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Post by imaginaryfriend on Apr 1, 2022 7:06:01 GMT
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Post by blahzor on Apr 1, 2022 7:11:35 GMT
You start with something small... Maybe a open field with a single tree...
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Post by arf on Apr 1, 2022 7:21:31 GMT
It's called a 'micro-canonical ensemble'.
If Jerrek were to whip out his trusty copy of Goodstein's 'States of Matter' from... wherever, he would have known to be cautious. The introduction reads:
"Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics..."
Hmm, is *this* the fate Coyote had in mind for Loup?
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Post by philman on Apr 1, 2022 7:58:51 GMT
You know, for a pipe technician you know an awful lot about mathematical abstraction and etheric concepts.
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Post by bicarbonat on Apr 1, 2022 8:06:15 GMT
Better put down that twig before you do something else stupid, like peel it and offer it to her as a hair tie. |
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Post by basser on Apr 1, 2022 8:22:30 GMT
So what's really delightful here is that Annie has already taken an introductory atomic physics class. In fact she's potentially sat through that class at least twice now after she failed for cheating the first time. Now the entire point of the double-slit experiment, which they're doing in that page, is to illustrate how Newtonian physics falls apart at atomic scale, and it serves as a springboard into the probabilistic model of quantum mechanics. Doing that experiment in a classroom setting would only make sense if you're teaching kids about superposition and quantization and why we can't just track a particle from point A to point B. Without those foundations it's just some goofy light. Meaning that class had to be dealing with some pretty heavy abstract math and physics concepts. Basically Loup's spent the past few minutes independently inventing the basics of all modern physics with his galaxy dog brain. Annie, meanwhile, acts like none of this is even ringing a bell, which implies she's managed to sit through entire courses gaining zero knowledge whatsoever - no thoughts, head empty. Edit: On reflection I guess you could actually use dual-slit to illustrate wave particle duality, maybe even just the principles of experimental design, and not go further into the abstraction weeds. I maintain that Annie still head empty'd her way through though because she should recognize at least some part of this as similar to her science class. Also, unrelated - I bet Coyote kept the forest at a simmering balanced chaos just to screw with the Court's prediction machine. Maybe that's why they think they need to cross the ocean, even, like if they could just get away from this dang ol omnipotent anarchy dog their god computer might finally work right. |
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Post by bicarbonat on Apr 1, 2022 8:55:59 GMT
So what's really delightful here is that Annie has already taken an introductory atomic physics class. ... Basically Loup's spent the past few minutes independently inventing the basics of all modern physics with his galaxy dog brain. Annie, meanwhile, acts like none of this is even ringing a bell, which implies she's managed to sit through entire courses gaining zero knowledge whatsoever - no thoughts, head empty. Wow, she's just like me 🥲 |
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Apr 1, 2022 9:18:58 GMT
The main thing I learned in physics lab was interdepartmental rivalry is real and sometimes not subtle.
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Post by blahzor on Apr 1, 2022 9:20:40 GMT
We could be just as smart if we just inspected pipes for a few decades
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Post by guntherkrieg on Apr 1, 2022 11:59:35 GMT
I'll say it again: always lovely to see a much older person impersonate a young person, to get close to another young person... Absolutely fine, and always a laugh!
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Post by speedwell on Apr 1, 2022 12:30:01 GMT
Ah, so that's the purpose of the Gunnerkrigg microcosm.
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Post by aline on Apr 1, 2022 12:54:43 GMT
Ah, so that's the purpose of the Gunnerkrigg microcosm. And explains why they will leave all etheric beings behind in the new Court. No room for magical chaos in the bubble of deterministic reality! What a sad thing, if you can't understand the whole world just make your world smaller... put your head in a bucket, easier to grasp. Truly pathetic |
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Post by ctso74 on Apr 1, 2022 13:34:08 GMT
He heard about it from a friend of a friend... He's from out of town. You wouldn't know him.
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Post by pyradonis on Apr 1, 2022 15:38:02 GMT
The only class she had to repeat was two years higher than the one she was in on that page. Unsure if Tony made sure she repeated the contents of this course as well.
I'll say it again: always lovely to see a much older person impersonate a young person, to get close to another young person... Absolutely fine, and always a laugh! Of course. However I don't know what makes you think of this, since what we are seeing right now is a very young creature (not even one year old) impersonating an older person to get close to a likewise older person.
You know, for a pipe technician you know an awful lot about mathematical abstraction and etheric concepts. "Something with pipes, I guess." leaves a lot of wiggle room. Perhaps next time he'll claim his job was with pipelines in computer processors. |
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Post by mordekai on Apr 1, 2022 16:35:43 GMT
So, they are going to put the Court in a small pocket universe in order to be able to build a computer able to predict the future of what happens inside...?
That's kinda lame... they will enter the pocket universe, read a prediction of the rest of their lives and those of their children and grandchildren, nod, and go living these lives like they are following a script... how boring...
