Today I Learned

[epenguin]

Took a minute to filter out all the plant hits: https://www.math.ias.edu/csdm/files/Archives/11-12/nalon_on_sunflowers_and_matrix_multiplication.pdf (PDF)

Doesn't that take the cake for blasé? Where does that come from? Oh, just some universe.

 

[epenguin]

Today I learned that the nym of our outstanding molecular biology contributor, Yggdrasill, does not stand as I thought for an amino acid sequence of occurrence and function unknown to the rest of us, but is the name of the Great Tree from which the Norse believed themselves descended.

Tree of life theme of course appropriate for a molecular biologist.

 

[DrGreg]

Today I learned that there is a National Procrastination Week. It should take place the first week in March, but it can be up to a week late.

(Actually I learned this yesterday, but ...)

 

[BillTre]

Today is National (US) Dog Day!

Every dog has its day.

Enjoy your dog!

 

[chemisttree]

Oh, thank goodness! I thought this day would never come!

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that the Mayday call came from m'aider.

 

[hmmm27]

TIL that the Mayday call came from m'aider.

"M'aidez" - You(plural/respectful) help me

 

[fresh_42]

"m'aidez" - you (plural, respectful) help me

Nope, m'aider as short for (venez) m'aider.

 

[hmmm27]

Nope, m'aider as short for (venez) m'aider.

Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing the letter "S" by telephone, the international distress signal "S.O.S." will give place to the words "May-day", the phonetic equivalent of "M'aidez", the French for "Help me."​

​

—"New Air Distress Signal," The Times [London], 2 Feb. 1923​

 

[fresh_42]

Frederick Stanley Mockford, a senior radio officer in London, was put in charge of finding an appropriate code word. He reasoned that because so much of the air traffic flew between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, it might make sense to use a derivative of a French word.

He came up with "mayday," the French pronunciation of "m'aider" ("help me"), which itself is a distilled version of "venez m'aider," or "come help me." The U.S. formally adopted "mayday" as a distress signal in 1927.

The call spread well beyond the Channel; the new distress signal's use was reported as far away as Singapore. In 1927, the United States formally adopted it as an official radiotelegraph distress signal, helpfully explaining in Article 19 of their resolution that mayday corresponds "to the French pronunciation of the expression m'aider." (https://www.merriam-webster.com/ since 1828)

 

[hmmm27]

The international distress call 'Mayday' was devised by Mockford 1923.

Pilots needed a clear panic call. Calling out 'SOS' over early radio communication was easily lost in transmission. Frederick was the senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London and was given the task of finding a suitable call.

French influence

The majority of air traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris. He heard French pilots using the term ‘M’aidez’, literally help me. It sounded like "Mayday" and because it had a stronger sound that both English and French pilots were familiar with Mockford suggested Mayday.In 1924, the Book of Wireless Telegraphy identified ‘Mayday’ as the international distress call.

 

[fresh_42]

As long as nobody manages to ask Mockford, this question is not decidable, especially as they are pronounced identically. I still think venez m'aider was the original version which was shortened, rather than the grammatical correct m'aidez. In case of emergency nobody actually cares about grammar and infinitives are usually the clearer command and often by themselves a command. A fact that cannot be seen in english, but in other languages, e.g. in french: m'aider! is a command, m'aidez a polite question.

 

[hmmm27]

umm, no : "aider" means "to help" ; "Venez m'aider" is "You-come to-help me", which is reasonable, except it's actually "m'aidez" : "you-help me". I think there are a few verbs which imperative form is abnormal, but "aider" isn't one of them.

 

[fresh_42]

umm, no : "aider" means "to help" ; "Venez m'aider" is "You-come to-help me", which is reasonable, except it's actually "m'aidez" : "you-help me". I think there are a few verbs which imperative form is abnormal, but "aider" isn't one of them.

Sorry, I do not believe in séances, so you cannot have asked Mockford from my point of view.

Venez m'aider is more plausible than m'aidez is, because in that case it would have been aidez moi, or aidez nous.

 

[gmax137]

The "mayday" discussion is interesting (either way I learned something new there). But let's get back to this:

Oh, thank goodness! I thought this day would never come!
View attachment 268389

I just had a pavlovian dog reaction to this photo. I could taste the sour hot peppers and actually started drooling. It is three hours until lunchtime here.

 

[hmmm27]

I just had a pavlovian dog reaction to this photo. I could taste the sour hot peppers and actually started drooling. It is three hours until lunchtime here.

