Random stuff that goes bouncing around in my skull
 

Here's some random stuff I think about when I daydream:

-Would aliens be offended by the word "inhumane?"
-Could the anti-Christ end up being an extra-terrestrial?
-If I admit that I think Jesus was black, will my white friends hate me?
-Can spiritual gifts work through a tv?
-Does the part of the brain that maps out sensation in a penis work the same way with a vagina, and do things match up in the brain across genders? (For instance, maybe stroking the head of the penis feels the same as stroking a clitoris and the concept of inside and outside the body is something we learn with our other senses)
-Will the highest known prime number always be of the form 2^n-1, and is it possible other bases could take the top position, at least temporarily?(Possibly by including a k value)
-Will computers always be base-2, not including artistic stuff?
-If I point out Obama is also white, therefore also counting as a white president, will people hate me?

space mission
 

What have space mission and mythical aliens got to do with pure mathematics?

[QUOTE=devarajkandadai;442711]What have space mission and mythical aliens got to do with pure mathematics?[/QUOTE]

Something to do with probability, probably.

[QUOTE=devarajkandadai;442711]What have space mission and mythical aliens got to do with pure mathematics?[/QUOTE]The post is in the lounge. That part of the forum is certainly not devoted to "pure mathematics".

Jacob

[QUOTE=jasong;442700]Here's some random stuff I think about when I daydream:

-Will computers always be base-2, not including artistic stuff?
[/QUOTE]

A long time ago the Russians built a computer that used [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_ternary"]balanced ternary[/URL]. It had the drawback that some fractions like 1/2 have two equally valid representations.

As a practical matter, I guess it depends on how many natural states each bit of your hardware has. If there was some physical system that could flip rapidly between more than two states, maybe you could use it for computation.

[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_computer[/url]

[QUOTE=GP2;442728]A long time ago the Russians built a computer that used [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_ternary"]balanced ternary[/URL]. It had the drawback that some fractions like 1/2 have two equally valid representations.[/QUOTE]The word "bit" comes from the contraction of "[b]b[/b]inary dig[b]it[/b]". I am looking forward to ternary computers because then we can call the smallest unit of representation "[b]t[/b]rinary dig[b]it[/b]s".

:offensive:

[QUOTE=retina;442733]The word "bit" comes from the contraction of "[b]b[/b]inary dig[b]it[/b]". I am looking forward to ternary computers because then we can call the smallest unit of representation "[b]t[/b]rinary dig[b]it[/b]s".[/QUOTE]

I never thought abou tit that way before.

Tieautiful! Hehe. :tu:
Now I can't get out of my brain the image from the "Total Recall", that with the lady with three ternary digits....

how do most people pronounce a base one machine ... an idiot ( iddy it is how most seem to pronounce it) okay this is more for the dumb jokes thread.

[QUOTE=Mark Rose;442736]I never thought abou tit that way before.[/QUOTE]Unfortunately, the standard term appears to be "trit".

[QUOTE=xilman;442739]Unfortunately, the standard term appears to be "trit".[/QUOTE]Hey, don't interfere with my altered reality. How dare you bring facts into this discussion. :mad:

[QUOTE=LaurV;442737]Tieautiful! Hehe. :tu:
Now I can't get out of my brain the image from the "Total Recall", that with the lady with three ternary digits....[/QUOTE]Alternatively, Eccentrica Galumbits

[QUOTE=jasong;442700]If I admit that I think Jesus was black, will my white friends hate me?[/QUOTE]

I would guess it would depend on how enlightened your white friends are.

As long as it is not bullets that goes thru your brain, it'ss all right.

[QUOTE=jasong;442700]-If I admit that I think Jesus was black, will my white friends hate me?[/QUOTE]Given that Jesus was a native of what is now Israel, it is extremely unlikely that he was black.

I would hope that your white friends wouldn't hate you just for being wrong.

[QUOTE=jasong;442700]-Would aliens be offended by the word "inhumane?"
[/QUOTE]Do you mean "inhuman"? The literal meaning is quite clear and would be most unlikely to cause offence, IMO. The figurative meaning may cause offence.
[QUOTE=jasong;442700]
-Could the anti-Christ end up being an extra-terrestrial?[/QUOTE]
That depends greatly on what you define as "the anti-Christ", an extremely ill-defined concept IMO.
[QUOTE=jasong;442700]
-Does the part of the brain that maps out sensation in a penis work the same way with a vagina, and do things match up in the brain across genders? (For instance, maybe stroking the head of the penis feels the same as stroking a clitoris and the concept of inside and outside the body is something we learn with our other senses)[/quote]Extremely likely, IMO. Easily testable by experiment, for instance by functional MRI.
[QUOTE=jasong;442700]-Will computers always be base-2, not including artistic stuff?[/QUOTE]Are quantum computers base-2? Is the human brain base-2?

[QUOTE=xilman;442765]That depends greatly on what you define as "the anti-Christ", an extremely ill-defined concept IMO.[/QUOTE]

Down boy, down! That's a good boy.... (I hope that's taken with the humour with which it was intended...)

jasong dropped an idea bomb.

