Ask Chromus
First, a correction: "Blue" blood isn't actually blue. It only looks this way because you're looking at it through your skin and the lining of the vein. In actuality, oxygen-deprived blood is very dark red, as opposed to a very bright red when enriched with blood.
Zorn: Well, according to the theory of evolution, humans didn't really evolve "from" apes, even though we do share quite a bit of DNA and our ancient ancestors were very similar to modern apes. The theory of evolution states that organisms which are best suited to survive in an environment reproduce. For instance, primates which learned how to use tools had an advantage over primates which didn't use tools, and as such, the tool-using primates reproduced, to give their offspring a better chance to survive. The sense behind this is that species adapt to different environments in order to survive. At one point in history, some primates arrived in an environment where it wasn't strength that mattered the most, but intelligence, so the most intelligent primates had an edge over the others. These reproduced, and from them, humans came about. Other primates continue to live in areas where their particular adaptations are the most suited to an environment. That's why humans and apes co-exist today.
The disc that you were describing was a laserdisc. Laserdiscs were the DVDs of yesteryear, promising better resolution and sound than VHS. Unfortunetly, limited capacity, size, and a host of other problems prevented them from taking the place of VHS. The device that you were describing was a laserdisc player.
Beyonder: Thank you for letting me answer it.
Zorn (again): The priciple behind removing gum is to freeze it, then take it out while it's not sticky. To freeze it, put some ice into a baggie and wrap it with a paper towel so you can hold it without freezing your hand. Freeze the gum with the bag, and chip the gum off slowly. Don't pull it, or you'll make it sticky again. If the gum starts streching while you're chipping it off, refreeze it, and continue. This will work on most everything.
Pez: There are two ways to clean a keyboard: Use a damp rag to clean off the keys and compressed air to blow out all the gunk underneath the keys, or just buy a new one. I would suggest the latter, as when the keyboard gets that dirty, it might be time to invest in a keyboard with a plastic cover so you can just wipe it off.
Concerning a bouncing glass ball, it gets a little complicated. First of all, in a normal situation (hard floor, bouncy ball v. glass ball), the bouncy ball will bounce higher and the glass ball will most likely shatter. However, if you change this to a floor that has a slight amount of give (vinyl floor) and instead of a bouncy ball (which isn't rubber) you use a rubber ball, the glass ball will bounce higher than the rubber ball. Both balls will have the same amount of energy immediately before they hit the floor, but when they strike, more energy is spent reforming the rubber ball than the glass ball, so the glass ball has more energy going up, therefore, going higher. This is because a good glass ball loses close to no energy when struck, and a rubber ball does.
Zorn: Well, according to the theory of evolution, humans didn't really evolve "from" apes, even though we do share quite a bit of DNA and our ancient ancestors were very similar to modern apes. The theory of evolution states that organisms which are best suited to survive in an environment reproduce. For instance, primates which learned how to use tools had an advantage over primates which didn't use tools, and as such, the tool-using primates reproduced, to give their offspring a better chance to survive. The sense behind this is that species adapt to different environments in order to survive. At one point in history, some primates arrived in an environment where it wasn't strength that mattered the most, but intelligence, so the most intelligent primates had an edge over the others. These reproduced, and from them, humans came about. Other primates continue to live in areas where their particular adaptations are the most suited to an environment. That's why humans and apes co-exist today.
The disc that you were describing was a laserdisc. Laserdiscs were the DVDs of yesteryear, promising better resolution and sound than VHS. Unfortunetly, limited capacity, size, and a host of other problems prevented them from taking the place of VHS. The device that you were describing was a laserdisc player.
Beyonder: Thank you for letting me answer it.
Zorn (again): The priciple behind removing gum is to freeze it, then take it out while it's not sticky. To freeze it, put some ice into a baggie and wrap it with a paper towel so you can hold it without freezing your hand. Freeze the gum with the bag, and chip the gum off slowly. Don't pull it, or you'll make it sticky again. If the gum starts streching while you're chipping it off, refreeze it, and continue. This will work on most everything.
