HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Stephen Hawking, Mensan
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1992 10:57:54 -0500

mike_steiner@qm.claris.com writes:

 MS> I believe that [Hawking] means that
 MS> when one particle does not go into the black hole, it represents a slight
 MS> loss of mass or energy (which are same, as we all 
 MS> "know"); therefore, after
 MS> a sufficent number of billions of years, the black hole will lose all its
 MS> mass and energy by this means.  Why the other particle entering the black
 MS> hole doesn't represent a gain of mass or engery is 
 MS> something that I either
 MS> never figured out, or have forgotten.

Maybe he means that both particles somehow "came from" the black hole to begin
with, so that both particles falling in would represent no net change and both
escaping would represent double the loss of one escaping.  I don't understand
how that would work tho.  More likely, if the ANTIMATTER one falls in it is a
loss, while if the MATTER one falls in it is a gain, and if BOTH fall in (or
both escape) it is no change.


Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
From: seb@draper.com (Steve Bacher)
Subject: RE: Famous Mensans besides Isaac Asimov and Mel Lazarus, Chekov (ST)
Organization: Draper Laboratory
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 12:46:00 GMT

In article <15072@claris.com>, mike_steiner@qm.claris.com writes:

>In article <1992Aug24.184916.10341@ttinews.tti.com>, hollombe@polymath.tti.com (
>The Polymath) writes:
>> 
>> 
>> Theodor Bikkel
>
>Thank you.  I've been trying to remember his name for five days.

It would help if y'all spelled his name right:

Theodore Bikel

 - seb
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
From: Sundar_Prasad@mtsg.ubc.ca
Subject: Re: A Short Puzzle
Organization: Civil Engineering, Univ of BC
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 05:04:44 GMT

In article <1992Sep3.010437.28296@gn.ecn.purdue.edu> mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu
(John P. Mechalas) writes:
>Here's an interesting puzzle someone pulled on me today:
>
>   Imagine a frog that is in square three of a row of six squares.  Square
>five contains food that the frog wishes to eat.  The frog can only move by
>jumping three squares one direction, then stopping and jumping two squares
>in the other direction.  Is it possible for the frog to land on the square
>with the food without jumping off the "playing field"?
>
>     -------------------------------------------------
>     |       |       |       |       |       |       |
>     |       |       | Frog  |       | Food  |       |
>     -------------------------------------------------
>
>   I'll post the answer tomorrow, though I imagine somebody will have
>figured it out by then...  :)
>
>-- 
>                   "All my possessions for a moment of time."
>                            -- Queen Elizabeth I
>John Mechalas 
>mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu                                 #include
disclaimer.h
>
If I'm not missing any tricks, the only possible solution is if the frog
can START with a 2 square jump (the above puzzle only says alternate jumps
of 3 and 2 squares, but not that the first jump HAS to be a 3 square one).
Am I right ;-) ?

Sundar


Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
From: hollombe@polymath.tti.com (The Polymath)
Subject: Re: The nerd stereotype
Organization: The Cat Factory
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 18:44:50 GMT

In article <q5B2PB2w165w@iowegia.uucp> quest@iowegia.uucp (Steve J. Quest) writes:

}        A nerd can be found eating pizza, pop, and candy in front 
}of a computer screen.
}        A geek can be found eating pizza, pop, and candy in front 
}of Star Trek on TV.
}        A nerd reads scientific journals, magazines and etc.
}        A geek reads comic books, sci-fi novels and etc.

I use computers for both professional and social purposes.  I also watch
TV (though seldom ST).  I eat and drink in front of both.  I read
professional journals, SF, the occasional "Heavy Metal" and (gasp!)
"Byte."

}        a nerd is incapable of interpersonal relationships.
}        So is a geek.

I've had quite a few.  The intimate ones tend to end disastrously, which
I find discouraging.

