If You Know Math Then You Might Be...

[Melusine]

...an engineer. I just posted this elsewhere, and some of these really do fit some people here (and I say that with a smile). :razz:


You have no life - and you can PROVE it mathematically.
You enjoy pain.
You know vector calculus but you can't remember how to do long division.
You chuckle whenever anyone says "centrifugal force".
You've actually used every single function on your graphing calculator.
It is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.
You frequently whistle the theme song to "MacGyver".
You know how to integrate a chicken and can take the derivative of water.
You think in "math".
You've calculated that the World Series actually diverges.
You hesitate to look at something because you don't want to break down its wave function.
You have a pet named after a scientist.
You laugh at jokes about mathematicians.
The Humane society has you arrested because you actually performed the Schrodinger's Cat experiment.
You can translate English into Binary.
You can't remember what's behind the door in the engineering building which says "Exit".
You have to bring a jacket with you, in the middle of summer, because there's a wind-chill factor in the lab.
You are completely addicted to caffeine.
You avoid doing anything because you don't want to contribute to the eventual heat-death of the universe.
You consider ANY non-engineering course "easy".
When your professor asks you where your homework is, you claim to have accidentally determined its momentum so precisely, that according to Heisenberg it could be anywhere in the universe.
The "fun" center of your brain has deteriorated from lack of use.
You'll assume that a "horse" is a "sphere" in order to make the math easier.
The blinking 12:00 on someone's VCR draws you in like a tractor beam to fix it.
You bring a computer manual / technical journal as vacation reading.
The salesperson at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions.
You can't help eavesdropping in computer stores... and correcting the salesperson.
You're in line for the guillotine... it stops working properly... and you offer to fix it.
You go on the rides at Disneyland and sit backwards to see how they do the special effects.
You have any "Dilbert" comics displayed in your work area.
You have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work.
You have never backed up your hard drive.
You haven't bought any new underwear or socks for yourself since you got married.
You spent more on your calculator than on your wedding ring.
You think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep.
You would rather get more dots per inch than miles per gallon
You've ever calculated how much you make per second.
Your favorite James Bond character is "Q," the guy who makes the gadgets.
You understood more than five of these jokes.
You make a copy of this list, and post it on your door (or your home page !)http://www.gdargaud.net/Humor/Engineer.html

[ASEI]

Hey! Awesome list!

You have no life - and you can PROVE it mathematically. Proving it mathematically is beneath me. All you need to do to do that is tabulate free time per week (for simplicity, you can lump in sleep under free-time). We have Excell for that.

You'll assume that a "horse" is a "sphere" in order to make the math easier. For spacecraft attitude dynamics, the assumption of centrobaricity for the horse may be insufficient, as it does not take into account the gravity torque. :D A central inertia ellipsoid would probably suffice.

You are completely addicted to caffeine. If only there was a direct IV from my pot to my arm!

You have any "Dilbert" comics displayed in your work area. Guilty. And the cartoon happens to perfectly describe the group dynamics of my design team. :D

[Celestial Mechanic]

You know vector calculus but you can't remember how to do long division.
Not true! Not only do I remember how to do long division, I even remember the pencil and paper algorithm for square roots! I even attempted square roots on an abacus! I also programmed that as an algorithm in 6502 assembler (since the 6502, like most early microprocessors, did not have a floating-point coprocessor).

Serious problems here! ;) :dance: :lol:

[Gillianren]

I fit about five of them. What does that tell you? (For what it's worth, the best Far Side collection I've ever seen was in the ichthyology department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.)

[TheBlackCat]

Here are the ones that apply to me:
You know vector calculus but you can't remember how to do long division.
-Not technically true, I can do polynomial long division in the few instances where it applies to Z-transforms but I can't do numeric long division.

You've actually used every single function on your graphing calculator.
-Not only that, but I know what nearly all of them do by heart.

