nonsense

this is a true story

*time and identity unrevealed

one day there was an expedition of 9 to an island
they were to camp for one night and come back the next day

there were 5 boys and 3 girls. after dinner, 4 boys got bored, while the rest went to sleep. therefore 2 of the boys proposed going to town, which is about 2-3km away, they invited the other 2 boys to come along. they agreed

the night was cloudy, it was dark enough that you could barely see your hands if you stretch the as far as you can in front of you.

one of them had a weak 3-LED headband torch, the 2 began running without asking the opinions of the other 2 at all. the other 2 tried to keep up from behind. it was very dark, and the light from the torch ahead was weak. they were running in darkness

soon, however, the 2 in front got tired, and they rested at a rest hut. there was a map there, so they began to plan their route to the town

they decided to walk quickly instead of jogging as it was too tiring. when they reached the town, they all drank some beer. one of them finished early, and he went about town. he then came back with a stolen bike. the bike was meant for rental, but it was unlocked. the other 3 thought it was a great idea. so they went about the town searching bike rental stores or even people's houses for unlocked bike.

when they had got one for each of them, they decided to explore the island along its paved roads. along the way one of them saw an unlocked truck, and tried to find the key to start it. fortunately, he failed.

they all arrived at another map, then they searched about for a place to go to. they decided on the resort.

they cycled (would be much worse had they not bought a brighter torch, still very hard to see at all) to the resort.

the gates were locked, so they all climbed over the fence. they saw rock climbing walls, so they headed there. without safety they didnt climb high. there were also other crazy structures there meant for brave people to do.

they arrived at a bar by the swimming. it was unoccupied, they tried to take some drinks from the fridge, but it was locked. while they were trying to do that, the owner came. fortunately he didnt thought them trying to steal. so the 4 people bought some drinks from him. they lied to him that they were staying at the resort and etc.

then a stupid thing happened. 2 of them went to pee in the lake there. one of the properly did it in the shade. but unfortunately one of the did it in the light. some of the resort operators were there, and they stared at him. one of them came up to them, they ran. until they saw that he wasnt following anymore. unfortunately, it is just that he went to take his bike. so the 4 were caught.

so that the 4 lied. that they are staying in a non-existant room 203, that they are staying 4 in a room. the 4 were told to follow him. then one said that the other 2 of the other 3 were guest, and the guy told the other 2 to get out of the place. all of them went to the gate, and the guy told 2 to climb over and get lost.

all 4 climbed over and ran to their bikes and fled. just before they got back to camp, they decided to ditch the bikes. 4 bikes were ditched some distance from each other into the jungle. and they walked the rest of the way back to camp.

after that there was no trouble, and they got back home

Some Study Tips

Some Study Tips

first of all dont memorize
do not read then recite, repeat, repeat ad infinitum
it is useless
we remember things properly only when it is related to something
else  in any certain way

so i suggest reading without any attempt to remember at all, the entire
textbook
of course you must understand what you are reading
the point is to get some kind of 'map' of the subject you are studying
then when you to really study, you can kinda fit in the info into your 'map'
at all times, relate info with other info with other info...
the more 'links' you establish for your infos, the better you will remember
and because you remember infos in relation with each other you actually
use up less memory than those who memorize rote


how to link it???


relate it to other infos
in order to do it you must truly understand what you are learning
another thing is to identify the 'axioms'(to use a mathematical analogy,
it means something that is most fundamental it is used as a basis to
other more advanced stuff) of the topic you are learning
and not only the mechanical means to solutions
for example, with electromagnetism you have (at our level) that the
-magnetic lines of force flows from the north to the south pole of magnets
-and also when current is flowing towards you, the magnetic lines of
force it generates are anticlockwise around the wire



