4 ms·

In the same vein: The Barometer Question and Calandra's account https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer_question https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer_que

by msravi 5y ago

In the same vein: The Barometer Question and Calandra's account https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer_question https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer_question

LeifCarrotson 5y ago
I'd never seen that before, that's excellent! The original PDF is at https://www.unz.com/PDF/PERIODICAL/SaturdayRev-1968dec21/62/ https://www.unz.com/PDF/PERIODICAL/SaturdayRev-1968dec21/62/, which is includes a nice drawing of the student speaking with a building superintendent while holding a barometer, but to say more would be to spoil the punchline. Here is the text: > Angels on a Pin By ALEXANDER CALANDRA SOME time ago, I received a call from a colleague who asked if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would if the system were not set up against the student. The instructor and the student agreed to submit this to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected. I went to my colleague’s office and read the examination question: “Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer.” The student had answered: “Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower the barometer to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building.” I pointed out that the student really had a strong case for full credit, since he had answered the question completely and correctly. On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade for the student in his physics course. A high grade is supposed to certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try at answering the question. I was not surprised that my colleague agreed, but I was surprised that the student did. I gave the student six minutes to answer the question, with the warning that his answer should show some know- ledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said no. He had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him, and asked him to please go on. In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: “Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer. timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula S=1/2at^2, calculate the height of the building.” At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and I gave the student almost full credit. In leaving my colleague’s office, I recalled that the student had said he had other answers to the problem, so I asked him what they were. “Oh, yes,” said the student. “There are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of a simple proportion, determine the height of the building.” “Fine,” I said. “And the others?” “Yes,” said the student. “There is a very basic measurement method that you will like. In this method, you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs, As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units. A very direct method. “Of course, if you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of ‘g’ at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference between the two values of ‘g,’ the height of the building can, in principle, be calculated.” Finally he concluded, there are many other ways of solving the problem, “Probably the best,” he said, “is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door, When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: “Mr. Superintendent, here I have a fine barometer, if you will tell me the height of this building, I will give you this barometer.’” At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think, to use the “scientific method,” and to explore the deep inner logic of the subject in a pedantic way, as is often done in the new mathematics, rather than teaching him the structure of the subject. With this in mind, he decided to revive scholasticism as an academic lark to challenge the Sputnik-panicked classrooms of America.
- grumpyprole 5y ago
  It sounds like the original question was just badly worded. It should have read "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building using only a barometer.". The other answers, while not incorrect, do assume the availability of additional items such as rope and watches.
  - ineedasername 5y ago
    The one about direct measurement wouldn't require anything else. You're just climbing the stairs and counting. Doing it the "right" way would also require the stairs (well, and elevator would work for that too, but I would count the elevator as an additional item which itself uses complex mechanics and cables to get you to the top.)
  - nomel 5y ago
    > using only a barometer But the pressure of a vacuum is 0, so unconventional means would be required, if it were worded that way.
- dekhn 5y ago
  this is one of my favorite made-up stories
- prionassembly 5y ago
  Interesting. Unz.com is a radical Right (I wouldn't say extreme-right) wing website...
  - HarryHirsch 5y ago
    They have a dualistic world view, and the public school system is part of where the enemy stands. Anything that scores points against the enemy is a good weapon.
ineedasername 5y ago
Hold the barometer up and shout that it's a bomb & you'll blow up the building if someone doesn't tell you how tall it is. Use the barometer to prop open the door to the city's municipal building as the last person leaves for the day & sneak in to find the plans for building.
- BizarroLand 5y ago
  Dig a hole all the way through the earth and drop the barometer from the top of the building into the hole, and subtract from that time the time it would take the barometer to fall from directly over the hole to the other side and then divide the remainder by 9.8m/s^2.
  - ineedasername 5y ago
    Strap the barometer to a bomb & drop it on the building. Proceed to argue with the examiner in the rubble over the definition of "building" and whether the tallest piece of debris qualifies.

by msravi 5y ago

In the same vein: The Barometer Question and Calandra's account https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer_question https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer_question

LeifCarrotson 5y ago

I'd never seen that before, that's excellent! The original PDF is at https://www.unz.com/PDF/PERIODICAL/SaturdayRev-1968dec21/62/ https://www.unz.com/PDF/PERIODICAL/SaturdayRev-1968dec21/62/, which is includes a nice drawing of the student speaking with a building superintendent while holding a barometer, but to say more would be to spoil the punchline. Here is the text: > Angels on a Pin By ALEXANDER CALANDRA SOME time ago, I received a call from a colleague who asked if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would if the system were not set up against the student. The instructor and the student agreed to submit this to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected. I went to my colleague’s office and read the examination question: “Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer.” The student had answered: “Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower the barometer to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building.” I pointed out that the student really had a strong case for full credit, since he had answered the question completely and correctly. On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade for the student in his physics course. A high grade is supposed to certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try at answering the question. I was not surprised that my colleague agreed, but I was surprised that the student did. I gave the student six minutes to answer the question, with the warning that his answer should show some know- ledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said no. He had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him, and asked him to please go on. In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: “Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer. timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula S=1/2at^2, calculate the height of the building.” At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and I gave the student almost full credit. In leaving my colleague’s office, I recalled that the student had said he had other answers to the problem, so I asked him what they were. “Oh, yes,” said the student. “There are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of a simple proportion, determine the height of the building.” “Fine,” I said. “And the others?” “Yes,” said the student. “There is a very basic measurement method that you will like. In this method, you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs, As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units. A very direct method. “Of course, if you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of ‘g’ at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference between the two values of ‘g,’ the height of the building can, in principle, be calculated.” Finally he concluded, there are many other ways of solving the problem, “Probably the best,” he said, “is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door, When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: “Mr. Superintendent, here I have a fine barometer, if you will tell me the height of this building, I will give you this barometer.’” At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think, to use the “scientific method,” and to explore the deep inner logic of the subject in a pedantic way, as is often done in the new mathematics, rather than teaching him the structure of the subject. With this in mind, he decided to revive scholasticism as an academic lark to challenge the Sputnik-panicked classrooms of America.

grumpyprole 5y ago
It sounds like the original question was just badly worded. It should have read "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building using only a barometer.". The other answers, while not incorrect, do assume the availability of additional items such as rope and watches.
- ineedasername 5y ago
  The one about direct measurement wouldn't require anything else. You're just climbing the stairs and counting. Doing it the "right" way would also require the stairs (well, and elevator would work for that too, but I would count the elevator as an additional item which itself uses complex mechanics and cables to get you to the top.)
- nomel 5y ago
  > using only a barometer But the pressure of a vacuum is 0, so unconventional means would be required, if it were worded that way.
dekhn 5y ago
this is one of my favorite made-up stories
prionassembly 5y ago
Interesting. Unz.com is a radical Right (I wouldn't say extreme-right) wing website...
- HarryHirsch 5y ago
  They have a dualistic world view, and the public school system is part of where the enemy stands. Anything that scores points against the enemy is a good weapon.

ineedasername 5y ago

Hold the barometer up and shout that it's a bomb & you'll blow up the building if someone doesn't tell you how tall it is. Use the barometer to prop open the door to the city's municipal building as the last person leaves for the day & sneak in to find the plans for building.

BizarroLand 5y ago
Dig a hole all the way through the earth and drop the barometer from the top of the building into the hole, and subtract from that time the time it would take the barometer to fall from directly over the hole to the other side and then divide the remainder by 9.8m/s^2.
- ineedasername 5y ago
  Strap the barometer to a bomb & drop it on the building. Proceed to argue with the examiner in the rubble over the definition of "building" and whether the tallest piece of debris qualifies.