Guess I'm neither nerd nor geek.  Oh well.  In alt.callahans I'm
considered an old 'coot.  That will have to do. (-:

The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, M.A., CDP, aka: hollombe@polymath.tti.com)
Head Robot Wrangler at Citicorp                   Turn the rascals out!
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.   (310) 450-9111, x2483     No incumbents in '92!
Santa Monica, CA  90405
Organization: Sophomore, Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
From: hollombe@polymath.tti.com (The Polymath)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: Famous Mensans besides Isaac Asimov and Mel Lazarus, Chekov (ST)
Date: 27 Aug 92 18:36:26 GMT
Organization: The Cat Factory

In article <A474243C00409B74@ccfvx3.draper.com> seb@draper.com (Steve Bacher) writes:
}In article <15072@claris.com>, mike_steiner@qm.claris.com writes:
}>In article <1992Aug24.184916.10341@ttinews.tti.com>, hollombe@polymath.tti.com (
}>The Polymath) writes:
}>> 
}>> Theodor Bikkel
}>
}>Thank you.  I've been trying to remember his name for five days.
}
}It would help if y'all spelled his name right:
}
}Theodore Bikel

My apologies to him and you.  The Unix spell checker doesn't do names,
he's no longer in the Mensa Register and I never did own any of his
albums.  Somehow I decided his name should be more exotic than standard.

The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, M.A., CDP, aka: hollombe@polymath.tti.com)
Head Robot Wrangler at Citicorp                   Turn the rascals out!
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.   (310) 450-9111, x2483     No incumbents in '92!
Santa Monica, CA  90405
From: mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (John P. Mechalas)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: The World According to Student Bloopers
Date: 2 Sep 92 22:23:46 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network

In article <15124@claris.com> mike_steiner@qm.claris.com (Mike Steiner) writes:
> 
>By the way, what is the policy concerning quoting copyright works in their
>entirety on a newsgroup?

An analogous situation has occured on Public Domain and Shareware archives,
so I would assume that the policies are generally the same.  Usually, the
offending programs/texts are removed from the sight, and the uploader 
notified if not already aware of the situations.
   Recently, Project Gutenberg ran into a similar situation.  For those who
don't know what Gutenberg does, they transfer books into electronic texts which
are then distrubted into the public domain.  To avoid copyright problems, they
scan books whose copyrights have since expired.  Recently, however, after
releasing a copy of (I think) _Robin Hood_, it was discovered that the version
or versions scanned were still covered by some copyright.  The text was then
removed from the E-Text archive.
   Things get more complex when you go overseas...if I recall correctly, US
copyrights are only valid in the US.  Can someone check me on that?  I know
it holds true for patents.....

-- 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
|   John Mechalas      |   Send all fan mail to: mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu   |
|   Purdue University  |   Send all hate mail to: someone else                |
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
From: Erik Naggum <enag@ifi.uio.no>
Organization: Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
Date: 01 Sep 1992 01:24:17 +0200
Subject: Re: Problematic smurfs!

Mike Steiner <mike_steiner@qm.claris.com> writes:
|
|   > |   > They can only wear one color. The color hat on their head is ...
|   >       ^^^^ A smurf                                   ^^^^^ a smurf's
|
|   That changes the problem.

No, it only limits the number of interpretations of the originally
stated problem.  "They" and "their" are used as singular gender-
indeterminate pronouns.  (BTW, this usage is not new with political
correctness.)

|   > |   >      One day the mayor, not apart of the 1000 smurfs, decides ...
|   >                                   ^^^^^^^^ among
|
|   That also changes the problem.

No, as above.  You have to interpret "apart of" somehow, since it isn't
very meaningful as is.  So it's either "apart from", or "a part of".
I'm opting for the least number of typos, i.e. missing space.

I have no idea how each smurf would decide what color his hat is based
on why others didn't rise, unless the stated "commotion" includes shouts
of "why don't you rise, you red-hatted fool?".  But then I'm at loss for
how you would figure out how many.  Oh, well, interpreting the problem
is, as usual, highly inferior to solving it.

Best regards,
</Erik>
--
Erik Naggum             |  ISO  8879 SGML     |      +47 295 0313
                        |  ISO 10744 HyTime   |
<erik@naggum.no>        |  ISO 10646 UCS      |      Memento, terrigena.
<enag@ifi.uio.no>       |  ISO  9899 C        |      Memento, vita brevis.
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: <None>
From: ** Sender Unknown **
Date: 1 Sep 92 19:20:16 EDT

ld.so: warning: /usr/lib/libc.so.1.6.1 has older revision than expected 7
From: cjdcosta@eos.ncsu.edu (CHRISTOPHER J DCOSTA)
Subject: Re: The nerd stereotype
Originator: cjdcosta@zepplin.ece.ncsu.edu
Reply-To: cjdcosta@eos.ncsu.edu (CHRISTOPHER J DCOSTA)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 02:32:52 GMT


Stephen P. Marting counsels Steve J. Quest:
>
>I'll call you a geek for now, 'cause I personally prefer that word. 
>You've said you are a geek.  Get ready for this - you almost ALWAYS will
>be.  Most likely until you're dead.  Now hold on to this thought - it
>doesn't matter.  Not a bit.  I've been there - voted most intelligent in
>a class of 500+

Hold on. That doesn't make you either a nerd or a geek. My impression of
a geek/nerd is that of an introvert who has problems socialising and 
is too attached to his terminal/telescope/microscope/whatever to have
"fun". 