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Post by speedwell on Apr 1, 2022 17:20:24 GMT
So, they are going to put the Court in a small pocket universe in order to be able to build a computer able to predict the future of what happens inside...? That's kinda lame... they will enter the pocket universe, read a prediction of the rest of their lives and those of their children and grandchildren, nod, and go living these lives like they are following a script... how boring... The intention was, I think, that the existing Court/Forest milieu be the pocket universe in question. That's why the Court sent Tony to take sample observations here and there. They're going to use the conclusions they drew from those and other observations to build a universe they can control. Again Coyote is smack on the nose correct when he defined the goal of Court humans as becoming God. |
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Post by Runningflame on Apr 1, 2022 18:17:17 GMT
The main thing I learned in physics lab was interdepartmental rivalry is real and sometimes not subtle. And the main thing I learned in physics lab was that immature college students can find a way to turn anything into a double-entendre, especially if they see that it makes someone else uncomfortable.  Ah, so that's the purpose of the Gunnerkrigg microcosm. And explains why they will leave all etheric beings behind in the new Court. No room for magical chaos in the bubble of deterministic reality! What a sad thing, if you can't understand the whole world just make your world smaller... put your head in a bucket, easier to grasp. Truly pathetic Which is the opposite of Kat's journey, and the journey she's leading the robots on. It's tempting to retreat into a bubble when the real world starts grinding your gears. |
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Post by Isildur on Apr 1, 2022 19:34:30 GMT
You know, for a pipe technician you know an awful lot about mathematical abstraction and etheric concepts. You never know for certain. The plumber my parents usually use actually previously worked as an engineer at NASA, some decades ago. (Lest you wonder: no, he does not appear to be making it up for bragging; e.g. he still retains much of his knowledge of areas like multivariable calculus and linear algebra, though he doesn't need them in his current work. If I recall correctly, he didn't work directly on the spacecraft themselves, but on NASA infrastructure.) As more extreme examples, Ramanujan supported himself as an office clerk before getting in contact with Hardy, and for a while, prime pair conjecture breakthrough mathematician Yitang Zhang was working in a Subway sandwich shop. Of course, such extreme instances of geniuses erupting from previous obscurity attract attention precisely because they're uncommon, but the more general fact remains that one can't always assume someone in a job that doesn't require high-level science or math (or, I suppose, in GC's world, etherics) has not studied those well beyond their current employment requirements. (Or at least dabbled enough to philosophize a bit on the subjects, heh.) Also, the ether-extraction station needed pipes, so that creates a plausible introduction to the subject for "Jerrek". |
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Post by drmemory on Apr 1, 2022 21:00:11 GMT
Oh, we used to use ether to clean the pipes. *tries to look innocent*
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Post by maxptc on Apr 1, 2022 21:21:56 GMT
I'd say this is super suspicious on Jerrek/Loups part, but while knowing about the Ether might not be exactly common, I dunno if it would be suspicious in the current situation the Court is in. With the attack from Loup and all the new residents, in addition to the existing magical people and things in the Court, I bet the average level of knowledge for the average Court person is somewhere between "oh yeah I've seen some magic" and "it's actually called ether manipulation and here is all the information I could scrounge up."
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Post by DonDueed on Apr 1, 2022 23:16:07 GMT
"But the ether would render such a device useless..." This remark, and Annie's reaction to it, suggest that Annie does not know Derrek is Loup -- at least not before now. If she had, she would most likely have let this gaffe go without calling him on it.
In any case, I'm not sure what Annie would think she had to gain by letting the charade go on, if she did indeed know.
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Post by drmemory on Apr 2, 2022 4:36:07 GMT
I'd say this is super suspicious on Jerrek/Loups part, but while knowing about the Ether might not be exactly common, I dunno if it would be suspicious in the current situation the Court is in. With the attack from Loup and all the new residents, in addition to the existing magical people and things in the Court, I bet the average level of knowledge for the average Court person is somewhere between "oh yeah I've seen some magic" and "it's actually called ether manipulation and here is all the information I could scrounge up." It does seem a little wierd that a pipe cleaning robot would know anything about the ether, including that it exists. But. If he already knew about Loup and that Annie was looking for him, it's somewhat plausible that the ether could have been a topic of conversation as well!
I don't think we've been told yet just how they are looking for Loup, aside from just walking around and physically looking for scruffy dog-gods. At a guess, I imagine they've at minimum been telling everyone they know to keep an eye out. This would almost certainly include the NP. Some of them probably asked what the heck Loup IS, and an explanation almost has to include "ether". So maybe this isn't as much of a faux pas as originally thought.
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Post by drmemory on Apr 2, 2022 4:45:55 GMT
"But the ether would render such a device useless..." This remark, and Annie's reaction to it, suggest that Annie does not know Derrek is Loup -- at least not before now. If she had, she would most likely have let this gaffe go without calling him on it.
In any case, I'm not sure what Annie would think she had to gain by letting the charade go on, if she did indeed know.
Agreed. Annie isn't that sneaky usually - this probably is just what it looks like. She's enjoying talking to Jerrek, and Jerrek is trying to be helpful, and maybe a little light flirting is starting to sneak in.  It's not like Annie can't see that he likes her!
