Maggie’s Post Something Smart Thread 2.0

TOP PREDATOR · Jun 7, 2013

Limedust · Jun 8, 2013

When you can count it, use "number." When you can't count it, use "amount." Example 1: "There's a huge number of people in China." Example 2: "Drink a goodly amount of water each day when in dry climates."

armorpl8chikn · Jun 8, 2013

[video=youtube;ZMByI4s-D-Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMByI4s-D-Y[/video]

TNT · Jun 8, 2013

armorpl8chikn said:
[video=youtube;ZMByI4s-D-Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMByI4s-D-Y[/video]

Metrology is one of those rabbit holes I think would be interesting, but one I hope I never have to go down. Calibration practices always get me to the questions of, "who watches the watchers?"

justin amateur · Jun 9, 2013

Smart, hunh? The basics:

Pain is the best teacher.

Pain is life's way of saying "Don't do that."

Stupidity is paid for in blood, usually your own.

The stupid die young, the truly stupid takes others with him, when he goes.

There is no justice, there is no fair, you get what you get, deal with it.

Roadside memorials are monuments to bad decisions.

Dogtown · Jun 9, 2013

The vast majority of atoms in your body, particularly the heavy elements (C, N, Ca, etc) came from the core of a massive star that died billions of years ago, went super nova and spread its guts into space. The lightest elements like Hydrogen and Helium (and trace amounts of Lithium) were the only elements created at the start of the evolution of the Universe (ie Big Bang); they had to coalesce and form the first stars before there was any Carbon, Calcium, etc. That first generation of stars were supermassive and fused Hydrogen into Helium at an incredible rate. When the Hydrogen ran out, the hydrostatic equilibrium between the core's outward pressure and gravity's inward pressure was broken, and the core collapsed further, generating much higher pressures and temperatures, forcing Helium to fuse into heavier and heavier elements. That process continues, generating layers of heavy elements inside the star until the core tries to fuse Iron - then it all comes crashing to an end. It takes more energy to fuse Iron than iron fusion puts out and in a matter of seconds gravity wins, the core rapidly contracts inward on itself, and a shockwave is formed, ripping the star apart into a gargantuan explosion. In these death throes, even higher temperatures and pressures are created temporarily and even heavier elements are created then scattered into space.

The iron in your blood, the gold in your ring, the calcium in your bones, all were created in this process. Ultimately, we are the by-product of star formation, so literally the stars had to die for us to be here.

This is a good place to increase your knowledge of math & science.
Sixty Symbols - Physics and Astronomy videos

hankpac · Jun 10, 2013

Descartes walks into a bar.
The bartender says "Would you like a drink?"
Descartes says "I think not."
Poof! He disappears.

TNT · Jun 11, 2013

For those interested in the body and piping systems - I never thought about this.
Why You Didn't Die at Birth - Smarter Every Day 42 - YouTube

Comes from a pretty good youtube series - other vids worth checking out.

Unknown · Jun 12, 2013

hankpac said:
Descartes walks into a bar.
The bartender says "Would you like a drink?"
Descartes says "I think not."
Poof! He disappears.

That was FUNNY! I wonder how many people read it and didn't get it.

hankpac · Jun 12, 2013

Descartes

Unknown said:
That was FUNNY! I wonder how many people read it and didn't get it.

Almost everyone.
I only met one person who laughed at this and he laughed HARD.
Nerd.

TNT · Jun 12, 2013

hankpac said:
Almost everyone.
I only met one person who laughed at this and he laughed HARD.
Nerd.

Isn't Descartes standard mention in high school education these days? I guess most teachers are devolving to what garbage they can repeat about "existentialism" from some of the modern authors who are pitched as philosophers. "The 13th Floor" was a decent enough movie that had the famed "I think, therefore I am," quotation at the beginning that setup the whole concept for the film. Worth a watch as a rental or Netflix, but nothing incredible as I remember it.

Here is another wicked cool vid for the mechanical engineers here. 1500+ m/s wavefront from breaking glass.
Mystery of Prince Rupert's Drop at 130,000 fps - Smarter Every Day 86 - YouTube

Nate O. · Jun 12, 2013

Proper Prior Preparation, Plus Primer, Prevents Piss Poor Paint Performance.

TNT · Jun 13, 2013

xkcd: Birds and Dinosaurs

TNT · Jun 16, 2013

Pillars of Creation - pretty cool body of gas in the Eagle Nebula - Pillars of Creation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wiki is a good place to start clicking on links to your heart's content. As an FYI, you can get lost of hours reading about different galaxies, nebulas, the difference in gas compositions, what photoevaporation is, etc.