The quotes are there because the said individual could WELL be having
fun locked onto with his favorite toy. It's annoying that society has a need
to standardise what a person should or shouldn't consider to be fun.
 

>You're a geek.  You probably won't change that.  So as long as you go
>around saying geeks are incapable of relationships, you most likely
>won't have one.  Stop it.  Lighten up.  Go have fun.  If that means
>hacking, do so.  Just do what you know you need to do - work on your own
>maturing.  You will soon, if you can't ALREADY, be able to handle
>relationships just fine. And soon enough, one will come by.  Don't move
>too soon, but don't let it slip by.  You have many years ahead of you,
>you will learn the timing.

Well said. Though I'm not sure about the "once a geek, always a geek" part.
I'm sure it's possible to earn people's respect doing what one does best. 
There's nothing like being respected to build up confidence, which should
go a long way in helping on the social front. And if there are still those
who would call you a geek, it would be more out of envy than scorn.


>You'll learn what you need the SAME WAY THE
>COOL PEOPLE DO - trial and error.  And they make JUST AS MANY errors as
>you.

Wait a minute! 'Cool people'?

Don't EVER forget that the concept of coolness or lack thereof is relative.
Personally, if "cool people" are the kind of jocks that appear on 'Studs',
I'd much prefer to be called "hot" :-)
From: mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (John P. Mechalas)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: Update on New Newsletter
Date: 2 Sep 92 22:17:34 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network

In article <10287@vice.ICO.TEK.COM> hall@vice.ICO.TEK.COM (Hal F Lillywhite) writes:
>In article <182sf2INNm23@gw.home.vix.com> shedevil@vix.com (Anne P. Mitchell JD) writes:
>
>[a description of a publication for such items as]
> ...
>
>>                   and statistical evidence proving that African
>>witchcraft has been a more effective psychiatric cure than Freudian
>>psychoanalysis.
>
>This is one which probably could get published in a recognized
>journal.  A lot of modern day psychologists reject the Freudian
>approach and there is good evidence that it does more harm than
>good.  It wouldn't take much for a witch doctor to do better.  There

This is true.  In fact, one reason schools still teach Freudian psychology
mostly stems from the influence he had on Psychology as a science.  Although
a lot of his methods have been shown to be ineffective or harmful, he still
had a lot to do with the foundation of Psychology.

-- 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
|   John Mechalas      |   Send all fan mail to: mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu   |
|   Purdue University  |   Send all hate mail to: someone else                |
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
From: gmark@cbnewse.cb.att.com (gilbert.m.stewart)
Subject: Re: Stephen Hawking, Mensan
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 15:06:10 GMT

In article <DENS.92Aug26072603@flammulated.owlnet.rice.edu> dens@flammulated.owlnet.rice.edu (Dennis Allen Schmitz) writes:
>In article <1992Aug24.194906.24485@cco.caltech.edu> morphy@cco.caltech.edu (Jones Maxime Murphy) writes:
>
>   Just learned this while watching the movie "A Brief History of Time". In my
>   unbiased opinion, a great movie. Not just because I did my research in 
>   relativity and knew several of the people featured.:)
>
>There was a MOVIE?! My God, why didn't anyone tell me?

It's a music video.  Watch for it.  That Hawking is one wild dude.

GMS
From: seb@draper.com (Steve Bacher)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: RE: The World According to Student Bloopers
Date: 2 Sep 92 11:45:00 GMT
Organization: Draper Laboratory

Posits  "Jean L. Cooper" <jlc5f@poe.acc.virginia.edu>:

>This article is probably copyrighted, since Richard Lederer
>is a well-known author.  He is in New Hampshire Mensa.

You mean copyrighted in the names of all the original authors?
If not, then there may be a legal/ethical question raised.