Let's see if he comes out back to interact with the results....

[QUOTE=xilman;442765]That depends greatly on what you define as "the anti-Christ", an extremely ill-defined concept IMO.[/quote]
The Anti-Christ is a being that will show up in the last years of sinful human civilization and his main goal will be turn as many people as possible away from the Church of Jesus Christ. And I mean the literal church, not just the Mormons.
[quote]Extremely likely, IMO. Easily testable by experiment, for instance by functional MRI.[/quote]I would imagine a well-educated doctor that's good with Google could answer the question of whether or not the penis and vagina "line up" in the brain.
[quote]Are quantum computers base-2? Is the human brain base-2?[/QUOTE]
The quantum computers I've heard about ARE base-2, but the 1 and 0 exists simultaneously. If you know of a quantum computer that's some other base, please link me up. :)

[QUOTE=jasong;442777]The Anti-Christ is a being that will show up in the last years of sinful human civilization and his main goal will be turn as many people as possible away from the Church of Jesus Christ. And I mean the literal church, not just the Mormons.[/QUOTE]

Wow! Lots of material there....

[QUOTE=chalsall;442781]Wow! Lots of material there....[/QUOTE]

OK, JasonG... Let's work this problem space.

In your mind, is this an entity, or a group?

What is the end goal? What are they working towards?

[QUOTE=jasong;442777]The Anti-Christ is a being that will show up in the last years of sinful human civilization and his main goal will be turn as many people as possible away from the Church of Jesus Christ. And I mean the literal church, not just the Mormons.[/QUOTE]

Let me try to unpack that into a series of assertions.

1. Human civilization will last a finite number of years.
2. The last years of human civilization, call them Y, will be sinful.
3. There is or will be a church C.
4. C will exist during Y.
5. There is or will be a Mormon church M.
6. M will exist during Y.
7. There is a collection of qualities Q of being an Anti-Christ.
8. Q includes having a main goal of turning as many people away from C as possible.
9. Q includes 'turning up' during Y.
10. There is or will be a being with Q.
11. There is or will be at most one being with Q.
12. M ≠ C.

Possibly you meant the stronger claim
12a. M ⊊ C.
instead, I'm not sure.

Two questions spring to my head: what is Q, and can a being with Q be identified during human civilization? [i]A priori[/i], it seems that Q might be identifiable only after the end of human civilization, which makes it untestable by civilized humans.

[QUOTE=xilman;442765][QUOTE=jasong;442700]-Will computers always be base-2, not including artistic stuff?[/QUOTE]
Are quantum computers base-2? Is the human brain base-2?[/QUOTE]

I know that one of the quantum computers that factored 15 or 21 consisted of one qubit and one qutrit. So it's not really a black-and-white proposition. :smile: I guess you could say it was 1/(1+lg(3)) = 38.6...% binary.

Edit: I missed this previously:
[QUOTE=jasong;442777]The quantum computers I've heard about ARE base-2, but the 1 and 0 exists simultaneously. If you know of a quantum computer that's some other base, please link me up. :)[/QUOTE]

A bit of Google found the paper:
Enrique Martin-Lopez, Anthony Laing, Thomas Lawson, Roberto Alvarez, Xiao-Qi Zhou, and Jeremy L. O'Brien, [url=https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.4147]Experimental realisation of Shor's quantum factoring algorithm using qubit recycling[/url], [i]Nature Photonics[/i] [b]6[/b] (2012), pp. 773-776.

Edit2: I don't think "the 1 and 0 exists simultaneously" is a good way to understand quantum computing. They exist simultaneously in roughly the same way that a 1 and a 6 exist simultaneously in a not-yet-rolled die. In the same way, the "it takes infinitely many bits to store a qubit" canard is only true in the vacuous sense that it takes infinitely many bits to store the probability that a die lands on a 6.

[QUOTE]Originally Posted by [B]jasong[/B] [URL="http://mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?p=442700#post442700"][IMG]http://mersenneforum.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif[/IMG][/URL]
[I]-Does the part of the brain that maps out sensation in a penis work the same way with a vagina, and do things match up in the brain across genders? (For instance, maybe stroking the head of the penis feels the same as stroking a clitoris and the concept of inside and outside the body is something we learn with our other senses)[/I][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]Extremely likely, IMO. Easily testable by experiment, for instance by functional MRI.[/QUOTE]Likely indeed, as, I believe, the male organs develop from the female analogues during gestation. EDIT: However, having developed, in different modes, I have no idea what neural rewiring takes place along the way, let alone what the effects of psycho-social conditioning are.