Pez: There are two ways to clean a keyboard: Use a damp rag to clean off the keys and compressed air to blow out all the gunk underneath the keys, or just buy a new one. I would suggest the latter, as when the keyboard gets that dirty, it might be time to invest in a keyboard with a plastic cover so you can just wipe it off.
Concerning a bouncing glass ball, it gets a little complicated. First of all, in a normal situation (hard floor, bouncy ball v. glass ball), the bouncy ball will bounce higher and the glass ball will most likely shatter. However, if you change this to a floor that has a slight amount of give (vinyl floor) and instead of a bouncy ball (which isn't rubber) you use a rubber ball, the glass ball will bounce higher than the rubber ball. Both balls will have the same amount of energy immediately before they hit the floor, but when they strike, more energy is spent reforming the rubber ball than the glass ball, so the glass ball has more energy going up, therefore, going higher. This is because a good glass ball loses close to no energy when struck, and a rubber ball does.
Time is the forth dimension, right?
So how would I go about converting seconds to a metre unit.
So how would I go about converting seconds to a metre unit.
~Twilkitri~
http://darktwilkitri.thegreatbeyond.net/ (is broken)
http://darktwilkitri.thegreatbeyond.net/ (is broken)
DT: There are hundreds of theories on dimensions. A lot of them say that time is a dimension. Some of those label time as the fourth dimension. There are other theories that cap the maximum number of dimensions at 10, the later 6 being "wrapped up" within themselves. I personally believe that each dimension of space is another dimension of space, so the fourth dimension would just be another space, according to me. The problem is, there's no way to verify any of this, as of right now. So it's all up in the air.
If you mean "metric", then converting seconds would be easy. Seconds are seconds, in either system of measurement. If you actually mean meters, though, that's impossible, as the two measure two totally different things. Seconds measure the passage of time, while meters measure a distance. Because these don't measure the same thing, they can't be converted between each other.
Pez: A few reasons. First of all, Russia is proud. They don't want to lose the designation as the largest country in the world. Secondly, they're responsible for Chernobyl, so that part of their territory is theirs, whether they want it or not. Thirdly, no one else wants that territory. It's useless for farming, and not much else can be done with it.
If you mean "metric", then converting seconds would be easy. Seconds are seconds, in either system of measurement. If you actually mean meters, though, that's impossible, as the two measure two totally different things. Seconds measure the passage of time, while meters measure a distance. Because these don't measure the same thing, they can't be converted between each other.
Pez: A few reasons. First of all, Russia is proud. They don't want to lose the designation as the largest country in the world. Secondly, they're responsible for Chernobyl, so that part of their territory is theirs, whether they want it or not. Thirdly, no one else wants that territory. It's useless for farming, and not much else can be done with it.
But if time is a dimension, and the other three can all be expressed in metres, time should be able to be expressed in metres as well (although this'd play havoc with velocity et al). Just because we can't sense time in the same way we sense length/width/depth, doesn't mean that it _can't_ be.
Changing the topic completely...
Decimal (Base 10) uses 0 to 9
Octal (Base
uses 0 to 7
Binary (Binal? Base 2) uses 0 to 1.
Everybody knows this.
But...
What would Base 1 use?
It can't use 0, because zero is nothing, no matter how many of them you have. It can't use 1 because that doesn't follow the pattern.
Changing the topic completely...
Decimal (Base 10) uses 0 to 9
Octal (Base
uses 0 to 7Binary (Binal? Base 2) uses 0 to 1.
Everybody knows this.
But...
What would Base 1 use?
It can't use 0, because zero is nothing, no matter how many of them you have. It can't use 1 because that doesn't follow the pattern.
~Twilkitri~
http://darktwilkitri.thegreatbeyond.net/ (is broken)
http://darktwilkitri.thegreatbeyond.net/ (is broken)
Ugh. You're treading on theoretical waters here, DT. Even if time were a dimension, there's no rule that states that all dimensions must be able to be measured in meters. Plus, none of this is/can be verified right now, so there aren't any right answers.
