Monday, December 31, 2012
Pi and the Gasoline Price
When I was coming home from the New Year party, I noticed the gas price was $3.14. What a surprising coincidence!
Symmetry Works Everywhere
The Story:
A man discovers an island where all the inhabitants are one-eyed. Hoping to make money by starting a "zoo" of this species, he attempts to trick the people of the island into a cage, resulting in himself being tricked and captured. The intent of the one-eyed people was the same as his own--to make money.
My Comments:
When something works one way, it is bound to work the opposite way. If one can take advantage of someone, it is possible of that someone to do the same thing back. Don't expect something to only go one direction.
A man discovers an island where all the inhabitants are one-eyed. Hoping to make money by starting a "zoo" of this species, he attempts to trick the people of the island into a cage, resulting in himself being tricked and captured. The intent of the one-eyed people was the same as his own--to make money.
My Comments:
When something works one way, it is bound to work the opposite way. If one can take advantage of someone, it is possible of that someone to do the same thing back. Don't expect something to only go one direction.
Red Herring
Let us look at this math expression:
1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1*0
One has probably seen tons of "trick questions" like these:
1*2*3*4*5*6*7*8*9*0
Of course, the answer to the second one is 0, but is it the same with the first? If one looks closer, the order of operations will render the answer to be 9. The last multiplication by 0 only acts on the last 1!
This is an example of a red herring.
The Wikipedia page states:
Red herring is an English-language idiom that commonly refers to a type of logical fallacy in which a clue is intentionally or unintentionally misleading or distracting from the actual issue.
1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1*0
One has probably seen tons of "trick questions" like these:
1*2*3*4*5*6*7*8*9*0
Of course, the answer to the second one is 0, but is it the same with the first? If one looks closer, the order of operations will render the answer to be 9. The last multiplication by 0 only acts on the last 1!
This is an example of a red herring.
The Wikipedia page states:
Red herring is an English-language idiom that commonly refers to a type of logical fallacy in which a clue is intentionally or unintentionally misleading or distracting from the actual issue.
Newborn Calfs are not Afraid of Tigers
My Understanding:
Courage comes from ignorance. The calf has no understanding of what a tiger is and does, so naturally it is not afraid of it at all. The knowledgable bull, on the other hand, knows a tiger will kill and eat itself, so it will run away. When a calf is born, it is entirely unaware of anything but itself. The most powerful entity in the world is itself. As it grows to maturity and starts to learn, it will begin to realize there are things much more powerful than it is. This is the reason why most younger people go out onto society and look for opportunities, while most older people stay in their houses and lead a simple life, knowing something is out there is more powerful than himself.
Courage comes from ignorance. The calf has no understanding of what a tiger is and does, so naturally it is not afraid of it at all. The knowledgable bull, on the other hand, knows a tiger will kill and eat itself, so it will run away. When a calf is born, it is entirely unaware of anything but itself. The most powerful entity in the world is itself. As it grows to maturity and starts to learn, it will begin to realize there are things much more powerful than it is. This is the reason why most younger people go out onto society and look for opportunities, while most older people stay in their houses and lead a simple life, knowing something is out there is more powerful than himself.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Burn the House to Kill the Mice
My interpretation:
If a virus gets in one's computer or laptop, there is no way to stop it without destroying the machine. This is because viruses, like mice, multiply. When one succeeds in killing the first generation of mice, their offspring come and have more offspring, eventually resulting in an un-destroyable number of mice. Only by burning the house where the mice live, often one's own, can one exterminate all the mice.
On the other hand, there is only enough food in the house to support a few generations of mice, so eventually they will go somewhere else searching for more food.
A different interpretation:
One could just download a virus protection software and kill off the viruses, instead of burning the computer. In modern society, one would save much more money by hiring an exterminator than burning down the house, probably bought by decades of savings. This suggests that one is overdoing something by trashing a valuable house just to get rid of some mice.
If a virus gets in one's computer or laptop, there is no way to stop it without destroying the machine. This is because viruses, like mice, multiply. When one succeeds in killing the first generation of mice, their offspring come and have more offspring, eventually resulting in an un-destroyable number of mice. Only by burning the house where the mice live, often one's own, can one exterminate all the mice.
On the other hand, there is only enough food in the house to support a few generations of mice, so eventually they will go somewhere else searching for more food.
A different interpretation:
One could just download a virus protection software and kill off the viruses, instead of burning the computer. In modern society, one would save much more money by hiring an exterminator than burning down the house, probably bought by decades of savings. This suggests that one is overdoing something by trashing a valuable house just to get rid of some mice.
Small and Big
Without dismissing small matters, one cannot execute big plans.
I found a similar statement on Google: a small leak will sink a great ship.
I found a similar statement on Google: a small leak will sink a great ship.
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