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.

  • #6,451
In and around the bigger towns, having 100/100 or 300/300 (Mbit/s) down and up is quite usual. There is a lot of fibreoptics going around. There's no fibreoptics (yet) where I live so I make do with a 100/25 connection for now :P

There is also excellent 4G wireless, but I don't use it much, because the data rates are ridiculously expensive.As for security, it seems it's all relative. There is constant criticism about weak security of the systems. The entire ID card-related security protocols are due to be revamped next year. I have never felt the adverse effects of these supposed security loopholes, so I don't worry too much about it. Yes, we can do most transactions online. Most notably, it takes not five minutes to fill your annual tax return.
 
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  • #6,452
I am not an engineer nor pm nor designer but I can tell bad ideas on products when I see them. Why have unnecessary moving parts? I was looking for a belt, took it with my hands and stretched it outwards. It snapped open , because there were two parts connected , instead of being a single piece. Whose idea was that?
 
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  • #6,453
WWGD said:
I am not an engineer nor pm ...
The US doesn't have a PM. That's the UK.
 
  • #6,454
fresh_42 said:
The US doesn't have a PM. That's the UK.
Does the UK have a UKulele though?
 
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  • #6,455
" A Project Manager is someone who believes nine women together can have a baby in one month". Not sure if true, but pretty funny.
 
  • #6,456
WWGD said:
" A Project Manager is someone who ...
... uses the project management tool formerly known as PRINCE.
 
  • #6,457
WWGD said:
" A Project Manager is someone who believes nine women together can have a baby in one month". Not sure if true, but pretty funny.
I like the following version:
"I need five more men to stay in time! Or a woman."
 
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  • #6,458
WWGD said:
" A Project Manager is someone who ...
DrGreg said:
... uses the project management tool formerly known as PRINCE.
... is forced to drown in administration tasks to comply with the auditors instead of getting the job done.
 
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  • #6,459
There's room for screwups at every level.

The Project.jpg
 
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  • #6,460
How the project is documented 😂
It really be like that sometimes.
 
  • #6,461
fresh_42 said:
... is forced to drown in administration tasks to comply with the auditors instead of getting the job done.
Du bist ein Former PM? IT , I would guess?
 
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  • #6,462
DrGreg said:
... uses the project management tool formerly known as PRINCE.
TAFKAP unfortunately died in 2016. Purple Rain and all.
 
  • #6,463
WWGD said:
Gary Gray is the only combo I know where the name is an anagram of the last name.
How about, "Norm Morn"?

Gary: "Mornin' Norm Morn!"
Norm: "G' day, Gary Gray."
 
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  • #6,464
Klystron said:
How about, "Norm Morn"?

Gary: "Mornin' Norm Morn!"
Norm: "G' day, Gary Gray."
Ian Nai? Bob Obb? I just never ran into any of these IRL. Good morn, Norm Romn. G'Day, Gary Gray.
 
  • #6,465
WWGD said:
Ian Nai? Bob Obb? I just never ran into any of these IRL. Good morn, Norm Romn. G'Day, Gary Gray.
How about anagramed pairs? Gary Cral and Carl Gray? Gary Lare and Earl Gray? Imagine one example in a married couple. I would beg them not to divorce.
 
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  • #6,466
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  • #6,467
hmmm27 said:
And his birthdate is a palindrome: 1/3/31, sort of on the same family.
 
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  • #6,468
Programming mood swings...

Estatic at having finally figured out how to assemble a complex environment and getting everything to work. :partytime:

Depressed at having to document which of the 300 links over the previous 2 days were the ones that actually got all of the parts working rather than dead end Google searches. o0)
 
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  • #6,469
hmmm27 said:
Just curious, if you don't mind me asking, how you went about finding this example. Did you scrape or somehow queried Wikipedia?
 
  • #6,470
fresh_42 said:
I like the following version:
"I need five more men to stay in time! Or a woman."
Is this the old trope of women being underpaid? If this was the case, companies would hire only women to do the work, which they would supposedly complete at, e.g., 80% of the cost that men would complete it. Yet this does not happen, seriously putting the claim in question.
 