-and also that magnetic lines of force reinforce when in the same
direction(stronger)
-and also nature always tends to equilibrium( a gradient(kecerunan) in a
magnetic field cause the wire to move into the area where the magnetic
lines of force are lessed 'compressed' (close together))
it is not fundamental in physics, it is just fundamental in the topic
you are studying
that means it is fundamental in a sense that it is not DERIVED from
other more basic stuff, and also it is also a basis for other things you
learn in the topic
take our electromagnetism example, in the topic you learn about a live
wire moving when put into a magnetic field
you are also taught 'tangan kiri/kanan Fleming'
this 'tangan kiri/kanan Fleming' is used to solve problems such as the
wire in the magnetic field
this 'tangan kiri/kanan Fleming' is just a TOOL, it is DERIVED from the
fundamentals of the topic which we have outlined earlier
it is an INTERMEDiATE STEP between the FUNDAMENTAL and the PROBLEM
that is used to solve for
you can also work out the direction in which the wire will move by using
the FUNDAMENTALS (this is something like multiplication which is numbers
added together for a specified number of times, fpr example 3 x 3 is the
same as 3 + 3 +3 , that is 3, 3 times, or 3 times 3, that is essentially
what multiplication means)
now when you use a TOOL you are successful if you know how to USE it
you dont have to know how it WORKS
now you see the problem is sometimes, people use the tool so much the
forgot the fundamentals
now you see how important are LINKs dont you
you see somebody who only learns hos to USE the tool remembers the USAGE
of the tool and the FUNDAMENTELs of the topic SEPARATELY
therefore that somebody use more memory storage space and cant remember
them so well like a person who LINKS the stuff together can
GET IT???

good luck for your spm

damn good reply...

From: Dang <dang_357@m3net.net>
Subject: Re: +++++++ IS "GOD" REAL? ++++++++
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 17:01:17 -0400
Message-ID: <3BACFC1C.3BF7A8AD@m3net.net>
Lines: 124

Gold_Top wrote:

> Q) If energy can neither be created or destroyed, then how was it created in
> the first place??
>
> A) It can from the universal God mind/Spirit, which brought matter/energy in
> to place by becoming CONCIOUS of it.
>
> Perhaps you should check out some metaphysics to go with your other list of
> very interesting subjetcs that you have studied...
>
> Taff <taff@wales.com> wrote in message
> news:9a01ntg5vvoj82i6a60cnlnv5mh24j47h0@4ax.com...
> > The universe is the way it is because it is that way.
> >
> >
> > Taff. ( new to the group ).
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, 28 Jun 2001 08:27:56 GMT, BW <zl1xvettex@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> > >Do you know "SkepticL1" from the 49ers NG???  Never mind.  Here is a
> > >post that I sent in response to a thread he started entitled "No Such
> > >Thing as Jesus".
> > >
> > >> Religious stories, fables, myths, or whatever you'd like to call them
> > >> have been passed around since the dawn of time.  There are over 70
> > >> different cultures that have an account of the Great Flood with animals
> > >> on a ship, etc.
> > >>
> > >> What this really comes down to is a matter of Faith, or what do you
> > >> believe.  Like Dirty Harry once said, "You gotta ask yourself a
> > >> question: do I feel lucky?"
> > >>
> > >> I've spent the last 30 years studying science, hold a degree in
> > >> Chemistry, and firmly believe in the theories of evolution and the Big
> > >> Bang.  I've also studied religion and philosophy along the way.
> > >>
> > >> A few observations and scientific laws:
> > >>
> > >> 1.  Energy can neither be created, nor destroyed.
> > >> 2.  Matter can neither be created, nor destroyed, but its form can be
> > >> changed.
> > >> 3.  For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.
> > >> 4.  Life only comes from life.
> > >> 5.  Once something is proved, faith is no longer relevant concerning
> the
> > >> matter.
> > >> 6.  Today's fact can be tomorrow's fallacy, and vice versa.
> > >> 7.  The concept of time is relative only to one's frame of reference.
> > >> 8.  Sooner or later, it comes time to pay the Piper.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> What then is my point???
> > >>
> > >> If we accept the laws of science, the known Universe and everything in
> > >> it did not spring forth out of nothing. An energy that has always
> > >> existed, and contained life, will always exist, and had to be the
> origin
> > >> of everything we know.  The order, structure, and consistency of matter
> > >> and physical laws throughout the universe, from a macroscopic down to a
> > >> subatomic level, remain virtually unchanged irrespective of any
> > >> conditions or venue we might try to impose, and discrepancies are
> either
> > >> a case of limited understanding or observational error.
> > >>
> > >> The world as we know it did not come into existence by some grandiose
> > >> accident.  Even then, who or what is responsible for the accident???
> > >> Someone or something, call it what you will, had to have a design in
> > >> place for it to work.
> > >>
> > >> Either you believe in a higher power, or you must then conclude that
> man
> > >> is the highest form of being.  Or did the Space Aliens colonize our
> > >> planet???  No problem.  Just tell me who created the Space Aliens.
> > >>
> > >> My response is not to "shove religion down your throat" or anything
> like
> > >> that.  Were I to possess all the answers, I would write a book.
> > >>
> > >> But if you're man enough, or woman enough as the case may be, then take
> > >> this simple challenge: appeal to the Higher Power to make known its
> > >> presence to you.
> > >>
> > >> After that, keep an open mind, and wait to see what happens...
> > >>
> > >
> > >I firmly believe that there is a Higher Power that created this Universe
> > >and I'll spend the rest of my life trying to gain a minute
> > >understanding.
> > >
> > >
> > >BW
> >
> >

