DrGreg]

I put together a curve-fitting program for a control system, using the least squares method for typically 100-1000 data points. The math gets a little crazy. In order to maintain five significant figures in my results, I had to go to seventeen significant figures in the calculations. A subtraction operation zeroed out the first twelve significant figures for real data having five sig figs. ACK!

Yep, fitting algorithms can sometimes push precision limits.

But beware of overfitting. Not only does overfitting waste computational resources, it can lead to erroneous conclusions -- and as possibly applied here: suboptimal control systems.

It's also worth mentioning that, although $\Sigma x_n - \Sigma y_n$ and $\Sigma( x_n - y_n )$ are mathematically identical, computationally they could be significantly different when working with limited precision.

 

[sbrothy]

... that according to Wikipedia the Bullet Ant (Paraponera cavata) is so called because its sting is comparable to being shot! Now, Wiki being Wiki, I thought this might be hyperbole and looking at a more serious paper, for which I'm afraid I don't have full access, I'm given a more measured comparison:

The stings, however, were equal to a bad wasp sting [sic].

---- The Sting of the Ant, Paraponera clavata


As I don't have access to the full paper it might go on to specify differences based on geography and family. Another source has this to say:

Spruce wrote of a sting by Paraponera: “I was in agonies, and had much to do to keep from throwing myself on the ground and rolling about as I had seen the Indians do when suffering from the stings of this ant. I can only liken the pain to that of a hundred thousand nettle stings. My feet and sometimes my hands trembled as though I had the palsy, and for some time the perspiration ran down my face from the pain”. Further biology of these ants and their venom is detailed in Schmidt. A multitude of clinical presentations have been reported with most highlighting the “waves” of muscular contractions and the intense and unceasing pain.

---- A reexamination of poneratoxin from the venom of the bullet ant Paraponera clavata (Citations removed by me).

Again it's behind a paywall, but I'm not altogether convinced that the name isn't apt....

(Now, I did actually search the forum for both it's common and Latin names but came up short. I hope it isn't a double.)

 

[collinsmark]

... that according to Wikipedia the Bullet Ant (Paraponera cavata) is so called because its sting is comparable to being shot! Now, Wiki being Wiki, I thought this might be hyperbole and looking at a more serious paper, for which I'm afraid I don't have full access, I'm given a more measured comparison:


---- The Sting of the Ant, Paraponera clavata


As I don't have access to the full paper it might go on to specify differences based on geography and family. Another source has this to say:


---- A reexamination of poneratoxin from the venom of the bullet ant Paraponera clavata (Citations removed by me).

Again it's behind a paywall, but I'm not altogether convinced that the name isn't apt....

(Now, I did actually search the forum for both it's common and Latin names but came up short. I hope it isn't a double.)

Here's a related video by Matt Parker's Stand-up Maths. (Most people on PF are familiar with Matt Parker from his semi-comedic, math videos [he's also been on Numberphile several times]). This video is about pain scales, but it features the "bullet ant."

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L. That Jackie Lee sang backing vocals on Hendrix's "Hey Joe."

This was after getting all nostalgic reading the three months summer break thread. Jackie Lee sang "White Horses," which all 1960s/70s Brit kids remember.
Anyway she is still going 89.

 

[sbrothy]

Here's a related video by Matt Parker's Stand-up Maths. (Most people on PF are familiar with Matt Parker from his semi-comedic, math videos [he's also been on Numberphile several times]). This video is about pain scales, but it features the "bullet ant."

Hahaaa funny. “Stand-up Mathematician”?! Hmmm
But yeah. Definitely ouch!

EDIT: But not as bad as I’d expected though