Had a decent biryani an hour ago, satiation is in the gut of the beholder. Besides, anything more than onions, mustard, and relish | sauerkraut on a hotdog, is overkill. [edit: and cheese, of course]

Sorry, I do not believe in séances, so you cannot have asked Mockford from my point of view.

Why ask Mockford ? Just dig up one of the early 20c pilots who said "M'aidez" and ask them what they meant.

Since he was a radop at a London airport, and the announcement - including "m'aidez" - appears in the London Times of that day in 1923, I'm going with that, rather than your take, 4 years and half a world away.

 

[fresh_42]

Since he was a radop at a London airport, and the announcement - including "m'aidez" - appears in the London Times of that day in 1923, I'm going with that, rather than your take, 4 years and half a world away.

This is getting ridiculous. M'aider is indistinguishable from m'aidez by only listening. And I bet people would say aidez-moi rather than m'aidez.

 

[hmmm27]

This is getting ridiculous. M'aider is indistinguishable from m'aidez by only listening. And I bet people would say aidez-moi rather than m'aidez.

The actual answer is " A French phrase that an English-speaking radio-operator heard, and decided would be the callsign for "declaring an emergency".

 

[fresh_42]

We both have only secondary sources, hence this entire discussion may help people to remember the case, but that's it. It simply makes no sense as we cannot decide it. Wikipedia isn't a help either:
... and this either as a jussive infinitive M’aider, possibly shortened from Venez m’aider! 'Come help me!' or as an imperative M’aidez! 'Help me!'

 

[hmmm27]

True, and my French classes (which I wasn't any good at) is half a century old, and the phrase stems from a century ago.

 

[nuuskur]

TIL how little I knew about the "dark side" of mathematics. I thought that cranks were some tiny minority ..

..but there is vixra.org (arXiv backwards). Found this among other things. The reference "list" just blew my mind.

About the site:

Spoiler

ViXra.org is an e-print archive set up as an alternative to the popular arXiv.org service owned by Cornell University. It has been founded by scientists who find they are unable to submit their articles to arXiv.org because of Cornell University's policy of endorsements and moderation designed to filter out e-prints that they consider inappropriate. ViXra.org has no association with arXiv.org or Cornell.
ViXra is an open repository for new scientific articles. It does not endorse e-prints accepted on its website, neither does it review them against criteria such as correctness or author's credentials.

neither does it review them against criteria such as correctness

Yikes!

 

[fresh_42]

TIL I learned how little I knew about the "dark side" of mathematics. I thought that cranks were some tiny minority ..

Seems it grows all the time. For centuries we were stuck with cube doublers, trisectionists and circle squarers. Then the Fermats joined the gang. Meanwhile we even have even ERHs and Collatzes.

 

[nuuskur]

Seems it grows all the time. For centuries we were stuck with cube doublers, trisectionists and circle squarers. Then the Fermats joined the gang. Meanwhile we even have even ERHs and Collatzes.

Do you get emails from cranks who ask of you to review their "work" or how they have come to a revolutionary new result or some such?

 

[fresh_42]

Do you get emails from cranks who ask of you to review their "work" or how they have come to a revolutionary new result or some such?

Universities get such emails or entire papers. The flaws are not always so easy to identify as in the case above (2 pages is impossible), but alway a waste of time trying. I remember that we had someone here on PF who claimed that he solved ERH by methods from physics. I could imagine that physical insights can be gained through mathematical observations, but not the other way around.

 

[Keith_McClary]

Universities get such emails or entire papers.

Journals also get these papers. ViXra.org probably saves journals a lot of time and aggravation.

My 1D inverse scattering idea was first rejected as impossible. I had to totally rewrite it to appear less crackpotty.

 

[mfb]

Universities get such emails or entire papers. The flaws are not always so easy to identify as in the case above (2 pages is impossible), but alway a waste of time trying. I remember that we had someone here on PF who claimed that he solved ERH by methods from physics. I could imagine that physical insights can be gained through mathematical observations, but not the other way around.

Physicists have developed mathematical tools for physics that were later used in mathematics. It's not impossible to "use methods from physics" in mathematics, if these methods are mathematical in nature.

 

[fresh_42]

Physicists have developed mathematical tools for physics that were later used in mathematics. It's not impossible to "use methods from physics" in mathematics, if these methods are mathematical in nature.

IIRC it was a stochastic argument. It is not as if we had no statistical evidence for the ERH. I doubt that there will ever emerge new analysis from physics. This is definitely a realm where it goes the other way around: physical needs drove the development of analysis.

