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Deeply Philosophical Questions 8

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hjgoldstein

hjgoldstein

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BBC Reporter said:
There were also reports of hailstones the size of golf balls falling in the East Midlands
Click to expand...

How were hailstones measured before the invention of golf balls?

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.
 
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In honor of Douglas Hofstadter, I have posted a problem in the Squaring the Circle forum. Please take a look and respond, if you're interested.

thread1229-1687985
 
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@SamBones

>when will I be able to buy a flying car? Or at least a Back To The Future hoverboard? It's way past due!

You're asking the wrong person, you have to ask that to engineers, not to physicists. That's like asking a mathematician to calculate.

;)

Bye, Olaf.
 
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@MakeItSo - Sorry that I hadn't commented sooner, but the thread seemed to turn in a different direction. I'm glad you followed up. I think your findings of red, green, and blue getting their names from association with blood, growing plants and trees, and shimmering respectively make good sense. Nice work.

<side note>
Next time we get into a discussion about the Oxford comma, someone please remind us of this post and the above sentence.
</side note>

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Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato
 
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@CC
Thank you for forcing me to this bit of research. It is really fascinating!
I also found these:
- yellow: noachitic "*ɢëλ" [ge:l] meaning "striking" (German: gelb, until 19th century still: gel)
- black: Ancient Germanic *blakaz = "burned"
- white: Ancient Germanic *khwitaz = "bright", or Sanskrit: sviteti = "to shine", svetu = "light

Actually it is kind of logical: names of colours as abstract concepts only appeared later. Their roots were what could be observed in nature. Not "green" but "like plants" not "blue" but either "like water" or (as in shimmering) "like metal", or "like a burnt tree stump" (black) etc.


“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.
 
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Yes, the connotations and denotations of the words 'fact' and 'opinion' can be interesting.

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Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato
 
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Yes, Annihilannnic, thank you for sharing that quote. Sage words indeed.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.
 
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2ffat said:
Testicles. But that didn't sound right on radio so they changed it.
Click to expand...

OUAT I was helping the local Mensa proctor administer the Mensa admissions test at a convention and she turned to me and said "Wow, this is a big group. We should get a picture of this." So I dashed off to the 'hospitality suite', stood on a chair and shouted "May I have your attention? Is there a photographer here? The proctor would like you to come to the ballroom and take a picture of our testees."

Everyone looked at me somewhat slack-jawed (Grandma would have said 'like I had six heads and a hat on each one') and it was several seconds before I realized what I had just asked.

Frank Clarke
--America's source for adverse opinions since 1943.
 
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Reminds of when, as a 10-year-old, I waxed lyrical to a family friend about octopi with their eight testicles...

Annihilannic
[small]tgmlify - code syntax highlighting for your tek-tips posts[/small]
 
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HJGoldstein said:
New Philosophical Question
If a man expresses an opinion and his wife is not there to hear it...

Spoiler:
Is he still wrong?
Click to expand...

There are only two things about me that my wife doesn't like:
1. Everything I say;
2. Everything I do.

-----------
With business clients like mine, you'd be better off herding cats.
 
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Please bear with me (i.e. don't get grizzly) but...
What the blazes is a "chromatic abnormality"?
[3eyes]

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.
 
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I'd say no, it is not an aberration. Aberration requires light - black (i.e. ideal black) is absence of light.
So I do not think black is a chromatic aberration but a chromatic absence.

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.
 
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MakeItSo said:
So I do not think black is a chromatic aberration but a chromatic absence.
Click to expand...
if black is the absence of light, then explain why you get black when one mixes blue, red and yellow food coloring?

MakeItSo said:
black (i.e. ideal black) is absence of light.
Click to expand...
I would agree, that in the absence of light, that there is blackness... ;)

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"
 
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It is what it is. What is what it is?

The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it. ~William James
 
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