[math-fun] Where the Buffalo roam
Okay, so who _else_ was annoyed as a child by the ambiguity of the phrase "and the skies are not cloudy all day"? (I mean, are the skies merely not cloudy-all-day, or are they actually not-cloudy all day?) This has bothered me for as long as I can remember. That's not exactly a mathematical issue, but part of the skill-set of the mathematician is knowing how to be extremely literal (whereas part of the deficit-set of many mathematicians is not knowing how not to be!). Which reminds me of an idea I have an idea for a cartoon, captioned "Over-thinking preschooler", showing a toddler sitting in a circle playing a clapping game, thinking to himself "I'm happy, but do I know it?" Jim P.S. The juxtaposition of the words "Buffalo" and "roam" bothers me because Buffalo and Rome are both cities in New York state, but that's another thing entirely.
How about "All that glitters is not gold" ? --Dan On May 7, 2014, at 10:01 AM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
Okay, so who _else_ was annoyed as a child by the ambiguity of the phrase "and the skies are not cloudy all day"? (I mean, are the skies merely not cloudy-all-day, or are they actually not-cloudy all day?)
This has bothered me for as long as I can remember.
That's not exactly a mathematical issue, but part of the skill-set of the mathematician is knowing how to be extremely literal (whereas part of the deficit-set of many mathematicians is not knowing how not to be!).
Which reminds me of an idea I have an idea for a cartoon, captioned "Over-thinking preschooler", showing a toddler sitting in a circle playing a clapping game, thinking to himself "I'm happy, but do I know it?"
Jim
P.S. The juxtaposition of the words "Buffalo" and "roam" bothers me because Buffalo and Rome are both cities in New York state, but that's another thing entirely. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
P.S. That's a great cartoon idea. But for the New Yorker I'd omit the explanatory caption. --Dan On May 7, 2014, at 10:01 AM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
Okay, so who _else_ was annoyed as a child by the ambiguity of the phrase "and the skies are not cloudy all day"? (I mean, are the skies merely not cloudy-all-day, or are they actually not-cloudy all day?)
This has bothered me for as long as I can remember.
That's not exactly a mathematical issue, but part of the skill-set of the mathematician is knowing how to be extremely literal (whereas part of the deficit-set of many mathematicians is not knowing how not to be!).
Which reminds me of an idea I have an idea for a cartoon, captioned "Over-thinking preschooler", showing a toddler sitting in a circle playing a clapping game, thinking to himself "I'm happy, but do I know it?"
Jim
P.S. The juxtaposition of the words "Buffalo" and "roam" bothers me because Buffalo and Rome are both cities in New York state, but that's another thing entirely. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
Also, do people seldom say discouraging things, or is the word "seldom" heard as a discouraging word in and of itself? --Michael On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 1:01 PM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
Okay, so who _else_ was annoyed as a child by the ambiguity of the phrase "and the skies are not cloudy all day"? (I mean, are the skies merely not cloudy-all-day, or are they actually not-cloudy all day?)
This has bothered me for as long as I can remember.
That's not exactly a mathematical issue, but part of the skill-set of the mathematician is knowing how to be extremely literal (whereas part of the deficit-set of many mathematicians is not knowing how not to be!).
Which reminds me of an idea I have an idea for a cartoon, captioned "Over-thinking preschooler", showing a toddler sitting in a circle playing a clapping game, thinking to himself "I'm happy, but do I know it?"
Jim
P.S. The juxtaposition of the words "Buffalo" and "roam" bothers me because Buffalo and Rome are both cities in New York state, but that's another thing entirely. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- Forewarned is worth an octopus in the bush.
Antecedents are fun too. Michael Genesereth shared this one in a class: "He dropped an egg on the table and it broke." On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 10:12 AM, Michael Kleber <michael.kleber@gmail.com> wrote:
Also, do people seldom say discouraging things, or is the word "seldom" heard as a discouraging word in and of itself?
--Michael
On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 1:01 PM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
Okay, so who _else_ was annoyed as a child by the ambiguity of the phrase "and the skies are not cloudy all day"? (I mean, are the skies merely not cloudy-all-day, or are they actually not-cloudy all day?)
