ThursdayNext : www.jasperfforde.com
A discussion of all things Thursday !
Look before you leap
Posted by: Minsky Cat (---.vip.uk.com)
Date: December 03, 2002 09:10PM
<HTML>I wish to issue a warning to all you humans about the dangers of inadvertently jumping into non-fiction. Having spent a happy couple of hours in a book of Garfield cartoons chasing Odie up trees, followed by a most delicious meal provided by the cook in a nearby P G Wodehouse book, I then rashly decided to try a volume entitled "The Universe in a Nutshell", believing it to be science fiction. I came within an ace of crossing the event horizon of a black hole, never to be seen again, until I was rescued by a beaming, bespectacled, rather skinny human in a powered wheelchair, who introduced himself as the author. He very kindly directed me to a section of the book dealing with quantum mechanics, from which I was able to escape by the well-known process of tunnelling. I was so relieved that I did not even nurse any regrets about not having bumped into the odious Mr Schroedinger, against whom the entire cat world has sworn undying revenge.
I believe it is not always dangerous to jump into non-fiction; from what I have heard of them, the philosophical writings of Schopenhauer sound as though they would be an excellent place for a good snooze. My staff has actually read them, but she has no intention of going out and buying a copy for herself. Nonetheless, it is of the utmost importance to make quite certain you know what kind of book you are dealing with before taking the plunge.
I understand that my staff's mother has a book entitled "Birds of the British Isles". Now that _does_ sound promising...</HTML>
I believe it is not always dangerous to jump into non-fiction; from what I have heard of them, the philosophical writings of Schopenhauer sound as though they would be an excellent place for a good snooze. My staff has actually read them, but she has no intention of going out and buying a copy for herself. Nonetheless, it is of the utmost importance to make quite certain you know what kind of book you are dealing with before taking the plunge.
I understand that my staff's mother has a book entitled "Birds of the British Isles". Now that _does_ sound promising...</HTML>
Re: Look before you leap
Posted by: fuzz (---.cableinet.co.uk)
Date: December 04, 2002 04:51PM
<HTML>Schroedinger only killed a cat half of the time. Curiosity killed the whole one.</HTML>
Re: Look before you leap
Posted by: poetscientistdrinker (---.cache.pol.co.uk)
Date: December 04, 2002 06:18PM
<HTML>Erm, wasn't the cat both dead and alive until the curiosity kicked in?
I would have loved to see Einstein and Schroedinger on a gameshow...
"Is the cat dead? Did you say 'yes' then? 'Relative' - that's a long word isn't it?"
"Open the box!"
"Save the cat and take the money!"
I suppose that show would have been a bit ruined if there was some form of quantum yes/no state of answer....</HTML>
I would have loved to see Einstein and Schroedinger on a gameshow...
"Is the cat dead? Did you say 'yes' then? 'Relative' - that's a long word isn't it?"
"Open the box!"
"Save the cat and take the money!"
I suppose that show would have been a bit ruined if there was some form of quantum yes/no state of answer....</HTML>
Re: Look before you leap
Posted by: Kevinj (---.server.uk.worldonline.com)
Date: December 05, 2002 12:21AM
<HTML>Schroedinger is really annoyed that nobody realised that he was arguing against quantum theory.
The cat however was okay with it.</HTML>
The cat however was okay with it.</HTML>
Re: Look before you leap
Posted by: poetscientistdrinker (---.cache.pol.co.uk)
Date: December 05, 2002 12:26AM
<HTML>Somebody new! Please tell me you weren't looking for top-notch physical research, were you? I'd hate to think that we had perfected the elephant trap of the web... you know, big hole, branches over it, random assortment of attractive phrases as bait....</HTML>
Re: Look before you leap
Posted by: poetscientistdrinker (---.cache.pol.co.uk)
Date: December 05, 2002 12:28AM
<HTML>Actually, the cat must have been half-dead - every cat I've ever tried to get into a box has been bloody annoyed about the situation...</HTML>
Re: Look before you leap
Posted by: Minsky Cat (---.vip.uk.com)
Date: December 05, 2002 12:29PM
<HTML>My point exactly!</HTML>
Re: Look before you leap
Posted by: Sarah (---.vip.uk.com)
Date: December 05, 2002 12:35PM
<HTML>Kevin, he's a cat. A highly intelligent and somewhat unusual cat perhaps, but nonetheless, a cat. He doesn't care a dead vole whose side Schroedinger was on. His point is that humans should not put cats in boxes without their express permission. You should see him on the rare occasions when I have to take him to the vet.
Anyway, welcome to the Fforum, and nice to see you. Here's a bottle of dried frog pills. You're going to need them... ;-)</HTML>
Anyway, welcome to the Fforum, and nice to see you. Here's a bottle of dried frog pills. You're going to need them... ;-)</HTML>
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.