It is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.
-outside is overrated

You frequently whistle the theme song to "MacGyver".
-Again not technically true, I wistle the theme to "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest", but this is probably worse because not only is it a show about action-hero uber-nerds it is a cartoon about action hero uber-nerds.

You think in "math".
-as do all my friends. One of my female friends almost beat up another one of my female friends because she wouldn't stop talking accidentally diverting the conversation into math or science topics while we were hanging out at a bar.

You laugh at jokes about mathematicians.

You can translate English into Binary.
-Easy, although not without an ascii table

You have to bring a jacket with you, in the middle of summer, because there's a wind-chill factor in the lab.
-not to mention major negative pressure applied to the entire floor

You consider ANY non-engineering course "easy".
-the business school students said that the intermediate microeconmics course I took was the hardest course in the entire deparment. It was the third easiest course I took (following introductory microeconomics and intermediate macroeconomics).

You'll assume that a "horse" is a "sphere" in order to make the math easier.
-We refer to the "engineers chicken" but basically yes. I actually literally did this with the human head (a homogenous sphere in fact), and primary visual cortex neurons too for that matter.

The blinking 12:00 on someone's VCR draws you in like a tractor beam to fix it.
-I got in trouble a lot as a kid for "fixing" the electronics in my parents' friends' houses.

You bring a computer manual / technical journal as vacation reading.
-MatLab Programming for Engineers, generally. Just in case I want to do any MatLab programming while there.

The salesperson at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions.
-they get really flustered when you ask them questions they don't know the answer to

You can't help eavesdropping in computer stores... and correcting the salesperson.
-only after the salesperson left

You go on the rides at Disneyland and sit backwards to see how they do the special effects.
-only when it is not extremely obvious to begin with, which it usually is

You have any "Dilbert" comics displayed in your work area.
-A dilbert calander and I keep the good ones. I used to post them on my bulletin board but I don't have one anymore

You have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work.
-I have a chest (looks just like a full-sized treasure chest) full of dismembered electronics

You would rather get more dots per inch than miles per gallon
-I don't have a car, I got an apartment 5 minutes from the engineering department so I wouldn't have to waste time driving and parking

Your favorite James Bond character is "Q," the guy who makes the gadgets.
-Isn't he everybody's?

You understood more than five of these jokes.
-wow I am such a loser

[snarkophilus]

You think in "math".
-as do all my friends. One of my female friends almost beat up another one of my female friends because she wouldn't stop talking accidentally diverting the conversation into math or science topics while we were hanging out at a bar.
Ha ha! I've seen the exact same thing! What are the odds? (Don't calculate that!) In my bar-going days, we used to have competitions like who could solve certain integrals first, who could write the most Greek letters in 30 seconds, and similar geeky games. For added fun, take the same number of drinks as you placed in each round.

You bring a computer manual / technical journal as vacation reading.
Usually chemistry or physics texts. The last one was on EPR spectroscopy, and I got through 600 pages of it in a week and a half.

Your favorite James Bond character is "Q," the guy who makes the gadgets.
I'm partial to the women, myself.

[Van Rijn]

Nice list. A few that apply:

You've actually used every single function on your graphing calculator.


Well, that always used to be true. I have to admit I haven't fully exercised my last two calculators.

It is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.


The key word there is "sunny." Sun is to be avoided! It burns us!


You frequently whistle the theme song to "MacGyver".


No, not true. MacGyver is a wimp.


You laugh at jokes about mathematicians.


Your point is . . . ?


You can translate English into Binary.


I can do it from memory in ASCII. For EBCDIC, I'd need the table.


You are completely addicted to caffeine.


That's what the IV is for.


You avoid doing anything because you don't want to contribute to the eventual heat-death of the universe.


Also, the wastefullness demonstrated in stories like this:

http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?t=40740

really bothers me. I think there should be a push for fuel efficient stars.


The blinking 12:00 on someone's VCR draws you in like a tractor beam to fix it.

Also clocks. There are only two choices: Fix it, or hide the clock display so the blinking isn't visible. People that can ignore the blinking amaze me.


