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notageek
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 78
Location: Bangalore, India
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 Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:00 am Post subject: 'Quantum smell' idea gains ground |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21150046
| Quote: | A controversial theory that the way we smell involves a quantum physics effect has received a boost, following experiments with human subjects.
It challenges the notion that our sense of smell depends only on the shapes of molecules we sniff in the air.
Instead, it suggests that the molecules' vibrations are responsible.
A way to test it is with two molecules of the same shape, but with different vibrations. A report in PLOS ONE shows that humans can distinguish the two. |
I believe we have some physicists on the board? Would like to hear from them.
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What looks like a cat, flies like a bat, brays like a donkey, and plays like a monkey? |
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sikpuppy
n00b
Joined: 12 Jun 2012
Posts: 23
Location: Central Coast, NSW
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| Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:17 am Post subject: Re: 'Quantum smell' idea gains ground |
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| notageek wrote: | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21150046
| Quote: | A controversial theory that the way we smell involves a quantum physics effect has received a boost, following experiments with human subjects.
It challenges the notion that our sense of smell depends only on the shapes of molecules we sniff in the air.
Instead, it suggests that the molecules' vibrations are responsible.
A way to test it is with two molecules of the same shape, but with different vibrations. A report in PLOS ONE shows that humans can distinguish the two. |
I believe we have some physicists on the board? Would like to hear from them. |
I broke wind so violently once that I sharted into another dimension. When your shit is twisted into umpteen dimensions you tend to believe anything. |
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BoneKracker
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Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 1487
Location: U.S.A.
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| Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 12:03 pm Post subject: Re: 'Quantum smell' idea gains ground |
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| notageek wrote: | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21150046
| Quote: | A controversial theory that the way we smell involves a quantum physics effect has received a boost, following experiments with human subjects.
It challenges the notion that our sense of smell depends only on the shapes of molecules we sniff in the air.
Instead, it suggests that the molecules' vibrations are responsible.
A way to test it is with two molecules of the same shape, but with different vibrations. A report in PLOS ONE shows that humans can distinguish the two. |
I believe we have some physicists on the board? Would like to hear from them. |
I remember hearing about this two years ago. The Scyentific Konsensus is that it's the molecules' shape that determine smell, so that's all there is to it. Never mind that someday that idea will be in history books like the idea that there are four elements (earth, fire, water, and air) -- the Kollective Konsensus is the Kollective Konsensus.
This might open entirely new lines of investigation into brain chemistry, and what's wrong with wildhorse. 
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Oldthinkers unbellyfeel INGSOC.
-- Headline of a document on Winston Smith's terminal in his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth, seen briefly in the background in one scene of the movie rendition of Nineteen Eighty-Four. |
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pjp
Administrator
Joined: 16 Apr 2002
Posts: 16029
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:03 am Post subject: |
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Smell a shape? Next we'll be touching colors.
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lolgov. 'cause where we're going, you don't have civil liberties.
In Loving Memory
1787 - 2008 |
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Muso
l33t
Joined: 22 Oct 2002
Posts: 655
Location: The Holy city of Honolulu
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| Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:20 am Post subject: Re: 'Quantum smell' idea gains ground |
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| sikpuppy wrote: | | I broke wind so violently once that I sharted into another dimension. When your shit is twisted into umpteen dimensions you tend to believe anything. |
Nice Calabi-Yau.
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If I had a dollar for every time capitalism was blamed for the problems caused by government, I'd be a fat filmmaker with a baseball cap |
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bogamol
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 01 Nov 2009
Posts: 84
Location: Detroit, Michigan - The Home of Rock and Roll
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| Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 4:44 am Post subject: |
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I used to say:
Artists think they are biologists.
Biologists think they are chemists.
Chemists think they are physicists.
Physicists think they are mathematicians.
Mathematicians think they are god.
God is an artist.
...but now that biologists think they are physicists I'll have to revise it. 
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BoneKracker
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| Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:02 am Post subject: |
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That's pretty good.
We need another one with psychologists, economists, philosophers, lawyers, and politicians. Might have to be more of a network-style mapping. Where's dmitchell?
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Oldthinkers unbellyfeel INGSOC.
-- Headline of a document on Winston Smith's terminal in his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth, seen briefly in the background in one scene of the movie rendition of Nineteen Eighty-Four. |
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bogamol
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 01 Nov 2009
Posts: 84
Location: Detroit, Michigan - The Home of Rock and Roll
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| Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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| BoneKracker wrote: | That's pretty good.
We need another one with psychologists, economists, philosophers, lawyers, and politicians. Might have to be more of a network-style mapping. Where's dmitchell? |
It would have to end with all of them being assholes.
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Yo momma's so classless she's a Marxist utopia! |
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tylerwylie
Guru
Joined: 19 Sep 2004
Posts: 455
Location: /US/Illinois/Champaign
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| Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| BoneKracker wrote: | That's pretty good.
We need another one with psychologists, economists, philosophers, lawyers, and politicians. Might have to be more of a network-style mapping. Where's dmitchell? |
Wagnerophiles.
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"Government is to society, what rape is to lovemaking" |
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BoneKracker
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Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 1487
Location: U.S.A.
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| Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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| bogamol wrote: | | BoneKracker wrote: | That's pretty good.
We need another one with psychologists, economists, philosophers, lawyers, and politicians. Might have to be more of a network-style mapping. Where's dmitchell? |
It would have to end with all of them being assholes. |
Of the psychologists, economist and philosophers, only the ones who are professors are necessarily assholes (i.e. P[asshole] > 0.87).