[QUOTE=xilman;442751]Alternatively, Eccentrica Galumbits[/QUOTE]
I had to google that one, and found out it is written with double L. Like in LL tits... aa.. sorry, LL test. (Paul, man, how do you know such things? At your age... shame on you!) :paul:
(I like your emoticon)

[QUOTE=jasong;442777]The Anti-Christ is a being that will show up in the last years of sinful human civilization and his main goal will be turn as many people as possible away from the Church of Jesus Christ. And I mean the literal church, not just the Mormons.[/QUOTE]
Oh, you mean the Chinese, (taoist, buddhist, etc) which are a third of the world population, and they don't give a dime about christianity? (intended lowercase spelling).
Or you mean the Indians (hindu, muslim, etc) who are a quarter of the world population, and they don't give a dime about christianity?
Or you mean the atheists, buddhists, muslims, arabs, jews, seculars, etc all around the world, who also are lots and do not give a dime about christianity?
And when you say church of jesus christ, do you mean catholics? protestants? anglicans? orthodox? (well, Russians are a lot, mostly orthodox, they also don't give a dime about your church, unless you are orthodox which I don't believe, and they also have a lot of "cold" land, such as the global "warning" will turn out totally in their favor)...
Don't believe the charts on the web, they are mostly done by christians; you, and your [U]fraction[/U] (like in rupture, separation, state-in-state, disagreement, argument) in the christian religion, in the global context, are insignificant.

Yeah... let's kill them all... Starting with Russians... :chappy:
(edit: we Romanians are also orthodox, but we always had a "sympathy" for Russians, hehe, the land where all good things are coming from, like communism and [URL="https://www.google.com/search?q=crivatul&tbm=isch"]crivatul [/URL](a cold wind from North-East that reflects in the Carpathian mountains, creating a depression that causes the temperatures to drop to -20C, -30C in winters))

P.S. Mormons... do you mean those nice people who are a billion times more united together than your church of rufus... or how was the guy called?
P.P.S. Paraphrasing an old saying ("I know I am stupid myself, but when I look around me, I get brave"), I can say that when I look around me, how many things happen and they should not, I think God, if he exists, he is a totally moron. Am I the antichrist? I wish...

[QUOTE=LaurV;442806]Oh, you mean the Chinese, (taoist, buddhist, etc) which are a third of the world population, and they don't give a dime about christianity? (intended lowercase spelling).
Or you mean the Indians (hindu, muslim, etc) who are a quarter of the world population, and they don't give a dime about christianity?
Or you mean the atheists, buddhists, muslims, arabs, jews, seculars, etc all around the world, who also are lots and do not give a dime about christianity?
And when you say church of jesus christ, do you mean catholics? protestants? anglicans? orthodox? (well, Russians are a lot, mostly orthodox, they also don't give a dime about your church, unless you are orthodox which I don't believe, and they also have a lot of "cold" land, such as the global "warning" will turn out totally in their favor)...
Don't believe the charts on the web, they are mostly done by christians; you, and your [U]fraction[/U] (like in rupture, separation, state-in-state, disagreement, argument) in the christian religion, in the global context, are insignificant. [/QUOTE]You can't go introducing facts into a religious debate. It all just gets ignored. Unless some part of it happens to support the recipient's beliefs (in which case: yay, rah-rah, my religion is the best and all the others are trits).

[QUOTE=xilman;442764]Given that Jesus was a native of what is now Israel, it is extremely unlikely that he was black.

I would hope that your white friends wouldn't hate you just for being wrong.[/QUOTE]
However, the light-skinned, light-haired, Western European representations are not any more correct than a Negro Jesus.

[QUOTE=LaurV;442806][QUOTE=jasong;442777]The Anti-Christ is a being that will show up in the last years of sinful human civilization and his main goal will be turn as many people as possible away from the Church of Jesus Christ. And I mean the literal church, not just the Mormons.[/QUOTE]
Oh, you mean the Chinese, (taoist, buddhist, etc) which are a third of the world population, and they don't give a dime about christianity? (intended lowercase spelling).
Or you mean the Indians (hindu, muslim, etc) who are a quarter of the world population, and they don't give a dime about christianity?
Or you mean the atheists, buddhists, muslims, arabs, jews, seculars, etc all around the world, who also are lots and do not give a dime about christianity?
And when you say church of jesus christ, do you mean catholics? protestants? anglicans? orthodox? (well, Russians are a lot, mostly orthodox, they also don't give a dime about your church, unless you are orthodox which I don't believe, and they also have a lot of "cold" land, such as the global "warning" will turn out totally in their favor)...[/QUOTE]

This suggests that the main goal of those many people is to "turn as many people as possible" from the church, which is almost surely not true. And notice the "the" in jasong's post: he's talking about a singular entity.

[QUOTE=kladner;442841]However, the light-skinned, light-haired, Western European representations are not any more correct than a Negro Jesus.[/QUOTE]
:tu:
I never thought to it, but you know, you are right. If he was Jew, he had no reason to be almost blond and green or blue eyed...
Related to it, I had a shock when I found that green eyes are less frequent in the world than gray eyes. Not many years ago I would have bet all my wealth for the contrary affirmation. Most people in my family (me included), some friends, and other people I know or I have seen on the streets, or on TV, etc., have green eyes, but I was over 40 years old when I saw the first person with gray eyes (a north European lady I met in Asia), which I considered it an extraordinary thing, to have gray eyes... Then I looked for it on the internet...

