Comments on: Zero http://www.hergestridge.com/zero-738 kill all my demons and my angels might die too Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:11:39 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: larissa http://www.hergestridge.com/zero-738/comment-page-1#comment-455 larissa Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:35:08 +0000 http://www.hergestridge.com/?p=738#comment-455 Indeed, averages are useful in generalisations only. Totally meaningless when looking at individual examples. I just like the humour. Manipulating statistics and the average person's (hehe, average, there's that word again...) understanding of it to make people stop and scratch their heads and think, "heeey, yeah, how *does* that work anyway?" Kinda like how I am sometimes when reading an XKCD panel on physics or some obscure math brain teaser, lol... Indeed, averages are useful in generalisations only. Totally meaningless when looking at individual examples.

I just like the humour. Manipulating statistics and the average person’s (hehe, average, there’s that word again…) understanding of it to make people stop and scratch their heads and think, “heeey, yeah, how *does* that work anyway?” Kinda like how I am sometimes when reading an XKCD panel on physics or some obscure math brain teaser, lol…

]]> By: Arthur Brash http://www.hergestridge.com/zero-738/comment-page-1#comment-454 Arthur Brash Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:42:46 +0000 http://www.hergestridge.com/?p=738#comment-454 Well, to me this is more along the lines of "the man that drowned in a stream with an average depth of 2 inches." Averages are quite useless in most applications of any real importance. :) Extraordinary odds are quite ordinary on a large scale or in many applications (like taking a deck of cards, lying them out in the random sequence in which they come, and realising that the sequence had a virtually impossible chance of occurring yet nothing amazing took place.) But now I just sound geeky. :) Well, to me this is more along the lines of “the man that drowned in a stream with an average depth of 2 inches.” Averages are quite useless in most applications of any real importance. :)

Extraordinary odds are quite ordinary on a large scale or in many applications (like taking a deck of cards, lying them out in the random sequence in which they come, and realising that the sequence had a virtually impossible chance of occurring yet nothing amazing took place.) But now I just sound geeky. :)

]]> By: larissa http://www.hergestridge.com/zero-738/comment-page-1#comment-453 larissa Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:20:20 +0000 http://www.hergestridge.com/?p=738#comment-453 There are so many levels at which one could interpret this... ;) This made me think of a line from a TV show that's stuck with me ever since I first heard it years ago: "My house has many rooms; I occupy but a few. The rest go unvisited." Obviously that applies to seeking satisfaction in our Earthly lives... but maybe could be tweaked to read 'the universe has many planets; intelligent life occupies but a few'? :) Or we could just say that we're all just hitchhikers on the road of life. And we do meet some strange characters indeed... :) There are so many levels at which one could interpret this… ;)

This made me think of a line from a TV show that’s stuck with me ever since I first heard it years ago: “My house has many rooms; I occupy but a few. The rest go unvisited.” Obviously that applies to seeking satisfaction in our Earthly lives… but maybe could be tweaked to read ‘the universe has many planets; intelligent life occupies but a few’? :)

Or we could just say that we’re all just hitchhikers on the road of life. And we do meet some strange characters indeed… :)

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