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

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The forum discussion revolves around the latest installment of the "Random Thoughts" thread on Physics Forums, highlighting various topics including critiques of documentary programming on the History Channel and National Geographic's recent ownership change. Participants express concerns about the quality of content in documentaries and share personal anecdotes, such as a humorous incident involving a clogged kitchen extractor fan. The conversation also touches on mathematical discussions regarding prime numbers and cultural observations about societal norms and language use.

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  • Familiarity with documentary programming and its impact on public knowledge.
  • Basic understanding of prime numbers and mathematical proofs.
  • Awareness of cultural commentary and societal norms.
  • Knowledge of language variations and their implications in communication.
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  • Investigate cultural differences in language use and societal expectations.
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This discussion is beneficial for media analysts, educators in mathematics, cultural commentators, and anyone interested in the intersection of media, society, and education.

  • #1,621
I have finally heard a theory for the repeated claim that "Today's music sucks" that makes sense to me. Basically, what we now refer to as the great music of days past are the songs that made the cut, the quality music from different decades. There is a lot of crap from those days that was forgotten as few considered it to be of high quality. But in today's music there has been no such filtering and we hear a lot of crap together with the good stuff.
 
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  • #1,622
WWGD said:
Is that the "Wachoo talkin' about, Willis" face?
No. The expression I'm talking about doesn't involve suspicion or accusation, though it does seem to represent a negative experience, and it seems to be an attempt to hide something rather than express it: like I said, it gives the impression of "holding back words." I call it an "expression," but it may actually be more of a "tell." Maybe, at most, only 10% of people ever do it, so it's not common. But I've seen it often enough that I would imagine everyone has seen it at one time or another.

Here's the closest thing I could find to what I'm talking about, but this guy's eyes are not neutral enough. The thing I'm talking about involves just the mouth, and the rest of the face is neutral.
0808a51.jpg
 
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  • #1,623
WWGD said:
I have finally heard a theory for the repeated claim that "Today's music sucks" that makes sense to me. Basically, what we now refer to as the great music of days past are the songs that made the cut, the quality music from different decades. There is a lot of crap from those days that was forgotten as few considered it to be of high quality. But in today's music there has been no such filtering and we hear a lot of crap together with the good stuff.

Yes, I've been having this discussion with people on another forum. I actually think there is more great music now than there ever, but it's increasingly hard to find through the noise. You also have to search globally. My favorite stuff comes from international collaborations especially if they involve some sort of genre melding/blurring. (Like these guys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajofondo)
 
  • #1,624
dkotschessaa said:
Yes, I've been having this discussion with people on another forum. I actually think there is more great music now than there ever, but it's increasingly hard to find through the noise. You also have to search globally. My favorite stuff comes from international collaborations especially if they involve some sort of genre melding/blurring. (Like these guys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajofondo)
Yes, I think it makes sense; otherwise sounds like an old-fart thing (though you hear it from people of all ages): These kids today, they have no idea
what good music is. In my days... Still, I like some of the modern types of rock&roll, etc. not just fusion.
Assuming of course there is no reason why music today would not be as good as in any other time.
 
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  • #1,625
WWGD said:
Yes, I think it makes sense; otherwise sounds like an old-fart thing (though you hear it from people of all ages): These kids today, they have no idea

I think we're imprinted late in our formative years by what we listened to then. Dad loved 30's renditions of Stormy Weather, Deep Purple,
i still listen to sock hop R&R and light classical. I preferred Arthur Fiedler's Boston Pops in high school.
People who know something about music can recognize skillfully organized notes i suppose, Arthur Fiedler quipped in early 60's "One day we will be playing The Beatles in concert halls." Beatles themselves on a radio interview i heard credited Chuck Berry for much of their inspiration...
Maybe during their stint in the German bar scene they played for a lot of US GI's and gave them what they wanted to hear?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_in_Hamburg
The Beatles members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best regularly performed at different clubs in Hamburg, Northern Germany, during the period from August 1960 to December 1962; a chapter in the group's history which honed their performance skills, widened their reputation, and led to their first recording, which brought them to the attention of Brian Epstein.
 
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  • #1,626
jim hardy said:
I think we're imprinted late in our formative years by what we listened to then. Dad loved 30's renditions of Stormy Weather, Deep Purple,
i still listen to sock hop R&R and light classical. I preferred Arthur Fiedler's Boston Pops in high school.
People who know something about music can recognize skillfully organized notes i suppose, Arthur Fiedler quipped in early 60's "One day we will be playing The Beatles in concert halls."Beatles themselves on a radio interview i heard credited Chuck Berry for much of their inspiration...
Maybe during their stint in the German bar scene they played for a lot of US GI's and gave them what they wanted to hear?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_in_Hamburg

Beatles in Hamburg, yes, " Ich bin ein Hamburger" , right?
 
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  • #1,627
jim hardy said:
Maybe during their stint in the German bar scene they played for a lot of US GI's and gave them what they wanted to hear?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_in_Hamburg
Only that Hamburg had been in the British Zone, so you might like to replace GIs by Tommies.
 