I'll be pretty shocked if we find out later that Annie knew about Jerrek/Loup at this point in the story. Now Renard is a different story, he is known for being clever and sneaky and I could easily see him holding onto the knowledge if he has it, until and unless it threatens Annie.
On a related note, Annie knows that Loup doesn't have the body-hopping power because Renard didn't give it to him. It probably hasn't even occurred to her to suspect that Loup could be masquerading as a living being! I don't believe she ever saw Coyote do this, so the only reason she'd have for even knowing it is a possibility is Coyote's stories (moon, dead goose). Again, Renard is much older and wilier and generally has a larger knowledge base about such things, so he'd be the one who might make the connection if anyone did.
We still have Robot as a wild card - if there are two Jerreks or if there aren't supposed to be any, he is the one who would know that.
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Apr 2, 2022 5:57:33 GMT
"But the ether would render such a device useless..." This remark, and Annie's reaction to it, suggest that Annie does not know Derrek is Loup -- at least not before now. If she had, she would most likely have let this gaffe go without calling him on it. In any case, I'm not sure what Annie would think she had to gain by letting the charade go on, if she did indeed know. I agree with you guys that Antimony probably doesn't know Jerrek is "Loup" but there is a reason that she might want to play along if she did. She's currently alone and may not have The Tooth. She might (emphasis on might as in possible but I judge it to be improbable) worry that if she lets on that she knows it might be "go time" but think if she doesn't she can turn the tables on "Loup" by ambushing him at some point down the road with whoever/whatever she wants at a place and time she chooses. Not sure she could pull that off or even that she thinks that way, though. |
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Post by blahzor on Apr 2, 2022 6:32:46 GMT
"But the ether would render such a device useless..." This remark, and Annie's reaction to it, suggest that Annie does not know Derrek is Loup -- at least not before now. If she had, she would most likely have let this gaffe go without calling him on it. In any case, I'm not sure what Annie would think she had to gain by letting the charade go on, if she did indeed know.
him having access to all knowledge technically through coyote and letting him go on gives them knowledge right away for something they'd have to figure out on their own |
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Post by DonDueed on Apr 2, 2022 14:00:46 GMT
This remark, and Annie's reaction to it, suggest that Annie does not know Derrek is Loup -- at least not before now. If she had, she would most likely have let this gaffe go without calling him on it. In any case, I'm not sure what Annie would think she had to gain by letting the charade go on, if she did indeed know. I agree with you guys that Antimony probably doesn't know Jerrek is "Loup" but there is a reason that she might want to play along if she did. She's currently alone and may not have The Tooth. She might (emphasis on might as in possible but I judge it to be improbable) worry that if she lets on that she knows it might be "go time" but think if she doesn't she can turn the tables on "Loup" by ambushing him at some point down the road with whoever/whatever she wants at a place and time she chooses. Not sure she could pull that off or even that she thinks that way, though. Okay, plausible. But then, why give away that she's suspicious by questioning Jerrek's reference to the ether? You'd think she'd let that pass without comment.
If she knew and didn't want Loup to know she knew, she wouldn't respond when Loup mentioned ether. Unless it's a triple blind and she's playing 3D chess with him!
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Post by DonDueed on Apr 2, 2022 14:10:46 GMT
This remark, and Annie's reaction to it, suggest that Annie does not know Derrek is Loup -- at least not before now. If she had, she would most likely have let this gaffe go without calling him on it. In any case, I'm not sure what Annie would think she had to gain by letting the charade go on, if she did indeed know.
him having access to all knowledge technically through coyote and letting him go on gives them knowledge right away for something they'd have to figure out on their own Possible, I guess. But what knowledge would 'they' be trying to get from Loup? It would need to be something pretty specific to justify the deception, since 'they' would have to think any attempt like that would be pretty risky, considering Loup's previous instability.
And who is 'they' in this scenario? The Court, whoever that is? Omega? Just Annie and her friends? If not the latter, how did 'they' get Annie to go along?
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Post by maxptc on Apr 2, 2022 18:28:15 GMT
Not that I think Annie is aware of Loup, but the main reason I could see her playing along is because she doesn't want to murder anyone. Just because Coyete said something doesn't mean she is going to throw her hands up and say "guess I'll just go stabing"
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Post by mturtle7 on Apr 2, 2022 18:33:00 GMT
doesn't mean [Annie] is going to throw her hands up and say "guess I'll just go stabbing" Thank you for putting this image in my head. I giggled. |
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Post by pyradonis on Apr 2, 2022 18:36:55 GMT
On a related note, Annie knows that Loup doesn't have the body-hopping power because Renard didn't give it to him. It probably hasn't even occurred to her to suspect that Loup could be masquerading as a living being!
doesn't mean [Annie] is going to throw her hands up and say "guess I'll just go stabbing" Thank you for putting this image in my head. I giggled. "So, anyway, I started stabbing." |
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It's not like Annie can't see that he likes her!