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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 10/31/2008 : 19:25:07 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
The Eyeballing Game.
Like Dr. Palmer I'm decent at bisecting an angle, but I suck at locating the convergence of three lines.
Overall score on crappy laptop monitor: 4.72
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I tried once, got a score of 4.39.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2008 : 13:58:07 [Permalink]
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| Huh. I really did love his earlier books. And while he may of gone off the deep end sometimes, or may have been wrong headed at times, he did a lot to keep the subject of science front and center in most of his works of fiction. Ultimately, a good thing... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Hawks
SFN Regular
Canada
1383 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2008 : 13:15:51 [Permalink]
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| If the probability of A>0 and the probability of B<1, is A more probable than B? |
METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden! |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2008 : 15:03:54 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Hawks
If the probability of A>0 and the probability of B<1, is A more probable than B?
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I'm no more a mathematician than Kent Hovind is a paleontologist, but it seems to me that this question cannot be answered with the limited information given.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2008 : 15:38:17 [Permalink]
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| The only differences between A and B are at the extremes. No matter how many decimals you go out to, both have the same chance of being 0.513783654 (for example). So, because A will never be 0 and A has some chance of being 1.0, while B has no chance of being 1.0 and has some chance of being 0, then it seems to me that A is precisely 10-n more probable than B, where n is the number of decimals you're working with. Well, that tells us that the average of all possible values of A is slightly higher than the average of all possible values of B, but as n approaches infinity, the difference approaches zero. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Hawks
SFN Regular
Canada
1383 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2008 : 19:18:30 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
The only differences between A and B are at the extremes. No matter how many decimals you go out to, both have the same chance of being 0.513783654 (for example). So, because A will never be 0 and A has some chance of being 1.0, while B has no chance of being 1.0 and has some chance of being 0, then it seems to me that A is precisely 10-n more probable than B, where n is the number of decimals you're working with. Well, that tells us that the average of all possible values of A is slightly higher than the average of all possible values of B, but as n approaches infinity, the difference approaches zero.
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Makes sense. Thanks. |
METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden! |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2008 : 19:38:00 [Permalink]
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So I've been playing Peggle Deluxe on-and-off for the past year or so, and finally, tonight, have gained the rank of "EXTREME GRAND MASTER OF PEGGLE." So I don't have to play that game any more.
Unfortunately, my wife helpfully downloaded Peggle Nights a couple of weeks ago, and I just stumbled across the original Peggle while looking for the above link. So much to do! |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2008 : 19:49:09 [Permalink]
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Do light waves really look like this:
I mean, as a photon zips along at 3*108, does it also sort of move up and down like in the picture?
If so, well, how? What tells a red wavelength to move as it does? And doesn't it seem like a rather inefficient movement? Why doesn't the photon just move along in a straight line?
And if not, then why do we talk about wavelengths? |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2008 : 22:25:39 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Cuneiformist
I mean, as a photon zips along at 3*108, does it also sort of move up and down like in the picture? |
No. Electromagnetic radiation oscillates in the magnitude of the electric and magnetic fields it carries with it. The wavelength is the distance the photon travels between two subsequent peaks of the magnitude of those fields. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2008 : 05:39:56 [Permalink]
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| Also, there's a 90° angle between the electric- and the magnetic field. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2008 : 23:36:05 [Permalink]
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So I captured this screenshot from my Yahoo mail account. The lead article is about Hillary Clinton potentially filling a cabinet position. Only...that isn't a photo of Hillary. Do you think somebody was having a laugh or does the former First Lady really look that much like Elton John?
Edited to add: Glad I screen-capped it, because just after posting this the image was changed to this:
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 11/13/2008 23:42:10 |
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 11/14/2008 : 21:37:02 [Permalink]
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| Sometimes, it is clear I am waaay behind on things like computers and technology. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2008 : 03:21:57 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Cuneiformist
Sometimes, it is clear I am waaay behind on things like computers and technology.
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...and I had to look up the second amendment on wikipedia to get the point. However, it was a very good point. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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The water cooler, part 3
