Hmph.
I don’t particularly like Horizon at the moment. I don’t know if it’s because I already know a lot of what they’re talking about, or if it’s because they’re just not very good. Maybe it’s both – with my knowledge I can tell when they’re just stirring shit up to add some drama, and I often feel that the producers are aiming more to entertain and shock than to inform.
Several days ago I watched the episode called “To Infinity and Beyond ((It’s currently available on BBC iPlayer.))”. Unsurprisingly, it’s about infinity, an interesting topic.
It started off exploring the mathematical concept of infinity, which fascinates me and which I may write about in the future. There was a bit of shit stirring (“numbers are not infinite” – ha!), but mostly it was clear and followed a sensible approach to the subject. Nothing was explained in much depth, but the concepts examined weren’t particularly difficult to understand, so I don’t think that was a problem.
The episode also visited the Infinite Monkey Theorem – I think it was part of the beginning, mathematical section ((As it should be.)). Read the Wikipedia article – I did a few years ago – and you should get a good understanding. All it says is that a truly random letter generator (to make it seem more fun, a monkey typing at a keyboard) run for an infinite time will eventually end up generating the complete works of Shakespeare ((It’s not a real monkey, and it doesn’t mean that it would ever be possible to do this in our universe, even though it is mathematically sound.))
The programme then moved onto physics. Infinity as a mathematical concept is a sure thing, but that doesn’t mean it exists in the real world. For example, there are straight lines in maths, but you can look as hard as you like and you’ll never see a perfectly straight line in the reality. That’s something that’s very important to understand about maths: although it is manifested throughout the universe, it does not in any way depend on the universe to be either true or false. Maths would be true in any universe ((Whereas the laws of physics could be different.)) because it exists only in our minds.
Unfortunately, I think that the physics part of the programme was downright confusing. Is the universe infinite in size? I think it’s far from certain either way, and I would tend to think that it isn’t ((I do quite like the analogy of the Earth, which does have an absolute size but you can set off in one direction and never reach an edge. Something similar could be true with the universe.)). Some of the talking head scientists said that inflation necessitates a universe of infinite size ((I’ve not read that Wikipedia article, but it seems like this is not a sure conclusion.)), and then proceeded to say that therefore there must be an infinite versions of you in the universe! I think this is a perfect example of where some explanation is needed. I don’t see how either of these things follow from the premise of inflation ((Admittedly, I know very little of inflation.)), so I’m not willing to accept this uncritically.
I watched 3 other episodes of Horizon this afternoon ((I was atching up with the episodes that I had missed, before they went off iPlayer.)); all interesting in the own way but perhaps not worth writing about. We’ll see.
An aside, not just to this particular episode, but rather to Horizon in general, I get pissed off by the blind assertions. I know that the producers only have an hour to explore the subject, but it’s not useful to give people such a superficial glimpse of “science”. You need to know the reasons and evidence behind these assertions to gain an understanding, else you’ll just have arbitrary ideas floating around in the audience’s minds. The majority of people have learned nothing, and at worst they will have become suspicious of science because all they have heard will appear arbitrary. Without an understanding of the evidence, their memory can alter, leading to a feeling that science is contradictory and unreliable.
For example ((Some nice anecdotal evidence coming up…)), after watching this programme I was talking to someone who had watched it a few days before. He clearly ((Clear to me, that is.)) hadn’t understood it fully; and was insisting that if you accept the existence of infinity in one case, therefore you must accept it in all cases! I’d said that I accepted infinity in maths and I accepted the infinite monkey theorem, but I don’t necessarily believe that the universe is infinite in size. Without proper explanation of reasons and evidence, things can easily be misinterpreted, and that’s the sort of confusion that Horizon leads to.
I think Horizon should focus more on explanations, at the expense of variety in the series.