You bring a computer manual / technical journal as vacation reading.


I've been known to take computer manuals backpacking.

The salesperson at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions.

Seriously true. I want to know all the details of any device I'm going to buy. I usually start by comparing instruction manuals. The web has been a great help in gathering useful information. Preweb finding the right AV receiver, TV, etc. was a nightmare.

You can't help eavesdropping in computer stores... and correcting the salesperson.


I usually just snicker these days, but I used to be a real terror, especially in the days when there were several different common computer architectures and really funky software details mattered.


You go on the rides at Disneyland and sit backwards to see how they do the special effects.

Half the fun is figuring out the tricks.


You have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work.


Not so much anymore - I can usually put it back together again. But when I was young, I was a terror. I remember this nice radio with this interesting dial/pulley gizmo. Came apart real easy . . . then there was the panic when I realized I couldn't get it back together again. 'Course, I paid my damage back by installing and fixing most home electrical and plumbing.

I still occasionally take things apart for the heck of it. There are parts of a CD changer around here somewhere, and I have my electronics hobby table.

[mugaliens]

You actually take the time to respond to each and every line of a long list of math jokes.

[Argos]

You think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep.

I´ve seen people doing that when the talk was about Proust...:)

[HenrikOlsen]

It is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.
Yes
You frequently whistle the theme song to "MacGyver".
I don't like him, his solutions too often defy physics.
You think in "math".
Yes
You laugh at jokes about mathematicians.
Yes
You can translate English into Binary.
Yes
You have to bring a jacket with you, in the middle of summer, because there's a wind-chill factor in the lab.
Not only wind-chill, but active cooling as well.
You are completely addicted to caffeine.
Oh yes.
You'll assume that a "horse" is a "sphere" in order to make the math easier.
No, a horse is not a sphere, it's a torus.
The blinking 12:00 on someone's VCR draws you in like a tractor beam to fix it.
Yes
You bring a computer manual / technical journal as vacation reading.
Multiple, downloaded to the palmpilot
The salesperson at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions.
Occationally, though not consistently, they can actually answer the questions "Do you have ... in stock?" and "How much is it?"
You have any "Dilbert" comics displayed in your work area.
No, but the scepchicks calendar is on the wall.
You would rather get more dots per inch than miles per gallon
Yes
You've ever calculated how much you make per second.
2.5¢ working, -0.06¢ not working, making the breakeven free time/work ratio about 42, which is approximately what I do.
Your favorite James Bond character is "Q," the guy who makes the gadgets.
Well, duh!

[ToSeek]

You've ever calculated how much you make per second.

At boring NASA meetings, I used to estimate how much the meeting was costing taxpayers every second.

[Trebuchet]

Only a few of the above. But what if you daydream about improved machinery for hurling pumpkins?

[Andromeda321]

A lot of those appear on the "you might be a physicist if..." sorts of lists too. Plus a few other things, of course, because we all know if physics were any easier they'd call it engineering!

*scurries away*

[Celestial Mechanic]

A lot of those appear on the "you might be a physicist if..." sorts of lists too. Plus a few other things, of course, because we all know if physics were any easier they'd call it engineering!
In one of my dialogues (I'll have to look it up and provide a link) I was describing physics as the application of second-order differential equations and BH declared that that's only engineering, it doesn't become physics until you add group theory! :)

[TheBlackCat]

Plus a few other things, of course, because we all know if physics were any easier they'd call it engineering!

*scurries away*
Or if it was of any use.

*grabs a frying pan and chases after*


If it’s green or wriggles, it’s biology.
If it stinks, it’s chemistry.
If it doesn’t work, it’s physics.
If it is useful, it’s engineering.


Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them.
-James A. Michener

[Celestial Mechanic]

BTW: Excellent post, Melusine! :clap: :dance: :clap:

[GDwarf]

# The salesperson at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions.
# You can't help eavesdropping in computer stores... and correcting the salesperson.
It's been years since they could answer any of my questions, it distresses me that most of the salespeople at my local electronics store have never even heard of a computer's bus, never mind telling me something about it.
And as for whether the RAM is synchronous or not, forget it!

