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  1. Today, I entered a different world; showed up about ten minutes late, too. Some things never change. I suppose I'll be late to my own funeral.

    But, I had an excuse this time, a good one. My normal run of courses is literally at the entire opposite end of campus, and this campus is fucking ginormous. Parking is absurd, so I figured it would take longer to walk to my car, drive nearer to the other class, park again, and walk to the location, than to just walk. With only ten minutes though, I am literally going to be late for every class. The Professor is cool as fuck though, and doesn't much care. Didn't find that out until later.

    When I walk into class I literally see Einstein.I thought it was just me being high, residually from the earlier morning's wake and bake. Turns out it was. But seriously, the Professor is German, with frizzy ass white hair, and a similar build. He is a bit more bald down the center however. Anyway, I was definitely taken a back a little in my mind.

    Yeah, I was definitely in a different world.

    I think a core tenet of life is that you have set the bar high, and challenge yourself. To me, among other things, that means you have to really work on finding out what you aren't good at, and work to try to get better at it. Roger Craig, the guy that cracked jeopardy explains it better than I can...So, when I was thinking of electives for this term, I decided to do something I hadn't done in over a dozen years: take a Physics course. I mean, why the fuck not? Space, Matter, and Time, is the title. Sounded pretty dope to me.

    But there is the small matter of it being grad level physics cum philosophy course, run by discussion, in a roomful of physicists, 95% of whom are way more technically competent than me in the subject matter. Einstein, Feynman, Heisenberg, Copernicus, Hawking, et al; pretty heady reading list, too. Definitely a long way from supply chain management or technology strategy, that's for sure.

    I realized in my morning Fin Eng class that after that class, the Physics Lab was like a billion miles away, and I only had a ten minute window. So, I'm already intimidated by the course (but excited by it all the same), and going to be fucking late. Great.

    I get in, and after half tripping out from the Professor's overly cliched look (I mean, how else could a person imagine a Physics professor but with huge white hair, a plaid shirt, and a goofy get up a la all the Einstein lookalikes in movies and whatnot?), find an open seat. We are packed like sardines in this place. This is certainly not like the spacious, brand new business facility, and I did not see a single MBA in a suit. Huge plus there, at least.

    After going through the syllabus and some of that perfunctory stuff, the instructor put up a slide with some questions, to gauge the classes views.

    Does mind have a non-physical constituent? Y__ N__M__
    Is there objective reality? Y__ N__M__
    Is the universe deterministic? Y__ N__M__
    Does newer science become more correct? Y__ N__M__
    Approximate age of universe? (in years)
    0-10^6____ 10^6-10^8____ 10^8-10^(9 )______ 10^9-10^11 _____
    Approximate age of life on earth? (in years)
    0-10^6____ 10^6-10^8____ 10^8-10^(9 )______ 10^9-10^11 _____
    Does C=2πR? Y__ N__M__

    You'll notice that the questions become kind of a bit more certain as to their answers as you go down the list. When he got to the last question, as I think he expected, we were all pretty primed to answer yes for the last one. As he asked the question, about 70 people's hands shot up yes. When he asked the No's to raise their hands, two others and myself raised their hands. There were no maybes.

    He made a point to mention that it was interesting that the class achieved the most consensus on the question he was most sure about. The circumference of a circle does not equal double the radius times pi. It does, under a specific mathematical construct called Euclidean Geometry, but that is a construct that doesn't really apply to our cosmos quite so much.

    I mean, I kind of got there a little differently, but got there all the same. In a roomful of mostly physicists and a few philosophers, only a couple of us intuited that correctly. I immediately felt better, and could feel a few months' internal tension begin to dissipate.

    After some time talking about the electron as particle/wave amalgam in its movements, the teacher closed with "This is one of several conspiracies of nature against common sense...it will become much weirder than you'd expect."

    Now, with the intimidation gone, there is only excitement. I honestly don't think I've ever been more excited for a single course than this one for the next 16 weeks.
  2. At first I was like ...



    Then I was like ...



    But then finally ...

