The Power of Stupidity

Serendipia(?) ^ | June 1996 | Giancarlo Livraghi

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Sounded rather Borgian to me...

but then I just jumped into this discussion, wondering why I feel using the definition - someone who causes damage to another person, or a group of people, without any advantage accruing to himself (or herself) -- or even with some resultant self-damage. - as a definition for stupid bothers me.

Coming as it does from the Latin stupidus, from stupre, to be stunned, related to the word stupor, using it as a word that means causing damage with no gain seems an extremely biased and narrow subset of the common defintions for stupid, and thus, I am feeling that this whole exercise is an exercise in obtuseness.

Back to Gallifrey to wonder why someone would try to damage my brain with odd definitions with no real gain to himself....

[King Prout]

"solveng"???

DARKA!

[King Prout]

"stupid" in current parlance refers to behavior on the part of non-stunned people which closely matches in thoughtlessness and potential/real harmfulness the behaviors one expects from someone who just got beaned with a ball-peen.

with that as given, the dissertation makes perfect sense.

[King Prout]

oh, agreed - especially as carbon buckytubes are now commercially viable

[Lady Jag]

I don't think so. S, maybe...

[NicknamedBob]

"...electromagnetic suspension would be heavy and require electricity."

Au contraire! The suspended weight would also be a magnet, and every bounce and jostle would generate a surge in the surrounding coils! -- Check this page!

[Lady Jag]

can you do it without: 1. chemical reaction in the water 2. direct heat transfer through a heating element 3. microwave or other radiant energy input ?

Why?

[King Prout]

well, damn - there's my "something new" for today.

thanks.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

I think I have a headache.

You do realize of course, that one stunned the sacrificial animals with a mallet, and then cut their throats?

[King Prout]

well, if you COULD, I'm certain that DARPA would like to offer you a high-paying job ;)

[King Prout]

that's how one slaughters a pig, even today.

done it.

not pretty.

[NicknamedBob]

Shiny!

[dimquest]

Third (and Golden) Law

A stupid person is someone who causes damage to another person, or a group of people, without any advantage accruing to himself (or herself) -- or even with some resultant self-damage.
(We shall come back to this, because it is the pivotal concept of the Cipolla Theory.)

---

The author ignores the fact that some groups of stupid people are so dangerous that they must be damaged, even if the immediate result is self damage at no gain.

[King Prout]

thank GOD that link had nothing to do with the topic of the post to which you replied!

[King Prout]

the author doesn't ignore that, necessarily.
long-term profit IS still profit.

[NicknamedBob]

A topic which was rife for a change of subject!

[King Prout]

those appear to be suspension height and play adjusters, similar to hydraulic and pneumatic systems. torsion bars do the real heavy lifting. I'm not certain the term "wheel damper" applies to the linear EM or to some other component.

[Darksheare]

Sorry!
I was lurking again!

[King Prout]

>ahem<

"ripe"
not "rife"

>/schoolmarm<

[King Prout]

Sorry! I was lurking again!

my spelling noticed.