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My colleagues and I used to get these "nut letters" occasionally even as unknown grad students. They were quite a treat to read: the human imagination is a marv

by sidlls 8y ago

My colleagues and I used to get these "nut letters" occasionally even as unknown grad students. They were quite a treat to read: the human imagination is a marvel, and curiosity knows no bounds. If they'd taken slightly different paths than they had, some probably would have even been with my colleagues reading those letters instead of writing them.

meowface 8y ago
I wonder if any of these nut letters have ever yielded useful scientific discoveries or advances. I figure one or two must have, even if only by accident, or indirectly.
- Isamu 8y ago
  Maybe not the "nut" letters, which are frequently very nutty, but random letters can. In this episode of Tested Joe DeRisi describes how a random letter from a snake owner led to some interesting published results in molecular biology. https://www.tested.com/old-categories/podcasts/854328-scariest-episode-yet-still-untitled-adam-savage-project-103018/ https://www.tested.com/old-categories/podcasts/854328-scarie...
  - kbenson 8y ago
    Wow, that's one of the best guests I've heard on that podcast (and in general!). I'm a few months behind, so I hadn't heard this one yet, so thanks. The title isn't wrong, either, this one is terrifying (so far).
Balgair 8y ago
This reminds me of a run-in we had with a 'nut'. She had looked up the lab on campus and walked in asking for the PI. After some back-and-forth, she mentions that she had been emailing with our PI for a while concerning the government implanted mind-reading device in her brother's brain (I was in a neuro-lab at the time). Without missing a beat, one of the other grad students starts questioning her about the device: when is it active, what is the range, power requirements, etc. She, as a layperson, really has no idea. After some probing about her brother's condition (likely her own condition, but who knows) we get her to accept that the power output of the device would be very tiny and that the government's receivers can't be more than a few meters away at any time. She seemed very satisfied with this conclusion. I think there were some mentions of Faraday cages too that she liked. At the end she mentions that her brother is a schizophrenic but that the medications don't work. Another grad student then took over and started to talk with her about how schizophrenia was thought to behave and the importance of proper medical supervision, but this occurred in another room. After some more time, the 'nut' came back to thank us for talking with her and taking her concerns seriously. She seemed very relieved at the conclusions and was smiling. We never saw her again and I don't think anyone mentioned it to the PI either.

by sidlls 8y ago

meowface 8y ago

I wonder if any of these nut letters have ever yielded useful scientific discoveries or advances. I figure one or two must have, even if only by accident, or indirectly.

Isamu 8y ago
Maybe not the "nut" letters, which are frequently very nutty, but random letters can. In this episode of Tested Joe DeRisi describes how a random letter from a snake owner led to some interesting published results in molecular biology. https://www.tested.com/old-categories/podcasts/854328-scariest-episode-yet-still-untitled-adam-savage-project-103018/ https://www.tested.com/old-categories/podcasts/854328-scarie...
- kbenson 8y ago
  Wow, that's one of the best guests I've heard on that podcast (and in general!). I'm a few months behind, so I hadn't heard this one yet, so thanks. The title isn't wrong, either, this one is terrifying (so far).

Balgair 8y ago

This reminds me of a run-in we had with a 'nut'. She had looked up the lab on campus and walked in asking for the PI. After some back-and-forth, she mentions that she had been emailing with our PI for a while concerning the government implanted mind-reading device in her brother's brain (I was in a neuro-lab at the time). Without missing a beat, one of the other grad students starts questioning her about the device: when is it active, what is the range, power requirements, etc. She, as a layperson, really has no idea. After some probing about her brother's condition (likely her own condition, but who knows) we get her to accept that the power output of the device would be very tiny and that the government's receivers can't be more than a few meters away at any time. She seemed very satisfied with this conclusion. I think there were some mentions of Faraday cages too that she liked. At the end she mentions that her brother is a schizophrenic but that the medications don't work. Another grad student then took over and started to talk with her about how schizophrenia was thought to behave and the importance of proper medical supervision, but this occurred in another room. After some more time, the 'nut' came back to thank us for talking with her and taking her concerns seriously. She seemed very relieved at the conclusions and was smiling. We never saw her again and I don't think anyone mentioned it to the PI either.