The Long Arm and the Law

We are all familiar with basic laws of physics, at least to the extent that we are able to pour milk on our cereal in the morning or go bowling (which, incidentally, I think is the real sport of kings). But we all have little superstitions that we are convinced are real physical laws. Perhaps the best know is the way socks seem to disappear in the dryer.

I marvel at the way I can drop something over the side of the bed and it will turn up two feet under it. I'm not talking about a superball; I mean something like a pill. I have not been able to duplicate that. Even on a hard floor I can't get a pill to roll two feet. But when dropped on the carpet beside the bed, it somehow moves until it's just far enough under the bed to get covered in dust (and get me dirty reaching way under there). For some reason that fascinates me.

Another "law" is the way traffic is always the worst when you're in the biggest hurry. I realize this is largely due to our perception; but since all we have to experience the world is our senses, isn't it as valid as other so-called empirical facts?

I'm getting long-winded. That means it's time to stop. What are some of your laws?

Comments

Todd said…
It seems that people tend to interrupt me when I don't want them to. I will be working on a hard problem, and that is when everyone needs my help, wants to talk, or their computer breaks.

Another "law" that greatly entertains me deals with computers. Someone will call me. They are frantic because their computer does not work. As soon as I get close to the computer everything works fine. The person that asked for my help feels foolish, and I feel happy that I have one less computer to fix. This happens rather frequently, so frequently in fact that it surprises me.
May 17, 2007 at 8:39 PM
Krista said…
There's this certain room here in the ICU that whenever I have a patient in there they go crazy during the night. It's happened the last five times. Other people can have the patient and they won't be crazy. The combination of me and that room = nutso for some reason.

Also, the worse my back hurts the bigger the patient.
May 18, 2007 at 2:48 AM
John said…
I know that there's some undiscovered portion of Einstein's relativity. He relates time and velocity to reference frames, but somehow boredom must be included. I know time stops everyday in my class. The world outside goes on normally, but inside the room the clock stops. I think that if you were in the most boring class with the most boring professor time wouldn't just slow down, but maybe reverse.
May 24, 2007 at 5:38 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I had an onion tied to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, you couldn't get white onions because of the war; all you could get...

Do you ever get stuck in a conversation that you can’t get out of? I’m not talking about those times when you have to be somewhere else or there’s a rational need to leave, but rather those times when, with every word the other person utters (it’s typically just a two-person conversation), your brain threatens to escape your body and make a break for it. All you can do is try to play some old TV theme songs in your head, or maybe design circuits if you’re the engineering type, all the while searching for an opportunity to escape. Now I’m boring myself just thinking about those situations.
Read more

Thirty Thoughts

1. Is that more hair in the shower drain every morning? 2. What's the big deal? It's just a number with a zero at the end. Why should we consider that significant? 3. Am I still allowed to wear shorts? 4. I need to buy a house within the next five years or we won't have it paid off by retirement age. Then again, my generation won't be able to retire until age 80, so I shouldn't worry. 5. I really should be eating more green, leafy vegetables. If I leave potatoes in the fridge long enough, will that count? 6. Going back to school is getting less and less likely. Then again, sending kids to school will be enough trauma. 7. At least I no longer look like I'm 12, which I did until I was about 23. 8. I will never wear my cell phone on my belt. 9. For some reason, there's a big difference between having a kid and having kid s . 10. You kids get off the lawn! 11. I wonder when my memory will start to go. 12. Inside of me beats the heart of an 18-year-old. At leas...
Read more

Moral Compass

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being “afraid to step on a blade of grass” and 10 being “I’m gonna kill everyone!”), how bad is it if I were to warm up my car in the morning for 10 minutes before coming to work?
Read more