Seemingly trivial things that intrigue you

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  • mr_goo
    mr_goo Posts: 3,770
    Stevo_666 said:



    Robert88 wrote:



    Try and conceptualise "nothing". In order to do that, you need to have an image - as soon as you do that, it is no longer nothing, but is something.



    This is why the concept of nothing, or a "before time", is impossible to conceptualise, or articulate. Our brains aren't equipped to think of "nothing" - we have to think about it in terms of physical dimensions, which "nothing" doesn't have.



    Is that off topic enough?


    Maybe we are equipped to think of nothing but just can't describe it?

    Some people know exactly what nothing looks like. Try sitting in the house and doing absolutely nothing when your wife is at home - she'll immediately find you a job to do.

    Funny that. If I'm constantly pottering and faffing around the house I get no grief. As soon as it's feet up time I get the 'Ive been on the go since I got up'.
    I think it's an inbuilt wiring mechanism.
    'Thou shalt not rest'.
    Always be yourself, unless you can be Aaron Rodgers....Then always be Aaron Rodgers.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,217
    Just called the non-emergency 101 number to report a horse running loose on a 70mph road and after going through all the bi-lingual messages and the options to speak to different forces I finally got to report the incident.

    What intrigued me was I then got asked my name and address which I didn't think was really necessary but then also my date of birth. What possible relevance could that have to my call? I assume it's some sort of data monitoring, I was tempted to refuse but then thought they might not take the call seriously.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,484
    pross said:

    Just called the non-emergency 101 number to report a horse running loose on a 70mph road and after going through all the bi-lingual messages and the options to speak to different forces I finally got to report the incident.

    What intrigued me was I then got asked my name and address which I didn't think was really necessary but then also my date of birth. What possible relevance could that have to my call? I assume it's some sort of data monitoring, I was tempted to refuse but then thought they might not take the call seriously.

    A horse on a motorway is not an emergency?
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,217
    rjsterry said:

    pross said:

    Just called the non-emergency 101 number to report a horse running loose on a 70mph road and after going through all the bi-lingual messages and the options to speak to different forces I finally got to report the incident.

    What intrigued me was I then got asked my name and address which I didn't think was really necessary but then also my date of birth. What possible relevance could that have to my call? I assume it's some sort of data monitoring, I was tempted to refuse but then thought they might not take the call seriously.

    A horse on a motorway is not an emergency?
    Wasn't a motorway, dual carriageway but just by a roundabout. But yes, I couldn't decide which number to use so left it to the call handler to decide based on their knowledge of what else was going on.
  • shortfall
    shortfall Posts: 3,288
    pross said:

    Just called the non-emergency 101 number to report a horse running loose on a 70mph road and after going through all the bi-lingual messages and the options to speak to different forces I finally got to report the incident.

    What intrigued me was I then got asked my name and address which I didn't think was really necessary but then also my date of birth. What possible relevance could that have to my call? I assume it's some sort of data monitoring, I was tempted to refuse but then thought they might not take the call seriously.

    My own experience of using the non emergency number is that it is so long winded a process that I can no longer be @rsed to go through the rigmarole. I suspect that is the whole point.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 51,195
    Naivity. ^

    On the subject of hearing, i've always has the problem of not hearing well in a crowd. It's called 'cocktail party syndrome'. If many people are talking at once, and someone is talking to me directly, their talk is virtually inaudible.
    Though my hearing is very good. Although the lower frequencies are less determinable, I can hear a shrew. Which is supposed to be inaudible to the human ear.

    Being in a really noisy environment - not one single output of noise, rather; multiple noises, is actually really uncomfortable.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • Longshot
    Longshot Posts: 940
    If the universe is infinite, how can it be expanding?

    I appreciate I'm being somewhat pedantic but the two things contradict each other fundamentally.

    I'm happy to buy into the universe expanding infinitely.
    You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 12,608
    Can't see where the search function now is to check whether this has been posted already, but...
    Check out the Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry, available on BBC R4, series 12, has 2 episodes "Two Infinities and Beyond" parts 1 and 2. Discussed the concept(s) of infinity. And also quite humorous.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,484
    longshot said:

    If the universe is infinite, how can it be expanding?

    I appreciate I'm being somewhat pedantic but the two things contradict each other fundamentally.

    I'm happy to buy into the universe expanding infinitely.

    Who said it is? It's just very, very, very, very, very, very, very big.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Longshot
    Longshot Posts: 940
    rjsterry said:

    longshot said:

    If the universe is infinite, how can it be expanding?

    I appreciate I'm being somewhat pedantic but the two things contradict each other fundamentally.

    I'm happy to buy into the universe expanding infinitely.

    Who said it is? It's just very, very, very, very, very, very, very big.
    Errr, lots of people?

    You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.
  • elbowloh
    elbowloh Posts: 7,078
    I think it is just considered/treated as being infinite, because it is so, very, very big.
    Felt F1 2014
    Felt Z6 2012
    Red Arthur Caygill steel frame
    Tall....
    www.seewildlife.co.uk
  • Longshot
    Longshot Posts: 940
    Let's face it, no-one actually knows. My issue is more when people say that it both infinite and expanding which is just wrong.
    You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,511
    longshot said:

    Let's face it, no-one actually knows. My issue is more when people say that it both infinite and expanding which is just wrong.

