3 ms·

> "Those components, scientists have found, are called quarks." Does anyone proof read anymore?

by moomin 9y ago

jerf 9y ago
That may well be my favorite sentence I have read this year. It implies that scientists built particle accelerators and then these things popped out, and spoke to the scientists saying "Hi! We're called 'quarks'!" The first known self-naming particle. I mean, this really solves all the questions about whether or not consciousness is an inherent property of the universe, if quarks themselves are already at a level that they can communicate their name to scientists. Profound stuff. Let's, as they say, eat grandma: https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/sep/04/mind-your-language-commas https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/se...
- arethuza 9y ago
  That reminds me of a description of "His Dark Materials" that a friend used to try and get me interested in the books "Imagine that dark matter is original sin"...
- monochromatic 9y ago
  It’s like something out of the British series “Look Around You.”
  - IanCal 9y ago
    Perfect comparison. For anyone that's not seen Look Around You, all the episodes are on youtube. Season 1 is the one to start with, there's two seasons and they're very different. Some of this won't translate as well, the episodes are absurdist versions of shows that used to be on BBC2 very early in the morning. There would be a show as some science lesson, put on at 2am for people to tape and show in classes. I'm sure it's a pretty wide age range but I'm 30 and seeing slightly warped tapes playing this kind of thing was pretty common for me. Still, even without this I think they're pretty fun. There's also the pilot for calcium on youtube but there's the other episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/user/LookAroundYouDVD https://www.youtube.com/user/LookAroundYouDVD
    - jerf 9y ago
      I am a fan of this sort of thing, which is probably why the image popped into my mind instantly. Sadly, my ability to generate it is not so great, but I at least get to appreciate it.
    - darrenf 9y ago
      The shows to which you refer were not necessarily to be shown in classes - AIUI they were the classes/lectures for the Open University, a distance learning uni which still exists to this day. The broadcasts lasted into the mid-00s: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6182747.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6182747.stm
      - IanCal 9y ago
        Ah thanks, my viewing of them was limited entirely to secondary school lessons so I assumed a lot were intended with this audience in mind, sort of a forerunner to bitesize.
nategri 9y ago
Also the preceding sentences make it seem like quarks were discovered at the LHC (lol,no.)

> "Those components, scientists have found, are called quarks." Does anyone proof read anymore?

by moomin 9y ago

> "Those components, scientists have found, are called quarks." Does anyone proof read anymore?

jerf 9y ago

That may well be my favorite sentence I have read this year. It implies that scientists built particle accelerators and then these things popped out, and spoke to the scientists saying "Hi! We're called 'quarks'!" The first known self-naming particle. I mean, this really solves all the questions about whether or not consciousness is an inherent property of the universe, if quarks themselves are already at a level that they can communicate their name to scientists. Profound stuff. Let's, as they say, eat grandma: https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/sep/04/mind-your-language-commas https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/se...

arethuza 9y ago
That reminds me of a description of "His Dark Materials" that a friend used to try and get me interested in the books "Imagine that dark matter is original sin"...
monochromatic 9y ago
It’s like something out of the British series “Look Around You.”
- IanCal 9y ago
  Perfect comparison. For anyone that's not seen Look Around You, all the episodes are on youtube. Season 1 is the one to start with, there's two seasons and they're very different. Some of this won't translate as well, the episodes are absurdist versions of shows that used to be on BBC2 very early in the morning. There would be a show as some science lesson, put on at 2am for people to tape and show in classes. I'm sure it's a pretty wide age range but I'm 30 and seeing slightly warped tapes playing this kind of thing was pretty common for me. Still, even without this I think they're pretty fun. There's also the pilot for calcium on youtube but there's the other episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/user/LookAroundYouDVD https://www.youtube.com/user/LookAroundYouDVD
  - jerf 9y ago
    I am a fan of this sort of thing, which is probably why the image popped into my mind instantly. Sadly, my ability to generate it is not so great, but I at least get to appreciate it.
  - darrenf 9y ago
    The shows to which you refer were not necessarily to be shown in classes - AIUI they were the classes/lectures for the Open University, a distance learning uni which still exists to this day. The broadcasts lasted into the mid-00s: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6182747.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6182747.stm
    - IanCal 9y ago
      Ah thanks, my viewing of them was limited entirely to secondary school lessons so I assumed a lot were intended with this audience in mind, sort of a forerunner to bitesize.

nategri 9y ago

Also the preceding sentences make it seem like quarks were discovered at the LHC (lol,no.)