Anyway, I enjoy feeling a little hungry, so 1½ hours ago, instead of making my tea, I decided to write a little post on my blog. Now that I’m finished, I’m going to warm up some of the curry which I made last weekend and attempt to cook some pilau rice to go with it. Then I’ll eat it. I’m already salivating ((Fuck, this was just meant to be a short post that took 30 minutes to write.)).
I wrote this when I was 15 ((My Word document of this essay was created in September 2006, although I would have written it by hand initially, some time before.)), for 4th year English. After reading a couple of newspaper columns as a class, we were told to write our own such essay under the title “Don’t get me started…”, about things which annoy us.
Mine turned out quite well. It was good enough to be included in my Standard Grade Folio, and it remains the only piece of writing for which I have won an award ((I also got £20 of Waterstones vouchers for it!)). I didn’t even know about the competition, until my teacher, Mrs Stevenson ((A wonderful person; I miss her.)), asked if I would mind if she entered my essay into it.
Several months later she told me that the judges had liked my work, and that I was a finalist. It meant that I got to spend lunch with Perth Rotary Club ((Old people.))! We had turkey.
Here’s the write-up of the awards presentation in Perth Rotary Club’s Q2 2007 Club News. I think you’ll especially enjoy the photo ((That ginger guy there seemed to take part in all the competitions that I did. I’m proud to say that I always beat him.)):
7th June 2007 – Students from Perth Academy, Perth High and St.Columba’s High School entered the Neil McCorkindale Schools Writing Award organised by the Rotary Club of Perth. Winner Stephen Jarvie from Perth’s – St.Columba’s is pictured receiving the McCorkindale Salver for his essay entitled ‘The Night’ from Club President Bill Millar, in 2nd place Wilf Wilson of Perth Academy ((That’s me!)) for his essay entitled ‘Don’t Get Me Started’ and 3rd Jennifer Gunn also from St Columba`s for her ‘Untitled Essay’ won prizes.
And now ((Unedited except for typos.)):
DON’T GET ME STARTED…
The last century has been a wonderous time for new inventions and technological advances which have helped speed up the world, get everyone connected, and has also helped relieve us of some of the more mundane tasks of life. Whilst I usually embrace anything to enhance my enjoyment of life, with these steps forward comes a rather unfortunate drawback – and one that I just can not stand – laziness.
Take for example, possibly one of the most abundant of inventions of the twentieth century, the car. Whatever type, be it 4×4, estate, coupé, SUV or just a plain, normal car (automobile if you like), there are so many things just waiting to be moaned about – the noise, especially in the countryside, the pollution, the horrific deaths and crashes – but the biggest of my concerns is with the drivers of these mechanical beasts.
This summer, travelling and camping around Scotland, and down in England clocking up nearly 400 miles on my neat little racing bike (which I particularly enjoy, and hurts no one), I came across some of the most contemptible behaviour, near misses, ignorant or selfish drivers with their accelerator seemingly jammed at 40mph (a whole rant in itself that one) and of course the downright dangerous and speedy driving which, thankfully, is illegal. If only it was enforced more rigorously.
What is perfectly legal however, to come back to my original point, is to be a lazy driver. We have all seen them – I hope you are not one of them – and they really make my blood boil. The ones who drive 100 metres to the post office or 500 metres along to the nearest supermarket really annoy me. Usually, this is just to avoid a walk that would take as long as it does to get some oven chips out of the freezer, pop them in at 220 degrees, and then return to watch a less than intelligent chat show host (Trisha and Jeremy Kyle are two examples in this satanic profession) in their relentless job of solving problems in generally dysfunctional families.
This is by no means an innocent act. Firstly, they are harming themselves. The time saved by driving is negligible, and will most probably be squandered on television watching, eating ice cream, or a combination of both in the majority of cases. Moreover, although the walker (or why not the cyclist) will spend slightly more time in transit, the time will be more than reimbursed with a longer, healthier life. These miles really start to add up. And – my gosh – if I ever come across a person guilty of this terrible crime to themselves, the environment and society, that also goes to the gym, I will need someone to restrain me! The hypocrisy of being able to find time to work out (and pay for the privilege!), but then not for a walk (which costs nothing), is terrible. People as such are just begging to be criticised and ridiculed – and so they should be. Driving to the gym to exercise… don’t get me started!
