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.

  • #8,071
fresh_42 said:
The medical issues are the show's major means to create tension and arguments.
True, but allegedly at least, there is a larger meta message. It's not intended, afaik, as a medical documentary. It would not have been popular if it had been.
 
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  • #8,072
WWGD said:
True, but allegedly at least, there is a larger meta message. It's not intended, afaik, as a medical documentary. It would not have been popular if it had been.
I only said that you need more far fetched cases than everyday surgeries to create an interesting case.
 
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  • #8,073
fresh_42 said:
I only said that you need more far fetched cases than everyday surgeries to create an interesting case.
My bad. I misread you again.
 
  • #8,074
A new criterion for preferring a website: when you do a search, answer to query is displayed in search results without the need to click. I just looked up a word and was able to see its definition in Wikipedia without the need to click on it.
 
  • #8,075
I saw this while looking back on 9/11 on the web.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/10/tech/digital-news-coverage-9-11/index.html

Some of the most iconic 9/11 news coverage is lost. Blame Adobe Flash​

Adobe ending support for Flash — its once ubiquitous multimedia content player — last year meant that some of the news coverage of the September 11th attacks and other major events from the early days of online journalism are no longer accessible. For example, The Washington Post and ABC News both have broken experiences within their September 11th coverage, viewable in the Internet Archive. CNN's online coverage of September 11th also has been impacted by the end of Flash.
That means what was once an interactive explainer of how the planes hit the World Trade Center or a visually-rich story on where some survivors of the attacks are now, at best, a non-functioning still image, or at worst, a gray box informing readers that "Adobe Flash player is no longer supported."
 
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  • #8,077
WWGD said:
when you do a search, answer to query is displayed in search results without the need to click. I just looked up a word and was able to see its definition in Wikipedia without the need to click on it.
I can do that without even turning on the computer!
I use something called a 'book', of type 'dictionary.' :doh:
 
  • #8,078
Tom.G said:
I can do that without even turning on the computer!
I use something called a 'book', of type 'dictionary.' :doh:
Sneaky!
 
  • #8,079
caz said:
No, and I do not appreciate word parsers.
LOL! Relax.

caz said:
There are known fiscal negatives to high taxes and high government spending. I believe that most people also recognize that there can be negative societal consequences as people become more and more dependent on the government. There can be positive unintended consequences, but I ask you to name one government spending program that should be increased without bound.
Who said anything about spending without bound! WOW! :oldlaugh: It sounds like you don't need me to discuss my views. ;)
 
  • #8,080
Need to be more delicate " I lost my granfather last night".
" Well, he's got to be somewhere nearby".
Oops!
 
  • #8,081
Back when I was a moderator here and running S&D, I contacted a good number of people connected to something interesting and being considered. At one point I came into contact with Edgar Mitchell - United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, he earned a second bachelor's degree in aeronautics from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1961 and an Sc.D. degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1964.[9][7 ... and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14, he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon.

I met him through his website. Eventually he gave me his personal email. He told me that he had never seen an alien (ET), but he knew people in the defense industry who had. He also said private contractors control this now, not some secret government agency.

Turns out you can find similar public statements by him on you tube.
 
  • #8,082
Transcripts sent to a school in Mexico. Art 101 becomes Arturo 101.
 
  • #8,083
I recently saw someone with a two tattooed on them. Now I want a two tattoo too.
 
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  • #8,084
WWGD said:
I recently saw someone with a two tattooed on them. Now I want a two tattoo too.
Did you ever watch Fantasy Island?

You could get a two tatoos of Tatoo too.
 
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  • #8,085
WWGD said:
I recently saw someone with a two tattooed on them. Now I want a two tattoo too.

Ivan Seeking said:
Did you ever watch Fantasy Island?

You could get a two tatoos of Tatoo too.
Desmond told me, when he drinks too much tequila, he likes to wear his pink tutu. Tutu's tutu covers his two Tatoo tattoos.
 
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  • #8,086
Ok, guys, just STOP !
 
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  • #8,087
phinds said:
Ok, guys, just STOP !
Two much?
 
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  • #8,088
gmax137 said:
Two much?
Painful
 
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  • #8,089
gmax137 said:
Desmond told me, when he drinks too much tequila, he likes to wear his pink tutu. Tutu's tutu covers his two Tatoo tattoos.
I was hoping to write a full short story with similar phrases. More examples : The banana narratives ( triple syllable 'na'), I will miss miss mississippi, The melele legume.
Apologies, phinds.
 
  • #8,090
Gah! Can't remember how to use LEFT/RIGHT in Excel to remove $ signs from a spreadsheet. Anyone?
 
  • #8,091
Right(a1,len(a1)-1)

Or

Right(a1,len(a1)-find("$",a1))

...if you're paranoid about leading blanks (I might have the arguments to FIND the wrong way round - can't remember).

You may also want value(right(etc)) to convert the numbers-as-text to numbers.
 
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  • #8,092
ergospherical said:
pro life tip: when going out with your mates, hit the gay bars so that you can get your drinks payed for by random 60 year old guys :oldruck:
But don't drink too much or else...
 
  • #8,093
Hope not overly political...
main-qimg-83ca069823d6da0f1bd1eaa016ad8c08-mzj.jpeg
 
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  • #8,094
Wow, seems Clint Eastwood came up with a new movie. Guy never stops.
 
  • #8,095
gmax137 said:
Two much?
Too too much for a Tatoo tatoo and tutu discussion for two.
 
Last edited:
  • #8,096
It seems Norm McDonald died. RIP, Norm.
 
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  • #8,097
If you want low COVID numbers, just keep people away from testing.

I'm waiting for my official PCR test for more than a day already, and I can expect one more day or so. And then the result will be available in 2-3 days.
By the time I get the result likely I'll be healthy again (since I had both shots previously). But if the test is positive by any chance, I'll be grounded for two weeks anyway.

Hard to think that it's not a policy.
And it works.
Time to get my tin foil hat :doh:
 
  • #8,098
Ingrezza - a medication you can take that "is thought" to reduce errant signals in the brain caused by the other medication you are taking.

Sure makes me want to run to the doctors and get some pills to take. Then I can get pills to counter the effects of those. And maybe I can get pills to counter the effects of those pills.
 
  • #8,099
Rive said:
I'll be grounded for two weeks anyway.
Here you're also grounded from when you make an online appointment until you get a negative result (which may take a few days if it is inconclusive and has to be sent to the lab).
 
  • #8,100
Next time someone comes complaining to me, I will just reply ' Chiornaya'. It's the name of...a river in Crimea . Crimea River.
 
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