 - seb
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
From: radams@BNR.CA (Rodney Adams)
Subject: Re: Brown and black hats (was:  Problematic smurfs!)
Reply-To: "Rodney Adams" <RADAMS@BNR.CA>
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ltd.
Date: Wed, 02 Sep 1992 14:18:18 GMT

In article <1E77C1B20041667D@ccfvx3.draper.com>, seb@draper.com (Steve Bacher) writes:
|> I came up with a different solution:
|> 
|> Since someone standing on line who can only see those in front of - er - 
|> them - has no way of obtaining information about those in back of - er -
|> them - unless they can hear them, the only possibility is that the front
          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|> guy heard someone talk.  Someone can talk only if they know the color of
|> their hat, and they in turn can only find this out if they see someone
|> in front leave or hear someone talk.  Therefore, I conclude that the
|> fellow in the back must have talked.  The only information he would have
|> is the color of the other two guys' hats, which therefore must both be
|> black.  So the guy in front realizes this and leaves.
|> 
|> Why didn't the second guy leave?  Because (1) he's deaf and couldn't
|> hear the third guy, or (2) he's not a Mensan and couldn't come to the
|> same conclusion.
|> 
|> Why didn't the first guy realize that the second guy might not have
|> talked because he was deaf or non-Mensan?  It doesn't matter, because
|> the third one spoke and the second one didn't, which is the only way
|> that information could positively have been transmitted to the first.
|> 
|>  - seb

Presumably, if one can hear another talk, then one can also hear another 
leave.  Also, a person who is free to leave (after determining the color
of hat being worn) could then be visible to the other two after leaving 
the line.  Furthermore, the last statement of the problem implies that
nothing happens until the first one in line leaves.

Granted, the problem was not unambiguously stated, but as with other
things that I have edited, I chose to leave the problem as close to the
original as I could tolerate.

However, I must admit that I stopped looking at this problem after I found
what I considered "the correct answer."  Being able to go beyond this
and find a less conventional answer is certainly nothing to discourage.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rodney G. Adams
The opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of my employer.
As if you didn't already know that....
"Progress is a man's ability to complicate simplicity." - Thor Heyerdahl
From: enag@ifi.uio.no (Erik Naggum)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: Problematic smurfs!
Date: 31 Aug 92 01:29:57 GMT
Organization: Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway

Mike Steiner <mike_steiner@qm.claris.com> writes:
|
|   I fail to see what is so hard about this problem.  What I do not understand
|   is how, if they can wear only one color, why doesn't each person know what
|   color s/he is wearing?

I think the problem is ambiguously stated.  Your trivial solution can't
apply since the smurfs were explicitly stated not to all wear the same
color hat, _and_ the mayor is not among them.  How about these small
changes?

|   In article <94952@bu.edu>, spacefox@acs.bu.edu (Godfrey Degamo) writes:
|
|   >      A group of 1000 smurfs wear either a red or blue hat on their head.
|   > They can only wear one color. The color hat on their head is known to all, but
      ^^^^ A smurf                                   ^^^^^ a smurf's

|   > the wearer.  The wearer of the hat has no means whatsoever for obtaining the
|   > color of his hat.  It is never the case that all 1000 smurfs will wear
|   > the same color hat.
|   >      One day the mayor, not apart of the 1000 smurfs, decides to call a
                                  ^^^^^^^^ among

|   > town meeting.  All 1000 smurfs are gathered into the town hall.  The mayor
|   > is not wearing a hat.  During the meeting, the mayor asks that all the
|   > smurfs wearing red hats to stand up.
|   >      There is a bit of commotion in the crowd, but no one stands up.
|   >      The mayor requests the same demand a bit more sternly.
|   >      Again, commotion, but no one stands up.
|   >      The mayor, irate, demands the red hatted smurfs to stand up.
|   >      Then, a certain amount of smurfs rise.
|   >
|   > find:
|   >      The exact amount of smurfs that rise.
|   >          (Hint: This number will be greater than one.)
|   >      The color of the hats of the smurfs that rise.
|   >
|   > more importantly,
|   >      Explain how you deduced your answer.

