Now I'm wondering who I've offended with the following, in
"Comparative Biomechanics".....
What would be the maximum weight of a human who could
walk on water? My size 9 sandals have perimeters of 0.62 meters
each; that figure times the surface tension of water gives 0.045
newtons of force or 4.6 grams (a sixth of an ounce) of terrestrial
mass—so 9.2 grams to stand (two feet in contact) or half that to
walk. That's an explicit view of what was presented as just a
scaling rule (recall _Bo_) in chapter 3. The theological
implications are beyond the scope of the present book.
When teaching, I went a step further (since an offended person could
respond directly) and commented that the exercise gave plausibility to
the resurrectiøn.
At least in the new edition (Spring 2013) _Je_ has now become _Bo_.
(I'd not heard of _Bo_ ten years ago; _Bo_ = 1/_Je_.
Steve Vogel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Engineers and biologists mechanical design list"
To:
Cc:
Sent:Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:47:09 -0700
Subject:Re: I know it's not biomimetics, but . . .
now, if all the religious people in the world had this approach of
understanding and tolerance, the problem of fundamentalism would be
solved...
peace be unto you bro..
FROM: Hisham Abdel-Aal
TO: [log in to unmask]
SENT: Friday, August 24, 2012 7:06 PM
SUBJECT: Re: I know it's not biomimetics, but . . .
As a Muslim I can claim that no other religion has been stabbed at, at
least lately, more than Islam and its followers :) yet I don't find
that particular post offensive. My question to each of you,
regardless of religious notions, had you had a student who gave such
an answer (provided that he/she are real, what would you feel about
him and why?? I argue that for a real scientist or for those who value
ideas, such a student would be the pride of his/her Professor.
Frankly if one's belief is threatened because of an internet posting,
that is more of a reason for a self pause and re-evaluation. My
sincere apologies if I offend any one, peace.
On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 2:28 PM, Julian Vincent wrote:
Sorry if you find it offensive. However, if you read it carefully
you will see that it applies equally to all religions and beliefs that
have some sort of eternal reward and punishment system built in to
them. I am sure that if it were translated into other languages it
would find exactly the same resonance. The argument presented could
not function if it took a sectarian point of view. And the story
ultimately relates to human behaviour rather to any particular
morality. So please don't feel that your beliefs are being unfairly
targeted. Any strong belief system can cope with humour.
Best wishes
Julian
On 24 Aug 2012, at 19:08, Prof Andy McIntosh wrote:
> Julian - As a Christian I am pretty saddened that you have allowed
this on
> the biomimetics link The article you forwarded I know is tongue in
cheek,
> but pertains to (in the main) Christian teaching of a real place of
eternal
> punishment. The subject matter and the references to 'Hell freezing
over,'
> 'Hell let loose,' and immorality I was not expecting on this
professional
> link which in other respects I have found to be scientifically
valuable.
>
> Regards - Andy
>
>
> Professor Andy C. McIntosh DSc, FIMA, C.Math, FEI, C.Eng, FInstP,
MIGEM,
> FRAeS
>
> Professor of Thermodynamics and Combustion Theory,
> Energy and Technology Innovation Initiative (ETII)
> School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering,
> University of Leeds,
> LEEDS
> LS2 9JT
> U..K.
> Phone : +44-113-343 2506
> Fax : +44-113-246 7310
> http://www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/people/speme/staff/a.c.mcintosh
> ###########################################################
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Engineers and biologists mechanical design list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask] [2]] On Behalf Of Julian Vincent
> Sent: 23 August 2012 22:06
> To: [log in to unmask] [3]
> Subject: I know it's not biomimetics, but . . .
>
> The following is an actual (?) question given on a University of
Washington
> chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so 'profound'
that the
> professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of
course,
> why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:
>
> Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic
(absorbs
> heat)?
>
> Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's
Law (gas
> cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some
variant.
>
> One student, however, wrote the following:-
>
> First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So
we need
> to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate
at which
> they are leaving.
>
> I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it
will not
> leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
>
> As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the
different
> religions that exist in the world today.
>
> Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their
> religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of
these
> religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion,
we can
> project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as
they are,
> we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase
exponentially.
>
> Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because
Boyle's Law
> states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to
stay the
> same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are
added.
> This gives two possibilities:
>
>
> If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls
enter
> Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until
all Hell
> breaks loose.
> If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in
Hell,
> then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes
over.
> So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa
during my
> Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep
with you,'
> and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night,
then number
> two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and
has already
> frozen over.
>
> The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it
follows
> that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore,
> extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of
a divine
> being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my
God.'
>
> THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.
--
Hisham A Abdel-Aal, PhD,
Professor
Laboratoire de Mécanique et Procédé de Fabrication (LMPF, EA4106)
Arts et Métiers Paris Tech.
Rue St Dominique, BP 508, 51006 Châlons-en-Champagne Cedex, FRANCE
Téléphone : +33 (0)3 26 69 26 91 94
Fax : +33 (0)3 26 69 91 76
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