Gold Top, BW: You're both assuming it was created. The concepts of causality
you are familiar with from everyday life and "classical" (pre-quantum) science
are not guaranteed to work the same way at the top or bottom end of the scale.

(In fact, they are known not to at least at the bottom end (bottom of what
we've discovered, anyway), and, with some qualifying restrictions, energy and
matter do come into existence out of nothing, and vanish back into
nothingness.)

There is no solid foundation for the idea that the universe was brought into
existence. There are a lot of questions, and something related to consciousness
may have something to do with the answers, but we're a long way from certainty
of those answers.

We all have a natural tendency to want to know "what came before ________" or
"what caused _____" but there are situations in which those questions are
literally meaningless. The challenge (IMO) is to discover the right sorts of
questions, find ways of testing and answering those, and then integrate that
knowledge into what's already known.

Faith is faith. One is entitled to it, and may well be right about it, but
generalized conclusions from science, mixed in with assumptions that are not
borne out by factual evidence, don't prove or disprove the validity of one's
faith.

Dang

The Plight of carbonferum

The Plight of carbonferum

Ok, this was inspired by “The Speaker of  the Dead” by Orson Scott Card.
Yeah, I know. I’m weird.


carbonferum is my friend. Over the course of approximately 3 years, I got to know him quite well. And I understood his plight. carbonferum is suffering, he wants something that he doesn’t have. He is in a plight because the thing he wants, he inadvertently and unknowingly prevents himself from achieving. It is ironic. It is sad.

carbonferum believes in knowledge. He believes it as a matter of faith. He nevertheless, does not agree with me. He thinks his belief in knowledge is somehow “justified” without actually trying to justify it at all. I have probed him to get him to explain his source for his belief in knowledge. He gives vague answers, then leads off-topic. I catch him, he merely shuts up. He does not seem to be even sure of what he means by knowledge. He spends a lot of time reading factual texts. And he takes pride in understanding and recalling them.

Yet he contradicts himself. Let me give you an example. carbonferum has long been interested in Physics. And in school, when the teacher is teaching a certain topic. We would, since we would already very quickly understood what was taught, discuss the current topic in more detail. As I have stated, he takes pride in understanding and recalling facts. So what he would do is bring up quite a number of facts, mostly in the form of  “Did you know…?”. I am more interested in the meaning and significance of facts. I like to observe how the teacher teaches the students in our class. The futility of the method employed. The passive way the students received the teachings. I was sad and frustrated in the lack of true understanding and misunderstanding of the subject and the purpose of it being taught. Then of course, I will voice my opinion to carbonferum, who would then use what I have said to make some statements that, to him, supposedly justify his interest in facts. But always, and frustratingly so, he would, in his enthusiasm, totally miss my point. He would then criticize the others for not being able to understand what the teacher was teaching. He would the criticize their lack of reading. Then he would ask a friend of ours, petersp88, a physics question resembling “Do you know what is a photon?”. And then petersp88 would say that he don’t know. Then carbonferum would shake his head as if petersp88 did something sad. And say something like, “Why do you, in your obsession with grades, neglect general knowledge?”. From this, you can see that carbonferum considers knowledge of what is a photon, general knowledge.