So maybe more to the point would be "academicians, lawyers, and politicians". Perhaps we're missing some others. Maybe "Spiritual/Moral Leaders".
Academicians think they are politicians and spiritual/moral leaders
Politicians think they are spiritual/moral leaders and academicians
Spiritual/Moral Leaders think they are academicians and politicians
Lawyers think they are beneficial to society, when all they really do is charge lots of money to very temporarily clean up the messes systematically created by academicians, politicians and spiritual/moral leaders.
How would one draw that?
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Oldthinkers unbellyfeel INGSOC.
-- Headline of a document on Winston Smith's terminal in his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth, seen briefly in the background in one scene of the movie rendition of Nineteen Eighty-Four. |
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bogamol
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 01 Nov 2009
Posts: 84
Location: Detroit, Michigan - The Home of Rock and Roll
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:42 am Post subject: |
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| BoneKracker wrote: |
Of the psychologists, economist and philosophers, only the ones who are professors are necessarily assholes (i.e. P[asshole] > 0.87).
So maybe more to the point would be "academicians, lawyers, and politicians". Perhaps we're missing some others. Maybe "Spiritual/Moral Leaders".
Academicians think they are politicians and spiritual/moral leaders
Politicians think they are spiritual/moral leaders and academicians
Spiritual/Moral Leaders think they are academicians and politicians
Lawyers think they are beneficial to society, when all they really do is charge lots of money to very temporarily clean up the messes systematically created by academicians, politicians and spiritual/moral leaders.
How would one draw that? |
Maybe like a Rock Paper Scissors chart?
Lawyer sues Psychologist
Psychologist psychoanalyzes Philosopher
Philosopher ______ Economist
Economist bamboozles Politician
Politician changes laws on Lawyer
After reading about the subject, I think your avatar fits very well, by the way.
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Yo momma's so classless she's a Marxist utopia! |
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LoTeK
Apprentice
Joined: 26 Jul 2012
Posts: 233
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:18 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Chemists think they are physicists.
Physicists think they are mathematicians.
Mathematicians think they are god. |
Well thats what I thought too. So I've started with chemistry and in all chemistry books were chapters about physical foundations that explain their laws/principle. Therefore I became more and more fascinated and began to read books about physics ("serious" books and popular stuff like books about stringtheorie from briane greene). But in all those books were chapters about mathematical foundations that explain their laws/principle. Therefore I became more and more fascinated and began to dig into mathematics and even began studying. Then the story repeated itself and I landed in mathematical logic and philosophie. Then I saw that there is nothing deeper and moreover that mathematicians are very far away from god and that even in exact sciences everybody talks something else...
Then came Linux and now I'm quite happy with Gentoo, a C compiler and a beer that helps to forget that I don't understand my existence, but at least I have a working, C-programmed binary clock at the top of my screen. 
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"I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear X-rays! Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can't even express these things properly because I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language!"
Last edited by LoTeK on Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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BoneKracker
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Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 1487
Location: U.S.A.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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Shortest complete sentence: "Be."
Only somebody who has looked deeply into physics understands that philosophy is the foundation of all scientific thought. What's annoying is listening to people with the ink still wet on their Bachelor of Science diploma ridicule philosophy as "non-scientific". These are the same people who tend to think that science has pretty much explained everything now, and who have a religious-like faith in it, blind to the uncertainties and the vast unknowns.
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Oldthinkers unbellyfeel INGSOC.
-- Headline of a document on Winston Smith's terminal in his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth, seen briefly in the background in one scene of the movie rendition of Nineteen Eighty-Four. |
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LoTeK
Apprentice
Joined: 26 Jul 2012
Posts: 233
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Shortest complete sentence: "Be." |
yes, I think thats the word I was looking for..
| Quote: | | Only somebody who has looked deeply into physics understands that philosophy is the foundation of all scientific thought. What's annoying is listening to people with the ink still wet on their Bachelor of Science diploma ridicule philosophy as "non-scientific". These are the same people who tend to think that science has pretty much explained everything now, and who have a religious-like faith in it, blind to the uncertainties and the vast unknowns. |
 Nothing to add here, hard to formulate this better.. Sometimes I become pretty aggressive about these diploma-driven faggots, especially when they become religious
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"I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear X-rays! Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can't even express these things properly because I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language!" |
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rtomek
Apprentice
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Posts: 210
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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Physicist here. IMO, the experiment described in the journal linked from the website tests the human detection of slight changes in the shape of a molecule, or whether deuterium is present. There's many indications that many animals have a natural ability to avoid deuterium and filter it out of their bodies since it can slow many chemical reactions.
| T. Redston Griffiths, in the 1970's wrote: | | When deuterium is involved in a chemical reaction, consideration must be given to a slight change in the inductive effect, as deuterium is more electronegative than hydrogen. Hyper-conjugative effects are also involved since CD3, for example, is less delocalizated than CH3, and, more important, the effective size of a C-D bond is smaller than the effective size of a C-H bond. Thus steric effects have a part to play, reinforcing our contention that any highly stereo-specific enzyme molecule containing a deuteron in an important position has a potential for participating in an error reaction. |
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BoneKracker
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Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 1487
Location: U.S.A.
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 12:33 am Post subject: |
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See? Denial. And if you sailed over the horizon, you'd fall of the Earth, too.
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Oldthinkers unbellyfeel INGSOC.
-- Headline of a document on Winston Smith's terminal in his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth, seen briefly in the background in one scene of the movie rendition of Nineteen Eighty-Four. |
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