And you're half right, on the base 1. Think about it like this: Base n means to express numbers using only n different digits. Ex: Base 2 uses two different numbers to represent a range of numbers. With base 1, you only have 1 number to use, therefore, you can only express combinations of that number, or series of zeros. Since any number of zeros is zero, then with base 1, you can express nothing but nothing.
And you're half right, on the base 1. Think about it like this: Base n means to express numbers using only n different digits. Ex: Base 2 uses two different numbers to represent a range of numbers. With base 1, you only have 1 number to use, therefore, you can only express combinations of that number, or series of zeros. Since any number of zeros is zero, then with base 1, you can express nothing but nothing.
There is something called unary numbers. You just represent numbers as a string of symbols, where the number of symbols is the number itself. Kind of like counting with fingers or an abacus. For example, if the symbol we wanted to use was 1, we could count like this: 1, 11, 111, 1111, 11111, 111111, 1111111, 11111111, 111111111, and so on. This is really the simplest method of representing numbers there is, and of course it is incredibly inconvenient for most practical purposes. It is sometimes used in computational theory because of its simplicity. For example, with a given model of computation, someone might want to show how numbers can be added, multiplied, something like that. Like with a turing machine or something.
That was what I was thinking to begin with, but it doesn't match the 'pattern' using 1s.
~Twilkitri~
http://darktwilkitri.thegreatbeyond.net/ (is broken)
http://darktwilkitri.thegreatbeyond.net/ (is broken)
I gotz a question, chro-chro (heh, sorry, couldn't resist - there's a guy named Phosis on my Ecco the Dolphin forum whom we call "Pho-Pho").
What exactly are those dark circles under your eyes and what causes them?
Hrm...OK, well that was two. o_O
What exactly are those dark circles under your eyes and what causes them?
Hrm...OK, well that was two. o_O
"Which class did you ass?" -- Chromus
"What does it mean to ass a class?" -- Pez-Man
"Err, add........damn you." -- Chromus
"DRILLMAN bionic nemisis of MegaMan" -- ebay quote
"What does it mean to ass a class?" -- Pez-Man
"Err, add........damn you." -- Chromus
"DRILLMAN bionic nemisis of MegaMan" -- ebay quote
Got a lot of interesting questions this time.
DT: Using your pattern and the understanding of zeros, what I said was technically true, but in general cases, Vorpy is right. Unary counting is countin in base 1, binary: base 2, and so on.
Vorpy: I'm not sure how unary counting would help in a Turing machine. Care to explain?
Jo-Chan: It's alright. I have a variety of nick-names. Chro-chro is a new one to add to the list.
Anyways, those dark spots under your eyes really just shadows or blood vessels peeking through. They are caused by three main things: genetics, fluids, and age. Genetics contributes because some people are predisposed to having thin eyelids, making the blood vessels more apparent and giving them a darker look. Fluids contribute because when you lie down at night, the fluids from your eyes collect in the fatty tissue right below, causing shadows behind your eyes. Age helps by thinning your eyelids, showing the same results as the genetics.
Pez: Yup. The X-Box is basically a computer sold at a low cost. That's why Microsoft wants to stop all those people from changing the OS on the X-Box. They don't make any money on the actual system, which is sold at far below cost. They make money on other companies paying them the license to make games and sell them. The only real difference between the X-Box and a normal computer is that the graphics card and sound card are designed to output to TVs instead of a monitor and speakers, plus instead of a keyboard, you have controllers.
Zorn: Why do you always ask the hardest questions?
The transition between extreme temperatures throws your body for a loop. Until you adjust, it's natural to feel varying degrees of discomfort.
Eye gunk. This fun stuff is made up of sweat, tears, and salt. Normally, during the day, all of this stuff is swept away by our eyelashes. But during the night, they don't work, so all that stuff bunches up and forms the eye gunk we wake up with.
Headaches. There's no known reason why we have them, but it has something to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain. Common pain relievers numb the pain receptors, but other than that, there is no cure.
DT: Using your pattern and the understanding of zeros, what I said was technically true, but in general cases, Vorpy is right. Unary counting is countin in base 1, binary: base 2, and so on.
Vorpy: I'm not sure how unary counting would help in a Turing machine. Care to explain?
