What is the newest installment of 'Random Thoughts' on Physics Forums?

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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.

  • #4,741
Of course, I would have preferred if they had alled them Houston Eulers...
 
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  • #4,742
WWGD said:
Just read about this guy who has a B.S degree in Puppetry. If he advances, goes further into it, he may end up with a Masters...A Master of Puppets. [...]
At least he'll be able to https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/tours/puppetry-of-the-penis-star-spills-on-the-audience-member-who-left-him-shocked/news-story/3f8f8e9b7791e998ab30a9b96793a3e1, unlike some Masters and PhD degrees.
 
  • #4,743
strangerep said:
At least he'll be able to https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/tours/puppetry-of-the-penis-star-spills-on-the-audience-member-who-left-him-shocked/news-story/3f8f8e9b7791e998ab30a9b96793a3e1, unlike some Masters and PhD degrees.
I think I would prefer unemployment to it. EDIT: But it would be interesting to see their business cards/CVs.
 
  • #4,744
What is it about the waiters at the Thai place. Everytime I show up, this guy asks: " Yes Sir?", and I reply: " One for the lunch special". This for some 40+ times by now. Next time walk in and he asks me, I will reply : " Can Chai come out and play soccer in the park?". Seriously, what else woulda customer drop by a restaurant?
 
  • #4,745
Wow, this guy says ( overheard) he is studying Archeology. What kind of field work does one do? Dumpster diving?
 
  • #4,746
I wonder if one can go backwards from sampling to estimate population parameters when knowing the pop parameters and, e.g., samples keep missing the known pop parameters. I saw some 8-10 women above 6' in the last few days. Does that mean I am experiencing unusual situations?
 
  • #4,747
A two-sample t-test or a Mann-Whitney U/Wilcoxon rank-sum test will let you know how probable it is that the mean of two samples is the same. Or a chi-square goodness-of-fit test if you are just considering tall/not tall. Which one is appropriate depends exactly what you are measuring.

You'd have to do a proper random sampling exercise, though. It's possible that you simply noticed a couple of tall women and your brain is now helpfully flagging tall women, and you suddenly have the impression they're everywhere.
 
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  • #4,748
There is a German song about a gambler. The lyrics is about the 17 at a roulette table. A friend of mine kept betting on 17 and lost one game after the other. Do you believe me, that 17 actually fell, the moment he had left the table? And there was my then girlfriend who observed a long series of RED and wanted to apply the doubling algorithm on BLACK. Needless to say that BLACK fell after she ran out of her budget. So, I guess the answer is NO.

But there are of course general developments: people grow taller and fatter than they used to, caused by better nutrition. I remember a lingerie shop in a mall whose assortment was diametral to what I saw outside the shop running around in the mall. I couldn't figure out whether the shop owner was exceptionally stupid or just tried to have the ordinary women out of his shop. I think I could rule out that he ran out of articles for otherwise I would have been able to observe a demand while I was in there.

This leads me back to a favorite quotation of mine: "And as the probability is not always on the side of the truth, so it happened ..." (Michael Kohlhaas, H. Kleist)
 
  • #4,749
I am sitting on the train opposite someone with an honest-to-God Salvador Dali moustache.
 
  • #4,750
Almost hot into a really stupid fight at the supermarket when I accidentally took someone else's cart
"No, it's not really your stuff until you have paid for it". Failed effort at levity. Can't believe someone would want to make such a deal out of something, frankly, so stupid.
 
  • #4,751
Ibix said:
I am sitting on the train opposite someone with an honest-to-God Salvador Dali moustache.
Did he* have one of those bent-out-of-shape clocks on his wrist or on himself otherwise? Double check and say 'Cheers, Salvador'.Or go into : "Well hello, Dali, yes hello Dali...".
*It would be surreal (ha-ha) if it was a woman with a Dali-like mustache.
 
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  • #4,752
WWGD said:
Did he* have one of those bent-out-of-shape clocks on his wrist or on himself otherwise?
Not that I noticed. Maybe it had dripped onto the floor?

