5 ms·
>"Just as zero degrees celsius is a special number in thermodynamics," wrote Fredrickson in Positivity, "the 3-to-1 positivity ratio may well be a magic number
by Maybestring 9y ago
>"Just as zero degrees celsius is a special number in thermodynamics," wrote Fredrickson in Positivity, "the 3-to-1 positivity ratio may well be a magic number in human psychology."
Well this statement still stands.
- lotsofpulp 9y agoI don't understand, what is the special status of 0C?
- equanimitivity 9y agoNeither are special
- whatshisface 9y agoWell, the irony is that it isn't very special, and neither is the positivity ratio. So the "just like" statement turned out to be true after all. ( A nxor B == not A nxor not B )
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- trendia 9y agoThe author is confused. 0C is special to us because it is the freezing point of water, but that doesn't really make it special within thermodynamics -- it's just the freezing point of some arbitrary substance at an arbitrary pressure (ATP). 0C isn't even the only freezing point of water -- if you add impurities or change the pressure, you can change the freezing point! Maybe 0K (Kelvin) is special, since that implies zero gas entropy, but 0C doesn't have any magical properties.
- dsubburam 9y agoInterestingly, unlike the boiling point, the melting point is not that dependent on the atmospheric pressure: for a wide range around 100kPa, it stays at 0C [1]. [1] Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_melting_point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_melting_point
- 2muchcoffeeman 9y agoMaybe they meant Kelvin?
- emmelaich 9y agoI'm sure @Maybestring is being ironic. Neither are special.
- IncRnd 9y agoThe post was a comparison not a contrast. I believe the point is that the 3-1 ratio has no special status - not that 0C does.
- adrianratnapala 9y agoIt's worse than that. 0C is at least special in in that important human systems of measurement are based on it. The 3-to-1 ratio is just some ill-fated psych superstition. It resembles the Celsius scale only by being a cultural construct. But by that measure it also resembles South Park and the MS-DOS kernel. And that's ignoring the fact that 0C is actually physically significant, since it is (to a good approximation) the melting point of water over a very large range of pressures.
- bluetwo 9y agoProbably would have been a better metaphor had they used Pi.