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  • #1,628
WWGD said:
Beatles in Hamburg, yes, " Ich bin ein Hamburger" , right?
Better than a Wiener, right?
 
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  • #1,629
fresh_42 said:
Better than a Wiener, right?
"Ich nein binst ein Frankfurter"?
 
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  • #1,630
And when this guy told me he lives in Krakow, I thought he meant "crack house". A crack house in Krakow maybe?
 
  • #1,631
WWGD said:
And when this guy told me he lives in Krakow, I thought he meant "crack house". A crack house in Krakow maybe?
Here a Krakauer is also a sausage :biggrin:
 
  • #1,632
fresh_42 said:
Here a Krakauer is also a sausage :biggrin:
He's a sausage alright ??!
 
  • #1,633
WWGD said:
He's a sausage alright ??!
Not to confuse with Kalauer, which is a lame joke.

I just start to wonder how many expressions (in total) of the form <city>+<er> there might be with a double meaning. The standard pun is, that like in the case of <city>=<Hamburg> the construction refers to a citizen of the <city>, which the <er> indicates, and some different meaning like a patty in an undefinable sort of a bun.
 
  • #1,634
fresh_42 said:
I just start to wonder how many expressions (in total) of the form <city>+<er> there might be with a double meaning.
Hamm?
 
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  • #1,635
Ibix said:
Hamm?
Does Yorkshire count?
 
  • #1,636
fresh_42 said:
Does Yorkshire count?
Yan, tan, titherer, sitherer, I gather.

But I don't follow the link from Hamm.
 
  • #1,637
Ibix said:
Yan, tan, titherer, sitherer, I gather.

But I don't follow the link from Hamm.
I thought the pronunciation of Yorkshire is similar to the <er> at the end [-ʃə] and wasn't there a famous pudding ...
 
  • #1,638
jim hardy said:
I think we're imprinted late in our formative years by what we listened to then.

What's interesting about this though is that my formative years would have been the 80s, but I knew the music sucked then and already preferred older stuff.

The fact that 80s music was boring/bad has been demonstrated computationally: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/computer-scientists-prove-80s-music-boring/
 
  • #1,639
dkotschessaa said:
What's interesting about this though is that my formative years would have been the 80s, but I knew the music sucked then and already preferred older stuff.

That's probaby what you'll prefer forever.
Fair Anne and i quite by chance meandered into a musical revival show of early R&R that got all us senior citizens dancing in the aisles. Try a search on John Meuller Buddy Holly .
old jim
 
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  • #1,640
fresh_42 said:
I thought the pronunciation of Yorkshire is similar to the <er> at the end [-ʃə] and wasn't there a famous pudding ...
Ah - I see. I was adding another -er to the end. Yorkshire-er. I'm Yorkshire-er than you are.
 
  • #1,641
Ibix said:
Ah - I see. I was adding another -er to the end. Yorkshire-er. I'm Yorkshire-er than you are.
As long as I'm allowed to be more Islaier than you are ... :cool:
 
  • #1,642
fresh_42 said:
As long as I'm allowed to be more Islaier than you are ... :cool:
Deal. <Adjusts flat cap, shoves ferret down trousers>
 
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  • #1,644
dkotschessaa said:
Well finally, someone has done something about all the liberal bias inherent in topology:

http://www.conservapedia.com/Category:Topology

Wait..what?

-Dave K
Well, it was about time. It's all haywire in that trollology. Each day someone came around and defined another obscure collection of liberal sets. It's been time to tell them what true continuity is like and what walled enclosures are good for.
 
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  • #1,645
fresh_42 said:
Well, it was about time. It's all haywire in that trollology. Each day someone came around and defined another obscure collection of liberal sets. It's been time to tell them what true continuity is like and what walled enclosures are good for.

I'm going to stage a protest before they overturn the axiom of choice!
 
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  • #1,646
dkotschessaa said:
I'm going to stage a protest before they overturn the axiom of choice!
Very good idea. Zorn's Lemma is in deep danger.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03372/Donald-Trump_3372655b.jpg

Untitled.jpg
 
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  • #1,647
fresh_42 said:
Very good idea. Zorn's Lemma is in deep danger.

View attachment 114258

"Let me tell you about Zorn. I knew the guy a long time. Have you ever had Zorn's lemons? Terrific lemons. But this choice thing, I don't know. You give people a choice with finite sets, then they want the infinite sets. I mean, come on. That's not how you do business. Terrible."
 
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  • #1,648
He probably wants to build a wall on the boundary of open sets. It'll make open sets great again.
 
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  • #1,649
Ibix said:
He probably wants to build a wall on the boundary of open sets. It'll make open sets great again.
Only until he picks this special one, this terrible, terrible set, this fake set.
 
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  • #1,650
Neither he nor any of his team talked about Kolmogorov sets before taking office. Proof: fantasy and reality are not distinguishable by team Trump.
 
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