  3. Wait, where are you at school now?
  4. LS stole my question

    I would no doubt fail. I read "wtf is C=2NR"

    Sounds like a super interesting class. I love philosophy but hate math. Too much tedious homework to ever get good at it
  5. smoking causes cancer. But other than that ... literally cool story bro
  6.  
    Originally Posted by niptuck View Post

    smoking causes cancer. But other than that ... literally cool story bro

    umm, smoking marijuana does not cause cancer you dolt.
     1
  7. Let the mindfuck begin...
  8. Congrats on being one of the three out of like 75 students in a class full of brainiacs to get the last question right. Bravo. You so smart. Stroke it baby.
     
  9. That was a really good read. You are quite the wordsmith. I'm glad you enjoy it. I think you should make this thread a mini-blog each week of what you experienced in the class. I know I'd read it.
     
  10.  
    Originally Posted by TheWacoKidd View Post

    umm, smoking marijuana does not cause cancer you dolt.

    I only point this out because I love AIQ and TWK. I post because I care. WHat is a dolt?

    Furthermore, one of the most potent carcinogens in tobacco smoke, benzo(α)pyrene, is present in even greater amounts in marijuana smoke. As marijuana smokers frequently inhale and hold the smoke in their lungs, this increases the amount of tar deposited in the respiratory system by about a factor of four. No wonder, research shows that approximately 20% of regular pot smokers (and it only takes 3 to 4 joints a day) complain of chronic bronchitis, coughing and excess mucus (Tashkin, 2005).
  11. Sounds like a sick class.

    Does anybody in OT attend or know somebody who attends City College of New York? Would love to hear from somebody who took a theoretical physics class with Michio Kaku.


    EDIT: Also +1 to what IllNug said. I'd def read that too
    Edited By: JaySpo Jan 17th, 2012 at 11:54 PM
  12.  
    Originally Posted by niptuck View Post

    I only point this out because I love AIQ and TWK. I post because I care. WHat is a dolt?

    Furthermore, one of the most potent carcinogens in tobacco smoke, benzo(α)pyrene, is present in even greater amounts in marijuana smoke. As marijuana smokers frequently inhale and hold the smoke in their lungs, this increases the amount of tar deposited in the respiratory system by about a factor of four. No wonder, research shows that approximately 20% of regular pot smokers (and it only takes 3 to 4 joints a day) complain of chronic bronchitis, coughing and excess mucus (Tashkin, 2005).

     

    A large new government study has found that smoking marijuana on a regular basis, even over many years, does not impair lung function.

    http://www.tempo.com.ph/2012/marijua...s-study-finds/

    Synonyms for "dolt" - fool, blockhead, dunce, booby, loggerhead...
     3


  13.  
    Originally Posted by TheWacoKidd View Post

    umm, smoking marijuana does not cause cancer you dolt.


    qft
  14.  
    typical dyz, believing whatever the government tells him.
  15. sweet, def keep updates of this class, I loved my 2 physics classes that I took last semester and this one sounds great
    Edited By: mordan Jan 18th, 2012 at 01:03 AM
     
  16. don't get your hopes up
  17. not even the phony links from the US government studies can be used now, lol

    there has never been a proven link between marijuana and lung cancer.
     1
  18.  
    Originally Posted by JaySpo View Post

    EDIT: Also +1 to what IllNug said. I'd def read that too

    Yeah, for sure, this thread could be an interesting reactionary one, imo.

    The beginning is kind of a historical investigation of physics. It's going to be a lot more mechanical, like talking about the Copernican Revolution, Galileo, Ptolemy, on into electromagnetism and general relativity.

    Then we'll get into the shit that doesn't really have a "bottom line", as the teacher put it, like the irreversibility of time, or Cosmology. That's where it'll "get weird." Never really heard that from a Professor before, haha.

    Actually, is there anything I should request? At the end of today's slides it said, " Now is a good time to request topics for the end of the course (e.g. toward grand unification, modern trends in philosophy of science, consciousness, Gödel,...)

    Idk, any good suggestions anyone?

     
    Originally Posted by marinersheep View Post

    Congrats on being one of the three out of like 75 students in a class full of brainiacs to get the last question right. Bravo. You so smart. Stroke it baby.

    Oh quit being a penis. Just was a surreal experience. There is so much in this class that will go straight over my head. I'm still pretty intimidated.

