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.

  • #6,241
fresh_42 said:
I just found this - looks a bit like the Scottish west coast:

View attachment 263255
You know how maps like that in fantasy novels never look quite plausible? I strongly suspected I'd enjoy Juliet E McKenna's books the instant I picked one up, because the maps of her continents had long narrow triangular cutouts, so you could have cut them out and constructed a partial sphere (or polyhedral approximation to one, anyway).

This version seems to have the maps crossing the cutouts, but the version in the books doesn't.
 
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  • #6,242
WWGD said:
Seems kind of strange these people who describe themselves as _passionate_ something: Chess players, Mathematicians, etc. Is this a separate sexual thing or do they have " feelings" towards these activities, etc?

I'm passionate about partial fraction decompositions
 
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  • #6,243
etotheipi said:
I'm passionate about partial fraction decompositions
No details, please, unless you're a gorgeous woman.
 
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  • #6,244
WWGD said:
No details, please, unless [...].
Reminds me of this

20130402.gif

(Source: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2013-04-02)

[Edit: click the source link for a more readable version of the comic that avoids PF's auto-resizing.]
 
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  • #6,245
The sentences that finally put a nail in the coffin on doubts about the usefulness of commas. " How do you know Einstein* ? "Me: I never said I knew Einstein .

*Instead of " How do you know, Einstein?"
 
  • #6,246
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  • #6,248
WWGD said:
Aftermath=? After Math=...? Good luck!
Just hopeing I'll still have some math skills in the after math. Thanks for the "good luck"
 
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  • #6,250
Ibix said:
You, I take it? I hope you're on the mend. Those staple things are amazing - they come out and barely leave a mark.
They're coming out this coming Monday
 
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  • #6,251
Undergrad logic: non-constructive proof, instructor (I) can't give counter-examples to false claims in proof, therefore proof is correct. :oldgrumpy:
 
  • #6,252
Given it is made in China, it works astonishingly long.
 
  • #6,253
Staples are out and I'm feeling great!
 
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  • #6,254
I had BBQ ribs, fries and sweet pickled tomatoes for lunch.

I think I'll order Chinese for dinner. I'll get the House Special chow mein, the spicy king prawns and a pancake roll.
 
  • #6,255
I have a new metal in my collection; titanium. Except it's in my head, not a jar.
 
  • #6,256
I was told that my neighbor killed a big black-snake trying to get his baby chicks. I cried since I've caught a large one every summer for years; thinking it was my pet he killed. But I heard this sound in my chicken coop and low and behold MY Snake!
IMG_3248.JPG

This big boy is 2 meters+ in length.
 
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  • #6,257
I thought this was mildly interesting to look at :wink:

1591486472312.png
 
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  • #6,258
"bi" means "two/twice"
"semi" means "half"
Why are biannual and semiannual synonyms in English?
 
  • #6,259
mfb said:
"bi" means "two/twice"
"semi" means "half"
Why are biannual and semiannual synonyms in English?
Because we have "biennial" to mean "once every two years", and we wouldn't want to confuse anything.
 
  • #6,260
mfb said:
Why are biannual and semiannual synonyms in English?
Why does "flammable" mean the same thing as "inflammable"?
 
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  • #6,261
DrGreg said:
Why does "flammable" mean the same thing as "inflammable"?
Aren't there serious efforts to deprecate "inflammable" and just use "flammable" and "non-flammable", because this is a genuine safety issue?
 
  • #6,262
Ibix said:
Aren't there serious efforts to deprecate "inflammable" and just use "flammable" and "non-flammable", because this is a genuine safety issue?
From TIL:
hmmm27 said:
army : "say again", because "repeat" is an artillery command.
Do they say "conflagration" in the army?
 
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  • #6,263
Keith_McClary said:
From TIL:
Do they say "conflagration" in the army?
I imagine they do. Probably not so much over the radio in combat, which was what I was referring to.
 
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  • #6,264
DrGreg said:
Why does "flammable" mean the same thing as "inflammable"?
Both are used...irregardless.
 
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  • #6,265
Supposedly, thinking is calorie-intensive. Wonder if you could lose weight by eating the same amount of calories ( holding all else constant) and thinking more.
 
  • #6,266
skyshrimp said:
I had BBQ ribs, fries and sweet pickled tomatoes for lunch.

I think I'll order Chinese for dinner. I'll get the House Special chow mein, the spicy king prawns and a pancake roll.
You mean you will order Chinese people to cook for you? ;)
 
  • #6,267
WWGD said:
Wonder if you could lose weight by eating the same amount of calories ( holding all else constant) and thinking more.


In the experiment, subjects had to solve a puzzle or a tough maths question. Would Random Thoughts burn more?
Maybe you can work off a single piece of popcorn.
 
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  • #6,268
WWGD said:
Supposedly, thinking is calorie-intensive.
Dunno 'bout anybody else, but when I'm trying to brainstorm something, I umm..pee more... which to me implies that I've been burning more hydrocarbons, thus producing more water.

It'd probably be easier to check on the other end, though : just hook somebody up to a fancy breathalyzer and check for O2 consumption andor CO2 emission levels.
 
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  • #6,269
hmmm27 said:
just hook somebody up to a fancy breathalyzer and check for O2 consumption andor CO2 emission levels.
Girl-Runner-Tread-with-New-CC-1-1024x703.jpg


Like this, except replace treadmill with thinking chair.
 
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  • #6,270
hmmm27 said:
Dunno 'bout anybody else, but when I'm trying to brainstorm something, I umm..pee more... which to me implies that I've been burning more hydrocarbons, thus producing more water.

It'd probably be easier to check on the other end, though : just hook somebody up to a fancy breathalyzer and check for O2 consumption andor CO2 emission levels.
Sounds good in theory, but the breathalyzer is in the shop and my grant to hire people and pay them hasn't gone through yet :).
 
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