Comments for 200 Million Miles & One Foot at http://www.randi.org/site , comment 1 to 23 out of 20 comments http://www.randi.org/site Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:13:05 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15811 Awesome awesome article. - sintesi Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:05:11 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15769 @mohmoo, Yeah, there's always a question about such responses as to whether they were actually made, and if so, when and by whom, or whether somebody - not necessarily the attributed quotee(s) - just wishes they had been made. A little like the attribution to Voltaire of "I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it" which apparently was actually written by a Voltaire biographer (Evelyn Beatrice Hall, Wikipedia assures me) providing a pithy summary of what the Great Man might have said if he'd thought of it at the time. When I first encountered the "baby" quote attributed to Faraday, it was supposedly at one of the regular Royal Society 'show and tell' do's and the question was purportedly asked by His Royal Highness. But I couldn't seem to find a reference to that version, so I went with the one I found. Nonetheless, it's an effective response, and one that somebody famous should have made at some stage. After all, what exactly is the use of a baby ? It depends a lot on a combination of 'inherent' qualities with how much 'investment' (love and security, good nourishment, education and opportunity etc) comes its way. So I guess that time will tell just how those factors work out with the Rovers. But even if things don't turn out all that wonderfully, we'll still cherish the Rovers and we'll try again (and again) with other things because were human, and it's what we do. - Grim Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:37:12 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15724 At what point do the high functioning autisitcs in the neighbourhood need to be reminded that Sturgeon's articles are clearly satirical and humorous? They contain valid points but those readers who need all references 'explained' should perhaps excuse themselves and brush up on their 'how to act like a human being' manuals. As usual entertaining stuff Sean...more please. - Captego Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:56:12 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15620 I think we need to be periodically reminded of the amazing things we humans can do. Since I'm a hobbiest cook, I happen to enjoy Iron Chef America quite a bit, but you are absolutely right, as far beyond my abilities as it is to churn out four or five spontaneous gourmet delights ala Mario Batali (and if you get behind the scenes of the show, it's not quite as spontaneous as they edit it to seem) the fact of those Mars rovers is orders of magnitude more amazing. I think it's that old idea of future shock: in this modern world we are so used to technological miracles that the impact of some of them is lost on us. "...the Rover can now only scratch at the dirt, becoming the first Dickensian character on another planet." That is just brilliant prose right there :) - Griz Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:37:38 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15593 http://xkcd.com/695/ - Fairy Cake Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:30:25 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15588 @Grim Although the quote in your link is very relevant, and funny, it is unlikely Faraday ever said it. It seems to be more commonly attributed to Franklin, but still a bit of an urban legend I think. See http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/sciurban.htm The other one attributed to Faraday is also gold: Michael Faraday is visited by a delegation of government dignitaries. They are shown his electric motors and other demos. One person says "This is all very interesting, but of what possible use are these toys?" Faraday responds: "I cannot say what use they may be, but I can confidently predict that one day you will be able to tax them." @ RichVR I also found the whole 'Allez cuisine' bit a pretty lame effort to be humourous. - mohmoo Sun, 14 Feb 2010 13:57:55 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15586 [quote]I'm just guessing, but you're still upset about the last Star Trek movie, aren't you? [/quote] Oooh, bad guess! But thanks for playing! - Steel Rat Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:53:41 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15585 [quote]Maybe Sean should have explained it better, then. [/quote] I'm just guessing, but you're still upset about the last [i]Star Trek[/i] movie, aren't you? - I'm A Secret Formula Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:50:40 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15583 [quote]I believe what Sean meant is that most people's perceptions of robots comes from the movies. When we hear the word "robot" we do not think of assembly line robots or Spirit, but rather of C3PO, Wall-E, and Johnny 5. Fiction trumps the fascinating reality for most, which is unfortunate.[/quote] Maybe Sean should have explained it better, then. - Steel Rat Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:32:27 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15581 [quote][quote]Allez cuisine and best of luck, pasta-boy![/quote] written by RichVR, February 14, 2010 Was that really necessary? [/quote] I thought it was cute - it's obviously a light-hearted post. - I'm A Secret Formula Sun, 14 Feb 2010 08:50:09 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15580 Was that really necessary? - RichVR Sun, 14 Feb 2010 08:37:31 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15579 I believe what Sean meant is that most people's perceptions of robots comes from the movies. When we hear the word "robot" we do not think of assembly line robots or Spirit, but rather of C3PO, Wall-E, and Johnny 5. Fiction trumps the fascinating reality for most, which is unfortunate. By the way, Happy Valentine's Day to all, even though it was named after a saint. Even us hardened atheists can rally around a day celebrating love, right? ;D - MrIncredible Sun, 14 Feb 2010 07:16:34 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15575 @ Steel Rat & KWC Just a wild guess, but the lacrimal ducts don’t look like they are in a good position to drain tears. Then again, why would a robot need tears? It apparently doesn’t need eyelids. But I’m no expert. The last time I tried to build a robot was in the dark ages – I was a kid with an Erector Set. Even the family dog was unimpressed. - Rustylizard Sun, 14 Feb 2010 02:47:36 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15568 [quote]I was assuming that the reason that it is wrong is because its not a picture of Spirit. I could be missing something here but that is my assumption. Wall-E is not equal to Spirit![/quote] I sure hope that wasn't it, because that was WAY too obvious. It wasn't wrong because it there was no claim that the picture was anything other than what it was, so I didn't understand why it was there and had that silly caption. - Steel Rat Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:01:39 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15567 I think you meant 26 January, 2010 not 2009. :) - AmyD Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:41:51 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15565 I was assuming that the reason that it is wrong is because its not a picture of Spirit. I could be missing something here but that is my assumption. Wall-E is not equal to Spirit! - KWC Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:02:22 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15564 @Grim I shared Vino's curiosity about the use, and then I looked up Faraday's response. Epic. - The SonicGamer Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:46:38 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15561 vino, Apart from paying the mortgages of lots of folk with or without megasalaries, how does what most of us do benefit anybody ? Perhaps you should look here: http://bnrg.eecs.berkeley.edu/~randy/Courses/CS39C.S97/telegraph/telegraph.html and search out the question of the politician to Faraday, and Faraday's reply. - Grim Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:21:45 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15559 A quibble - the object that we are trying to hit, i.e. Mars is not moving randomly. That's the only reason that we can hit it. - OldProf Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:52:57 +0100 http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/871-200-million-miles-a-one-foot.html#comment-15557 Other than helping pay mortgages, etc. for lots and lots of folks with mega salaries, exactly how did all this research and development actually benefit anyone? - vino Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:09:00 +0100