In reply to this comment by budzos:
Aw, gee. Now we've bonded. This is how I make all my friends. VS definitely one of the friendlier places on the net. That's why I gave you a rationale/weak apology for calling you a cunt!



In reply to this comment by budzos:
And I think the best answer to your question about what explanation I would prefer is: a vague 2D force diagram sort of explanation with words and gestures if a graphic overlay is out of the question.

That's also how I would have described it if I was him, in addition to talking about compression waves. But I guess they wanted to keep it short.

Ok, tempers can rise. I just don't like being called a cunt, especially when I can't see any reason for the increased anger. And I'm also used to VideoSift being a more friendly corner of the internet than many others. From your second comment on my profile I see that you have deeper reasons than I thought, but I believe you misunderstand my intentions, as I have partially explained below.

In reply to this comment by budzos:
By the way, don't take me seriously. I abuse my anonymity online and would not be this rude or reactive otherwise. And really I'm just procrastinating and trying to ward off anxiety. Plus I type really fast and sometimes fire off things that I probably wouldn't if I waited five more minutes. So no hard feelings.

In reply to this comment by Ornthoron:
May I ask what has made you so pissed off with me?

In reply to this comment by budzos:
Explain why you're being a cunt.

Well, excuse me then for not intuitively knowing the extent of your physics knowledge before engaging in a discussion. It doesn't mean I should have to receive petty insults. I actually agree that his way was not necessarily the best way to describe it to a layman. But in the comment I replied to first you insinuate that the physicist feels like he is talking to a child, and I only pointed out that it could be the case that he actually thinks that way himself about the problem. Your personal understanding of the experiment had nothing to do with it.

Communicating physics without using physics speech is damn hard, especially since different audiences react differently to the same presentation. You cannot always know what will enlighten and what will confuse. And in any audience there will be some for whom the description is too complicated and some for whom it will be too simple. If someone perceives the presenter as condescending because he would have preferred a higher-level description for himself, that's hardly the presenters fault.

In reply to this comment by budzos:
You're being double-condescending whether you mean to or not. That's why.

When I complain about something, that doesn't mean I need you to back me up a few steps and explain why something is the way that it is. You seem to assume I don't understand what I'm seeing and that really pisses me off.

I understand why the physicist might use such language (from his POV - that of someone with a complete understanding - it seems like a suitably complete analogue for the interaction of the elements in the system). But from a practical point of view it just confuses laymen who end up trying to figure out where the "mind" of the slinky fits into the thing.

A physics explanation I would prefer would leave out such mind/will/consciousness analogues and just describe what was happening, PHYSICALLY, in the system. I.E. never tell me that electrons WANT to move from one place to another. I know what it's supposed to mean because I'm not a complete amateur in physics... but to a real layman, it's confusing as shit, trust me.

In reply to this comment by Ornthoron:
May I ask what has made you so pissed off with me?

In reply to this comment by budzos:
Explain why you're being a cunt.

May I ask what has made you so pissed off with me?

In reply to this comment by budzos:
Explain why you're being a cunt.

No nuke was detonated over germany. Time to read a book.




In reply to this comment by budzos:
I bet you woulda punched ol' Hitler square in the jaw eh? Numbskull.

In reply to this comment by The_Ham:
I was taught that when Ive made a mistake, I need to take action to make things right, not get paid to do interviews about it.

First, if I had realized what I had done was wrong, I would have gone straight to the lab and pulled all the wires out of the thing, and destroyed the plans. He didnt.

Or...I would have been in Japan after the war ended, trying to help those who are still getting cancer from the mess I helped create. He didnt. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7917541)



Ive made plenty of "contributions to science", but you don't see anyone excusing me of war crimes

Done.

In reply to this comment by budzos:
Sorry to be so pedantic but this is orbital footage. Aerial footage would be from within the atmosphere. Although I'm sure everyone knows what you mean.

Congratulations! Your comment has just received enough votes from the community to earn you 1 Power Point. Thank you for your quality contribution to VideoSift.

Congratulations! Your comment has just received enough votes from the community to earn you 1 Power Point. Thank you for your quality contribution to VideoSift.

Maybe if you put it in BOLD she will hear it!

In reply to this comment by budzos:
FUCK YOUR KID LADY.

Congratulations! Your comment has just received enough votes from the community to earn you 1 Power Point. Thank you for your quality contribution to VideoSift.

This achievement has earned you your "Silver Tongue" Level 1 Badge!

Congratulations! Your comment has just received enough votes from the community to earn you 1 Power Point. Thank you for your quality contribution to VideoSift.

Stephen meets John Leguizamo
http://videosift.com/video/Stephen-Meets-John-Leguizamo

In reply to this comment by budzos:
John Leguizamo is an amazing actor. I think this performance supports my theory that at least the first and most well-known freakout video is genuine.

Congratulations! Your comment has just received enough votes from the community to earn you 1 Power Point. Thank you for your quality contribution to VideoSift.

Cheers, Budzos!
In reply to this comment by budzos:
*promote

good to see an increase in your colorful commentary my friend.
your ability to take a situation down to its most common denominator and then evicerate it makes my heart smile.
ok...you make me laugh so hard i almost pee myself.
you ..my friend..have been missed.