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Discussion Overview

The thread discusses various random thoughts and observations, touching on topics such as media programming, personal anecdotes, language use, and mathematical curiosities. The scope includes informal commentary, humor, and reflections on everyday experiences.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with the quality of documentaries on channels like the History Channel and National Geographic, suggesting a decline in factual programming.
  • There is a humorous anecdote about discovering a polythene bag obstructing a kitchen extractor fan, leading to a discussion about the clarity of installation manuals.
  • Participants share thoughts on the nature of prime numbers, particularly regarding the status of the number 2 and its implications for mathematical proofs.
  • There are reflections on language use and the reactions to grammatical errors made by native speakers, with some participants sharing their personal responses to such situations.
  • One participant humorously suggests that if 2 were not considered prime, it would complicate the understanding of prime factors in even numbers.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion contains multiple competing views, particularly regarding the status of the number 2 as a prime and the quality of media programming. No consensus is reached on these topics.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying degrees of skepticism and humor, with some comments reflecting personal experiences and subjective opinions rather than objective analysis.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in informal discussions about media, language, and mathematics may find this thread engaging.

  • #3,211
StoneTemplePython said:
There are some doctors in my family. One of them is an Anesthesiologist. As part of the background work before surgery he (or a surgeon) will ask:
"Are there any drugs you are allergic to?"

A very common response:
"Milk and other dairy."

No joke.
The anesthesiologist's (no)joke put me to sleep...
 
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  • #3,212
Borg said:
When I'm at the doctor's office and they ask me if I'm allergic to anything, I answer "just poison". It stops them dead in their tracks every time as they try to process that. :oldtongue:
Maybe something else too, like gun shots?
 
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  • #3,213
Wecandothis said:
Sodium metal reacts highly to freshwater.
Getting sodium metal out of water in the first place involves the reverse of a similarly energetic reaction. First you have to extract it from the water then separate it from the chloride (which can be done using large amounts of electricity to split molten salt giving sodium and chlorine). There are much more efficient ways to make hydrogen than extracting sodium and reacting it with water.
 
  • #3,214
WWGD said:
The anesthesiologist's (no)joke put me to sleep...

I suppose I could one-up this, with a callback and a French twist to be:
= = = =
question:
"Are there any drugs you are allergic to?"

response:
"Just poisson"
 
  • #3,215
StoneTemplePython said:
I suppose I could one-up this, with a callback and a French twist to be:
= = = =
question:
"Are there any drugs you are allergic to?"

response:
"Just poisson"
You could have spent at least an old, if not a rotten.
 
  • #3,216
StoneTemplePython said:
I suppose I could one-up this, with a callback and a French twist to be:
= = = =
question:
"Are there any drugs you are allergic to?"

response:
"Just poisson"
A propos poisson. The common Proto-Indo-European heritage "ghabh" which led to English "give" or German "Gabe" (=the given) also led to English "gift" and in some countries around the North Sea "Gift" (= poison). Strange, isn't it?
 
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  • #3,217
fresh_42 said:
A propos poisson. The common Proto-Indo-European heritage "ghabh" which led to English "give" or German "Gabe" (=the given) also led to English "gift" and in some countries around the North Sea "Gift" (= poison). Strange, isn't it?
Ja wohl.

especially since most north sea countries are germanic... finde ich das auf interessant.
- - -
edit: das Gift = poison, in german no less.
 
Last edited:
  • #3,218
Yes, but the difference between a gift and Gift aka poison is somehow strange. I mean, o.k. both is given, but the consequences ...
 
  • #3,219
fresh_42 said:
A propos poisson. The common Proto-Indo-European heritage "ghabh" which led to English "give" or German "Gabe" (=the given) also led to English "gift" and in some countries around the North Sea "Gift" (= poison). Strange, isn't it?
And the Snakes engage in Poison distribution.
 
  • #3,220
Malala laments that Reuben Ben Ben-ami likes the banana narrative.
 
  • #3,221
It was no use taking the cat to the vet: the lupins had done a better job than poison ivy [ M. Python sketch , "Dennis Moore" a.k.a. Robin Hood ]
 
  • #3,222
I know a Vietnam Vet who practices here. Maybe the Vietnam part refers to where he got his degree. He has these flashbacks, drives to the airport and takes a flight to Canada every time he hears the word 'Vietnam'.
 
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  • #3,223
I am still trying to pin down when and how I end up being able to internalize certain ideas/knowledge. There are some things that just do not seem to register by effort and I must wait until my brain/mind somehow absorbs them. I have no clue of how this works.
 