This has bothered me for as long as I can remember.
That's not exactly a mathematical issue, but part of the skill-set of the mathematician is knowing how to be extremely literal (whereas part of the deficit-set of many mathematicians is not knowing how not to be!).
Which reminds me of an idea I have an idea for a cartoon, captioned "Over-thinking preschooler", showing a toddler sitting in a circle playing a clapping game, thinking to himself "I'm happy, but do I know it?"
Jim
P.S. The juxtaposition of the words "Buffalo" and "roam" bothers me because Buffalo and Rome are both cities in New York state, but that's another thing entirely. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- Forewarned is worth an octopus in the bush. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- -- http://cube20.org/ -- http://golly.sf.net/ --
My daughter says, "I'm a linguist, which means I like ambiguity more than most people." On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 1:23 PM, Tom Rokicki <rokicki@gmail.com> wrote:
Antecedents are fun too. Michael Genesereth shared this one in a class:
"He dropped an egg on the table and it broke."
On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 10:12 AM, Michael Kleber <michael.kleber@gmail.com> wrote:
Also, do people seldom say discouraging things, or is the word "seldom" heard as a discouraging word in and of itself?
--Michael
On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 1:01 PM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
Okay, so who _else_ was annoyed as a child by the ambiguity of the phrase "and the skies are not cloudy all day"? (I mean, are the skies merely not cloudy-all-day, or are they actually not-cloudy all day?)
This has bothered me for as long as I can remember.
That's not exactly a mathematical issue, but part of the skill-set of the mathematician is knowing how to be extremely literal (whereas part of the deficit-set of many mathematicians is not knowing how not to be!).
Which reminds me of an idea I have an idea for a cartoon, captioned "Over-thinking preschooler", showing a toddler sitting in a circle playing a clapping game, thinking to himself "I'm happy, but do I know it?"
Jim
P.S. The juxtaposition of the words "Buffalo" and "roam" bothers me because Buffalo and Rome are both cities in New York state, but that's another thing entirely. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- Forewarned is worth an octopus in the bush. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- -- http://cube20.org/ -- http://golly.sf.net/ --
_______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
News from home: "While you've been away grandad has had his teeth out and a new grate put in." On 7 May 2014, at 18:59, Allan Wechsler wrote:
My daughter says, "I'm a linguist, which means I like ambiguity more than most people."
On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 1:23 PM, Tom Rokicki <rokicki@gmail.com> wrote:
Antecedents are fun too. Michael Genesereth shared this one in a class:
"He dropped an egg on the table and it broke."
On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 10:12 AM, Michael Kleber <michael.kleber@gmail.com> wrote:
Also, do people seldom say discouraging things, or is the word "seldom" heard as a discouraging word in and of itself?
--Michael
On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 1:01 PM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
Okay, so who _else_ was annoyed as a child by the ambiguity of the phrase "and the skies are not cloudy all day"? (I mean, are the skies merely not cloudy-all-day, or are they actually not-cloudy all day?)
This has bothered me for as long as I can remember.
That's not exactly a mathematical issue, but part of the skill-set of the mathematician is knowing how to be extremely literal (whereas part of the deficit-set of many mathematicians is not knowing how not to be!).
Which reminds me of an idea I have an idea for a cartoon, captioned "Over-thinking preschooler", showing a toddler sitting in a circle playing a clapping game, thinking to himself "I'm happy, but do I know it?"
Jim
P.S. The juxtaposition of the words "Buffalo" and "roam" bothers me because Buffalo and Rome are both cities in New York state, but that's another thing entirely. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- Forewarned is worth an octopus in the bush. _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- -- http://cube20.org/ -- http://golly.sf.net/ --
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_______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
The meaning and purpose of life is to give life purpose and meaning. The instigation of violence indicates a lack of spirituality.
participants (6)
-
Allan Wechsler -
Dan Asimov -
David Makin -
James Propp -
Michael Kleber -
Tom Rokicki