    Would you be happier with the idea of things being stretched rather than expanding? i.e. if all objects were moving away from all others within an infinite universe. That doesn't seem any different to making the statement that if y=2x then y will always be larger than x, even though x could be infinite which can't in itself be doubled.
  • elbowloh
    elbowloh Posts: 7,078
    longshot said:

    Let's face it, no-one actually knows. My issue is more when people say that it both infinite and expanding which is just wrong.

    Is it?

    Infinity "plus x" is allowed in maths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_plus_one and maths is used to describe the natural world, so seems perfectly ok to me.




    Felt F1 2014
    Felt Z6 2012
    Red Arthur Caygill steel frame
    Tall....
    www.seewildlife.co.uk
  • Longshot
    Longshot Posts: 940
    elbowloh said:

    longshot said:

    Let's face it, no-one actually knows. My issue is more when people say that it both infinite and expanding which is just wrong.

    Is it?

    Infinity "plus x" is allowed in maths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_plus_one and maths is used to describe the natural world, so seems perfectly ok to me.




    Bloody mathematicians.

    Infinite means limitless. It can't expand without a limit or boundary.

    Rather than bastardising words that work properly they should just make up their own like "very, very, very, very, very, very, very big".
    You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    edited November 2019
    earth said:



    sungod wrote:


    Lagrange wrote:

    I think that it is faith or belief. Some people think there is no god.

    god == imaginary friend



    there's no supporting evidence, they are the same delusion



    to say "Some people think there is no god." is the equivalent of " Some people think there is no flying spaghetti monster."



    people who say these things are evidence based, they are not delusional


    I'm not arguing that there is a god but I am going to argue that people in the science arena operate on faith without evidence as well.






    Scientists don't tend to start by coming up with a load of shït for a starting point then looking into it though. They normally start with something remotely plausible.
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    longshot said:

    Let's face it, no-one actually knows. My issue is more when people say that it both infinite and expanding which is just wrong.

    how many fractions are there between 0 and 1?
    how many between 0 and 2?
    how many between 0 and 3?

    infinity is a concept unfathomable (in my opinion) by the human brain.
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    longshot said:

    elbowloh said:

    longshot said:

    Let's face it, no-one actually knows. My issue is more when people say that it both infinite and expanding which is just wrong.

    Is it?

    Infinity "plus x" is allowed in maths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_plus_one and maths is used to describe the natural world, so seems perfectly ok to me.




    Bloody mathematicians.

    Infinite means limitless. It can't expand without a limit or boundary.

    Rather than bastardising words that work properly they should just make up their own like "very, very, very, very, very, very, very big".
    back on topic for a second

    people have said the universe "could" be infinite and the "visible" universe is expanding. two different things and no one has - or can - prove the universe is infinite.
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,484
    longshot said:

    ...people say... which is just wrong.

    That's people for you.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • There are 6,000 households in the UK that still have only a black and white TV licence.
  • Longshot
    Longshot Posts: 940

    longshot said:

    elbowloh said:

    longshot said:

    Let's face it, no-one actually knows. My issue is more when people say that it both infinite and expanding which is just wrong.

    Is it?

    Infinity "plus x" is allowed in maths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_plus_one and maths is used to describe the natural world, so seems perfectly ok to me.




    Bloody mathematicians.

    Infinite means limitless. It can't expand without a limit or boundary.

    Rather than bastardising words that work properly they should just make up their own like "very, very, very, very, very, very, very big".
    back on topic for a second

    people have said the universe "could" be infinite and the "visible" universe is expanding. two different things and no one has - or can - prove the universe is infinite.
    I'll take that. I'll reiterate that my issue was based on the usage of words rather than anything scientific.
    You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 51,195
    edited November 2019
    If space is finite, then beyond the boundary of space must be nothing...
    Err, infinite nothing?

    Something that is remotely plausible - like super strings, worms, black holes, dark matter etc is headlne grabbing.
    Saying 'we don't know what the f*ck that is and why that is the way it is, won't make the news.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,595

    There are 6,000 households in the UK that still have only a black and white TV licence.

    When I bought my first TV it was a 14" B&W and it cost me my first months apprentice wage, £127. A bit of progress has been made on TVs.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,217

    There are 6,000 households in the UK that still have only a black and white TV licence.

    I'm amazed they still do a separate licence. Why do you pay less to watch something in B&W? If I mess about with my colour and contrast settings could I get one?
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,511
    Now that the analogue signal has been turned off, it's hard to imagine a black and white TV set up still works.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,595
    Older TVs can be kept active using additional components plugged in, but yes, why bother for B&W?
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • pblakeney said:

    Older TVs can be kept active using additional components plugged in, but yes, why bother for B&W?

    Perhaps they all have a penchant for film noir?

    Open One+ BMC TE29 Seven 622SL On One Scandal Cervelo RS
  • shortfall
    shortfall Posts: 3,288
    How successive governments for decades manged to maintain the fiction that T.V licence detector vans worked.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498

    no one has - or can - prove the universe is infinite.

    I can think of a few that should go and find the edge to prove it. ;)