[QUOTE=CRGreathouse;442787]Let me try to unpack that into a series of assertions.

1. Human civilization will last a finite number of years.
2. The last years of human civilization, call them Y, will be sinful.
3. There is or will be a church C.
4. C will exist during Y.
5. There is or will be a Mormon church M.
6. M will exist during Y.
7. There is a collection of qualities Q of being an Anti-Christ.
8. Q includes having a main goal of turning as many people away from C as possible.
9. Q includes 'turning up' during Y.
10. There is or will be a being with Q.
11. There is or will be at most one being with Q.
12. M ≠ C.

Possibly you meant the stronger claim
12a. M ⊊ C.
instead, I'm not sure.

Two questions spring to my head: what is Q, and can a being with Q be identified during human civilization? [i]A priori[/i], it seems that Q might be identifiable only after the end of human civilization, which makes it untestable by civilized humans.[/QUOTE]
I didn't make my comments to be mathematically analyzed, and I also didn't intend to assert Mormon's are necessarily Christians. I was clarifying that I meant the general Christian church when I said Church of Jesus Christ. The "not just the Mormons" part was diplomacy, rather than endorsement.

When you add diplomacy(read "layered meaning') to the pot, rigorous mathematical definitions don't really suit the situation.

[QUOTE=jasong;443320]When you add diplomacy(read "layered meaning') to the pot, rigorous mathematical definitions don't really suit the situation.[/QUOTE]Ah yes, the ago old stalwart of the religious: "Don't analyse, just believe and have faith because everything I tell you is true. I know this because our book says it is so".

[QUOTE=xilman;442764]Given that Jesus was a native of what is now Israel, it is extremely unlikely that he was black.

I would hope that your white friends wouldn't hate you just for being wrong.[/QUOTE]
Actually, it's highly possible that the Jews of the original lineage are radically different genetically from what we think of as Jews today.

Perhaps the "lost tribe of Israel" referred to in the Bible was simultaneously Jesus tribe and composed of black people.

If I wanted to prevent people from knowing Jesus, it would make sense that I would want to disparage his race as much as possible, and also maybe convince people that the "true Jesus" was actually of a totally different race.

Mind you, I'm not accusing you of anything, just thinking out loud. If the possibility that Jesus is black is something someone simply doesn't care about, I can't fault them for simply following the general consensus. I, personally, worship a "colorless" Jesus, and am looking into these things from a historical perspective.

[QUOTE=jasong;443322]Mind you, I'm not accusing you of anything, just thinking out loud.[/QUOTE]

Q: What's the last thing which goes through a fly's mind after it hits a windscreen?

A: It's ass.

[QUOTE=LaurV;442806]Oh, you mean the Chinese, (taoist, buddhist, etc) which are a third of the world population, and they don't give a dime about christianity? (intended lowercase spelling). [/QUOTE]... a bunch of stuff has been deleted because it portrays the same misunderstanding tons of people have about Christianity.

Christianity is about Christ, so Christ determines who's Christian and who's not. And, while people never seem to comprehend this, Christianity is more about the heart than about tradition.

If a Buddhist or a Muslim has Christ-like love in their heart they are a Christian. On the other hand, people can attend a Christian church their whole life without "getting it."

For the first shall be last and the last shall be first. His wisdom will be poured out on fools and withheld from those who try to be wise without God.

[QUOTE=chalsall;443323]
A: It[STRIKE]'[/STRIKE]s ass.[/QUOTE]

FTFY

[QUOTE=LaurV;442898]:tu:
I never thought to it, but you know, you are right. If he was Jew, he had no reason to be almost blond and green or blue eyed...
Related to it, I had a shock when I found that green eyes are less frequent in the world than gray eyes. Not many years ago I would have bet all my wealth for the contrary affirmation. Most people in my family (me included), some friends, and other people I know or I have seen on the streets, or on TV, etc., have green eyes, but I was over 40 years old when I saw the first person with gray eyes (a north European lady I met in Asia), which I considered it an extraordinary thing, to have gray eyes... Then I looked for it on the internet...[/QUOTE]
Interesting, my eyes are as gray as a typical day in the United Kingdom.

[QUOTE=retina;443321]Ah yes, the ago old stalwart of the religious: "Don't analyse, just believe and have faith because everything I tell you is true. I know this because our book says it is so".[/QUOTE]
Christianity can be rigorously analyzed, but only God can lead you to the truth.

Edit:The proof of Christianity validity lies in the Holy Spirit, those who desire proof will receive proof. But those who don't desire God will never receive proof, which is the reason so many atheists and various other people are convinced God does not exist. Whatever a person desires to be convinced of as it relates to God, to a certain extent the world will provide. So the Christians are convinced, and the non-Christians are convinced of their "truth." But ultimately the core of the disagreement comes back to Christ and what He stands for.

