Register to leave a comment, or log in if you already have an account
Jester, not to diminish what you are going through, but I think that this time of year tends to wear people down. You definately need to give yourself a break and try to do something that will cheer you up. Also give your head a break; you can’t really think yourself out of these funks. This weekend is going to be beautiful. It is going to be very warm and sunny – one of those weekends that remind you that spring is around the corner. Why not plan to do something outside? For me, I am going to Coney Island and walk the boardwalk.
Probability predics distribution upon actual testing.
I can tell you the probability that there are no two shared birthdays in a room with 30 people through the calculation I proposed…
…Nothing to do at all with quantum theory. Nothing to do with dark rooms.”
Lechacal,
I’ll make this my last post on probability and physics today because I’m afraid of getting beaten with a math book.
But this is very interesting and expands on the entire discussion of probability.
Say instead of people you were talking about photons.
Say you shoot one million photons randomly through two slits on a lead screen onto a phosphorescent panel.
What you would see at the end of the experiment is a pattern where the random photons hit the phosphorescent screen. It would look like several lines.
Now, let’s say you shoot another million photons through only ONE of the two slits on the lead screen.
What would probability predict to be the appearance of pattern on the phosphorescent screen beyond the lead slit screen?
Probability would predict a single line, because you are aiming one million photons at a single slit 100% of the time.
In reality though this is not what happens!
What happens in this real life experiment is that you still get a pattern of several lines on the phosphorescent screen.
The conclusion that quantum mechanics makes is that there is NO outcome until the result is observed on the phosphorescent screen.
In effect, the photons shoot through all possible slits at the same time, despite the 100% probability of them only going through one.
We’ll be happy to slap some sense into the other half, IJ. 🙂 Everyone beats themselves up over something but it shouldn’t make you stop believing in who you are. You get a day to wallow in the problem and then you go back to doing what works best.
Rf – what you say makes sense about sheer numbers of Chinese immigrants to the US. I guess I was thinking that Chinese immigrants can sense a trend (hence sushi and Banh Mi joints) and open up shops they know will do well in a given area despite them NOT being of that culture…..
Oh my G-d- where else can you have entwining discussions of probability, ziti, Jamaican mathematicians, a veritable spate of “soul-searching” by Lech and a Schrodinger’s cat thrown in for good measure?
Rob – why are you making Ziti in a broiler? just put the pan in the oven at 350 for 45 mins with foil – the last 15 mins take foil off to have it brown on top and then let it sit out on the counter for another 15 mins to settle!
My coworker gave me a stuffed shells recipe. I plan to make it soon; I have a jar of butternut squash pasta sauce I bought a while ago and don’t know what to do with.
Jester, not to diminish what you are going through, but I think that this time of year tends to wear people down. You definately need to give yourself a break and try to do something that will cheer you up. Also give your head a break; you can’t really think yourself out of these funks. This weekend is going to be beautiful. It is going to be very warm and sunny – one of those weekends that remind you that spring is around the corner. Why not plan to do something outside? For me, I am going to Coney Island and walk the boardwalk.
By lechacal on February 16, 2011 2:42 PM
“Legion, these theories are very testable.
Probability predics distribution upon actual testing.
I can tell you the probability that there are no two shared birthdays in a room with 30 people through the calculation I proposed…
…Nothing to do at all with quantum theory. Nothing to do with dark rooms.”
Lechacal,
I’ll make this my last post on probability and physics today because I’m afraid of getting beaten with a math book.
But this is very interesting and expands on the entire discussion of probability.
Say instead of people you were talking about photons.
Say you shoot one million photons randomly through two slits on a lead screen onto a phosphorescent panel.
What you would see at the end of the experiment is a pattern where the random photons hit the phosphorescent screen. It would look like several lines.
Now, let’s say you shoot another million photons through only ONE of the two slits on the lead screen.
What would probability predict to be the appearance of pattern on the phosphorescent screen beyond the lead slit screen?
Probability would predict a single line, because you are aiming one million photons at a single slit 100% of the time.
In reality though this is not what happens!
What happens in this real life experiment is that you still get a pattern of several lines on the phosphorescent screen.
The conclusion that quantum mechanics makes is that there is NO outcome until the result is observed on the phosphorescent screen.
In effect, the photons shoot through all possible slits at the same time, despite the 100% probability of them only going through one.
Fascinating.
We’ll be happy to slap some sense into the other half, IJ. 🙂 Everyone beats themselves up over something but it shouldn’t make you stop believing in who you are. You get a day to wallow in the problem and then you go back to doing what works best.
My coworker gave me a pep talk, that I was deluding myself about deluding myself. It half worked.
Rf – what you say makes sense about sheer numbers of Chinese immigrants to the US. I guess I was thinking that Chinese immigrants can sense a trend (hence sushi and Banh Mi joints) and open up shops they know will do well in a given area despite them NOT being of that culture…..
Oh my G-d- where else can you have entwining discussions of probability, ziti, Jamaican mathematicians, a veritable spate of “soul-searching” by Lech and a Schrodinger’s cat thrown in for good measure?
Feeling better, jester?
Rob – why are you making Ziti in a broiler? just put the pan in the oven at 350 for 45 mins with foil – the last 15 mins take foil off to have it brown on top and then let it sit out on the counter for another 15 mins to settle!
My coworker gave me a stuffed shells recipe. I plan to make it soon; I have a jar of butternut squash pasta sauce I bought a while ago and don’t know what to do with.
Then she sent me an e-card to cheer me up:).