  • #6,471
WWGD said:
Is this the old trope of women being underpaid? If this was the case, companies would hire only women to do the work, which they would supposedly complete at, e.g., 80% of the cost that men would complete it. Yet this does not happen, seriously putting the claim in question.
No, it's not about payment. It refers to the fact that women get things done more efficiently, i.e. with far less "meetings". It is also the case, that men compete better if a woman is around. They might not know, but they instinctively attempt to make an impression. The difficulties sometimes occur, if you have more than one woman in the team.
 
  • #6,472
fresh_42 said:
No, it's not about payment. It refers to the fact that women get things done more efficiently, i.e. with far less "meetings". It is also the case, that men compete better if a woman is around. They might not know, but they instinctively attempt to make an impression. The difficulties sometimes occur, if you have more than one woman in the team.
So the ideal team is composed of several men and one woman?
 
  • #6,473
WWGD said:
Just curious, if you don't mind me asking, how you went about finding this example. Did you scrape or somehow queried Wikipedia?

Pure'ish serendipity, or possibly my tinfoil hat's sprung a leak : I googled for "Lester Tesler" and that came up as an alternative spelling.

WWGD said:
fresh_42 said:
I like the following version:
"I need five more men to stay in time! Or a woman."
Is this the old trope of women being underpaid?
An even older trope : "men are useless", that was very popular in the (19)70s/80s, pervasive in family-oriented TV/movies : husband/dad's a klutz and the wife/kids have to compensate : hilarity ensues.

The kernel of truth is that - apart from the need of outsiders to have to work harder to gain respect - women are generally better at multitasking (I won't posit biological andor cultural) : the underlying message promotes the idea of women in the workplace, in non-"traditional" roles.
 
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  • #6,474
WWGD said:
So the ideal team is composed of several men and one woman?
I think this is a bit too oversimplified. E.g. such a "team" has significantly higher chances to die in a car crash if they are in one car driving home from a bar or disco.
 
  • #6,475
fresh_42 said:
I think this is a bit too oversimplified. E.g. such a "team" has significantly higher chances to die in a car crash if they are in one car driving home from a bar or disco.
Must be an interesting project if they're all going to a disco together.
 
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  • #6,476
hmmm27 said:
Pure'ish serendipity, or possibly my tinfoil hat's sprung a leak : I googled for "Lester Telser" and that came up as an alternative spelling.<tl;dr> Issa joke </tl;dr>
It stems from the anachronistic trope "men are useless", which was popular in the (19)70s/80s, pervasive in family-oriented TV/movies : husband/dad's a klutz and the wife/kids have to compensate : hilarity ensues.

The kernel of truth is that women are better at multitasking (I won't posit biological andor cultural) : the underlying message promotes the idea of women in the workplace.
Yes, there is a difference in brain wiring and I guess form follows function ( and vice versa).
 
  • #6,477
WWGD said:
Yes, there is a difference in brain wiring and I guess form follows function ( and vice versa).
That'd be something for actual Science(s) to weigh in on in anything but a speculative manner. But, it's probably safe to say "millions of years of biology, reinforced by tens of thousands of years of culture". Just don't say it in the wrong place/time, or pretend there isn't a long list of caveats.
 
  • #6,478
hmmm27 said:
That'd be something for actual Science(s) to weigh in on in anything but a speculative manner. But, it's probably safe to say "millions of years of biology, reinforced by tens of thousands of years of culture". Just don't say it in the wrong place/time, or pretend there isn't a long list of caveats.
Of course, I use it in an oversimplified way in this casual subforum , giving the Reader's Digest version.
 
  • #6,479
How hot is it in the states?
 
  • #6,480
That's wrong with the world we live in:
english version said:
Brian Harold May is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and astrophysicist.
german version said:
Brian Harold May is a British guitarist, composer, singer, astrophysicist, non-fiction author and animal rights activist.
 

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