 

[Keith_McClary]

Do you get emails from cranks who ask of you to review their "work" or how they have come to a revolutionary new result or some such?

Looks Good on Paper by Dan Collins for September 06, 2020

 

[fresh_42]

Looks Good on Paper by Dan Collins for September 06, 2020

Hazardous waste cannot be recycled. I think as hard as I can but I have no idea about a second use.

 

[mfb]

Sometimes the hazardous waste gets reelected, that could be considered recycling.

I'll keep it without specific example on purpose here.

 

[fresh_42]

... that could be considered recycling.

No. Refilling a bottle is not recycling.

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL: the horns of the Moon always point to the South pole and can be using for wayfinding.

More specifically, during any phase of the Moon where you can discern the poles*, they will form a line that can be drawn to the South Pole - which, here at 45 degrees N Lat. - is 45 degrees below the horizon.

*which means it also works during the day

So, if you're lost (and can't make out any good stars) but the Moon is up and cooperating, it can be used as a compass to find due South. It doesn't point to the horizon; it points to the pole, which is below the horizon*. You then draw a vertical line up from there to find due south.

*By the same amount as your latitude.

 

[mfb]

How does that work with Earth's 23 degree axial tilt? Consider a situation where the Moon crosses Earth's orbital plane while being 50% illuminated. Its pointing will create a plane that misses the South Pole by 23 degrees.

 

[DaveC426913]

Well, now I"m lost in the forest and dying of hunger. Thanks a lot.

 

[Tom.G]

A couple of things come to mind:
"Good enough for a Government job."
ANY approximation is better than a 'Stab in the dark'.

 

[collinsmark]

[Deleted by author due to possible errors.]

 

[berkeman]

TIL from the NFL TV announcers that not testing negative for COVID-19 it a great thing.

Announcer: "Over 5000 player tests were done this last week, and NOT ONE tested negative!"

 

[fresh_42]

TIL from the NFL TV announcers that not testing negative for COVID-19 it a great thing.

Announcer: "Over 5000 player tests were done this last week, and NOT ONE tested negative!"

What have you been watching? Your team didn't kick off, yet.

 

[berkeman]

I think it was either in the very-early-pregame for the SF 49ers (start time 1:30PM PDT) or the pre-game for the (now) Las Vegas Raiders (start time was 10:00AM PDT).

 

[fresh_42]

I think it was either in the very-early-pregame for the SF 49ers (start time 1:30PM PDT) or the pre-game for the (now) Las Vegas Raiders (start time was 10:00AM PDT).

They aired the Patriots and now the Saints over here.

 

[strangerep]

As long as nobody manages to ask Mockford, [...]

Hmm. The only Mockford I know is one "Brendan Mockford", a tall blonde handsome athletic guy 1 year ahead of me in high school. Girls tended to wet their panties if he spoke to them, but I found him thick as a brick. Not sure why anyone would ask him anything, except whether this or that girl was a "go'er".

Ah, high school. Lest we forget.

If only I could.

 

[strangerep]

Oops. I was distracted by the Mockford memory. Anyway,...

TIL,... the meaning of Ugga Dugga (thank you @jack action).

At last I understand the meaning of certain control squiggles on my impact screw driver: 1 ugga dugga for cedar (rubbish), 2 ugga duggas is usually sufficient for interior work with soft-ish wood. 3 ugga duggas for typical hardwood work outside. 4 ugga duggas if you're trying to drive a 14g batten screw into 100-yr-old recycled eucalypt (even with a pilot hole).

For your typical physics crackpot: even 100 ugga duggas would not suffice.

 

[etotheipi]

 

[Ibix]

View attachment 269704

Today you learned that $8/3\neq 5/2$?

 

[etotheipi]

Today you learned that $8/3\neq 5/2$?

Bingo, that's the key to it

 

[BillTre]

Today I Learned this exists:

Might be a surprise for anyone on the porch.

 

[berkeman]

Or porch pirates!

 

[hilbert2]

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-astronomers-earth-sized-pi-planet-day.html

But is it 3.14 Earth days or 3.14 times its own day? If the latter, then any alien intelligent being would notice this curious fact, too.

 

[mfb]

Our days. Rotation periods are very difficult to measure and astronomers wouldn't write days then.

 

[hilbert2]

Our days. Rotation periods are very difficult to measure and astronomers wouldn't write days then.

Yeah, I understood that it's almost certainly Earth days. And a planet orbiting a star that close to it is usually tidally locked, as far as I know (not being a specialist in this).