Dave Kruger wrote: > > I think we need data to test Nick's suggestion, though the debate has been > interesting. We might also find that the data show us nature has whacked us > upside our heads with the "real" answer while we were trying to test the one we > thought was correct. As I read the very interesting dialogue in which chines are taking it on the chin, I recall a story supposedly true: When Thomas Edison and his laboratory associates were working on the light bulb they ran across a problem: how to measure the volume of the light bulb area which would be filled with gases. His associates went into elaborate caliberations of the cylinder portion and the globe portion, etc. to figure out the estimated volume. Edison, busily working away at some other aspect of the project, looked over and saw his colleagues mathematical machinations struggle. He went over, grabbed the light bulb, took it to a lab faucet, filled it with water and then poured the water into a measuring beaker. "Gentlemen, here is your volume!" While the story is not exactly applicable to the current debate, it does say something about how a more direct approach can prove helpful. best, ralph -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Nov 18 2000 - 09:49:38 PST
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