0242: "The Difference"

[cmacis]

^^ nominated for t-shirt. Ponder the meanings of 'curious'. Sciencey types are definitely curious.

[Spire]

What doesn't kill you only makes you curious.

Curiouser and curiouser!

Now I’m being zapped like the largest lightning rod that ever was! Good-bye, brain!

[gmalivuk]

Kinda reminds me of one of the early experimenters with electricity, who used his tongue to gauge the relative strength of electric currents because he had no other way of measuring them. I think it was Volta?

Psh, I always do that with 9V batteries.

But I think Volta actually pressed the leads to his eyelids and judged the strength by the phantom images it would produce.

Anyone else ever have like an hour or more of fun with an electric fence and some friends? Seeing how long a chain the jolt could be felt through, that sort of thing?

[joeneedstogrowup]

^^ nominated for t-shirt. Ponder the meanings of 'curious'. Sciencey types are definitely curious.

I second the nomination. Gotta be made horizontal, though, otherwise the comic will inevitably lead your line of sight to the wearer's crotch.

...

Keep it vertical

[voodooKobra]

What doesn't kill you cripples you.

Also: comic is a total win.

[jonas]

Then these Guys are of the scientific type.

[Phy]

Actually, my first thought would be to carefully examine the ceiling.

Next would be to try pulling the lever very slowly, to find out whether it was continuous or discrete.

[SpitValve]

Actually, my first thought would be to carefully examine the ceiling.

Next would be to try pulling the lever very slowly, to find out whether it was continuous or discrete.

Good plan. See if holding down the lever causes a continues zap. You could also set up voltmeters to measure if the zap reduces over the course of the zap. I'd also try pumping the lever quickly to see if there's some sort of recharge time, or minimum time the lever needs to be down.

You could also get a bucket of primordial ooze and see what it does to it.

[spm]

You could also get a bucket of primordial ooze and see what it does to it.

That could be potentially dangerous. Anybody familiar with the Urey-Miller experiment knows that this kind of thing is exactly what caused the dinosaurs to come back.

There's a raptor tapping on my window with an outstretched claw. Thankfully I have double glazing.

[cmacis]

You fool! You need quadruple glazing for a raptor. That and a laser and satellite missile defence system. And a spoon. Don't forget the spoon.

[Shpadoinkle]

I guess I'm a scientist, because "Well, I guess I shouldn't do that," wouldn't even have the opportunity to begin forming in my head before "I wonder if that happens every time?" would fill it.

[space_raptor]

What doesn't kill you can still fuck you up for a really, really long time.


I made a motivational poster for my buddy with that has the caption when he broke his back. (he'll heal, don't worry)

The title? DRINKING.

[ringobob]

^^ nominated for t-shirt. Ponder the meanings of 'curious'. Sciencey types are definitely curious.

I second the nomination.

All in favor? [raises hand]

[Istrom]

^^ nominated for t-shirt. Ponder the meanings of 'curious'. Sciencey types are definitely curious.

I second the nomination.

All in favor? [raises hand]

I'd buy it.

[Token]

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007 ... _or_cy.php

Had to link this, because it's not a bad addition.

[Alfador]

Normal: Walks away.
Scientist: Pulls lever again.
Engineer: Seen crouched on the floor with a panel on the box open, head buried inside and a mass of wiring all around him: "Aha! I bet if I switch out this resistor, I could improve the power output by 30%!"

[cmacis]

Anyone who saw tonight's Dr Who will have been spotting the lightning and the scientists.

[gmalivuk]

Dunno why I didn't think of this earlier, but was just reminded of it by the last few in the "I'm so nerdy" thread.

My washing machine back home (which I guess makes it more my dad's, since he bought it and is the one who usually uses it) has some electrical problem. When the basin is filled with water, you get shocked if you touch the water. Every single time I do laundry there I check to see if this is still the case.

Needless to say, my dad and sister are less aware of this "problem", having only accidentally gotten shocks when they had to add something else after it had already started filling up.

Silly non-scientists.

[Hawknc]

Normal: Walks away.
Scientist: Pulls lever again.
Engineer: Seen crouched on the floor with a panel on the box open, head buried inside and a mass of wiring all around him: "Aha! I bet if I switch out this resistor, I could improve the power output by 30%!"

Sig'd.

Edit: or not, it's too long. It remains the signature in my mind.

[Kin]

I must say, brilliant.