Jo-Chan: It's alright. I have a variety of nick-names. Chro-chro is a new one to add to the list.
Anyways, those dark spots under your eyes really just shadows or blood vessels peeking through. They are caused by three main things: genetics, fluids, and age. Genetics contributes because some people are predisposed to having thin eyelids, making the blood vessels more apparent and giving them a darker look. Fluids contribute because when you lie down at night, the fluids from your eyes collect in the fatty tissue right below, causing shadows behind your eyes. Age helps by thinning your eyelids, showing the same results as the genetics.
Pez: Yup. The X-Box is basically a computer sold at a low cost. That's why Microsoft wants to stop all those people from changing the OS on the X-Box. They don't make any money on the actual system, which is sold at far below cost. They make money on other companies paying them the license to make games and sell them. The only real difference between the X-Box and a normal computer is that the graphics card and sound card are designed to output to TVs instead of a monitor and speakers, plus instead of a keyboard, you have controllers.
Zorn: Why do you always ask the hardest questions?
The transition between extreme temperatures throws your body for a loop. Until you adjust, it's natural to feel varying degrees of discomfort.
Eye gunk. This fun stuff is made up of sweat, tears, and salt. Normally, during the day, all of this stuff is swept away by our eyelashes. But during the night, they don't work, so all that stuff bunches up and forms the eye gunk we wake up with.
Headaches. There's no known reason why we have them, but it has something to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain. Common pain relievers numb the pain receptors, but other than that, there is no cure.
OK, here's a brief overview of what a turing machine is.
There's an infinite tape. This tape is divided into cells. Each cell contains one symbol (or it is empty, an empty symbol). There is a read/write head that is over one of the cells. There is also a state that the machine is in, which describes how it will behave. It reads the cell the read/write head is over. Then based on the current state and the contents of the cell, a transition is selected. The read/write head writes a symbol to the cell it was over, moves left or right or stays still, and the machine goes into the next state. Then it repeats, reading the cell it is over, then depending on the state it is in writing and moving and chaning states. The program is basically a description of the states. Each state describes what happens for each symbol that could be read in.
The program is given input as symbols on the tape. It then keeps going until it gets to a state marked as a terminal state (this is another property of the states).
Now anyway there's a hypothesis that any possible mechanical computation can be performed by this machine, given the appropriate program. It is basically possible to write programs for this machine that can do anything any computer can do.
Now for actually writing programs, it can be convenient to use unary notation. It is possible to write a program that will convert unary input to binary or whatever, but that can make things much more complicated. So for example to write a program to add 2 numbers, it is much easier with unary notation. Writing a program for this thing can get very complicated...just adding two numbers is a bit complicated...
Well anyway I remember having a class where we wrote a few programs like this for homework. For numbers, unary was convenient since binary would become horribly over-complicated. Just doing stuff with unary is hard enough.
There's an infinite tape. This tape is divided into cells. Each cell contains one symbol (or it is empty, an empty symbol). There is a read/write head that is over one of the cells. There is also a state that the machine is in, which describes how it will behave. It reads the cell the read/write head is over. Then based on the current state and the contents of the cell, a transition is selected. The read/write head writes a symbol to the cell it was over, moves left or right or stays still, and the machine goes into the next state. Then it repeats, reading the cell it is over, then depending on the state it is in writing and moving and chaning states. The program is basically a description of the states. Each state describes what happens for each symbol that could be read in.
The program is given input as symbols on the tape. It then keeps going until it gets to a state marked as a terminal state (this is another property of the states).
Now anyway there's a hypothesis that any possible mechanical computation can be performed by this machine, given the appropriate program. It is basically possible to write programs for this machine that can do anything any computer can do.
Now for actually writing programs, it can be convenient to use unary notation. It is possible to write a program that will convert unary input to binary or whatever, but that can make things much more complicated. So for example to write a program to add 2 numbers, it is much easier with unary notation. Writing a program for this thing can get very complicated...just adding two numbers is a bit complicated...
Well anyway I remember having a class where we wrote a few programs like this for homework. For numbers, unary was convenient since binary would become horribly over-complicated. Just doing stuff with unary is hard enough.