Author
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Topic: Counter-Intuitive Science
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Dr Adequate
Member (Idle past 305 days) Posts: 16113 Joined: 07-20-2006
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Message 1 of 182 (599512)
01-08-2011 11:29 AM
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Much of science is counter-intuitive. One could talk here about relativity or quantum theory, but there are examples that are easier to grasp and equally counter-intuitive at first glance. For example, the world being round. (I can still recall my own incredulity when my mother told me about that one.) Or the fact that large stars burn through their fuel faster than small ones. What are your favorite examples?
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Admin
Director Posts: 13017 From: EvC Forum Joined: 06-14-2002 Member Rating: 1.8
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Message 2 of 182 (599606)
01-09-2011 8:50 AM
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Thread Copied from Proposed New Topics Forum
Thread copied here from the Counter-Intuitive Science thread in the Proposed New Topics forum.
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slevesque
Member (Idle past 4661 days) Posts: 1456 Joined: 05-14-2009
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Message 3 of 182 (599634)
01-09-2011 2:57 PM
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a red flame is less energetic then a blue flame. (Or infrared is less energetic then ultraviolet) Although it's not counter-intuitive per se, but it is since in our cultures we represent red as hot, heat, fire and blue as cold, ice etc.
Replies to this message: | | Message 4 by cavediver, posted 01-09-2011 3:25 PM | | slevesque has not replied |
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cavediver
Member (Idle past 3664 days) Posts: 4129 From: UK Joined: 06-16-2005
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Message 4 of 182 (599639)
01-09-2011 3:25 PM
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Reply to: Message 3 by slevesque 01-09-2011 2:57 PM
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a red flame is less energetic then a blue flame. Definitely, and even more so in the case of stars - I mean, how hot can a blue star honestly look?
This message is a reply to: | | Message 3 by slevesque, posted 01-09-2011 2:57 PM | | slevesque has not replied |
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arachnophilia
Member (Idle past 1365 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: 05-21-2004
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Dr Adequate writes: What are your favorite examples? that it is entirely possible to make a vehicle that travels directly downwind, powered only by the wind, and goes faster than the wind. אָרַח
This message is a reply to: | | Message 1 by Dr Adequate, posted 01-08-2011 11:29 AM | | Dr Adequate has not replied |
Replies to this message: | | Message 6 by RAZD, posted 01-09-2011 7:38 PM | | arachnophilia has not replied | | Message 178 by Kaichos Man, posted 03-05-2011 6:02 AM | | arachnophilia has replied |
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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1426 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: 03-14-2004
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or one that can travel directly upwind, powered by wind. we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand Rebel American Zen Deist ... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ... to share.
Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
This message is a reply to: | | Message 5 by arachnophilia, posted 01-09-2011 6:47 PM | | arachnophilia has not replied |
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Panda
Member (Idle past 3734 days) Posts: 2688 From: UK Joined: 10-04-2010
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Not sure if it is counter-intuitive per se, but Archimedes' Screw:
I don't why, but it sets off a false-positive on my bullshit meter. It all 'seems wrong'. Edited by Panda, : typo
This message is a reply to: | | Message 1 by Dr Adequate, posted 01-08-2011 11:29 AM | | Dr Adequate has not replied |
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CosmicChimp
Member Posts: 311 From: Muenchen Bayern Deutschland Joined: 06-15-2007
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There are so many, especially the ones I saw as a kid. Anything from Prof. Julius Sumner Miller had me enthralled. But from my teenage years comes the enduring and possibly my favourite example. Prof. Carl Sagan in Cosmos explains the fourth spatial dimension. I should forget it, I can scarcely grasp the premises even now decades later. And also from university days, that a lungfish has physically much more DNA than a human.
This message is a reply to: | | Message 1 by Dr Adequate, posted 01-08-2011 11:29 AM | | Dr Adequate has not replied |
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jar
Member (Idle past 415 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: 04-20-2004
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Message 9 of 182 (599695)
01-09-2011 8:50 PM
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That ice floats. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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Larni
Member (Idle past 185 days) Posts: 4000 From: Liverpool Joined: 09-16-2005
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Message 10 of 182 (599730)
01-10-2011 10:42 AM
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That heavy things fall to earth the same speed as lighter things.
Replies to this message: | | Message 104 by onifre, posted 01-14-2011 1:31 PM | | Larni has not replied |
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jar
Member (Idle past 415 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: 04-20-2004
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Message 11 of 182 (599733)
01-10-2011 10:48 AM
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That summer and winter are not related to how close the earth is to the sun. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
Replies to this message: | | Message 13 by Panda, posted 01-10-2011 11:03 AM | | jar has not replied | | Message 33 by dwise1, posted 01-11-2011 3:57 PM | | jar has seen this message but not replied |
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Tanypteryx
Member Posts: 4411 From: Oregon, USA Joined: 08-27-2006 Member Rating: 5.4
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Message 12 of 182 (599735)
01-10-2011 10:58 AM
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That there are no green stars even though there is green light in their spectrum.
Tactimatically speaking, the molecubes are out of alignment. -- S.Valley What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python You can't build a Time Machine without Weird Optics -- S. Valley
Replies to this message: | | Message 88 by RAZD, posted 01-13-2011 6:28 PM | | Tanypteryx has not replied |
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Panda
Member (Idle past 3734 days) Posts: 2688 From: UK Joined: 10-04-2010
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Message 13 of 182 (599736)
01-10-2011 11:03 AM
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Reply to: Message 11 by jar 01-10-2011 10:48 AM
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jar writes: That summer and winter are not related to how close the earth is to the sun.
On a similar vein: the phases of the moon not being caused by the Earth.
This message is a reply to: | | Message 11 by jar, posted 01-10-2011 10:48 AM | | jar has not replied |
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Iblis
Member (Idle past 3916 days) Posts: 663 Joined: 11-17-2005
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Message 14 of 182 (599739)
01-10-2011 11:07 AM
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That water expands when freezing (that home-made slurpees explode rather than implode)
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Jon
Inactive Member
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Message 15 of 182 (599740)
01-10-2011 11:08 AM
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That I exist. Check out No webpage found at provided URL: Apollo's Temple! Ignorance is temporary; you should be able to overcome it. - nwr
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