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previous: R.G. I think that the phrases are exactl... -- 8/25/2000 12:59 PM

Re: chaos theory for beginners

8/26/2000 4:46 PM
Hi	Re: chaos theory for beginners I'm a big fan of the scientific method, and I think R.G. is not out of line in asking for quantitative analysis of the issue under discussion. OTOH, here is a real-life example of how BIZARRE things can be: I have a friend whose step-father manufactured capacitors and resistors for the aerospace industry (my childhood playground, so to speak). This guy, whose name is Bill, had a love/hate relationship with the US government. The love part cam about because the only part he ever sold them which failed under use was a resistor on the lunar rover, which failed while under operation on the moon. But it was running over 750% of its rated capacity for over 24 hours before it failed, so they liked his product. The hate part was the weird part; he had very few employees, and at one point in the manufacturing process he was always alone in the lab. He NEVER told anyone what he did then, but NO ONE ever has been able to reverse engineer his products. Some of the finest technicians and scientists in the world have tried to recreate Bill's products; there's no really specific reason why they shouldn't be able to, but they can't. For decades he wouldn't tell anyone his "secret", so the government finally gave up and just took out an insurance policy on him. Didn't matter; when he retired, he closed his shop and told nobody his secret. So he's out of business, and can't possibly lose business because of the knowledge being disseminated, but he still won't tell. Did I mention that Bill was an asshole? (Just my opinion, but I have a lot more reasons than the one mentioned to believe so). So, anyway, the point is that there are little things which crop up that can't be explained with what scientific data we currently possess and/or understand. And I'm not too sure (on a more personal note) that essentially calling jacque a prostitute was a good idea... OTOH, hard facts would be nice in a discussion like this, and jacque does seem to be avoiding that part of the issue. Hi

8/26/2000 4:46 PM

Re: chaos theory for beginners

I'm a big fan of the scientific method, and I think R.G. is not out of line in asking for quantitative analysis of the issue under discussion. OTOH, here is a real-life example of how BIZARRE things can be:
I have a friend whose step-father manufactured capacitors and resistors for the aerospace industry (my childhood playground, so to speak). This guy, whose name is Bill, had a love/hate relationship with the US government. The love part cam about because the only part he ever sold them which failed under use was a resistor on the lunar rover, which failed while under operation on the moon. But it was running over 750% of its rated capacity for over 24 hours before it failed, so they liked his product. The hate part was the weird part; he had very few employees, and at one point in the manufacturing process he was always alone in the lab. He NEVER told anyone what he did then, but NO ONE ever has been able to reverse engineer his products. Some of the finest technicians and scientists in the world have tried to recreate Bill's products; there's no really specific reason why they shouldn't be able to, but they can't. For decades he wouldn't tell anyone his "secret", so the government finally gave up and just took out an insurance policy on him. Didn't matter; when he retired, he closed his shop and told nobody his secret. So he's out of business, and can't possibly lose business because of the knowledge being disseminated, but he still won't tell. Did I mention that Bill was an asshole? (Just my opinion, but I have a lot more reasons than the one mentioned to believe so).
So, anyway, the point is that there are little things which crop up that can't be explained with what scientific data we currently possess and/or understand. And I'm not too sure (on a more personal note) that essentially calling jacque a prostitute was a good idea... OTOH, hard facts would be nice in a discussion like this, and jacque does seem to be avoiding that part of the issue.
Hi

Replies:

R.G. I'm with you - I fully believe that... -- 8/26/2000 10:39 PM