The environment also loses out in this situation: buzzing around town at an average speed of 15mph is highly inefficient for a car engine, and the pollution generated is crazy. A more environmentally friendly car, such as an electric one or a car of a cleaner variety now emerging onto the market would be a better choice for the environment. Unfortunately I doubt there will ever be a zero pollution car, as tyres and road use all leave their mark upon the earth.
My final point, or annoyance, about these unnecessary car journeys is the danger they pose to other people. I am sure if I knew the statistics, I would be even more horrified at the number of people seriously injured and killed on the roads every year, but I think my terror is currently sufficient. On the weekly Tesco trip, I have never head of two walkers dying from banging into each other, or from walking too fast – and walking sensibly will keep you safe from all but the most crazed and drunk (and possibly determined) drivers. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about them.
My piece on unnecessary journeys complete, I come to the next focus, which was in fact inspired just a few hours ago after watching Donald Macintyre’s “Big Sting”. I am referring of course – if you go anywhere near Channel 5 you may already know – to people who park (wrongly) in the disabled spots in car parks.
You see it all too often: people pull up in their cars, open their door and – usually as an overweight person – take a couple of steps into the shop because they took a disabled space. Perhaps now being overweight is considered a disability, but without a certificate, these disabled spaces are a no go area. The permitted spaces just a few metres further away are obviously too much for some, who see their legs not as a mode of transport, but more as a fat store, or something to put trousers over. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against overweight people per se, but I don’t agree with the lazy kind of people who allow their bodies to deteriorate through their own actions (or lack of actions). That though, is another interesting and contentious subject to some extent, which deserves its own piece.
Back to the television programme and I saw some of the most appalling behaviour. A coincidence, perhaps, with what I had previously written before I watched the programme, was the location the cameras had taken – a gym car park. Now, I am not sure about you, but I can say with some certainty that I have never seen a physically disabled person at a gym. Maybe some go to the café, or go to give support to friends, and that is presumably what warrants disabled parking at a gym, which at first glance might seem like an oxymoron. A person who needs a disability pass for the car, by definition, probably can not use a running machine or the weights. Alas, the people caught on this programme were all using the parking spaces wrongly. There were examples of people who when confronted just replied that they didn’t care, or lied that their friend (seen later running very energetically from the gym) was disabled. Perhaps I have been a little harsh on these offenders, as I am sure the spaces were underutilised, but this is definitely an issue in places other than gym car parks.
I thankfully have a solution for such lazy people who demand a parking space right next to the supermarket or store… chop off your legs! You probably never use them anyway, and you will give a welcome boost to the stair lift market. Then, as well as have something to put on your mantelpiece, you will be issued with a disabled sticker, and a disabled parking space will be guaranteed for you. Unless, of course, it has already been taken by a selfish fully functioning person, like you were before your ‘operation’, and you will have no way of fighting back. Perhaps after that you will finally start to agree with me.
THOUGHTS: I’m still pleased with this essay and proud to put my name to it. Like Murray when he looked at some old writing, I can definitely see how my writing has improved ((There is only one part of this where I just had to change the word order of a sentence, I just couldn’t resist)). I will also admit, with my tail between my legs, that I have now been to the gym in a car. Several times ((Admittedly it is a 3 mile round trip, and it does get very cold in winter here.)). Shame on me.
I’ve always loved Mythbusters and I’m usually happy with the way they do things.
One time, though, I think they got it wrong. The episode that I’m on about aired nearly a year ago, and I made a mental note to point out the inaccuracy. The myth was the revisited version of the one about fusing a hatchback between two big lorries in a crash, called “Compact Compact Supersized”. The idea being that the two lorries crashing head-on would have enough energy to completely squash the little car.
