yea, string theory has come a long way since a breif history of time and escher, bach, gould where I first read about it.
:lol: ok, so you know about "physics," but you\'d still flunk 4th grade spelling and grammar!!!
:shrug: & it\'s posts like this that make me so glad I teach English!
This, briefly, is the story of its discovery.
The principle of generating small amounts of finite improbability by simply hooking the logic circuits of a Bambleweeny 57 Sub-Meson Brain to an automatic vector plotter suspended in a strong Brownian Motion producer (say a nice hot cup of tea) were of course well understood - and such generators were often used to break the ice at parties by making all the molecules in the hostess\'s undergarments leap simultaneously one foot to the left, in accordance with the Theory of Indeterminancy.
Many respectable physicis said that they weren\'t going to stand for this, partly because it was a debasement of science, but mostly because they don\'t get invited to those sorts of parties.
Another thing they couldn\'t stand was the perpetual failure they encountered in trying to construct a machine which could generate the infinite improbability field needed to flip a spaceship across the mind-paralyzing-distances between the furthest stars, and in the end they grumpily announced that such a machine was virtually impossible.
Then, one day, a student who had been left to sweep up the lab after a particularly unsuccessful party found himself reasoning this way:
If, he thought to himself, such a machine is a virtual impossibility, then it must logically be a finite improbability. So all I have to do in order to make one is to work out exactly how improbable it is, feed that figure into the finite improbablity generator, give it a fresh cup of really hot tea...and turn it on!
He did this, and was rather startled to discover that he had managed to create the long-sought-after golden Infinite Improbability generator out of thin air.
It startled him even more when just after he was awarded the Galactic Institute\'s Prize for Extreme Cleverness he got lynched by a rampaging mob of respectable physicists who had finally realized that the one thing they really couldn\'t stand was a smart-ass.
:lol: ok, so you know about "physics," but you\'d still flunk 4th grade spelling and grammar!!!
Didn\'t you know? i before e except after r.
King, that\'s hitchhikers guide on the improbability drive creation, right?
well done!! i\'m having my annual re-reading of the complete series and finished that page immediately before sitting down and seeing this thread. for some reason it seemed appropriate to post... :lol:
now all we need is an eschers part 8 to go along with this.
well done!! i\'m having my annual re-reading of the complete series and finished that page immediately before sitting down and seeing this thread. for some reason it seemed appropriate to post... :lol:
:holyshit: that\'s a large read to do every year! all five books, several hundred pages man. impressive.
The hitchhickers guide Book 4: giving a whole new meaning to the word "Triology"
plus the short story, Young Zaphod Plays It Safe. 815 all told. but at this point i whip through it pretty quick. a couple weeks tops, mostly on the john.
I read a version like that. The last story confused me quite a bit, it was really short and didn\'t seem to fit as I recall.
yeah, its stuck between so long and mostly harmless. its kinda like a pre-quel and kinda like an intermission. but, considering that adams spent so much time contradicting himself and his previous works, it does kinda make some convoluted sense... :lol:
I like ketchup on my beans George.