Best regards,
</Erik>
--
Erik Naggum             |  ISO  8879 SGML     |      +47 295 0313
                        |  ISO 10744 HyTime   |
<erik@naggum.no>        |  ISO 10646 UCS      |      Memento, terrigena.
<enag@ifi.uio.no>       |  ISO  9899 C        |      Memento, vita brevis.
From: jlc5f@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU (Jean L. Cooper)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: The World According to Student Bloopers
Date: 2 Sep 92 13:21:51 GMT
Organization: University of Virginia

Absence of a copyright statement does not negate the author's
copyright.  Any work of authorship is automatically copyright
when it is set into a fixed form, such as print or electronic
file.  (This is detailed in the brochures published by the
Copyright Office, which are available at your nearest government
documents depository library.)
--
Jean L. Cooper    (BITNET: JLC5F@virginia.edu   CIS: 70253,1114)
"The true University of these days is a Collection of Books." 
                                           --Carlyle                        
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
From: rhs@world.std.com (Richard H Schwartz)
Subject: Re: Problematic smurfs!
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 15:05:24 GMT

ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) writes:

>Now for the interesting problem.  Suppose there were at least two blue
>dots.  Then everyone already knows that there is at least one blue dotted
>person in the village.  The Stranger seems to have given them no information,
>so why was his statement fatal?

Because in the case of two, each knows:

  { "There is at least one blue dotted person.",
    "There is one person who may not know there is at least one blue 
     dotted person." } 

The stranger's information invalidated the second statement.  

For higher N,

  { "There are either N-1 or N blue dotted persons.",
    "There are (N-1 persons who may believe that there are ((N-1 or 
     N-2 blue dotted persons) who may believe that there are ((N-2 
     or N-3 blue dotted persons) who...)))"  }

-rich
-- 
             Richard H. Schwartz, Scheduling Systems Inc.,
            1000 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA  02138
                  (617) 864 8330; FAX (617) 864 8377
                          rhs@world.std.com
From: enag@ifi.uio.no (Erik Naggum)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: Who needs intelligence (cont.)?
Date: 28 Aug 92 19:35:00 GMT
Organization: Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway

welchb@woods.ulowell.edu writes:
|
|   How do Mensans, or other people of intelligence, accomodate their
|   careers, objectives, lives, etc. to the fact that there are terrible
|   atrocities, wars, social ills, etc. continually going on?  Should
|   you feel even more responsibility than the average person?  Does
|   mathematics or rocket science or philosophy matter when babies are
|   being used for bayonet practice (just saw that one last night on tv)
|   or people are starving (unnecessarily)?

Why should one feel any responsibility for what other people are doing?

If you're concerned, shouldn't you be more concerned with the TV news
crew who filmed the bayonet practice and didn't intervene, or with those
who actually engaged in the practice, or ordered it, than with a bunch
of newsgroup readers several hours and thousands of miles away from the
incident?  What, precisely, is it that you think we could do about it?

Why is the fact that someone, somewhere is using babies for bayonet
practice "news"?  People have been committing atrocities and acts of
pure evil for millennia.  Why should they stop now, just because a TV
news crew is visiting?

Think about it: If all this killing and mindless violence suddenly
stopped, completely, never to return, what would news be like, what
would people talk about, what would we do with all this purported
responsibility we should feel?

Have you hugged your loved one today?  Smiled at a happy child, playing?
Shared your happiness and enjoyment with someone?  Have you _enjoyed_
yourself today?  Much more important questions.  No matter what your
intelligence level is.

Best regards,
</Erik>
--
Erik Naggum             |  ISO  8879 SGML     |      +47 295 0313
                        |  ISO 10744 HyTime   |
<erik@naggum.no>        |  ISO 10646 UCS      |      Memento, terrigena.
<enag@ifi.uio.no>       |  ISO  9899 C        |      Memento, vita brevis.
From: Dave.Aronson@p11.f120.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Dave Aronson)
Sender: Uucp@blkcat.UUCP
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: The World According to Student Bloopers
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1992 10:51:12 -0500

jswthomp@milton.u.washington.edu (James Thompson) writes:

 JT> This is only true if the students copyrighted their work.

Depending when and where the papers were written, they may have been
automatically copyrighted.  Since the USA signed the Berne Convention, any work
created in the USA is automatically copyrighted upon creation; it may have been
so before then, outside the USA.  Before then, in the USA, it would have to have
been explicitly copyrighted....
From: mike_steiner@qm.claris.com (Mike Steiner)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: Famous Mensans besides Isaac Asimov and Mel Lazarus, Chekov (ST)
Date: 25 Aug 92 16:59:01 GMT

In article <1992Aug24.184916.10341@ttinews.tti.com>, hollombe@polymath.tti.com (The Polymath) writes:
> 
> 
> Theodor Bikkel

Thank you.  I've been trying to remember his name for five days.
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa