pmk

Whenever I think about magnets I remember this Feynman interview where someone asks him why magnets behave the way they do, and he says that to answer a “why”-question you need a foundation where something is agreed to be true, and it seems like for electromagnetic forces we end up in " because that’s how the universe is apparently".

It would be interesting to see some statistics about contortionists and spondylolisthesis.

Why is the time arrow squiggly?

Since the start of the war against Iran, I started taking the bus instead of driving to work. Now and then, someone will step off the bus in a way that makes me observe a certain post-impact soft tissue oscillation. It’s definitely an observation, but it could maybe count as measuring, in which case it would change the outcome?

I agree with that. In my ideal world, the person who said “evolution is just a theory” would hear the scientist explain the difference and think “Ah, using the word ‘theory’ like I have before is maybe not wrong in some contexts, but it’s causing confusion and in that sense it weakens our language. I will therefore be careful and use another word instead, perhaps ‘speculation’, to sharpen our shared language into a more precise tool for understanding each other. Since words mean what we all agree they mean, they are infinitely malleable and beautifully fragile, but we all have the opportunity, and duty, to influence the direction as we head into the future.”

I will philosophize, phallosophile, and fallacify as much as I want thank you. Memes are important. (I’m of course using the strict Dawkins definition here.)

You’ve obviously given this some thought. I’m curious what you think of an example. Think about this sentence: “The theory of gravity can help explain things.” And then this one: “Evolution is just a theory.” Is there a difference in what the word “theory” means?

All the more reason to really reflect on how we use words. When there’s confusion and misunderstanding, should we just accept it because that’s how it is, or should we consciously decide if we are helping or hurting communication through the words we choose to use?

What constitutes “measuring” here? Is it in the wider sense of any quantification of an observation, or are there conditions?

I use GrapheneOS and I believe in their goals, but honestly, the people behind the OS doesn’t seem to get along with anyone else in the whole world.

Oh I understand Ohm’s law, I just throught the picture was yellow fisting green while the resistor (2.1 kΩ?) held her in place.

Oh… She’s pushing her. It makes more sense now.