Actually, apparently I'm an engineer before I've even left highschool, which obviously leads to the conclusion that engineering is a lifestyle, not a profession. (Actually, that would make a great sig line, now that I think about it.)

[Melusine]

A lot of those appear on the "you might be a physicist if..." sorts of lists too. Plus a few other things, of course, because we all know if physics were any easier they'd call it engineering!

*scurries away*
LOL! That's why I changed the title a bit...it's really about "math-based people."

Before I moved to Texas, I had much firsthand, social-experience with engineers. My best friend from high school dated one for seven years. She, he, my sister, her sister (whose computer programming husband died in the WTC on 9/11, not b/c he worked there, but b/c he was a perfectionist and wanted to set up a demo for a client bright and early) were all up at UCONN (Univ. of Connecticut). Let's call him Ajax from here on. Ajax was at the UCONN School of Engineering. See if you recognize yourself in any of this:

Everything was turned into a game. Ajax and friends weren't nerds, and I hate to say this, but they were all pot-smoking engineers while in school and even afterwards (I was not, I'd be dull and asleep if so). I'm not condoning that, but Ajax went on to design airplane engine parts for Boeing. Go figure.

When I'd go up to UCONN to visit, besides all those Penta, Risk, and strategy games, Monopoly had its own set of rules. Ajax could get me to do anything, such as, say, sticking a cigarette in my mouth with it closed, putting out matches in my mouth, or other such bodily abuse one might be scared to try. "Trust me," he'd say, and I did. Lol. Out of school, Ajax roomed in a large house with several other engineers. The first edition Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary were popular at the time, and Ajax and I made a good team against three other people. (No, I didn't covet my friend's boyfriend, it was just I could draw, and he could guess, my pop-culture knowledge up to the 90's is good, the brown cards, etc).
He was competitive. It mattered only that I could help fill in some blanks. (Though he spoke Polish and Russian, and was very literary, too.)

Driving to Maine, every license plate became a game. Or we'd play forms of 20 Questions. At night on the frozen lake in complete blackness we'd throw ice-shards to see whose would go furthest--Ajax calculating all the time. Our cartoons then (1984-1992) were Bloom County, Doonesbury, Calvin & Hobbes (most notably the snowmen), and if you want to be my friend forever, Edward Gorey. Gillianren, The Far Side, too, which is superior to Dilbert, imo. Dilbert is just so true sometimes.**

There was no idle-mind time: if you sat on the couch, they'd pick up a magazine and read taglines to ads and you had to guess at what company's ad it was. You see, everything was a game or puzzle. I'd ask Ajax what he did at work exactly and he refused to talk about it. (He did roughly explain, but let's not addle Melusine's brain with engine parts, lol.) I also, *horror of horrors*, brought a date to their house once--a lawyer, who was quite psycho, actually just creepy. He didn't fit in with the games, and he was somewhat ignored. He was dressed all wrong, he looked like a Ken-Doll, my friend's reaction was, "I picture you with someone more outdoorsy-looking," and the engineers dismissed him. Engineers are good at criticizing one's dates. They were right, too, but I knew he was creepy all along. :D

I have pictures of our snowmen. His is a monster, mine is Van Gogh with his missing ear. It was always fun hanging out with them. Really, when I left for Houston, it was like entering a vapid, black hole leaving all those games behind. And too, how would I get by in life without sticking a lit cigarette in my mouth? Lol.

ToSeek, I do employees' payroll at work, so I did figure the policemen's pay per minute. Even innumerate people have their "math moments." In Second Grade, because of my fairly decent photographic memory, I was neck-in-neck first place with our multiplication tables (we had a board set up with race cars with our names on that). I taught myself cursive before we learned it in school on vacation in Maine with those little workbooks you'd buy at Woolworths, then had issues with telling time. I could deal with 3:00 or 3:30, but "a quarter after three?" I despised fractions, too!

