Saturday, November 10, 2007

Academic circle [chat].

To travel 8 feet one must travel 4 feet. To travel 4 feet one must travel 2 feet. To travel 2 feet one must travel 1 foot. To travel 1 foot one must travel 1/2 foot. To travel 1/2 foot one must travel 1/4 foot. To travel 1/4 foot one must travel 1/8 foot...

108 comments:

_J_ said...

So it is impossible for anyone to have gone anywhere this weekend; movement is impossible.

Caleb said...

unless infinite sequences can be completed.

Caleb said...

What was it Jay was saying the other day about infinity not existing?

Zeno would pose no problem if space wasn't always able to be divided in half, but I don't know how that's possible.

_J_ said...

If space is infinite then movement is impossible, as there would be an infinite amount of space between any two points.

I don't think space is able to always divide in half. If I give you a 12 inch ruler and allow you to measure a 12 inch space at some point you can't make any smaller measurements.

Even if one had tiny squirrel-sized measuring instruments, eventually one could not make any smaller measurements.

They have tools in the back to measure the thickness of metals, and eventually those, too, reach a point where no further division of measurement is possible.

Which is why "infinity" is dumb, or at least not at all relevant to life on this planet.

Kylebrown said...

That is good and all except that by making this argument, one is acknowledging the concept of an infinite series. If one acknowledges the concept of an infinite series one must also acknowledge the limits of convergent series.

Each step of the series does not require the same constant time, but would require the proportions of time as the proportions of distance.

So as the distance to point a approaches zero so must the time required approach zero. Thus the limit converges and the distance is covered.

Infinite time not only expands divergently. It expands at the fractional level also. Just because a section of time can be divided into an infinite number of subsections, does not mean that that secion of time takes an infinite amount of time to traverse.

Infinite is an ambiguous thing, and that is why convergent series are so useful, they let us see what an infinite series actually equals.

_J_ said...

"Just because a section of time can be divided into an infinite number of subsections, does not mean that that secion of time takes an infinite amount of time to traverse."

But that means that there are not an infinite number of subsections. There can be a great many subsections, but eventually the subsecting stops.

We can talk about milliseconds. But what of smaller measurements? What is a yoctosecond? What does 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 really mean in terms of time?

Isn't it functionally, practically, and actually so irrelevant and abstract that it no longer exists?

I think Zeno's argument shows that infinity is itself, as you said, an ambiguous thing. But infinity is also a discussion of possibility rather than actuality. And in some cases of practicality that possibility ceases to exist.

Sure, on a piece of paper somewhere someone can write 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 seconds. But what that represents does not exist.

_J_ said...

"Infinite is an ambiguous thing, and that is why convergent series are so useful, they let us see what an infinite series actually equals."

So, in some ways, infinity refutes itself. Because if .999... = 1 then we're saying that the infinite series of 9s does not exist, as it is 1. An ever expanding sequence of 9s to the right of the decimal hits the point of irrelevance and becomes 1.

Right?

_J_ said...

Except that if 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 seconds is nothing, then 1 second, the combination of all those 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 seconds, means nothing.

Conflict.

Caleb said...

When wrestling with demons, it helps to hold one's breath.

Caleb said...

Also,

Once you return from the belly of the beast, you're never quite the same.

_J_ said...

"When wrestling with demons, it helps to hold one's breath."

Why is that, again?

_J_ said...

Also,

Your Princess is in another castle.

Caleb said...

Physics.

And...Metaphysics.

METTA!

_J_ said...

If this writer's strike lasts for a while do we think they would hire scabs?

Writing for a sitcom cannot be difficult. Look at Scrubs. Then quickly look away.

Roscoe said...

Writing for Scrubs would be one of the HARDEST to write for. Because it has it's own tone, for better or worse.

You'd come off looking like a Mad TV parody. That is to say, worse than terrible.

Now.. something like Two and a Half Men, or The Rules According to Jim? Everyone Loves Raymond? Those are your LCD sitcoms.

Roscoe said...

Also, they can't hire scabs, because the head producers are usually the writers, who will uphold the strike.

You'd have to seek out non-union writers for a new show.. which costs more than producing unscripted work, and creates MUCH more political and procedural problems.

_J_ said...

"Writing for Scrubs would be one of the HARDEST to write for. Because it has it's own tone, for better or worse."

But every Scrubs episode is the same. They're like Mad Libs, only half of the adjective and noun slots are full.

_J_ said...

"Also, they can't hire scabs, because the head producers are usually the writers, who will uphold the strike."

"Of course, one big power drain for all unionized workers is that employers are allowed to replace striking workers, says Josiah Bartlett Lambert, author of "If the Workers Took a Notion" and associate professor of political science at St. Bonaventure University." Source

So they could hire replacements. They just might not.

_J_ said...

So, the blue moon man goes to the moon to make his blue moon man moon house and that is apparently the wrong time to stop reading Watchmen? I'm going to have to disagree.