So the various political parties are all right and wrong in their own way, but the public perception is controlled so as to distract from any mental path that could lead to the truth. We watch the weather channel and hear about prayers for the victims, but no mention of Jesus or how the prayers should be structured or anything that could really shed light on what could make prayer and worship truly useful. Do we just throw our prayers out and hope they get "hooked?" Is there some sort of bartering system involved? Perhaps if I repeat my prayers, that will strengthen my wishes? The truth is where it's always been, in a book that's been translated and is "celebrated" as the most commonly bought book and also the least read book by those who actually own one.

[QUOTE=jasong;443332]Christianity can be rigorously analyzed, but only God can lead you to the truth.[/QUOTE]

Which God?

[QUOTE=chalsall;443333]Which God?[/QUOTE]
The one that sent His Son to die on the cross and be reborn 3 days later.

[QUOTE=jasong;443336]The one that sent His Son to die on the cross and be reborn 3 days later.[/QUOTE]

That was a lie told to children. Sorry if you didn't get the memo.

[QUOTE=jasong;443322]I, personally, worship a "colorless" Jesus, and am looking into these things from a historical perspective.[/QUOTE]

You think that the historical Jesus was colorless? :confused:

[QUOTE=CRGreathouse;443342]You think that the historical Jesus was colorless? :confused:[/QUOTE]
I really hope English isn't your first language.

I meant His race wouldn't affect my devotion if I were to find it out. He could be any race, possibly including a race that doesn't exist anymore.

The native Americans came close to being wiped out. It's totally possible that there's a race of people that doesn't have any living representatives.

That would be interesting, to find out that Jesus is of a race that isn't on the Earth at the moment.

[QUOTE=jasong;443372]I really hope English isn't your first language.

I meant His race wouldn't affect my devotion if I were to find it out. He could be any race, possibly including a race that doesn't exist anymore.

The native Americans came close to being wiped out. It's totally possible that there's a race of people that doesn't have any living representatives.

That would be interesting, to find out that Jesus is of a race that isn't on the Earth at the moment.[/QUOTE]

I think the confusion could arise from the word colorless potentially meaning some form of achromia.

[QUOTE=science_man_88;443373]I think the confusion could arise from the word colorless potentially meaning some form of achromia.[/QUOTE]

I for one thought the context made it quite clear that he didn't mean achromia but rather color/race-agnosticism. I wonder how CG4 came to his conclusion.

Well, the scriptures imply that Jesus was colorless. He had to draw in the sand with his finger--surely given the option he would have used colors.

[QUOTE=chappy;443409]He had to draw in the sand with his finger--surely given the option he would have used colors.[/QUOTE]I'm not clear which word(s) you are replacing with colo[strike]u[/strike]rs.

He had to colo[strike]u[/strike]r in the sand with his finger.
He had to draw in the colo[strike]u[/strike]rs with his finger.
He had to draw in the sand with (his) colo[strike]u[/strike]rs.

None appear to make any sense.

[color=white][size=1]Although I'm sure religious person will come along and [i]interpret[/i] is in some way and claim some deep meaning.[/size][/color]

[QUOTE=chappy;443409]Well, the scriptures imply that Jesus was colorless. He had to draw in the sand with his finger--surely given the option he would have used colors.[/QUOTE]

My take on the scriptures is Jesus just didn't think all that much about color (or, is that colour?). Seriously, what do our genetics matter that much?

Eye color mattereds as much as hair color mattered as much as skin color as mattered as much as sexual orientation as mattered as much as what else we needed to be worried about.

I hope that makes sense....

Originally Posted by [B]chappy[/B] [URL="http://mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?p=443409#post443409"][IMG]http://mersenneforum.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif[/IMG][/URL]
[I]Well, the scriptures imply that Jesus was colorless. He had to draw in the sand with his finger--surely given the option he would have used colors.[/I]

I was amused by the intent, as I perceived it. :smile:

How about a colorful god?
[SIZE=1]Something like a clown...[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=LaurV;443490]How about a colorful god?
[SIZE=1]Something like a clown...[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Sony did a cute thing about this.

[url]https://youtu.be/qP-6It10LJk[/url]

Then they did another thing which was creative..

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bb8P7dfjVw[/url]

Their TVs are crap, IMO. But these ads were really cool and technically difficult to produce.

[QUOTE=chalsall;443537]Their TVs are crap, IMO.[/QUOTE]

Some are, some aren't. I have the 40W700C and it's fantastic.

[QUOTE=Mark Rose;443543]Some are, some aren't. I have the 40W700C and it's fantastic.[/QUOTE]

OK. I have a KDL-26M3000 and it isn't so great.

The screen shows a great deal of green (randomly). Like there's water in there.

[QUOTE=chalsall;443537]
Their TVs are crap, IMO.[/QUOTE]
I don't know that, I don't have a Sony TV. But their laptops are crap for sure. I owned 3, and all had different issues, from the first day. Including the un-availability of drivers. Maybe that is why their vaio line went down... On the bright side, all these 3 toys are still running, after years and years, (of course they have the same issues now as then, if they were fixable, they were no issues), the last one I bought (in 2008, a [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Vaio_FW_series"]FW series[/URL], fresh from their R&D design desks, with the initial HD3650 vga card, at the time there was no other laptop in the world with full HD screen, but I found later that the screen resolution was the only good thing about that laptop) is currently used by SWMBO for her daily "after work" activities, and it only runs Vista.

