[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Radiolab: What is the most average size thing

Mon Dec 30 11:18:11 PST 2024

Re: - Average Size

Suggest picking some categories and then doing what VF Weiskopf called
Mountain Science [i.e. when you are hiking in the mountains with no toolto
do the calculating -- make estimates of things such as how tall a mountain
could be, how massive, etc

I would suggest -- what is the mean and median of objects [animate or
inanimate including things created by humans intentionally and
unintentionally] which float on the ocean [e.g. from micro-plankton to
Whales to Very Large Crude Carriers, Post PanaMax Container Ships,
Mini-city Cruise Ships, Ford Class Aircraft Carriers, etc] -- dimensions,
volume and mass

Ted

On Mon, Dec 30, 2024 at 11:01 AM Carl Lazarus via LCTG <lctg at lists.toku.us>
wrote:

> That Eames movie is wonderful.  On the Radiolab question, there is no
> answer because the question is too vague.  What counts as a thing?  Can you
> count both a collection and its components?
>
> On Sun, Dec 29, 2024 at 9:34 PM John Rudy via LCTG <lctg at lists.toku.us>
> wrote:
>
>> Look up powers of Ten Eames 1977
>>
>>
>>
>> John Rudy
>>
>>
>>
>> 781-861-0402
>>
>> 781-718-8334  cell
>>
>> 13 Hawthorne Lane
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/13+Hawthorne+Lane+Bedford+MA?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> Bedford MA
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/13+Hawthorne+Lane+Bedford+MA?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> jjrudy1 at comcast.net
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Robert Primak <bobprimak at yahoo.com>
>> *Sent:* Sunday, December 29, 2024 9:28 PM
>> *To:* 'Lexington Computer and Technology Group' <lctg at lists.toku.us>;
>> jjrudy1 at comcast.net
>> *Subject:* Re: [Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Radiolab: What is the
>> most average size thing
>>
>>
>>
>> That link doesn't work in the Chromium web browser.
>>
>>
>>
>> -- Bob Primak
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sunday, December 29, 2024 at 09:18:05 PM EST, <jjrudy1 at comcast.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> There was an interesting video made more than a decade ago that looked
>> at, as I recall, size.  It started with a person, and then grew, piece by
>> pice one order of magnitude to show what things are like at different
>> scales.  Then it did the same thing backwards by 1/10 at s time.  I recall
>> us showing the video at the club a long time ago.  Cannot recall what it
>> was called.
>>
>>
>>
>> See this video
>> https://www.google.com/search?q=video+progressively+making+units+biggr+by+a+factor+of+10&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1116US1116&oq=video+progressively+making+units+biggr+by+a+factor+of+10&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIHCAQQIRirAjIHCAUQIRiPAtIBCTI1MDgyajBqN6gCCLACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f8c8d350,vid:0fKBhvDjuy0,st:0
>>
>>
>>
>> John Rudy
>>
>>
>>
>> 781-861-0402
>>
>> 781-718-8334  cell
>>
>> 13 Hawthorne Lane
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/13+Hawthorne+Lane+Bedford+MA?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> Bedford MA
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/13+Hawthorne+Lane+Bedford+MA?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>
>> jjrudy1 at comcast.net
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* LCTG <lctg-bounces+jjrudy1=comcast.net at lists.toku.us> *On Behalf
>> Of *Robert Primak via LCTG
>> *Sent:* Sunday, December 29, 2024 8:47 PM
>> *To:* Lexington Computer and Technology Group <lctg at lists.toku.us>;
>> Peter Albin <palbin24 at yahoo.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Radiolab: What is the
>> most average size thing
>>
>>
>>
>> I agree about the second part being of a nonscientific interest. But
>> nonetheless, of some interest, I think. (Not to our group for meeting
>> purposes, of course.)
>>
>>
>>
>> The first part is interesting from a technology point of view. The
>> engineers in our group are always talking about doing "back of the
>> envelope" estimates of stuff, and that's exactly what this segment was
>> about. As with all such estimates, certain assumptions had to be made.
>>
>>
>>
>> I was curious about why the idea of the Universe being 10^93 meters
>> across (based on Cosmic Inflation, not the farthest that light has ever
>> traveled) was rejected out of hand. That would have made the estimate
>> orders of magnitude bigger. But the use of the Planck Distance does seem
>> reasonable, because below that size the fabric of space-time seems not to
>> be measurable as a distance.
>>
>>
>>
>> Interestingly enough, at least a couple of sets of their assumptions led
>> to the same result, but that might have been confirmation bias.
>>
>>
>>
>> Too bad this isn't a video, because that would make it more useful for a
>> meeting. But maybe someone in the group who is much better at math than I
>> am might try to develop a slide show based on these estimates, and explain
>> where some of the assumptions may have come from.
>>
>>
>>
>> -- Bob Primak
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 09:05:16 PM EST, Peter Albin via LCTG <
>> lctg at lists.toku.us> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Listen to the first half of this Radiolab podcast (~30 min) to answer
>>
>> the question:
>>
>>
>>
>> "First, after graduating from high school, without a clear plan for what
>>
>> to do next, Laura Andrews started asking herself a lot of questions. A
>>
>> spiral of big philosophical thoughts that led her to sit down and write
>>
>> to us with a question that was… oddly mathematical.  What is the most
>>
>> average size thing, if you take into account everything in the universe.
>>
>> So, along with mathematician Steven Strogatz, we decided to see if we
>>
>> could sit down and, in a friendly throwdown of guesstimates and quick
>>
>> calculations, rough out an answer. "
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.wnycstudios.org/story/average-show/
>>
>>
>>
>> If you are curious, the second segment ( specific moment in history when
>>
>> the world tried to find the "average" human body) is also interesting,
>>
>> though, less scientific!
>>
>>
>>
>> Peter
>>
>>
>>
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