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Today I Learned that the people who whine pedantically that the "observer effect" and the "Heisenberg uncertainty principle" are not the same thing, are really just calling out two different aspects of the same phenomenon.
Today I Learned that it was in fact Heisenberg himself who first postulated the existence of the observer effect.
And so, observing someone who makes too much noise about "TEH HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE IS NOT TEH 0BSERVER EFFECT!!!111" makes them look even stupidererer.
Related to the above, just found out that quantum entanglement is NOT instantaneous like originally believed. But its so fast its beyond human comprehension.
So i guess that blows true 'instant communications anywhere in the universe'. But, it will be close enough to just be an academic exercise and in all practicality its instantaneous.
2025-03-23 15:30 from Nurb432 <nurb432@uncensored.citadel.org>
Related to the above, just found out that quantum entanglement is NOT
instantaneous like originally believed. But its so fast its
beyond human comprehension.
So i guess that blows true 'instant communications anywhere in the
universe'. But, it will be close enough to just be an academic
exercise and in all practicality its instantaneous.
First off: weird.
Second, it sort of gives credence to a thought that someone else and I arrived at once over lunch. We were talking about how light doesn't have to accelerate, it just comes out at the speed of light. I pointed out that it's similar to how we think of waves through a fluid. We think of those waves propogating with some speed, but they're generated by some kind of energy and they don't accelerate; the "wave" (whether acustic or water or whatever) is really a conceptual model for the compression or expansion of matter as energy ripples out. And that's when "the thought" happened: does the universe actually exist in some kind of meta medium that hasn't been identified yet?
I believe they refer to that as quantum wave theory. Tho i tend to think matter is created from the intersection of the waves, in a multi-dimensional holographic diffraction sort of thing, so there really is no 'matter' to discover. its all an illusion.
Tue Mar 25 2025 22:32:03 UTC from zelgomerdoes the universe actually exist in some kind of meta medium that hasn't been identified yet?
In my university's philosophy class I learned about a philosopher named Berkeley whose perspective was that everything perceived to exist is actually a figment of God's imagination. It's a pity our textbook only described his perspective without including any writings because it's beginning to sound exceedingly accurate.
That the Rust language, was created by Mozilla..
Sure does explain a lot. Building software is only about 5% of how they spend their time and money. The other 95% is spent being intolerable jackasses.
This shows through in how the Rust Evangelism Strike Force operates.
Funny thing ... the AI site that I use regularly, decided it was a good idea to point out that I bring my system administration style to everything I do -- technology or otherwise.
And it's true. From garage projects to cooking to taking care of my pets and my family, everything is annotated and ritualized in the same way I maintain computers and networks.
That's what I've learned. About myself.
Nothing wrong with that.. Some just call it 'discipline'
Funny thing ... the AI site that I use regularly, decided it was a good idea to point out that I bring my system administration style to everything I do -- technology or otherwise.
And it's true. From garage projects to cooking to taking care of my pets and my family, everything is annotated and ritualized in the same way I maintain computers and networks.
That's what I've learned. About myself.
Today I learned a new word:
PUSILLANIMOUS
Calling someone "pusillanimous" means the exact same thing as calling them a pussy -- and yet, the two words are not etymologically related in any way!
See also: how to get away with sounding vulgar without being vulgar. If you spend any time with pearl clutchers this one's going to be great in the toolbox.
That Frank did NOT play on the original release of "Lumpy Gravy" in 1967. He did of course write, produce, mix, conduct..
Just now finding this out, after some 50 years of being a fan.
Ironically the last song on the album the instrumental version of 'take your clothes off when you dance ( an evolutionary step for an older song of his ), has always been one of my favorites of his.. and now to learn he didn't play... i don't even have the words..
I like this. I don't think I can remember it, you mewling quim. Look it up. Loki...
Live fast, die young, leave a stupid corpse. I've already gone past my "best-by" date.
Tue Mar 03 2026 03:37:37 UTC from IGnatius T FoobarLearn something new every day, or you die stupid!
Today I Learned that I have been believing a myth for a long time.
The myth is that if your home burns in a fire caused by unlicensed electrical work, your insurance company will not pay out the claim.
It turns out that this is one of those urban legends that just refuses to die, much like the idea that human activity causes global warming.
I spent some time digging around and reading from folks who deal with this for a living. It seems that insurance is specifically designed to cover stupidity and negligence. If you accidentally leave a candle burning or wire up a new circuit poorly, you are still covered. The only time they really have grounds to deny a claim is if there was "intent to defraud" ... meaning you intentionally set the place on fire to collect the check. (Sooooo ... no changing out your copper wire for magnesium hehehe)
Now, that doesn't mean you should go out and start daisy-chaining zip cords behind your drywall like a slum tenant. If the building inspector finds unpermitted work, they can make your life miserable with fines or force you to tear out the walls to prove it meets code. But the "no payout" threat is largely a boogeyman used to keep homeowners from DIYing their own stuff.
In my work though we still do it right! I know how to sweat pipes and wire boxes, but I don't just meet code, I exceed it. By a lot, sometimes. It's my house and I live there! But it's a relief to know that if a connection I made ever did fail, the insurance company wouldn't just walk away and leave me with a pile of ash and a mortgage.