Anyone else a space nut? I don't know all that much about it except that I'd give my left arm to be able to go up there and experience it first hand. How much is a ticket to the ISS these days?

TNT · Jun 16, 2013

Space talk begets moon talk, begets another video.

Reflectors are nothing new, but I didn't ever think about the road reflectors or know about the ones on the moon. Pretty neat.

POOP | ?OO? Astronauts left on the Moon! ft. MinutePhysics - Smarter Every Day 73 - YouTube

Unknown · Jun 17, 2013

The pillars of creation are truly spectacular. There was a show on TV about the most amazing photos from the Hubble telescope that was truly awesome. IIRC, the show ran about an hour long, and was filled with photos like the Pillars Of Creation.

jbjh · Jun 17, 2013

http://archive.org/details/harvardclassics

I was trying to explain to a guy that going to college didn't make you "smart", it was the reading, learning how to write (you learn by reading more), and discussion were the keys to being "smart". You can learn more from a $2 used book than from a $125K degree.

oughtsix · Jun 17, 2013

I tend to think that in the near future, the university education as it has become in the past 25-30 years will change drastically and come back to what it was some time ago, a center of creative thought and scientific exploration. With internet based courses in basic subjects like undergrad level math, biology, and english becoming more available and effective, is there a need to maintain a physical facility to teach this stuff to students, many on the taxpayer's dime, of whom 50% will drop out by the second calendar year? I think the market will say no, and we will see a fundamental shift in how post-high school education is approached. This comes from a guy with a BS and a MS in the sciences...and frames the reason why I won't have any more letters added to that. The academic market for PhDs is already highly competitive. It will only become more so.

And by the way I agree with

jbjh said:
...it was the reading, learning how to write (you learn by reading more), and discussion were the keys to being "smart". You can learn more from a $2 used book than from a $125K degree.

A professor told me early on that writing was important. I could either learn it now or learn it later, but to be successful, I would have to learn. It doesn't matter what you can put in your head if you can't get it back out in a way that is understandable, and can be used to solve problems.

TNT · Jun 17, 2013

If you cannot write it, you do not understand it - a comment I still remember to this day, and one I have not been able to disprove.

---

Math is not about numbers. It is a method of thinking, to break down the infinitely complex into bite-sized chunks that our brains can chew on. If you have kids, encourage their studies in mathematics. Teach them to count. Teach them what an integral is. Teach them the beauty of a well-written proof. Teach them how to ponder the universe with pen and paper and why it is worthwhile, just for the heck of it.

TNT · Jun 17, 2013

If you like spaceflight, check out this video.

Absolutely mindblowing video shot from the Space Shuttle during launch

steelman303 · Jun 19, 2013

Here's something smart for all the HVAC contractors out there...

When the supplier gives you a submittal & IOM for a $125,000. humidification job being installed on the roof of an adult diaper manufacturing facility..
Read it...pipe the damn things correctly.
same goes for the rest of the equipment....
Installation manuals are there for a reason....
(for what it's worth)

hondo1312 · Jun 19, 2013

steelman303 said:
Here's something smart for all the HVAC contractors out there...

When the supplier gives you a submittal & IOM for a $125,000. humidification job being installed on the roof of an adult diaper manufacturing facility..
Read it...pipe the damn things correctly.
same goes for the rest of the equipment....
Installation manuals are there for a reason....
(for what it's worth)

I have seen countless air handlers, fan coils, pumps, and heat exchangers piped backwards...take solace that you're not alone!

JoeSmith · Jun 24, 2013

TNT said:
Space talk begets moon talk, begets another video.

Reflectors are nothing new, but I didn't ever think about the road reflectors or know about the ones on the moon. Pretty neat.

POOP | ?OO? Astronauts left on the Moon! ft. MinutePhysics - Smarter Every Day 73 - YouTube

History of Laser Ranging and MLRS

release 1994 9441

McDonald Observatory | Visitor information, teacher workshops, public programs in Fort Davis, Texas

steelman303 · Jun 26, 2013

hondo1312 said:
I have seen countless air handlers, fan coils, pumps, and heat exchangers piped backwards...take solace that you're not alone!

It's a crazy world we live in....

I love it when they wire the fans out of phase and it spins backward.
then they wonder why it's burning bearings & they are only getting 40% of the required air volume along with some crazy vibration.

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Maggie’s Post Something Smart Thread 2.0

Gunny Sergeant

Sergeant

Colonel Angus

Sergeant

Sergeant

Ke = (mv^2)/2

Sergeant

Sergeant

Gunny Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant

Gunny Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant

Gunny Sergeant

Sergeant

Latitude 45 bound

Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant