Re: Reason and eloquence

GIGO, innit. Ray Haddad <rhaddad@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> fed this in:

On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 09:39:48 +0100, I said, "Pick a card, any card"
and "J.V.Ashby" <J.V.Ashby@xxxxxxxx> instead replied:

Ray Haddad wrote:

On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 15:56:43 +0100, I said, "Pick a card, any card"
and "J.V.Ashby" <J.V.Ashby@xxxxxxxx> instead replied:

Ray Haddad wrote:

I recall when I first heard of black holes and how shocked I was to
find out that something quite possibly existed in the real world
that simply could not be measured in the traditional sense. It
opened my mind, Chris, when I read how they were discovered.

Which story was that?

Explain the meaning of this question, John. Are you limiting
yourself to a single meaning of the word trying to be cute?

The question stands or falls on its own. My interest in your answer to
it (and Zen has correctly read my mind) stems from my life as a
professional physicist. I'm interested in which story about black holes
fired your enthusiasm (I can think of at least three possibilities),
because which one it was says something about what sort of science
influences people.

It was well and truly before I read Hawking's books, although I am
very pleased to read his explanations. I was a subscriber to many
journals relating to the physical sciences as it was a minor in my
education at one time. I settled on electronics engineering. The
reason? I was drafted into the US Military in 1970 and was forced to
resume my education in a variety of places whenever I could and
where ever I could. I'm glad that I didn't become a physicist now
but my interest is still there.


Note that he is unable to say which story.

I don't really care if Zen guessed right this time or not. Next
time, beat him to his answer and give him your permission to speak
your mind for you. No backing out. This time he was right. So what?
The next time he may answer for you and make a fool of yourself.
Does that mean you'll cheer as you do now?


I reckon John will back me to correctly interpret plain English.

The trouble you seem to have here, John, is that you want so badly
to be in a gang that you'll hook up with anyone. Even Zen.

Pathetic! Of all the people to accuse of being a gangfucker. John's
furrow is so well ploughed that he could pass for a Scalextric car.


WARNING: You'll fall on your ever present sword yet again if you
continue.

I'm not sure you really thought that metaphor through.

Really? You wave your sword at me regularly missing the mark every
time. Yet there you stand with it pointed in my direction yet again.

After
that, electrons and holes moving about in an organized fashion
through semiconductor materials made absolute sense.

Hmmm.

Quantum leaps and all.

In the same spirit of enquiry, can you explain that comment?

Figure it out.

Trans: "I have no idea."



As an aside, it's always been a peeve that people use quantum leap to
mean a major change in something, when a true quantum leap is the
smallest change possible in a system.

Do you know semiconductor theory? Explain hole theory without
mentioning a quantum leap once. I dare you.

Oh dear. Probably not good to try to bull*** it when you're talking
to someone who has self-identified as a professional physicist.


Black holes
changed me forever and still fascinate me beyond all reason.

For me the facination lies, as with so much of modern physics, in the
beautiful consistency of the apparent paradoxes the theory throws up.

Assuming you're not trying desperately to be contentious, is there
some reason for you to believe I that don't share that state of
mind?

Is there some reason for you to believe that I believe you don't share
that state of mind? My comment was in some ways a gloss on the musings
I had about trampolining out of a black hole in my earlier explanation
to Chris.tine.

Isn't there some school of thinking at the moment that implies that
a black hole may actually spit out mass as it boils around the event
horizon?

Jeezus.

That he makes this comment in connection with the name Hawking is
astonishing!

I recall a show from the BBC here that had Hawking and some
other guy discussing (if that's the word) the likelihood of the
event horizon not being detectable if nothing ever came out.


Ray, Hawking is renowned, among other things, for describing how
things *can* come out of black holes.

john (of course, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean we *aren't
out to get you)

We? Would that be your new gangmate and yourself?

See? You are paranoid!
--

Dr Zen

Usenet is, of course, a *** black hole.
No *** can come within its event horizon
(more accurately I suppose I should call it
the total nonevent horizon) without being sucked in.
Some people like to kid themselves that
it is not a total waste of their time
to hang out in newsgroups but
unless you truly do think that
being called a fucking idiot
by some arsehole like Dr Zen is self-improving,
it's as useless as it's possible to be
in a world that has made useless an artform.
http://gollyg.blogspot.com
.

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