!I'm going to try Science!

[H_Fel]

My interpretation for engineers.

The Difference (Engineers).jpg (17.55 KiB) Viewed 1864 times

[sxiz]

This is going on a poster that will go to my biology/envriomental sciences teacher for teacher appreciation week. She is great and would love it.

And yes to the t-shirt. I would buy it.

[netsecurityblanket]

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/the_difference.png

Damn! Here I thought the correct process for a scientist was to get a bunch of rats (grad students are a cheap substitute) and record what happens when they pull the lever. Been doing it wrong all these years. Oh well, given the quality of string theory, this strip is the probable modality of most research.

[ACU-LP]

I know I'm a bit late for all this. But I adore this comic; it shows how your average person will just leave it alone, but us scientists? We must know!\
It is sitting on my wall....along with a few others. Does that make me sad? Or just yet another level of nerdy?

[Sprocket]

There's sort of a weird Evolutionary problem here...I guess you have to be scienctific AND have a healthy sense of self preservation inorder for future generations to be scientific too. The problem is, most scientists don't have that...

But seriously folks, how many times have you seen your standard mechanic do the exact same thing? "OWE! Fuck, I touched that peice of your engine and it shocked me! Let me make sure it's not just a fluke...OWE! Ok...why is this happening?"

I think my point is, if that's a sign of being a scientist, you don't have to be a geek to be a scientist, you also don't have to be all that educated. I know that might sound like I'm totally making a joke, and I am, but honestly it's amazing how many really smart people just never get exposed to their potential. At the same time it's amaizing when people over come all odds and end up at MIT or Harvard : P It bothers me when educated people assume that just because you're not working on a PhD (ok, or let's say you don't have a college degree, and haven't been exposed to the same things they have), you obviously aren't as smart as they are.

[Elvish Pillager]

There's sort of a weird Evolutionary problem here...I guess you have to be scienctific AND have a healthy sense of self preservation inorder for future generations to be scientific too. The problem is, most scientists don't have that...

That's why evolution looks at the group as much as the individual. A genepool that produces some scientists will have an evolutionary advantage over one that does not produce scientists, whether or not the scientists themselves survive.

[ACU-LP]

There's sort of a weird Evolutionary problem here...I guess you have to be scienctific AND have a healthy sense of self preservation inorder for future generations to be scientific too. The problem is, most scientists don't have that...

But seriously folks, how many times have you seen your standard mechanic do the exact same thing? "OWE! Fuck, I touched that peice of your engine and it shocked me! Let me make sure it's not just a fluke...OWE! Ok...why is this happening?"

I think my point is, if that's a sign of being a scientist, you don't have to be a geek to be a scientist, you also don't have to be all that educated. I know that might sound like I'm totally making a joke, and I am, but honestly it's amazing how many really smart people just never get exposed to their potential. At the same time it's amaizing when people over come all odds and end up at MIT or Harvard : P It bothers me when educated people assume that just because you're not working on a PhD (ok, or let's say you don't have a college degree, and haven't been exposed to the same things they have), you obviously aren't as smart as they are.

But see, scientist will not only figure out whatever the life threatening thing is/is caused by, but will find a way to prevent themselves from being harmed by it.

[Griffin]

Anyone else ever have like an hour or more of fun with an electric fence and some friends? Seeing how long a chain the jolt could be felt through, that sort of thing?

I once, at an arcade/skating rink, get a shock while playing (coincidentally enough) the Simpsons game. I promptly acted like a scientist, discovering that simultaneously touching a specific screw and a screw on a different machine replicated the effect. I then showed some friends (without telling them what I was showing them). Then we showed strangers, without mentioning it to them first via your chain method. Hilarity ensued.

Oh, the fond memories of youth.

[cirictech]

This should become a shirt. I would love to buy this and wear it. Please oh please make a shirt. I may also have to buy the signed print.

Thank you,
Ciric Tech

[Gamil]

When my Dad, a high school physics teacher read this, he responded with this:

Just yesterday, if you can believe, for Tootsie Pops, I got kids to put
their tongues into the path of the spark coming out of the Wimshurst
Generator. They spent 25 minutes doing it. Then it became a contest. Who
could endure it the longest ? It worked last year too.

The record is 2 minutes of constant sparking through the taste buds.

[Carteeg_Struve]

Wouldn't the science then get an intern or grad student to pull the lever instead?