I work with numbers all day, though on a superficial level. I can figure out all the per diems to match the computer, lol, and try to avoid calculators. Vocabulary and etymology is what interests me most, but I did come up with a great cost-saving idea for my company yesterday, and I order all the supplies, and Purchasing Dept luvs me, so I do have a very practical side to all my musings and strange locutions. <---> Argos, you've haven't lived until you hear someone go on about plate tectonics at a party with a Norwegian.

Don't understimate English/Education majors and such, that major requires a lot of credits and writing (I didn't finish my degree in CT, since I moved). I do think Econ/PolySci is the easiest subject matter; I read some students' papers, plus I took an American Political Thought class and thought the paper was so easy to do compared to "Jape or Sincerity re the Pardoner's Puzzling Motives," or "The Microsm and Macrocosm in King Lear," and other such papers. Music History was actually difficult for many students (fun class) as was Logic.

The last math class I took was in 1992, and it was Conceptual Math. I did fine, lol, because I took the class in the summer by itself. He gave me a B, but I think it should have been a B+, but who am I to argue? I got a D+ on my first Physics test, studied hard, and came out with an A- for the semester. Unfortunately I think I forgot what I learned.

My very good friend got one question wrong on his SATs, and wrote in to find out what it was. I guess it would gnaw at you if you got ONE answer wrong. It was a math problem. He got his Phd in History. :razz:

Oceanography was a little more difficult than I anticpated b/c of some lab work I got a B+. (My step-sister took Oceanography really meaning to take Marine Biology, hello?) I like plate tectonics and wave pitch et al. :razz:

OK, I'm rambling. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. You are all geeks, for sure. I'm surprised Binary Man didn't post here; he definitely thinks in math. :)

Looking for a couple of gloaters: who did, in fact, get ALL the math section correct on their SATs? Really, no boasting allowed, but I'm genuinely curious about just the math section. Given that there are some very bad spellers haunting the Web, not everybody is well-rounded (except my friend, of course).

** Merriam-Webster's reported that in February:

Word Profile: fungible
The February 19 Dilbert (http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20060219.html) cartoon, which joked about the word fungible, sent that word skyrocketing into the position of 6th most-looked-up-word by the end of February. Click here (http://www.word.com/unabridged/archives/2006/03/word_profile_fu.html) for more on the word that Dilbert doesn't understand.

In March:
Word History of the Month: vendetta

Last month's theatrical release of V for Vendetta sent folks to the dictionary and pushed the word vendetta into the list of top 100 looked-up words. What's the history of vendetta? Click here (http://www.word.com/unabridged/archives/2006/04/word_history_of_3.html) to find out.

New Word Watch

Merriam-Webster editors are giving the following words serious consideration for entry in a Merriam-Webster dictionary:

* google [I]transitive verb, often capitalized [Google, trademark for a search engine] : to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web

* monkey pox noun : a rare virus disease especially of central and western Africa that is caused by a poxvirus, occurs chiefly in wild rodents and primates, and when transmitted to humans resembles smallpox but is milder

* ponzu noun [Japanese ponsu, ponzu juice squeezed from sour oranges, from Dutch pons, literally punch, from English punch] : tangy sauce made from citrus juice, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce and used especially on seafood.



I subscribe to Word of the Day, the Newsletters and the Unabridged version. Word of the Day very intersting, to me. (-:)-)

The blinking 12:00 on someone's VCR draws you in like a tractor beam to fix it.

I don't like them blinking, but I'd never turn them off.

[worzel]

You can count to 1024 on your fingers, with speed!

[Melusine]

Worzel, that's your addition to the list? My, my...

I still don't understand the chicken/water business. :think:

Regarding naming "pets after scientists," what does that say about the owner?

For e.g., I have one cat named after a literary figure, and the other after a well-known toy. People said I should have named Cat #2 after the obvious slayer of Cat #1, but I let cats' personalities determine their names. (We had a Morris-like cat named Cuckoo.) Does anyone have a cat named after a scientist or something mathematical?

