Termyn8or
Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
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I see the accumulation of these "bits" as aquiring pieces of a puzzle, such as a jigsaw puzzle. Sometimes the pieces don't appear to fit, but they do, just not yet. The problem is detrermining which bits fit into your personal puzzle, something which I have referred to as a knowledge lattice.
In other words I see the puzzle as being three dimensional, in a way like a crystalline structure. That structure I visualize (almost) as a pyramid. The base of it is layed when you are young, learning to walk and talk. The pinnacle of your learning is like the top of the structure, and as we know that would have to be supported by the lower levels.
When I read a book like Nelkon and Parker's Advanced Level Physics, I am fascinated by the experiments they describe. Some of them could be total bullshit because I do not know the basis' for them, but others are clear. Ways to get truly empirical data on the boiling point of water. You should see the doodad they used for that, but it is explained fairly well. They also described a setup with mirrors, a wheel with mirrors mounted and a tachometer to determine the speed of light. It's easy to see that these things are pretty much made to prove a point, and I mean prove it beyond any doubt.
But some of the experiments they describe are beyond me, that is that I do not know enough of theory involved for it to be useful information to me. But it is all useless, I studied it because it interested me. I have no grade to make, nothing to prove, just curiousity. In my life I have no need to know how many nanoseconds it will take the light to get to the farthest corner of the room, it is plenty fast enough for me. The boiling point of water ? It boils when it boils, if it isn't fast enough add some salt.
Now that's not to say that I will never find a practical use for this information. It could happen and similar things have happened. For example my job requires alot of reverse engineering. Sometimes knowing how ICs are made can lend a bit of insight to a failure mode.
Years ago my car was one that was originally equipped with points but had been upgraded to an HEI distributor, it didn't even have a catalytic converter. But back then I was reading up on computer controlled fuel injection systems that are just about universal now.
I used to be quite into fast cars. One I had, that wasn't so fast had a timing belt and it was easy to change the valve timing. When the belt went of course I replaced it, but not the cover. I decided to do an experiment. I purposely knocked the cam timing off a tooth, then another tooth, then I went in the other direction doing the same thing. With this particular car I could do this without affecting ignition timing.
It was stickshift and I noted that when I took it one way it had incredible low end torque, I mean you could take off in fourth gear. In first you could just slip your foot off the clutch in first at idle and it would not stall. And this is a four cylinder. But when it was set this way it would not do over 45 MPH in any gear. On the other side however, it seemed like a gutless wonder until you got the RPMs up, then it would do 80 MPH in second gear !
Years later, hell over a decade later, my Uncle who was an exec at Ford came over. Hell even this was a decade ago, but Ford had bought either Porsche or Jaguar, I don't remember which right now and my Uncle told us that a guy walked into the meeting with something that looked like a small torque converter. He said they told him it was a timing gear.
Well your little punk nephew impressed you this day, I had seen some ad for what is called VVT, Variable Valve Timing. I was already hip to it, and I told him and my Father who was there just what it was. Succinctly I explained it, without the model or the privvy to any of what they no doubt told him about it. I told them that it works pretty much like the centrifugal advance in a car's distributor, but it is one step further. It allows them to use a short valve duration yet get performance close to that of those racing cams. The kind that made the engine not even think about producing any serious torque until about 5,000 RPMs. This was a good solution and really should be implemented on all cars.
The cost is really not astronomical, but the way they cut costs, don't expect to see VVT in a Hyundai. Although I would not really be all that surprised. If they found a cheaper way to do it, they would. I am sure their engineers are aware of the technique. With today's gas prices, and technology being what it is, remember this, the fastest engine is usually the most efficient, if all other things are equal.
Cars and mechanics were always in my family. My Father built a 283 punched out to about 301 with a Racer Brown roller cam. It actually did NINE THOUSAND RPMs. He told me that at about 9,400 RPM it would always tear up the number one main bearing. They didn't care, they had machined the crank journals down and had them hard chromed back up to size. The bearings were pulverized, but the crank was fine. The block had been line bored so popping the crank in and out was no problem. Of course they learned to simply not go past about 9,000 RPM, as ambitious as they were, why ? This was enough to make the host 1957 Chevy pop a wheelie. What more do you need ?
In all the generations of my family in this country at least, none have ever called a mechanic or a TV technician. The only exceptions were when something was under factory warranty. When I was too young, basically my Father who was a machinist would take care of the mechanical things. Transmission went ? Have the kids pull it out and get it on the bench here. My other Uncle worked for IBM and knew electronics. He got the TV duty until I took it over.
