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From: Owen Jacobson on 22 Jun 2010 21:59
On 2010-06-22 16:21:22 -0400, Frederick Williams said:

> Archimedes Plutonium wrote:
>>
>> Earlier this year, I derived the speed of light from purely
>> mathematical considerations,
>> without ever having to do any physics experiment to find out what the
>> speed of light is.
>> Of course, I would want to verify by physics experiment that I had
>> actually produced the
>> speed of light.
>
> The speed of light is 299,792,458 metres per second by definition.

You're trying to correct someone who sincerely believes that if a
measurable quantity is "close enough" to one of his favourite numbers,
then the measurement is somehow wrong and the number is *really* his
favourite number -- even when the experimental value is known to far
too many places for that to be feasible or when the value is defined by
fiat.

In other words, a crazy person.

Have fun,

-o

From: Androcles on 22 Jun 2010 22:29

"Owen Jacobson" <angrybaldguy(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2010062221591561813-angrybaldguy(a)gmailcom...
| On 2010-06-22 16:21:22 -0400, Frederick Williams said:
|
| > Archimedes Plutonium wrote:
| >>
| >> Earlier this year, I derived the speed of light from purely
| >> mathematical considerations,
| >> without ever having to do any physics experiment to find out what the
| >> speed of light is.
| >> Of course, I would want to verify by physics experiment that I had
| >> actually produced the
| >> speed of light.
| >
| > The speed of light is 299,792,458 metres per second by definition.
|
| You're trying to correct someone who sincerely believes that if a
| measurable quantity is "close enough" to one of his favourite numbers,
| then the measurement is somehow wrong and the number is *really* his
| favourite number -- even when the experimental value is known to far
| too many places for that to be feasible or when the value is defined by
| fiat.
|
| In other words, a crazy person.
|
| Have fun,
|
| -o
The one that is crazy is the one that defined the metre in terms of
the speed of light and then defined the speed of light in terms of
the metre. It doesn't get any more psychotic than that.





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