  • #3,224
TWAIN - Technology Without an Interesting Name. :oldlaugh:
 
  • #3,225
Psinter said:
TWAIN - Technology Without an Interesting Name. :oldlaugh:
I took the Twain , to get to wauk .
 
  • #3,226
WWGD said:
I took the Twain , to get to wauk .
*giggles*

What's/where's waku?
 
  • #3,227
Psinter said:
*giggles*

What's/where's waku?
Unfortunately, no stable job for a while, just bits hew and thew.
 
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  • #3,228
WWGD said:
Unfortunately, no stable job for a while, just bits hew and thew.
I still don't get it. :doh:
 
  • #3,229
Psinter said:
I still don't get it. :doh:
Just a way of mispronouncing (mister-pronouncing, given today's issues?): hew:=here, thew: there
 
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  • #3,230
WWGD said:
I am still trying to pin down when and how I end up being able to internalize certain ideas/knowledge. There are some things that just do not seem to register by effort and I must wait until my brain/mind somehow absorbs them. I have no clue of how this works.

Thinking is a lot like riding a bicycle or dancing. Our brain has to get accustomed to the necessary 'movements' to make a new train of thought executable.
 
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  • #3,231
WWGD said:
Just a way of mispronouncing (mister-pronouncing, given today's issues?): hew:=here, thew: there
And, of course, Twain:= Train.
 
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  • #3,232
Borg said:
When I'm at the doctor's office and they ask me if I'm allergic to anything, I answer "just poison". It stops them dead in their tracks every time as they try to process that. :oldtongue:
A friend's doctor apparently once told her that amputation at the neck cures most medical problems. I suggested that she reply "except for a slight attack of death", but I don't know if she ever did.
 
  • #3,233
WWGD said:
I am still trying to pin down when and how I end up being able to internalize certain ideas/knowledge. There are some things that just do not seem to register by effort and I must wait until my brain/mind somehow absorbs them. I have no clue of how this works.
I find information needs some kind of framework to sit in if it's to stay in my brain. Agreeing holiday dates with my wife used to be dreadful because she'd say stuff like "how about the 25th July to 1st August" and I would have no idea how far in the future that was or how long it was or anything. The raw dates seem to mean something to her. I just can't process it that way. Now I've learned that I need to have a calendar in front of me. I have a good idea what my work "looks like" and I can check dates against that as long as I have a table of dates in front of me.

I think it's why I like science and programming. It's all structured information; it fits together and reinforces itself.
 
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  • #3,234
Best thing I've read today:

Q: "HOW you have soared these past years to the top?"
A: [Olga Peretyatko] "Top doesn't exist!"
 
  • #3,235
fresh_42 said:
Best thing I've read today:

Q: "HOW you have soared these past years to the top?"
A: [Olga Peretyatko] "Top doesn't exist!"
I remember receiving a message from a secretary from school saying that due
to weather, last day of classes had been canceled.

So there will be no last day. Feed that into a program!
 
  • #3,236
WWGD said:
I remember receiving a message from a secretary from school saying that due
to weather, last day of classes had been canceled.

So there will be no last day. Feed that into a program!
Imagine we replied: "Assuming AC or not?" Could be a difficult discussion afterwards.
Or what happens to the Mormons and their spin-offs?
 
  • #3,237
We often guide students in the transition from school to university or self study and tell them which fields are absolutely necessary, especially the mathematical ones. But I haven't read the most important advice of all. Never. Nobody thinks about it. Just sloppy. Dereliction of duty. They should by no means forget to learn as most as they can about Monty Python, Kafka and the Hitchhiker.
 
  • #3,238
fresh_42 said:
Imagine we replied: "Assuming AC or not?" ?

Only in the worse , hottest Summer days ;).
 
  • #3,239
fresh_42 said:
and tell them which fields are absolutely necessary, especially the mathematical ones.
Student: Professor, what of this is important for the exam?
Mathematics Professor: Nooooooo! You don't ask that! All of it! All of it is important! :mad:
Student: :olduhh:
funny-yellow-highlighter-book-marker.jpg
:oldlaugh:
 

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  • #3,240
Ibix said:
I find information needs some kind of framework to sit in if it's to stay in my brain.
Similarly, the days in English have no definition in my mind. Like, if someone says the name of a day in my language, it is associated with data, but in English... NullPointerException. :biggrin:

Say we have a meeting this Thursday and I have to enumerate the days and map them to the name of the days in my language for it to have meaning. I start like: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs... Got it. Now I know when Thursday is. :doh:
 

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