Because it’s so long ago, I don’t remember the specifics, but it went something like this:
“The myths says that there are two trucks which crash head-on, each going 50 mph. Because it’s hard to precisely co-ordinate two trucks, instead we’re going to have just one truck going 100 mph into a brick wall with a hatchback in front.”
This is where I think there’s a problem. The energy – which is what would cause damage to the car – in the two scenarios is not the same.
Energy of a moving object (called kinetic energy), such as the energy of each lorry, is calculated as such:
Ek = ½mv2
So in the original scenario with two trucks, the total kinetic energy is:
2 × ½mv2 = mv2 (where v = 50)
In the second scenario, there is only one truck carrying all the energy, but its velocity is doubled. Therefore the kinetic energy is:
½m(2v)2 = ½m4v2 = 2mv2
This clearly shows that the energy involved in the replacement scenario with just one truck going double the speed is twice that of the original myth scenario.
It doesn’t affect the outcome of the myth, thankfully, but it’s still quite a big mistake to overlook.
UPDATE: How fast should the single car been going?
It should have been going the square root of two (about 1.4) times as fast as in the original scenario, which would make it about 71 mph.
Here’s the maths:
½m(root 2 * v)2 = ½m2v2 = mv2 ((root 2)2 = 2 by definition)
This is the same as the energy as in the original scenario.
NOTE: Reading this will probably be a waste of time.
Hello Internets.
I briefly refer you to this post which I wrote a year ago. I still don’t know how I pronounce it. Someone needs to take me by surprise and make me say the word “February” before I realise it and start getting all self-conscious. We all know that’s never going to happen, but if it did then I’d know. I’d really know.
It’s nice to see you again. How are you? I have a very sore throat (it’s a bitch), but I’m not not going to mention it. No one likes a whiner.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks, as much by planning as by accident.
Two weekends ago, I went to Glasgow to stay with Ruairidh and to attend the Great Birkbeck Block 2 Party of 2010™. It was great fun – I think this photo of him downing a shot of Jägermeister pre-party sums up the night quite well: [photo removed.]
For the record, this was a party at which Ruairidh “wasn’t going to get that drunk”.
The party ended at 2am when the fire alarm went off. Some suspected conspiracy with the swift arrival of the firemen, but I – the guy who actually didn’t get that drunk – reckon that those people are idiots. I was asleep by 5.
A+++ party, would attend again.
On the way, Neil Oliver got on my train at Stirling and sat next to me. I think he was reading and editing a speech on A History of Scotland. I thought he’d appreciate knowing that I like his work, so I told him. He seemed like a nice guy. I later realised that I must have stunk of garlic after eating 1½ garlic baguettes at Ruairidh’s. I hope he didn’t mind the smell.
When I got home I made some chili. I froze three portions and put the rest in the fridge; I wasn’t hungry. I had a kilo of mince, and it looked particularly fatty, so I decided to cook the meat separately before adding to the chili so that I could drain off the fat. I managed to remove a tin full of fat. I measured it as 320g ((Not including the tin!)) – a whole third of the meat! Sick! And the packet said “typically 18% fat”…
Then last Tuesday I was on a bus, reading “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. I’d read from about page 100 to page 150 on Saturday morning in Glasgow, and then some more on the train home. I finished it a few days later and then watched the film. It’s a wonderful book and the film’s not bad either; I’ve been meaning to blog about them both.
Anyway, we were out in the countryside and it was sunset. The sky was nearly cloudless, and that let the sky display its full range of colours. Everything bar the sky was silhouetted in black. It looked like something from a movie. The Sun must have been obscured ((I don’t whether it was behind a cloud or some land or something else)) until, whilst sitting on the back row of the top deck, facing East with my head in the book, I realised it was a lot brighter. The bus was filled with a warm, soft, yellow light. I turned and looked out of the rear window, and saw the Sun sitting on the horizon, its light burning through a row of trees at the edge of a field. I told my brother to look behind, too.
