5 ms·

For the metric people who don't know random US states: 335 meters thick and about the size of Palestine.

by anc84 10y ago

phaemon 10y ago
The graphic from the MIDAS project also has a picture of Wales to compare with :) They have their own brief blog post at: http://www.projectmidas.org/blog/larsen-c-ice-shelf-poised-to-calve/ http://www.projectmidas.org/blog/larsen-c-ice-shelf-poised-t...
sarcher 10y ago
Product idea: automatically generate dimensional metaphors with regional cultural context based on geoIP.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  That's actually a great idea! Kind of what Wolfram|Alpha does when it gives you various comparisons to the number you've entered. E.g. for "10 kilotons": ≈ (0.2 to 0.3) × mass of a Handy size cargo ship ( 28000 to 40000 lg tn ) ≈ (0.3 to 0.5) × mass of a Small Handy size cargo ship ( 20000 to 28000 lg tn ) ≈ 0.83 × daily mass of trash produced in New York City (≈ 1.2×10^7 kg ) http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=10+kiloton http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=10+kiloton EDIT: For the ice slab in question, W|A gives following comparisons: ≈ ( 0.25 ≈ 1/4 ) × total area of Wales (≈ 8023 mi^2 ) ≈ 1.7 × total area of Rhode Island ( 1212 mi^2 ) ≈ 3 × area of forest flattened by the asteroid explosion over Tunguska in 1908 (≈ 2000 km^2 )
  - sarcher 10y ago
    Ha, sometimes I wonder if I've ever had an original idea.
    - TeMPOraL 10y ago
      I know I haven't. Everything has already been done (usually not to my liking, but that's bikeshedding, I guess...).
      - cel1ne 10y ago
        It's not bikeshedding if the topic is not trivial.
    - cr0sh 10y ago
      I don't know if your idea is original - but it hasn't (?) been implemented yet - so implement it, if know how! Maybe make it a greasemonkey script - then hook into Wolfram Alpha and display from that. GeoIP might not be too big on an issue, either... Ultimately, it's not about whether the idea is original, but how the idea is executed. Think about it - how many social networks were there before Facebook? It isn't like Facebook is original, or the first, or even the last! Similar with Google (do you really think there won't be something that takes over Google's position with search, or does it better, or different?). Don't worry about originality! Just take your idea(s) - and try to execute them - worry about what you can control, instead of what others control.
- gilleain 10y ago
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/Design/page/reg-standards-converter.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/Design/page/reg-standards-conve...
- iaskwhy 10y ago
  Sometimes I'd like that for new gadgets' comparison, say, a new iPhone or Android phone compared to previous iterations, a visual comparison, side by side or on top.
  - Guillaume86 10y ago
    I always check that before buying a new phone: http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size
    - iaskwhy 10y ago
      Brilliant, thanks!
optimuspaul 10y ago
Rhode Island isn't a random state, it was chosen for a reason. I will say that I'm live in the US and don't have any real sense of the size of Rhode Island, or Palestine for that matter.
- sdenton4 10y ago
  "Smaller than Alaska"
freehunter 10y ago
Without getting too political, I don't think Palestine is a great comparison. Are we talking the original borders? The current borders? West Bank plus Gaza? The State of Palestine or the Palestinian Territories? Palestine in particular is a country that is very difficult to judge the size of, for very political reasons. It's actually far easier for someone to look at a map of Delaware and judge its size than to look at a map of Palestine and judge its size.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- hogrammer 10y ago
  There is no such country. You and the person you're responding too are bothe terrorist agitators.
pimlottc 10y ago
Wikipedia has some pages with relatable examples of items of various sizes/area etc. from the very small to the very large. In this case, it tells us this shelf is slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower [0] with an area a bit smaller than Bali. [1] 0: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(length) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(length) 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(area) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(area)

For the metric people who don't know random US states: 335 meters thick and about the size of Palestine.

by anc84 10y ago

For the metric people who don't know random US states: 335 meters thick and about the size of Palestine.

The graphic from the MIDAS project also has a picture of Wales to compare with :) They have their own brief blog post at: http://www.projectmidas.org/blog/larsen-c-ice-shelf-poised-to-calve/ http://www.projectmidas.org/blog/larsen-c-ice-shelf-poised-t...

sarcher 10y ago

Product idea: automatically generate dimensional metaphors with regional cultural context based on geoIP.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
That's actually a great idea! Kind of what Wolfram|Alpha does when it gives you various comparisons to the number you've entered. E.g. for "10 kilotons": ≈ (0.2 to 0.3) × mass of a Handy size cargo ship ( 28000 to 40000 lg tn ) ≈ (0.3 to 0.5) × mass of a Small Handy size cargo ship ( 20000 to 28000 lg tn ) ≈ 0.83 × daily mass of trash produced in New York City (≈ 1.2×10^7 kg ) http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=10+kiloton http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=10+kiloton EDIT: For the ice slab in question, W|A gives following comparisons: ≈ ( 0.25 ≈ 1/4 ) × total area of Wales (≈ 8023 mi^2 ) ≈ 1.7 × total area of Rhode Island ( 1212 mi^2 ) ≈ 3 × area of forest flattened by the asteroid explosion over Tunguska in 1908 (≈ 2000 km^2 )
- sarcher 10y ago
  Ha, sometimes I wonder if I've ever had an original idea.
  - TeMPOraL 10y ago
    I know I haven't. Everything has already been done (usually not to my liking, but that's bikeshedding, I guess...).
    - cel1ne 10y ago
      It's not bikeshedding if the topic is not trivial.
  - cr0sh 10y ago
    I don't know if your idea is original - but it hasn't (?) been implemented yet - so implement it, if know how! Maybe make it a greasemonkey script - then hook into Wolfram Alpha and display from that. GeoIP might not be too big on an issue, either... Ultimately, it's not about whether the idea is original, but how the idea is executed. Think about it - how many social networks were there before Facebook? It isn't like Facebook is original, or the first, or even the last! Similar with Google (do you really think there won't be something that takes over Google's position with search, or does it better, or different?). Don't worry about originality! Just take your idea(s) - and try to execute them - worry about what you can control, instead of what others control.
gilleain 10y ago
http://www.theregister.co.uk/Design/page/reg-standards-converter.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/Design/page/reg-standards-conve...
iaskwhy 10y ago
Sometimes I'd like that for new gadgets' comparison, say, a new iPhone or Android phone compared to previous iterations, a visual comparison, side by side or on top.
- Guillaume86 10y ago
  I always check that before buying a new phone: http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size
  - iaskwhy 10y ago
    Brilliant, thanks!

optimuspaul 10y ago

Rhode Island isn't a random state, it was chosen for a reason. I will say that I'm live in the US and don't have any real sense of the size of Rhode Island, or Palestine for that matter.

sdenton4 10y ago
"Smaller than Alaska"

freehunter 10y ago

Without getting too political, I don't think Palestine is a great comparison. Are we talking the original borders? The current borders? West Bank plus Gaza? The State of Palestine or the Palestinian Territories? Palestine in particular is a country that is very difficult to judge the size of, for very political reasons. It's actually far easier for someone to look at a map of Delaware and judge its size than to look at a map of Palestine and judge its size.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
hogrammer 10y ago
There is no such country. You and the person you're responding too are bothe terrorist agitators.

pimlottc 10y ago

Wikipedia has some pages with relatable examples of items of various sizes/area etc. from the very small to the very large. In this case, it tells us this shelf is slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower [0] with an area a bit smaller than Bali. [1] 0: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(length) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(length) 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(area) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(area)