[QUOTE=chalsall;443545]Like there's water in there.[/QUOTE]
It is called "Newton Rings", you can google it, it is a common LCD defect, we are dealing with it daily in our production because our vendors try to "cut corners" in the manufacturing process. They usually get the modules back, on their expenses, and payment only for balance. Which is good, the alternative would be that we either buy from somewhere else, or ask them to pay for our handling/sorting process...

Okay, back to random thoughts. :)

What's the most pro-woman invention? And don't say bra, because feminists will probably track you down and kill you at that point. (I'd be hesitant to talk about anything a man would encourage them to do, although...)

I may be breaking my own parenthetical rule, but maybe The Pill, the one that prevents pregnancy? Because not only does it prevent pregnancy, it prevents periods. And if you do decide to be about men, you don't need to worry about broken condoms. But I have also heard The Pill can cause medical problems, though I forget what they are.

[QUOTE=jasong;444419]Okay, back to random thoughts. :)

What's the most pro-woman invention? And don't say bra, because feminists will probably track you down and kill you at that point. (I'd be hesitant to talk about anything a man would encourage them to do, although...)

I may be breaking my own parenthetical rule, but maybe The Pill, the one that prevents pregnancy? Because not only does it prevent pregnancy, it prevents periods. And if you do decide to be about men, you don't need to worry about broken condoms. But I have also heard The Pill can cause medical problems, though I forget what they are.[/QUOTE]

Edit: STDs, I temporarily forgot about STDs. I wouldn't normally, but I only worry about women having STDs since the only way I'd get it from a man is by becoming a homo or an intravenous drug addict.

[QUOTE=jasong;444419]
What's the most pro-woman invention? And don't say bra...[/QUOTE]
The [SPOILER]penis[/SPOILER]?

[QUOTE=LaurV;444426]The [SPOILER]penis[/SPOILER]?[/QUOTE]
Can you hear them? The blood-thirsty lesbians that will stalk you? And even if they don't stalk you, they shall harass the hell out of you if they simultaneously catch wind of your post and your physical location.

Oh, wow...I just remembered...My name is on these forums somewhere. It's just a matter of time...Maybe if I beg, they'll let me write my will...

Not much time left...My skin crawls...

Okay, maybe that's a bit extreme. I guess if I can be sane and write the stuff I do on the internet, that means the liberal crazies are sane in real life too.

Edit: In the distance I hear singing: "It's a small world after all...It's a small world after all...It's a small, small world..."

[QUOTE=jasong;444419]Because not only does it prevent pregnancy, it prevents periods.[/QUOTE]

AFAIK, it doesn't prevent periods.

[QUOTE=jasong;444429]The blood-thirsty lesbians that will stalk you?[/QUOTE]You appear to have a badly distorted view of lesbians.

[QUOTE=axn;444430]AFAIK, it doesn't prevent periods.[/QUOTE]And it would have been so easy for a quick search.

[QUOTE=axn;444430]AFAIK, it doesn't prevent periods.[/QUOTE]
It does. From the decent [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_cycle_combined_hormonal_contraceptive"]Wikipedia article[/URL]:"Although it was evident that the pill could be used to suppress menstruation for arbitrary lengths of time, the original regimen was designed to produce withdrawal bleeding every four weeks to mimic the menstrual cycle."

[QUOTE=sdbardwick;444433]It does. From the decent [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_cycle_combined_hormonal_contraceptive"]Wikipedia article[/URL]:"Although it was evident that the pill could be used to suppress menstruation for arbitrary lengths of time, the original regimen was designed to produce withdrawal bleeding every four weeks to mimic the menstrual cycle."[/QUOTE]

Cool. So it is used to "simulate" periods? Presumably without the nasty side effects?

[QUOTE=axn;444434]Cool. So it is used to "simulate" periods? Presumably without the nasty side effects?[/QUOTE]Reminds me of the old joke: what's the difference between BSE and PMS?

[spoiler]One is mad cow disease and the other is a serious agricultaral problem. [/spoiler]

[QUOTE=xilman;444477]Reminds me of the old joke: what's the difference between BSE and PMS?[/QUOTE]

I would rephrase that joke:

Q: What the difference between a PMS woman and a post-PMS woman?

A: The former will argue with you on occasion, they both will work with you.

(My immediate apology to all women who read that. But let's please be honest: you're not easy to work with.)

[QUOTE=retina;444431]You appear to have a badly distorted view of lesbians.[/QUOTE]
I don't. I just figured I'd play up the psychotic right-wing Republican stereotype.

What's your favorite technology that you expect to happen but isn't being sold yet?