[HenrikOlsen]

You can count to 1024 on your fingers, with speed!
1023

Counting to 31 on each hand is good exercise for dexterity.

[worzel]

1023I forgot to mention that I have an extra finger that I can only extend when my other ten digits are already extended :liar:

[hhEb09'1]

LOL! That's why I changed the title a bit...it's really about "math-based people."
Ah! you've been ToSeeked (http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?p=335458#post335458)

[Melusine]

Ah! you've been ToSeeked (http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?p=335458#post335458)
Ah, I never saw that thread. Really, I never saw that thread. I know there's another one somewhere here about engineers...couldn't locate it. Andromeda remembered the physics one naturally. I got mine off the Web site. I don't mind being ToSeeked from long ago--we can't expect people to search back for years before posting a new thread.

Being ToSeeked by oneself, now that would be special. :D

[Sigma_Orionis]

Ok. Here are mine:

- You have no life - and you can PROVE it mathematically.

Guilty as charged

- You enjoy pain.

If that means I must be a masochist, guilty as charged, mostly having to do with my big mouth everytime there is an IT problem of any kind

- You know vector calculus but you can't remember how to do long division.

Heh, I forgot how to do vector calculus, I do remember how to do a long division
- You chuckle whenever anyone says "centrifugal force".

Nope, but I snicker everytime somebody tries to tie in some new age sillyness to Relativity I usually ask: do you mean Special Relativity or General Relativity?

- You've actually used every single function on your graphing calculator.
Heh I have actually used every single funcion on my Cell phone :D

- It is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.

Sorry Can't understand Farenheit :lol:

- You frequently whistle the theme song to "MacGyver".

Heh, among other themes

- You know how to integrate a chicken and can take the derivative of water.

Not anymore :(

- You think in "math".

See above

- You've calculated that the World Series actually diverges.

:lol:

-You hesitate to look at something because you don't want to break down its wave function.

Well could be worse, I could be chanting "DeBroigle! DeBroigle!"

- You have a pet named after a scientist.

Nope, I wish I did though

- You laugh at jokes about mathematicians.

And engineers and physicists and people in IT

- The Humane society has you arrested because you actually performed the Schrodinger's Cat experiment.

Sorry I like Cats

- You can translate English into Binary.

Does SPANISH into binary count?

- You can't remember what's behind the door in the engineering building which says "Exit".

Heh, sometimes I forget what's beyond the front door of my house :)

- You have to bring a jacket with you, in the middle of summer, because there's a wind-chill factor in the lab.

Guilty as charged

- You are completely addicted to caffeine.

Nope

- You avoid doing anything because you don't want to contribute to the eventual heat-death of the universe.

I have better excuses for procastinating

- You consider ANY non-engineering course "easy".

Except anything to do with Financial Math

- When your professor asks you where your homework is, you claim to have accidentally determined its momentum so precisely, that according to Heisenberg it could be anywhere in the universe.

Last time I tried that I was flunked

- The "fun" center of your brain has deteriorated from lack of use.

Define "Fun"

- You'll assume that a "horse" is a "sphere" in order to make the math easier.

Who? me?

- The blinking 12:00 on someone's VCR draws you in like a tractor beam to fix it.

Heh, any clock that's not on time bugs me

- You bring a computer manual / technical journal as vacation reading.

Not anymore....

- The salesperson at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions.

I stopped asking them questions a long time ago

- You can't help eavesdropping in computer stores... and correcting the salesperson.

I learned to bite my tongue

- You're in line for the guillotine... it stops working properly... and you offer to fix it.

for a modical fee :)

- You go on the rides at Disneyland and sit backwards to see how they do the special effects.

Guilty as charged

- You have any "Dilbert" comics displayed in your work area.

Dilbert is not for Hard-Core IT people, the BOFH and User-Friendly are :D

- You have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work.