Now let me take you to Biology class. We would be studying a lot of names of an organism’s or its constituents’ parts. And a lot of Greek derived or Greek names would be used. He would then rant on the pointlessness of studying biology. I would then bring back what he said in Physics class; something like “You said that knowledge of what a photon is is general knowledge”. Then I would ask him why some things in biology are not general knowledge too. Then I would tell him that all the things he considered general knowledge, he already knows, and takes pride in knowing. And yet he complains about biology simply because he does not like it. He would then either by changing the topic or shutting up, ignore what I just said.

carbonferum’s performance in school is moderate. But since meeting me, his exam results have been getting worse. Yes, I did influence him, but not intentionally. You see, I am the kind of person who can easily understand what is being taught in school. Unfortunately, I’m not that kind of person who excels or even does well in school. Now, why is that? People never seem to understand why.

I don’t know since when, but as I grew up, I began to question the things I have so easily accepted when I was young. I threw, without hesitation, away those beliefs I held that I consider to be unjustified. I sought to address the inconsistencies that seem to pop out into my notice everywhere where I had not noticed them before. I sought coherence in life. And I was in the Malaysian school education system. Things naturally would go bad. There came to point where I did not care about school, I didn’t do homework, I never studied. But instead, I began intensive study on my own. But that is my story. Lets get back to carbonferum.

carbonferum was unconsciously influenced by my “laziness”. That happened because carbonferum sorta think I am “better” than “the others”. Now carbonferuem is a selfish and arrogant person, although he does not seem to be aware of it. He therefore has few friends. That is how he inadvertently got influenced by my “laziness”. So his grades plumetted. Being the proud man he is, he had to come up with an excuse for that. And so, he began using my arguments against the education system, for himself.

Now carbonferum fell in love with a girl. But when he confessed his feelings to her, she aggresively rejected him. They were once friends, but after that incident, she wouldn’t even talk to him anymore. carbonferum was really hurt, and he tried again and again to win her back without really understanding why she rejected him in the first place. Neither did he understand why everyone dislikes him. Sometimes he tries to help others, but he does this in a condescensing manner. And he doesn’t even notice his true motives for helping people, which is to merely satisfy his ego, his “justification” for his obsession with facts.

carbonferum wants to feel special, he thinks that he is superior in intellect to others.

That is why carbonferum is in plight. I have no idea how to help him. No matter how I advice him, he either don’t seem to get it, or is too stubborn to listen. I am now asking help from anyone: is there a way to help carbonferum?

search xdcc.py

//some lousy code to use many web xdcc searches
//it sucks
//teach me if you can, how to improve it
//thankyou
from os import system
from sys import argv
url=[]
extra='+xdcc'
url.append('http://www.packetnews.com/search.php?type=0&kw='+argv[1])
url.append('http://www.ircspy.com/search.asp?searchtext='+argv[1])
url.append('http://www.ircklipper.info/search.php?Description='+argv[1])
url.append('http://isohunt.com/files.php?ihq='+argv[1]+'&ext=&op=and')
url.append('http://gogloom.com/XDCC?q='+argv[1]+'&submit=Go')
url.append('http://www.mydownloader.com//default.asp?searchstring='+argv[1]+'&submit=Go')
url.append('http://searchirc.com/search.php?I='+argv[1]+extra+'&submit=Go')
url.append('http://irc.netsplit.de/channels/?query='+argv[1]+extra+'&submit=Go')
for i in range(0,7):
     system('e: & cd \\ & \"Program Files\\Opera\\opera.exe\" \"'+url[i]+'\"')

fallacy of the undistributed middle

All accountants are tennis players.
All youngsters are tennis players.
Therefore all accountants are youngsters.

To me it is obvious that the third statement DOES NOT follow from the first two premises. It is an INVALID syllogism. It is INVALID logic. It can clearly be seen in set notation:

That is basically what the three statements meant. As you can see now, the third statement is clearly ridiculous. The fallacy arises because of thinking that the statements mean:

Accountants = tennis players
Youngsters = tennis players
Accountants = Youngsters

That is false because we don’t mean accountants IS tennis players, we mean accountants ARE tennis players. tennis players is a category, and the accountants are categorized in it.

<--is that not possible?(i.e. complying with the premises of the syllogism)

That piece of erroneous deductive logic occurred to me in TOK* class in school today. The whole class including the teacher thought it was valid.


what do you think eh?

(more information:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy_of_the_undistributed_middle)

*TOK (Theory of Knowledge) is a subject that is compulsory for students taking the IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma course.