And why the fuck did "The Owl" or "Owl Man" or "The Noctournal Strigidae" or "Dipshit" base his super-hero persona on owls? "I will capture the mice of corruption in my beak and cough up their bones of evil."?

I think the most surprising part was that the one female super hero wanted to fuck the horned owl of justice.

God, what a stupid fucking comic.

(Aside: I know that the blue moon man built his blue moon man moon house on mars, not the moon. I just like saying he built it on the moon to spur the 'it wasn't the moon! It was mars!' response, as if that somehow changes how fucking stupid it is.)

Caleb said...

Great Horned Owls are often said to be the most dangerous owl, and it is reportedly the only bird of prey that has been known to kill a human being

_J_ said...

I now fear Great Horned Owls.

Also, your link does not go anywhere. Perhaps a Great Horned Owl killed the link.

Roscoe said...

Nite Owl 1, Hollis Mason, built the name off of his policeman nickname.

Nite Owl 2.... took the first one's name, and developed the interest in owls as a form of hero worship.

As for replacing the union employees with non-union... did you know that you can't get hired at Depuy for floor work unless you're a union employee. Or, failing that, that you pay the union dues?

Part of the Union contract that Depuy signed. Tends to be a regular feature in most union businesses that you either hire union labor, or if you don't, you end up paying some sort of fee.

_J_ said...

Unions are dumb.

_J_ said...

Let me rephrase that.

Unions are dumb.

_J_ said...

Octogirl

Caleb said...

I don't know what happened. It was my intention to link to this.

_J_ said...

How can an Owl kill a human being?

Caleb said...

Step 1: Person caught with arm extended towards egg owl's nest.

Step 2: Owl flies in and places talons on peron's face.

Step 3: Owl squeezes face.

Or,
something like it.

_J_ said...

That would be one epic face squeeze.

_J_ said...

The Great Horned Owl has the reputation of being the only owl that has killed man. There are several variations on this story. One suggests the the person concerned was wearing a raccoon hat when walking close to a nesting site & was attacked by mistake. Another suggests that the person was attempting to reach the nest of the owl and was attacked in defence of the eggs or young. It has also been suggested that for whatever reason the person was attacked, he actually died of a heart attack, out of fright, rather than the owl physically killing him.

I'll go with "heart attack".

MA17 said...

So I thought I might find a website that lists owls as carnivores, so as to show that they are not omnivores, and therefore not as frightening as, say, the duck (as previously discussed elsewhere), but instead I found some stupid wiki shit.

Pallid Scops Owl is, according to this pigshit slugtard, "an omnivore" whose diet consists of "insects, lizards, spiders, and small mammals". In other words, it eats plants and animals, as indicated by its diet of [animal], [animal], [animal] and [animal]. I'm going to make a wiki page about how I can use a computer and raise the dead, and prove it by showing that I must necessarily know how to use a computer if I have made my own wiki page.

_J_ said...

Ducks eat everything. They're omnivores.

That was a delightful conversation.

Caleb said...

Kaw?

_J_ said...

Kaw, indeed.

Apparently I have Life Insurance from my place of work. I was supposed to sign up for it when I first became "full time" but never did. Apparently that may or may not have caused a problem somewhere.

_J_ said...

I'm pretty sure Life Insurance is a scam.

And I'm entirely convinced that Health Insurance is a scam.

Why the fuck can't I just not have insurance and when I get sick I die and no one profits?

Why is that problematic?

_J_ said...

Apparently police investigators read through internet postings of that guy in Finland who shot up his school to find clues to his motivation.

I hope that if I ever go on a shooting rampage for idiotic reasons some police investigator has to read through my posts on everyone is a sith.

That would be awesome.

"Yeah, this kid was an idiot and a jackass. I'm glad he's gone. I really am."

Caleb said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Caleb said...

"I feel like a quote out of context..."

_J_ said...

Anyone know why kyle's tv requires lag calibration for Guitar Hero but my crummy tv does not?

Andrew said...

It could be demons.

A dancing demon.

no, something isn't right there.

_J_ said...

Maybe we could start a mystery solving business. We could slay vampires on the side.

Kylebrown said...

It is because my television is upscaling the signal which can take a few milliseconds, whereas your television does not need to do this due to the analog signal.

_J_ said...

The Dethklok album is very very good.

I'm listening to it as I poo.

Good poo music.

_J_ said...

Man, I'm brilliant.

MA17 said...

You may be a genius.

Or if PA is blocked, you may still be a genius.

_J_ said...

PA is blocked.

Because if it wasn't I would waste time at work.

MA17 said...

I picked up Yggdra Union again recently, and I fought a battle in which there were enemies who were not factors in my current objectives, but which I engaged anyway, only to discover that they were programmed to never lose. I didn't know that at first, of course, only after I had lost and had to restart the fight a couple of times did I feel confident in saying that those fuckers will always kick my ass apart.

I'm pretty sure including enemies that will kill you if you fight them, and not warn you to that fact, is an indefensibly bad idea.

_J_ said...

