Things you were shockingly old when you learned

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Well I guess I'm slow on the uptake because that's covered in the Wikipedia entry.

Yelploaf, Friday, 12 January 2018 01:22 (six years ago) link

Silly Bunt!

nickn, Friday, 12 January 2018 01:59 (six years ago) link

I recently had a similar non-revelation that 'sic' is clearly an abbreviation of 'spelled incorrectly' (duh!). It took me way too long to realize that my discovery very obviously fails to hold any water.

― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, January 11, 2018 5:30 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

(My revelation which failed to acknowledge that the abbreviated version of 'incorrectly' would technically be spelled incorrectly in that scenario.)

― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, January 11, 2018 5:33 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

holy shit...

flappy bird, Friday, 12 January 2018 02:55 (six years ago) link

a condescending smart person in the room said, "no, you idiot, it's Latin for 'yes.'"

They weren't that smart; it isn't.

mahb, Friday, 12 January 2018 10:27 (six years ago) link

a condescending smart person in the room said, "no, you idiot, it's Latin for 'yes.'"
They weren't that smart; it isn't.

How it was explained to me was that there *wasn't* a Latin word for 'yes' and that 'sic' is actually the Latin word for *thus* which is used in some of the situations when we would use 'yes'.

And when 'sic' is used when something has been spelt incorrectly in the original source it means 'rendered thus'.

Grandpont Genie, Friday, 12 January 2018 10:31 (six years ago) link

Can't quite remember how it came about now, but I had to very belatedly break the news of Patrick Swayze's death to a mate a couple of days ago.

I broke the news that Leonard Cohen died to a mate on the anniversary of his death, at a wee tribute concert to him. He thought it was a living tribute thing.

call me by your name..or Finn (fionnland), Friday, 12 January 2018 11:04 (six years ago) link

I think sic is 'like' or 'just as' and is actually itself a shortening. It was usually accompanied by 'veritas' or 'erat scriptum' meaning truth or as written respectively.

Stevolende, Friday, 12 January 2018 11:05 (six years ago) link

I think 'sic' as used to indicate a misspelling basically means 'your spelling is gross' or 'you are a grody speller', as in 'it's totally sic how bad you are at spelling, it's literally making me sic right now'.

the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Friday, 12 January 2018 12:48 (six years ago) link

checks out

illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Friday, 12 January 2018 13:19 (six years ago) link

this is why I'm confused when gruff American men in movies tell their fierce dogs to sic somebody

coombespair gaz prices (Noodle Vague), Friday, 12 January 2018 13:23 (six years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2cnRCCHR1k

Whiney Houston (Tom D.), Friday, 12 January 2018 13:59 (six years ago) link

I had always presumed it was a British turn of phrase!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RALZY9-TJE

how's life, Friday, 12 January 2018 15:46 (six years ago) link

(at 2:36)

how's life, Friday, 12 January 2018 15:47 (six years ago) link

sic is normally used to indicate a direct reproduction of something previously written that the writer/editor can't believe was written that way. Or would expect the reader to look at and accept straight off. So it has been used to demonstrate bad spelling, bad grammar and gross inaccuracy.

Stevolende, Friday, 12 January 2018 18:12 (six years ago) link

and big dogs

coombespair gaz prices (Noodle Vague), Friday, 12 January 2018 18:13 (six years ago) link

and doctor who knowledge

Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 12 January 2018 18:23 (six years ago) link

and balls

pplains, Friday, 12 January 2018 19:04 (six years ago) link

i just learned that phil hartman designed the aja cover

dynamicinterface, Saturday, 13 January 2018 22:40 (six years ago) link

I learned that Bruce Springsteen had a trainer named Phil Dunphy

fuck you, your hat is horrible (Neanderthal), Saturday, 13 January 2018 23:42 (six years ago) link

I'd read a few books by Flannery O'Connor but didn't realise she was a woman until I checked her wikipedia article.

Dan Worsley, Sunday, 14 January 2018 11:04 (six years ago) link

That the reason why a number squared or a number cubed is called that is coz if you have a square (or cube) with that number of little squares per side on it and you add them all up then.....

Grandpont Genie, Sunday, 14 January 2018 11:07 (six years ago) link

Also, that there wasn't a really prolific writer called Franklin W. Dixon who wrote all the Hardy Boys books, but also a big team of people writing under a pseudonym.

Grandpont Genie, Sunday, 14 January 2018 11:09 (six years ago) link

You call 101 for minor police issues, not 999 - just now lol

#TeamHailing (imago), Sunday, 14 January 2018 12:01 (six years ago) link

I knew 112, but not 101... And, apparently, there's a 4th

http://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/emergency/

koogs, Sunday, 14 January 2018 12:23 (six years ago) link

Oops, I thought 112 was the non-emergency number. In fact I think I once rang it for a non-emergency. Which turned out while I was on the phone to be a total non-event anyway.