It was a very impressive moustache, however. I mentioned it to a colleague, who wondered how one sleeps while wearing such a thing. I presume it's waxed and the wax is removable and you just look like Fu Manchu overnight?
 
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  • #4,753
I do a weekly crossword-type puzzle (in the Radio Times magazine) and one of the recent answers was BIRTHDAY on my birthday. Weird!
 
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  • #4,754
Ibix said:
... who wondered how one sleeps while wearing such a thing.
41bqfjnOHkL.jpg


There are more sophisticated versions out there, which I remember, but couldn't find a photo of. They press the entire think onto your skin while asleep. It doesn't prevent the carrier from shaping it again in the morning, but it prevents the hair from breaking and keeps the general form.
 

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  • #4,755
And hey use a variant for the lullaby to get themselves to sleep: Well goodnight Dali...
 
  • #4,756
fresh_42 said:
View attachment 238371

There are more sophisticated versions out there, which I remember, but couldn't find a photo of.
I love PF. You even learn stuff from reporting off-hand semi-rhetorical questions someone else asked...
 
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  • #4,757
Ibix said:
I love PF. You even learn stuff from reporting off-hand semi-rhetorical questions someone else asked...
All the time!
Borg said:
It's called an indicisajig.
Ibix said:
A two-sample t-test or a Mann-Whitney U/Wilcoxon rank-sum test will let you know how probable it is that the mean of two samples is the same. Or a chi-square goodness-of-fit test if you are just considering tall/not tall. Which one is appropriate depends exactly what you are measuring.
 
  • #4,758
strangerep said:
At least he'll be able to https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/tours/puppetry-of-the-penis-star-spills-on-the-audience-member-who-left-him-shocked/news-story/3f8f8e9b7791e998ab30a9b96793a3e1, unlike some Masters and PhD degrees.
I remember the comment by Ken Jennings that the difference between a history degree and a pizza is that a pizza can feed a family of three. Ouch!
 
  • #4,759
Lol... good morning ! . :woot:

friedlieb-ferdinand-runges-225th-birthday-4887536710189056-law.gif


.
 

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  • #4,760
GAH!
I spent most of the afternoon reminding myself to go to the supermarket.
Only now I can't remember what I needed to buy!??!
 
  • #4,761
WWGD said:
Only now I can't remember what I needed to buy!??!
Celery and peanut butter?
 
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  • #4,762
fresh_42 said:
Celery and peanut butter?
Can't tell, my psychic's on vacation.
 
  • #4,763
WWGD said:
Can't tell, my psychic's on vacation.
Better than mine recently.
Me: I'm so happy today!
Life: Sorry, was at the loo. I'll deal with it asap!
 
  • #4,764
When you realize you're in over your head with your current direction in research, now I'll focus my efforts in understanding Morita equivalence (of semigroups and rings), at least there will be surprises around every corner .. :smile:
 
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  • #4,765
I just did a screen replacement on an iPhone 7. It was in some kind of rubber case which has left stains on the back of the phone. I've tried scrubbing with cotton wool and acetone, white spirits and isopropanol but neither of them worked :confused:
 
  • #4,766
Someone asked me an interesting question: What percent of 0 is 0? The usual method he uses in class is that a is a percentage of b given by (a/b)100.
 
  • #4,767
The answer is: Any percentage ##[x\%]## of ##[ \cdot ]## zero ##[ 0]## is ##[=]## zero ##[0]##. Thus his algorithm isn't applicable, as it assumes a unique answer.
 
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  • #4,768
"Driving John style: one hand on a wheel" or "Driving John's style: one hand on a wheel"?
 
  • #4,769
Either. It ain't exactly the Queen's English.
 
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  • #4,770
Haven't answered the phone in two years, but was expecting a return call from the police the other day, so I answered it.
It was someone from Germany.
She's apparently an old friend of my mother's.
My mom died 26 years ago.
Never did get a call from the police.
Though, I think I mentioned it was a trivial matter.
 

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