[Photo removed.]
I decided then that I would blog about it, and the result was this masturbatory post written that same day, just after I’d been out to look at the stars and before I went to bed. I knew as I wrote it that it would come across as pretentious, but it’s what my thoughts were and it’s what I had to say, no matter how embarrassed I knew I would be.
In any case, I stand by my sentiments in that post. I find stars fascinating – the Sun in particular. Just think – if you rub your hands together, that warmth that you feel comes from the Sun. Without the Sun we couldn’t exist. Seeing the Sun just floating there behind the trees, I was awestruck. I could have stared at it for days. I know you’re not supposed to do it, but looking at the Sun is like looking at nothing else. It’s the same size as the Moon but it has some sort of shimmer, a burning quality. It’ll probably turn out that that experience is the actually the destruction of my retinal cells or something, and I know I shouldn’t look at the Sun (even at sunset) but for just a couple of seconds at a time, I think it’s worth it.
It’s spectacular to look at, but what’s more is that we can comprehend what it is and what it’s doing. A ball of nuclearly fusing gas which could fit 1 million Earths inside it. The Sun’s an amazing thing.
Last Wednesday I hung out with George for a couple of hours and took this picture of him:
Then last Thursday, a week ago today, I gave my first speech to Perth Speaker’s Club. For perhaps the first time ever, I hadn’t been nervous about the prospect of speaking publicly and/or formally. Perhaps it was because there was nothing riding on it: no exam result and no one ((Well, just George.)) that I knew very well who would revel in my failure, but I prefer to believe that it’s because I’ve matured and got over the nervousness involved with speaking. Now I just need to learn how to do it well.
Nevertheless, that didn’t stop me from spending way too much time on it. The majority of my time between returning from Glasgow on Saturday and giving my speech on Thursday was spent thinking about, writing, editing, memorising or practising my speech. It was the first time that I’d had to work to a deadline since leaving school, and although I managed it fine I was disappointed that I did procrastinate somewhat. I thought I might have banished it althogether. Apparently not. And my old rule that if I have a whole day to write something, it will take the whole day to write it seems to hold true. That’s where last Monday went. Fuck it.
Still; I’m proud of my speech and glad that I still have it in me.
I helped my mother with grocery shopping last Friday.
I don’t remember how I spent last weekend, and that’s probably the most worrying thing about my gap year. I’m sure I spent my time in a constructive way and I’m sure I didn’t waste my time, but living in a way that allows me to not know what day of the week it is means that I often lose the time attribute of my memories. When I ask my brain “what did I do last weekend?” I have no fucking idea – though if someone mentioned whatever it was I was doing, I’m sure I would remember that event well.
Thinking a bit harder and making some deductions, I think I spent the majority of one of the days programming ((Statistics and graphs – really rewarding. Seriously.)), and I remember that at some point on Saturday I went to Tesco and bought ingredients for a curry ((I bought a boneless rolled shoulder of lamb, £5.)) and then I made one. Sunday, therefore, was probably spent eating it and washing up.
On Tuesday, I was woken up to learn that my Uncle, David, was here. He wondered if I wanted to walk his dogs with him. I love his dogs – Milly and Nina – and I enjoy walking, so I did. As I write this it’s getting a bit late in the day to go into much depth ((The time is 23:41 on 18/02/2010.)), but we had a really nice time up Moncreiffe Hill, and I got a load of photos, one of which I will share with you now:
[Photo removed]
I’ll say more about that walk in a blog post in the near future.
I went to bed early on Tuesday night (in bed by midnight, asleep by 1am!) but I woke up at about 4am on Wednesday morning (yesterday), and I couldn’t get back to sleep. I had a terribly sore throat, the one which I still have and am not going to mention. Maybe that’s what woke me. Being the opportunist that I am, I decided that, as there was a clear sky, I would go up Craigie Hill to watch and photograph the sunrise. That was indeed a great idea, and I need to adjust and upload those photos before I can write about it.