(hangs head for accidentally wasting emergency service time)

Will try to remember 101 for next time.

a passing spacecadet, Sunday, 14 January 2018 12:46 (six years ago) link

I'm listening to "The Visitors" for the first time today

flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, 14 January 2018 16:44 (six years ago) link

That the reason why a number squared or a number cubed is called that is coz if you have a square (or cube) with that number of little squares per side on it and you add them all up then.....

You just made me doubt my own (limited) math abilities.

I was all, but there are only six sides on a cube? Everything squared would then be the number x 6?

But now I get it.

pplains, Sunday, 14 January 2018 16:52 (six years ago) link

xp haha wow I did that on NYE! That opening track eh?

#TeamHailing (imago), Sunday, 14 January 2018 16:52 (six years ago) link

i just learned that phil hartman designed the aja cover

this is an oft-repeated fact that doesn't seem to be true.

new noise, Sunday, 14 January 2018 17:08 (six years ago) link

haha wow I did that on NYE! That opening track eh?

Anni-Frid sounds like Liz Fraser like so much on it

flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, 14 January 2018 17:14 (six years ago) link

omg you're right!

aside from the entirety of odessey and oracle (yeah, file that one under this thread lol ffs), the two old-timey songs to blow me away recently were 'the visitors' and 'fotzepolitic', there's something about that wild psychedelic hyper-pop sound that just pins me to the spot

#TeamHailing (imago), Sunday, 14 January 2018 17:23 (six years ago) link

You're never too old to learn how amazing those two songs are, as long as you learn it eventually.

the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Sunday, 14 January 2018 18:28 (six years ago) link

It's a fucking amazing album

flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, 14 January 2018 18:45 (six years ago) link

That the reason why a number squared or a number cubed is called that is coz if you have a square (or cube) with that number of little squares per side on it and you add them all up then.....

You just made me doubt my own (limited) math abilities.

I was all, but there are only six sides on a cube? Everything squared would then be the number x 6?

But now I get it.

I think this is incorrect, the way it was originally written, unless I'm misunderstanding? x^3 is the volume of a cube with sides of length x, not 6x?

No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Sunday, 14 January 2018 19:47 (six years ago) link

(Also, I don't think you can have e.g. a cube with only two squares on each side.)

No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Sunday, 14 January 2018 19:48 (six years ago) link

i think the post is trying to describe volume, in terms of a cube made up of smaller 1x1x1 cubes.

Roberto Spiralli, Sunday, 14 January 2018 19:52 (six years ago) link

Ah

No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Sunday, 14 January 2018 19:56 (six years ago) link

That Sturgeon’s Law also applies to recipes.

El Tomboto, Sunday, 14 January 2018 20:00 (six years ago) link

isn't the square/cube thing about dimensions?

StanM, Sunday, 14 January 2018 20:09 (six years ago) link

Something squared is 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, etc.? Chess board is a square, so this fits. (8x8= 64)

But something cubed? That's 1x1x1, 2x2x2, 3x3x3, etc.

3-cubed is 27. So how do you divide that into 6?

pplains, Sunday, 14 January 2018 20:43 (six years ago) link

Also, I'm old and stupid, let's keep that in mind.

pplains, Sunday, 14 January 2018 20:44 (six years ago) link

a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube can be divided into 27 cubes of equal volume, i.e.

https://i.imgur.com/7k38Yel.jpg

jesus and figs and science and the foo fighters (unregistered), Sunday, 14 January 2018 20:50 (six years ago) link

when i was a kid I thought a condom was something you wore 24/7

fuck you, your hat is horrible (Neanderthal), Sunday, 14 January 2018 21:01 (six years ago) link

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh xp

pplains, Sunday, 14 January 2018 21:03 (six years ago) link

xp uh oh maybe I've been doing this wrong

mh, Sunday, 14 January 2018 21:26 (six years ago) link

lol

take a line of fixed distance (x)

to find out how much space is in a square made out of lines that length, you multiply x by itself; you are turning the line into a square; you are "squaring" it

to find out how much space is in a CUBE with edges that length, the operation required is the familiar one above; you are turning that line into a cube; you are "cubing" it

thus verbing is not the modern American phenomenon everyone says

gleaming the cube is in a more advanced module iirc

illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 14 January 2018 21:34 (six years ago) link

What is the diff between gleaming the cube and romancing the stone

The Bridge of Ban Louis J (silby), Sunday, 14 January 2018 22:20 (six years ago) link

danny devito

fuck you, your hat is horrible (Neanderthal), Sunday, 14 January 2018 22:22 (six years ago) link

Calling Fotzepolitic a "old timey" song ;_;

Stoop Crone (Trayce), Sunday, 14 January 2018 23:37 (six years ago) link

As your bra gets older, graduate towards the inner hooks.

Yerac, Sunday, 14 January 2018 23:58 (six years ago) link


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