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New sphere-packing record stems from an unexpected source

quantamagazine.org

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Re: New sphere-packing record stems from an unexpected source

#221

Post by RugnirViking »

ericol wrote: post #187
dkarl wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found it's best to explain my job using unintelligible jargon. There are three choices, really: You can give a quick explanation in terms they understand, which makes your job sound easy and makes them wonder how anybody gets paid to do it. You can explain what you do and why it's important in terms they understand, but it'll take so long they'll get bored and wish they hadn't asked. Or you can give a quick expl…

I don't have that problem ("I work with computers / I am a computer programmer") but I usually follow with "I'm a race driver. I drive the car as fast as I can, I don't change the tires nor the oil in it" when I get the usual "can you fix my computer?" request. For reasons that I care not to ask people get seriously annoyed by that.

I like that analogy for the simple reason that I imagine most race car drivers do in fact have opinions about tires and oil and know how to fix them. It's just not the main part of their job. Similarly, you probably would be a lot better at fixing computers than a layman.

Re: New sphere-packing record stems from an unexpected source

#222

Post by vanderZwan »

wmeredith wrote: post #185
vanderZwan wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm afraid I don't get the reference :)

He is the world champion of eating hotdogs. He can eat 73 or something. The joke is that he's packing them into his stomach.

Thanks!

Re: New sphere-packing record stems from an unexpected source

#223

Post by IIsi50MHz »

lanstin wrote: post #201
fyrn_ wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "with strangers" is the important bit. If a nuclear engineer is talking to some lay person and uses hyper specific jargon, then grandparent is correct. If you've established a shared competency with the person, and are therefor no longer total strangers, that's totally different.

True, but however, there are times when I just really need to talk about the extremely detailed bits of some problem I'm thinking about - just the act of speech is really needed; I find this super annoying in other people, but forgivable because I also experience it. I have heard so much about minutiae from my kids that I have to force myself to just semi-actively listen to. My wife has to hear so many things that an…

"Everybody needs a rubber duck."

Sometimes, explaining your issue to a random person leads you to a solution. They don't even need to have any experience with the same or a similar issue; indeed, sometimes it's better if they don't! Often turns out you don't need someone who can respond, so explaining to an object like a rubber duck will do.

Re: New sphere-packing record stems from an unexpected source

#224

Post by dghughes »

gilleain wrote: post #192
dghughes wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've often thought how my cat must think I am insane. I sit in from of a medium-sized glowing rectangle, I occasionally look at a small glowing rectangle, then in the evening stare at a really large glowing rectangle.

Other options are : 1) Cats do not really think that much about us at all, except for thoughts like - "oh no! it's about to attack! wait no, it's fine, relax..." or "will it feed me if I shout at it?" or "it's sitting down, perhaps I feel like sitting on it" 2) Their thoughts about us revolve around our weird lack of fur, the strange way we never clean ourselves by licking, and how bad we are at catching small animal…

>our weird lack of fur, the strange way we never clean ourselves by licking, and how bad we are at catching small animals to eat.

Or some of us with our tail on backwards.

Re: New sphere-packing record stems from an unexpected source

#225

Post by asboans »

ivanbakel wrote: post #209
HappMacDonald wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (Aside: Strangely, the relationship is non monotonic and is actually maximal for n=6) For this aside I crave a citation. When n=1 the sphere fit is 100% as both simplex and sphere are congruent in that dimension. And dismissing n=0 as degenerate (fit is undefined there I suppose: dividing by zero measure and all that) that (first) dimension should be maximal with a steady decline thereafter thus also monotonic.

This looks to have been a conflation by the GP between the volume of the unit sphere itself and its ratio to the volume of its bounding cube (which is not the unit cube.) The volume of the sphere does top out at an unintuitive dimension, but indeed the ratio of the two is always decreasing - and intuitively, each additional dimension just adds more space between the corners of the cube and the face of the sphere.

Urgh you’re right. I was being dumb and am now ashamed

Re: New sphere-packing record stems from an unexpected source

#226

Post by neltnerb »

shakna wrote: post #210
neltnerb wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's just me but I feel entirely comfortable asking questions like "how much math did you take? do you remember what a derivative is?" and base my explanations on the response. Turns out fine every time so far... and if they don't remember what a derivative is (or whatever) then I just explain it differently no big deal. I'd almost argue it is easier than not asking, but only if I actually care about them under…

That is fine. That's not what has been complained about here. That's invitational, not wall of jargon.

right, was agreeing with you.

meta: I hate how hn culture lately makes people assume that what was obviously a statement in support of a premise was somehow an argument. I get it, around here it is rational enough. Still weird.

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