When I got home, it was about 9am. I spent the rest of the day on the internet, watching QI and Newswipe, and then I went to Tesco and got a chicken and roasted it for tea. It turned out OK, though I feared the very bottom may have still been slightly undercooked (despite cooking it to the instructions and successfully testing the breast and thighs for clear juices) so I condemned that bit. The rest – along with the sweet potatoes and stuffing – was delicious.
Today, Thursday, I woke up at 11:30, after sleeping about 10 hours (recovering from the previous night’s 3). After a few hours of reading and eating and showering, I had to go into Perth to pick up a package and do some shopping for my Mum who is currently away being a Grandmother. When I got home I watched some Kenny vs. Spenny ((Who Do Black Guys Like More? Pt. 1 and Pt. 2.)) and American Dad with Alan (my younger brother). Afterwards I spent some time sowing seeds into little pots with today’s newly purchased compost whilst finishing the audiobook version of “On Writing” by Stephen King again. I planted some coriander, basil, beetroot, onion, spring onion and garlic. Then I made my tea and washed up, and was done by 9pm.
I didn’t intend to blog about any of today’s events ((Except I might write about “On Writing” again.)) and I don’t know why I did. I’m sure you care a great deal about it all. Now I’ve spent the last three hours of the day blogging. I enjoyed it at least.
One common theme of the past couple of weeks is how often I’ve intended to write, spent much time in bed thinking about exactly what I will write, but never actually writing anything. Most recently it’s been because I’ve been ill and unable to properly focus, before that because I’ve been doing other stuff (watching films, programming, spending time with others) and last week whilst it was because my brain was completely fucked after spending all my effort on the speech. I’m loath to say that this will change, but I can try ((And yet again this turns into a blog post about blogging.))…
Before I go
- I mentioned I’ve watched a lot of films in the last couple of weeks. You’ll also have known this if you’ve looked at the Movie Ratings widget in my sidebar. The films include The Invention of Lying, Soylent Green, Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup, Moon and The Road. The Road aside, I think I’ll only write about Loose Change, just because it pisses me off the way people make these ‘documentaries’. The people who believe in these (well, any) conspiracy theories piss me off too. By the way, I know a guy at the Speaker’s Club who believes virtually any conspiracy you could name, including that the Holocaust was not real. He recommend the site What Really Happened to me. Wow.
- I’ve been getting more and more searches about French speaking exams the closer we get to that time of the year ((This time last year all I was thinking about was my upcoming Advanced Higher French speaking examination.)), so I shall endeavour to complete that section of this website.
- I’ve noticed that I have a tendency to start all of my sentences with a statement, but then I follow it with a comma and then carry on the sentence with a “but”. Now that I’ve seen it I CAN’T UNSEE IT.
Next Wednesday I’m going to stay with my sister and brother-in-law for a week to see my nephew and help out.
That’s the end of this week’s State of Wilf’s Mind address.
That’s the polite way to put it; “Virgin Speech” is probably a bit too much down at the Club. First Speech would do me just fine.
It’s not the first speech I’ve ever given – it won’t even be my first time speaking to the club (fourth actually) – but I’ll be speaking formally at Perth Speakers Club for the first time ((It also happens to be the first time I’ve worked to a deadline since I left school. I’ve managed it well, although I did feel a few twinges of procrastination.)).
I’m happy with my speech; I spent a long time writing it and then an even longer time refining it. I’ve spent a large part of today practising it. I didn’t need to memorise it, but I did. Mostly.
UPDATE: It went well, thanks for asking. It was well received and I got some useful criticism. As always, I felt I was better when practising, but then again some bits did improve in front of the audience. It was definitely a speech and not an essay which I just read; for that reason I’m not going to post it here. It just wouldn’t work.