    But, it was like in HS ball when you were up against the heavies and hit that first three, really settles the game down from here on in. Doesn't matter that my "three" in this situation was off the backboard (and I didn't call bank), haha.
    Edited By: AbnormalQ Jan 18th, 2012 at 12:18 AM
    Thread Starter
  19. :)
     
  20. i feel smart when i read AbQ posts. if only your prof spoke in morgan freeman's voice, that'd be the tits.
  21. had a friend die of lung cancer at age 26

    he smoked.pot and cigs everyday

    doc says he was predisposed to cancer but that pot and cigs were negative factors.

    waco...u have said that puuting pot iin your body excessively has negative physical effects. what are these?

    stamina? coughing?
  22.  
    Originally Posted by Prestonluv View Post

    had a friend die of lung cancer at age 26

    he smoked.pot and cigs everyday

    doc says he was predisposed to cancer but that pot and cigs were negative factors.

    waco...u have said that puuting pot iin your body excessively has negative physical effects. what are these?

    stamina? coughing?

    Doc was being ignorant about his comment regarding marijuana as he'd have no way of knowing.
     3
  23. I've actually never said that, I've talked about having a night of withdrawal before, but that's not the issue ITT. niptuck said smoking weed causes cancer, but study after study keeps coming out showing there is no link.

    I have never said smoking weed causes no damage at all. any time you breathe in smoke into your lungs, there are probably going to be some type of negative side effects.

    FTR, I've smoked weed for over 10 years, and even a light amount of cigarettes, and I have no chronic cough. stamina is fine, assuming I stay active.

     
    Originally Posted by Dyzalot View Post

    Doc was being ignorant about his comment regarding marijuana as he'd have no way of knowing.

    this. all the studies lately are contradicting the myths and stereotypes
     1
  24. 80+ years of heavy propaganda will make lots of people think that POT is the devil
  25.  
    Originally Posted by TheWacoKidd View Post

    I've actually never said that, I've talked about having a night of withdrawal before, but that's not the issue ITT. niptuck said smoking weed causes cancer, but study after study keeps coming out showing there is no link.

    I have never said smoking weed causes no damage at all. any time you breathe in smoke into your lungs, there are probably going to be some type of negative side effects.

    FTR, I've smoked weed for over 10 years, and even a light amount of cigarettes, and I have no chronic cough. stamina is fine, assuming I stay active.



    this. all the studies lately are contradicting the myths and stereotypes

    I vaporize for the most part, mainly for the health thing. Like you say, smoking all that can't be awesome. Though it is interesting how soooo many studies are shattering the cancer, and other myths like it, surrounding weed.

    Can't say my stamina is fine though. I walk into class today and my friend Sadullah sees me. Its been about a month since fall term ended, so it had been a bit since we'd last seen each other from our last team project. First thing he says is "Hey man, youre getting fat."

    Calls it like he sees it. Been a lazy bum every since the marathon in Oct. It shows in my belly.
    Thread Starter
  26. You talk funny mister.
  27.  
    Originally Posted by AbnormalQ View Post

    I vaporize for the most part, mainly for the health thing. Like you say, smoking all that can't be awesome. Though it is interesting how soooo many studies are shattering the cancer, and other myths like it, surrounding weed.

    Can't say my stamina is fine though. I walk into class today and my friend Sadullah sees me. Its been about a month since fall term ended, so it had been a bit since we'd last seen each other from our last team project. First thing he says is "Hey man, youre getting fat."

    Calls it like he sees it. Been a lazy bum every since the marathon in Oct. It shows in my belly.

    haha. I am carrying an extra few right now, and only in my belly, but can lose it in like 2 weeks of running. I'll get lazy for a stretch, and then be real active for a stretch. my stamina seems to come back quickly when I run tho, I don't think I've done much permanent damage to my stamina from smoking that I can tell.

    I used to vape, but it got old. I like my bong
    Edited By: TheWacoKidd Jan 18th, 2012 at 03:19 AM
     1
  28. I don't get the whole vape thing. I mean i GET it, but isn't part of the fun of smoking pot being able to blow smoke rings after a solid hit of kush?
  29.  
    Originally Posted by Reech View Post

    i feel smart when i read AbQ posts. if only your prof spoke in morgan freeman's voice, that'd be the tits.

    I feel like a fucking retard when I read them.

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