I'm ok with those battles if they do not "count" towards item use/consumption. I hate it when the battle is scripted so that I cannot win but I spent time/effort/resources trying to win it and then lose those resources when there was no possible way for me to win.

_J_ said...

It is because my television is upscaling the signal which can take a few milliseconds, whereas your television does not need to do this due to the analog signal.

Why can't the television know how long it takes for it to perform this operation and so calibrate itself?

Or why can't the television tell the xbox how long this takes?

Or why can't the xbox know/monitor how long this takes?

MA17 said...

"I'm ok with those battles if they do not "count" towards item use/consumption. I hate it when the battle is scripted so that I cannot win but I spent time/effort/resources trying to win it and then lose those resources when there was no possible way for me to win."

I agree with you in the situation you describe, but I think the one in Yggdra Union is not one of those situations. It's possible to win the mission, but only the unit targeted by the mission objective is vulnerable. If all you do is go after that one unit, no problem, but as soon as you try to multi-task and maybe win a couple extra battles do you automatically lose. Why have those guys on the map at all if you're not going to let me fight them fairly? Especially since in the very next part of the campaign they are valid targets which can be killed? In short, WTF?

Also, when you lose, you have to advance through all the dialogue again, which adds a few minutes to each cycle and really makes cheap deaths frustrating.

Caleb said...

Also, when you lose, you have to advance through all the dialogue again, which adds a few minutes to each cycle and really makes cheap deaths frustrating.

...

That's what she said?

_J_ said...

I was just watching Kim Possible and they made a shark jumping joke.

...

I know not what to make of this.

_J_ said...

It's possible to win the mission, but only the unit targeted by the mission objective is vulnerable.

So the other enemies cannot be killed and are there for aesthetic reasons?

MA17 said...

Apparently so, but I don't know why they think even that is a good idea. There are other times in the game where there are units not related to the mission, but they're always separated by some kind of impassable barrier. What's odd about that is sometimes those units represent reinforcements that will enter the battle (to the surprise of the characters in the game) after a certain trigger. I have no idea why the developers think it's a good idea to put an unused unit on the map, cut it off from everyone else, and still give it a turn, especially when that unit's existence isn't apparently known by the characters.

_J_ said...

Have you checked gamefaqs to ensure that you understand the battle correctly? What you describe sounds crazy.

MA17 said...

"Once you get to the Knights on the left, they are, uh,
invincible at the moment, so don't attack them."

_J_ said...

I could really go for some Gummi Berry Juice.

Or was it Gummi Beary Juice?

Hmm.

Gummiberry Juice

_J_ said...

Interesting. Yey gamefaqs, boo idiocy in game design.

Maybe once you finish the game these things are explained.

_J_ said...

House Democrats are crying "wolf" again.

At some point this becomes trite.

Andrew said...

My supervisor has spent the afternoon looking for the geographical center of europe.
he told me that i have the task tomorrow of using the phrase "It's like trying to find the geographic center of europe" in a tour.
Do an online search. its a very disputed subject.

Andrew said...

"Gummi Bears was one of only three shows in the Disney Afternoon generation of TV animation that had a series finale (the other two being DuckTales and Gargoyles). All the other shows such as Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, Bonkers, and TaleSpin lacked a "last episode", and were for the most part ended on open notes."

This upsets me. Darkwing Duck deserved a final episode. as did TaleSpin.

_J_ said...

The only appropriate way to end TaleSpin would be for Cape Suzette to have been nuked, nuked, nuked, and nuked again.

The fuck was that series about? Why the fuck were Jungle Book Characters flying planes?

Roscoe said...

Someone has to fly the planes.

MA17 said...

Baloo was trying to pay off the SeaDuck, which Becky had acquired along with the property when Baloo defaulted or something. Don't know why it was Jungle Book characters, but I suspect it's because it's cheaper to put a Hawaiian shirt on an old character than make a new character.

The end of Goof Troop might have been Pete actually using his fucking boat, which would then cause the universe to explode.

_J_ said...

Spoonerville was totally landlocked.

MA17 said...

How much do you have to love spooning to name your town Spoonerville?

_J_ said...

Presumably whoever named it had only one arm.

Because that is the only way spooning ever functions in reality.

That or there is no gravity.

Roscoe said...

Clearly, Jay, you're not aware of the Cuddlebed of XKCD.

I suggest you remedy yourself by digging through the recent archives for about two weeks.

MA17 said...

Also probably worth investigating is the Isosceles Lock, invented by the dudes from Abba.

_J_ said...

There were dudes in Abba?

MA17 said...

Half of them were dudes.

_J_ said...

My god.

MA17 said...

That's what I said.

Not about Abba, but when I found out my local Best Buy doesn't have Hackers on DVD. And then I said it again when I found out through their website that they've packed it in with Wargames in a 2 disc set. My plans to own Hackers on DVD, delayed!

_J_ said...

vodka. Pomagranet juice. Cowboy Bebop.

Yey

_J_ said...

I love it when Ein eats the mushroom

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