I like bendy screens, you can have a tablet that folds down to the size of a cell phone. Also, pen touch tech is bringing the idea of the truly paperless office closer. Lastly, I'm excited about color reflective tablet screens, which means you could have a tablet that reflects light like a magazine, so you could read in bright sunlight and reflectivity of screens would tend to be less of a problem.

[QUOTE=jasong;444635]What's your favorite technology that you expect to happen but isn't being sold yet?

I like bendy screens, you can have a tablet that folds down to the size of a cell phone. Also, pen touch tech is bringing the idea of the truly paperless office closer. Lastly, I'm excited about color reflective tablet screens, which means you could have a tablet that reflects light like a magazine, so you could read in bright sunlight and reflectivity of screens would tend to be less of a problem.[/QUOTE]Hehe, so much focus upon communication toys. Perhaps someone feels somewhat lonely? :razz:

I'd like to see the elimination of light bulbs and replaced with all building surfaces able to emit light. No shadows, no dark spots, no bright spots, no blind spots.

I would be a huge fan of reflective screens.

[QUOTE=jasong;444635]What's your favorite technology that you expect to happen but isn't being sold yet?[/QUOTE]Programmable chemical replicators.

You chuck stuff into an input hopper then the machine rearranges the atoms of that stuff into other stuff as specified by a program.

[QUOTE=xilman;444672]Programmable chemical replicators.

You chuck stuff into an input hopper then the machine rearranges the atoms of that stuff into other stuff as specified by a program.[/QUOTE]

Ah, but it's much more efficient to reduce the input stuff into its
subatomic stuff and then put that stuff together to produce
the desired output stuff. As specified by a program.

[QUOTE=davar55;444695]Ah, but it's much more efficient to reduce the input stuff into its
subatomic stuff and then put that stuff together to produce
the desired output stuff.[/QUOTE]How do you conclude that it is more efficient? More efficient in what manner? More energy efficient? More time efficient? More cost efficient? More <something-else(s)> efficient?

[QUOTE=retina;444696]How do you conclude that it is more efficient? More efficient in what manner? More energy efficient? More time efficient? More cost efficient? More <something-else(s)> efficient?[/QUOTE]

Software efficient !

[QUOTE=davar55;444701]Software efficient ![/QUOTE]I am willing to accept it would be more flexible and perhaps also less wasteful depending upon the implementation, but I'd need to see your working to show how it is more "software efficient" (whatever that means).

[QUOTE=xilman;444672]Programmable chemical replicators.

You chuck stuff into an input hopper then the machine rearranges the atoms of that stuff into other stuff as specified by a program.[/QUOTE]

3D printers? :smile:

I'm sure that davar55 can argue his case for himself, but my preliminary analysis gives an ambiguous result. I argue from considerations of entropy or, equivalently, Kalmogorov complexity.

The chemical proposal (my original) has additional complication in that the input elements need to be selected and possibly sorted. The nuclear proposal does not, as all nucleons and electrons are identical, so it wins on this count. The output process appears to favour the chemical device in that isotopic composition is neglected entirely and depends only on the composition of the input. The nuclear device either has to contain tables of isotopes and their natural compositions or it produces output which is monoisotopic in each element, in which case only one table entry per element needs be provided.

Despite some clear advantages of the nuclear approach --- production of specific isotopes from any input material --- my guess is that the chemical device would be much easier to manufacture. The guess is based, not least, on the observation that quite a few primitive but programmable devices are already in production. They are called chemistry labs, chemical engineering plants and, of course, biological systems like GM yeasts and algae.

[QUOTE=CRGreathouse;444716]3D printers? :smile:[/QUOTE]Yup. That was the starting point for my proposal. It's also why I specified chemical replication. Printers at the moment can rearrange the bulk material into diffferent shapes but can't (AFAIK) rearrange the atomic arrangement in any significant way --- other than those examples given in my response to davar55.

[QUOTE=xilman;444717]I'm sure that davar55 can argue his case for himself, but my preliminary analysis gives an ambiguous result. I argue from considerations of entropy or, equivalently, Kalmogorov complexity.

The chemical proposal (my original) has additional complication in that the input elements need to be selected and possibly sorted. The nuclear proposal does not, as all nucleons and electrons are identical, so it wins on this count. The output process appears to favour the chemical device in that isotopic composition is neglected entirely and depends only on the composition of the input. The nuclear device either has to contain tables of isotopes and their natural compositions or it produces output which is monoisotopic in each element, in which case only one table entry per element needs be provided.

Despite some clear advantages of the nuclear approach --- production of specific isotopes from any input material --- my guess is that the chemical device would be much easier to manufacture. The guess is based, not least, on the observation that quite a few primitive but programmable devices are already in production. They are called chemistry labs, chemical engineering plants and, of course, biological systems like GM yeasts and algae.[/QUOTE]If we equate "software efficiency" with data storage and access requirements then it would suggest that the subatomic approach would require more effort. Rather than simply "place a hydrogen atom here" it would need a further step "make a hydrogen atom consisting of <blah blah blah> and place it here". But perhaps davar55 has a different definition of "software efficiency"?