And when we started with houses, my other Uncle was an electrician. Buy a place looking at an old box with wire fuses, a total mess because of upgrades through the 30s and 40s, when he got done it had better wiring than a brand new house. I have also taken over that duty and have changed many entrance panels. A few of them were actually not for family so I actually made some money on a couple of them. Woo hoo.
I remember, in the beginning I had no concept of money. I hungered for the knowledge. I don't know, I may have mentioned Grampa before, but on Saturdays I would go over there and we would work on TVs that he had picked out of the garbage. He was worth plenty, he did not have to do this, but he did. Other than keeping busy in his retirement he did not like waste. In a way, money was not his motive. I was too young for money to be a motive but I had heloped him fix a few sets and eventually he sold one. He handed me some money the next Saturday and I was puzzled, I asked what it was for.
He replied "I sold that _______ we fixed, this is half the money". God damn I was becoming a Man.
He really liked working on sewing machines as well, and back then all the Wives had them. It was standard issue for the job. And that was your job as a Wife. When the kids tear their clothes up, you are expected to salvage whatever you can, and knowing the value of money, you wanted to. You cooked, cleaned and took care of the kids. Money is the Man's problem. Wives working was a big nono. That's the way it was.
Grampa would fix the sewing machines, but Grandma would teach my sister how to use them. The Women folk stayed upstairs. We Men folk went downstairs.
I cherish those memories. You get in that basement and there is a granding wheel made from a washing machine motor and I will never know what else. Grampa was able to regrind worn out phillips screwdrivers, a skill I still lack. Those old oilcans with the pump and the spout. He scrapped old lawn furniture and took the aluminum in, in his Pinto, which I actually finally wound up with, and was the one I did the cam timing experiments on. But all the straps from the frames were hanging in his basement. He said he really didn't know quite what to do with them, but they were strong and he didn't want to just throw them away.
Of course I was thinking something bondage related back then even, but I never let on.
With a background like mine I think it pretty much unlikely that all I know is bullshit. Perhaps some things, but the successful problem solving abilities that developed cannot be discounted.
Most people dislike being told they are wrong. Some see it as a breaking of their facade, take it personally as if it is a power struggle. The way I see it is when people are like that, they either have a weak knowledge base and/or are unwilling to admit it. This can apply to people who have been through the educational system. Some think that the approved sources of information are the only ones that are valid.
Others, of which I like to think I am among, have a different problem with being proven wrong. One then has to unlearn something, not an easy task. But we must if we want a strong and clean structure of our knowledge base.
See in some ways you can never be proven wrong, one possibilty is that the proof of your error is faulty, or for whatever reason you disregard it. If you do not know you are wrong, in your own mind you are right.
On the other hand if you really are proven wrong and accept the proof, you are no longer wrong are you ?
Do I accept that medical science has advanced ? Yes. Do I accept that taller people are indicative of this ? No. This is at the heart of my argument with a couple of people here. It has been civil, but we are not coming into agreement. In such a case one point of view must be right and one must be wrong.
They are as stuck with their opinions as I am with mine. To those who think taller people is a good thing, I will say this, taller people generally have more heart and blood pressure problems. Not a rule, but a tendency. Well the estabishment that controls education makes money off of these things.
A good roofer will tell you if you need new underlayment, a good plumber will tell you that the drain has to be fixed right or you will continue to have problems with it. A good mechanic will recommend replacing the fuel filter before it burns up your fuel pump because it is clogged. A good TV technician might tell you that your set is literally waiting on a twelve cent part, but it is the part that caused all those $100 worth of parts to blow. If you walk into a doctor's office, they do not tell you how to avoid problems.
They operate with a form of immunity. Wrong diagnoses, mistakes prescribing, removing the wrong leg. They are as fallible as us and I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is the fact that they are not held accountable until a malpractice lawsuit gets filed. If they were held to the standards to which my profession holds me, there would be alot of doctors out on the streets.
So just so you know, it is quite difficult to convince me that I am wrong. So pot, the kettle is black too.
Thing is with me, some of these conspiracy theorists make more sense. Sometimes they do and it really is that simple. If you think the super rich got that way by acting totally autonomously without any cooperation I'll see you at the oceanfront property in Arizona.If you think the media and the schools do not cooperate with the government, let me get you a pet rock. And if you think the really big money does not control the government, here's your sign.
T
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