Ooops! got caught again!

- You have never backed up your hard drive.

hehehehehe, not in the last year

- You haven't bought any new underwear or socks for yourself since you got married.

Not married, still have to buy them

- You spent more on your calculator than on your wedding ring.
Probably

- You think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep.

People don't yawn around me, they run away

- You would rather get more dots per inch than miles per gallon

You bet, but I would measure it in Kilometers per liter

- You've ever calculated how much you make per second.

Don't want to get depressed, specially if I compare it to what the VP makes per second

- Your favorite James Bond character is "Q," the guy who makes the gadgets.

You mean there ARE other James Bond Characters?

- You understood more than five of these jokes.

YEP

- You make a copy of this list, and post it on your door

I will put it in my Blog :D

[snarkophilus]

1023

Counting to 31 on each hand is good exercise for dexterity.

You can count as high as you want so long as you set the offset sufficiently high. :)

Once you've mastered counting to 31, counting with a coin balanced on each finger is the next step. For something easier, try Gray code.

[Gillianren]

Don't understimate English/Education majors and such, that major requires a lot of credits and writing (I didn't finish my degree in CT, since I moved).

Or just being really good at convincing your professor that you'd done the reading, which is how I got through at least one quarter of college. (Then again, I read 115 books for a different quarter under the same instructor, so there it is.)

Oh, and my cat's named after an Eddie Izzard bit. What does that say about the people who named him?

[Melusine]

:razz: Or just being really good at convincing your professor that you'd done the reading, which is how I got through at least one quarter of college. (Then again, I read 115 books for a different quarter under the same instructor, so there it is.)
Honestly, I never lied about reading anything in any of my college classes--I really read everything. I inherited a lot of my mother's books, and she even had Cliff Notes, but not for reading--for considering things one might not have considered. One time for my Old English class I was honest--I just didn't do the homework for that night, and didn't bother with some excuse, which he would have seen past anyway. My Irish-very-stereotypical-looking-English-professor "harassed" me in class to set an example, but it was all wink-wink. But later my Bede's was stolen (with all my post-it notes, etc!) so I used a library version that had different line numbers and hence spent hours translating the whole Battle of Maldon unnecessarily...so that was my own payback, imo. I lied once: I was in Vermont with a friend, and didn't hand my Synoptic Hypothesis paper in time on Monday (for Word Lit), and said it was due being stuck there in a snow storm. I still did OK (he said it was the best paper he got), but he gave me an A--. WTH is an A--?? How is that different than a B++?? :rolleyes: He could be a jerk sometimes, and couldn't teach Logic to boot, though it was his first time. [Now, in 8th grade I read everything but what was assigned, except WOTH.....actually that whole year I did very little of what was assigned, but I did read some good books! :shifty: ]

Oh, and my cat's named after an Eddie Izzard bit. What does that say about the people who named him?

I'm not sure Gillianren. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Izzard I saw him in the Aristocrats documentary, though, and he can be a riot.

...too bad I need to get in the shower, I could try usurping the Math. :razz: I don't quite trust the Quarks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarks), however. Hmm.

[Melusine]

I was just kidding about usurping the Math; here, I dug this up from some of my photos of Johnson Space Center. I really needed an aeronautical-engineer-escort, but I like the little phrase on the bottom. (The glare picture is clearer than the non-glare one.)

If you can understand all of this, you are probably some form of nerd or geeky math person. :D (It's from Hangar #9)

http://img286.imageshack.us/img286/3587/cf2121f8236mg.th.jpg (http://img286.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cf2121f8236mg.jpg)

[ToSeek]

Being ToSeeked by oneself, now that would be special. :D

I've done that. :rolleyes:

[Gillianren]

I never lied, either. I was just really eloquent during seminar. Dave never seemed to notice that my "drawing of interesting parallels" was stronger some weeks than others--and I did tell him pretty clearly that I didn't finish the Faulkner; heck, I wrote an essay explaining why I couldn't.