Comments on: The Presence and Absence of Santa http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/ Random samplings from a universe of ideas. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:09:16 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Garrett http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19032 Garrett Sat, 29 Jul 2006 16:57:55 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19032 Don't make light of that. Don’t make light of that.

]]> By: Cash http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19031 Cash Thu, 27 Jul 2006 20:37:28 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19031 And here I thought I was controversial trying to use Maxwell's Equations to understand women. And here I thought I was controversial trying to use Maxwell’s Equations to understand women.

]]> By: Qubit http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19030 Qubit Wed, 26 Jul 2006 20:27:52 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19030 Santa may not exist as a real person, but he is definitely an imaginary one. That may mean there is a theory, a real mathematical space time one, which matches Santa's existence in the imaginary world. Like all your fairy tale physics. It's funny, don't you think! That theoretical physics seem to match fairy tales. Say E=MC2; The emperor's new clothes, the title of the story, after which string theory pops up and you get the story, string's woven into fabrics (branes) which then are used to produce clothes (manifolds) and if the story came first, you would have still come up the title. I guess this is the story so far, but there is a lot more to the story... Does this story hold the key to the future of theoretical physics? The emperor has still yet to make his appearance in the parade... Wearing his brand new clothes. So who is the emperor? Pinocchio, Santa or the country where the finished theory originates? Is some 5 year old going to stand up and say "dudes... the emperor is naked! He has nothing on at all". But all of this just proves a future point; Santa can be proved real because you can prove that, he is not wearing any clothes. I think the point is... Not, is there a Santa? But who is Santa? And why can't we see our presents? They can't be many races in the universe, that's spent one hundred years writing a fairy tale out in mathematics without knowing it, that's beautiful! In a few hundred million years you might actually have made a movie :) Can wait to see Perseus kill the Gorgon Medusa using his mirrored shield... Or have I seen that one already? Qubit Santa may not exist as a real person, but he is definitely an imaginary one. That may mean there is a theory, a real mathematical space time one, which matches Santa’s existence in the imaginary world. Like all your fairy tale physics. It’s funny, don’t you think! That theoretical physics seem to match fairy tales. Say E=MC2; The emperor’s new clothes, the title of the story, after which string theory pops up and you get the story, string’s woven into fabrics (branes) which then are used to produce clothes (manifolds) and if the story came first, you would have still come up the title. I guess this is the story so far, but there is a lot more to the story… Does this story hold the key to the future of theoretical physics? The emperor has still yet to make his appearance in the parade… Wearing his brand new clothes. So who is the emperor? Pinocchio, Santa or the country where the finished theory originates? Is some 5 year old going to stand up and say “dudes… the emperor is naked! He has nothing on at all”. But all of this just proves a future point; Santa can be proved real because you can prove that, he is not wearing any clothes. I think the point is… Not, is there a Santa? But who is Santa? And why can’t we see our presents?

They can’t be many races in the universe, that’s spent one hundred years writing a fairy tale out in mathematics without knowing it, that’s beautiful! In a few hundred million years you might actually have made a movie :)
Can wait to see Perseus kill the Gorgon Medusa using his mirrored shield… Or have I seen that one already?

Qubit

]]> By: Spatulated http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19013 Spatulated Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:00:00 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19013 I don't recall how I found out about Santa being false. But I damn well proved the tooth fairy was a lie all on my own. Legos baby, legos. scatter those on the ground and the unsuspecting "tooth fairy" (my dad at the time) would have to make one hell of an effort not to blow his cover by screaming like a little girl (which he failed to do). I don’t recall how I found out about Santa being false. But I damn well proved the tooth fairy was a lie all on my own. Legos baby, legos. scatter those on the ground and the unsuspecting “tooth fairy” (my dad at the time) would have to make one hell of an effort not to blow his cover by screaming like a little girl (which he failed to do).

]]> By: Pacian http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19022 Pacian Wed, 26 Jul 2006 10:04:51 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19022 Lewis Wolpert, quoted in the third from last paragraph: <blockquote>"We have to both respect, if we can, the beliefs of others, and accept the responsibility to try and change them if the evidence for them is weak or scientifically improbable."</blockquote> Odd that Ms. Dean seems to agree with this sentence, but unconciously draws a line at changing belief in god/gods. Lewis Wolpert, quoted in the third from last paragraph:

“We have to both respect, if we can, the beliefs of others, and accept the responsibility to try and change them if the evidence for them is weak or scientifically improbable.”

Odd that Ms. Dean seems to agree with this sentence, but unconciously draws a line at changing belief in god/gods.

]]> By: Troublemaker http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19026 Troublemaker Wed, 26 Jul 2006 06:28:39 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19026 <i>Or any wiser?</i> It sure as hell made me wiser! I learned that I couldn't trust anyone, not even my parents! Or any wiser?

It sure as hell made me wiser! I learned that I couldn’t trust anyone, not even my parents!

]]> By: Sean http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19025 Sean Wed, 26 Jul 2006 06:26:14 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19025 It certainly made me wiser, in that I understood more accurately how the world works. "Better" is a judgment call, of course -- but all else being equal, it's better to be correct than incorrect, yeah. It certainly made me wiser, in that I understood more accurately how the world works. “Better” is a judgment call, of course — but all else being equal, it’s better to be correct than incorrect, yeah.

]]> By: Joao Carlos http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19024 Joao Carlos Wed, 26 Jul 2006 05:26:31 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19024 Tell me, Sean: when you fond out there was no Santa, did it make you any better? Or any wiser? Tell me, Sean: when you fond out there was no Santa, did it make you any better? Or any wiser?

]]> By: Garrett http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19023 Garrett Wed, 26 Jul 2006 03:54:38 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19023 Hey, make fun of nonexistent gods all you want, but don't mess with the <a href="http://sifter.org/~aglisi/stuff/Fairy.jpg" rel="nofollow">Tooth Fairy</a>. Hey, make fun of nonexistent gods all you want, but don’t mess with the Tooth Fairy.

]]> By: Ed http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/comment-page-1/#comment-19012 Ed Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:15:30 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/07/25/the-presence-and-absence-of-santa/#comment-19012 Don't forget Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. As it was written, "If you believe hard enough..." ROFLAPIMYP! Don’t forget Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. As it was written, “If you believe hard enough…”

ROFLAPIMYP!

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