[QUOTE=retina;444719]If we equate "software efficiency" with data storage and access requirements then it would suggest that the subatomic approach would require more effort. Rather than simply "place a hydrogen atom here" it would need a further step "make a hydrogen atom consisting of <blah blah blah> and place it here". But perhaps davar55 has a different definition of "software efficiency"?[/QUOTE]I thought that was what I'd argued. Simpler on input, more complex on output.

[QUOTE=xilman;444725]I thought that was what I'd argued. Simpler on input, more complex on output.[/QUOTE]It appears that my reading comprehension subroutine is not functioning a peak efficiency. :sorry:

[QUOTE=retina;444727]It appears that my reading comprehension subroutine is not functioning a peak efficiency.[/QUOTE]

No problem. It happens to all of us.

It's called entropy.

[QUOTE=retina;444640]Hehe, so much focus upon communication toys. Perhaps someone feels somewhat lonely? :razz:

I'd like to see the elimination of light bulbs and replaced with all building surfaces able to emit light. No shadows, no dark spots, no bright spots, no blind spots.[/QUOTE]
You're making fun of me for being lonely? Wtf, man?

Yes, I'm a very lonely person. Paranoid schizophrenia makes it difficult to make and keep friends. I can never be sure if people hate me or if I'm simply paranoid. Sometimes I'll apologize for stuff I never even did according to others. It sucks.

[QUOTE=Dubslow;444642]I would be a huge fan of reflective screens.[/QUOTE]
I think you mean color reflective screens, though there may be a better word.

If it's JUST reflective then you simply have something that's already annoying the hell out of people, including myself.

Would anti-glare lenses work well against the reflection of things like the sun and overhead lighting on tablets? Or is that a different sort of glare somehow?

On a slightly different note, the following article might be interesting to some:

[url]http://semiaccurate.com/2016/10/05/displaylink-shows-off-8k60-video-one-cable/[/url]

Makes me wonder how dense the pixels can get before it becomes nonsensical for a person with 20/20 vision to upgrade their monitor's pixel density. My vision is about 20/80 or 20/100 unless I get an operation or start wearing contacts, so it might already be nonsensical for me to move beyond 1080p.

[QUOTE]Programmable chemical replicators.

You chuck stuff into an input hopper then the machine rearranges the atoms of that stuff into other stuff as specified by a program.[/QUOTE]

See [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Stephenson"]Neal Stephenson[/URL]'s "[URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age"]The Diamond Age[/URL]" for a look at this technology: building anything from the elemental level.

[QUOTE=jasong;444736]You're making fun of me for being lonely? Wtf, man?[/QUOTE]Don't take it personally, I make fun of everyone. Anyhow it's only the Internet, it's not like it means anything important.

[QUOTE=retina;444727]It appears that my reading comprehension subroutine is not functioning a peak efficiency.[/QUOTE]
Well, that is why we have Xilman's device, to put your comprehension subroutine inside and re-arrange its atoms. Or nucleons, whatever... :razz:

[QUOTE=jasong;444737]I think you mean color reflective screens, though there may be a better word.
[/QUOTE]

Probably. I'm thinking of those "e-ink" readers which have exactly the same function as a black and white computer screen, except without any inherent (back-)lighting involved. Such things are much better for human eyes.

Well, to be accurate, I'm thinking of those things, except with color, which could then replace monitors as we currently know them.

[QUOTE=Dubslow;444770]Probably. I'm thinking of those "e-ink" readers which have exactly the same function as a black and white computer screen, except without any inherent (back-)lighting involved. Such things are much better for human eyes.

Well, to be accurate, I'm thinking of those things, except with color, which could then replace monitors as we currently know them.[/QUOTE]As long as the switching time is reduced to ten milliseconds or so. All the e-paper displays I've seen have switching times at least an order of magnitude too long for many purposes.

That said, 100ms full colour displays would undoubtedly be useful in may scenarios.

[QUOTE=xilman;444782]As long as the switching time is reduced to ten milliseconds or so. All the e-paper displays I've seen have switching times at least an order of magnitude too long for many purposes.

That said, 100ms full colour displays would undoubtedly be useful in may scenarios.[/QUOTE]

Alas, my lack of personal experience is exposed. It's still a nice dream though.

[QUOTE=xilman;444782]As long as the switching time is reduced to ten milliseconds or so. All the e-paper displays I've seen have switching times at least an order of magnitude too long for many purposes.

That said, 100ms full colour displays would undoubtedly be useful in may scenarios.[/QUOTE]
I think what might happen is tablets and cellphones will have a screen on each side. One side would be the stuff we have now, light-emitting screens, and the other side would be for things like magazines and reading in general.

Might make using a phone a bit confusing, unless they made the earpiece and microphone to work on both sides.

Yeah, it might happen. Or [URL="https://www.engadget.com/2014/12/03/yotaphone-2-review/"]already happened two years ago[/URL].

[url]http://phys.org/news/2016-10-bendable-electronic-paper-range.html[/url]

Things are moving along nicely. :)