Acme

This reminds me of the film Road to Wellville* where the guy gets electrocuted in a similar 'health apparatus'. The movie well makes the point of how gullible people are, especially under the influence of perceived [scientific] authority. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_to_Wellville

I think the biggest problem is in the computability of n! for large values of n. This is likely the wall that Berndt & Galway hit, because it's easy to check for a solution in m by taking its square root when you have the value of n!. Even if you start with m you would still have to compute the necessary n! to check for a solution. Offhand I'm not aware of any shortcuts to factorials. Good luck!

One could make the same argument for automobiles and bicycles. Life is inherently a risk and the best the living can do is attempt a well-reasoned balance between risk & reward.

To paraphrase Hofstadter paraphrasing Heneker, people of small souls should not attempt it.

Well, that was then and this is now. What was lacking then was a history of internet use by which to judge trolling. We now have such a history and that context provides the types of cues that Poe says require smilies and the like. The internet has its own disem-body language every bit as nuanced as body language.

Correct. Properly it is called the gnomon of nonogonal numbers. Mathematicians prefer to write/say 9-gonal numbers. My drawing illustrates the first 9 such numbers: {1,9,24,46,75,111,154,204,261...} The algebraic equation is P=(7n^2-5n)/2. Yes; the series of gnomons of polygonal numbers progresses without bound starting with 3-gonal, i.e. triangular numbers. Drawn as regular polygons they all do make perfectly regular lattices, albeit not square ones as above. However, as the series of gnomons progresses the perimeters become indistinguishable from circles which is why the algebra is so useful. The first 3 triangular numbers form the sacred tetractys of the Pythagoreans. >> Tetractys @ Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetractys Nevertheless, the art IS the science in my examples, and remained the primary way to represent the science of polygonal numbers for a millennium give or take a few centuries. I say primary because they can be described prosaically, i.e. by talking about skip counting. For example the triangular numbers: add the first Natural number =1, add the first 2 Natural numbers =1+2=3, add the first 3 Natural numbers = 1+2+3=6, add the first 4 to get 1+2+3+4=10. This gives the first 4 triangular numbers {1,3,6,10...}, represented by the tetractys. For square numbers you add every other number: 1, 1+3=4, 1+3+5=9, giving {1,4,9...} For pentagonal numbers add every 3rd number: 1, 1+4=5, 1+4+7=12, giving {1,5,12...} Quite the beautiful set of constructs.

Only tangential to the discussion,but in most rankings, but the linked article is a badly written opinion piece and cherry-picks numbers without providing context (e.g. donations of other nations, fraction of GDP or other nomalization etc.). These types of articles really grind my gears. For example the tsunami (2004) help from the USA was 0.026% of the GDP, whereas Australia offered 0.255%. This was actually one of the cases where the US responses were comparatively low . That being said, according to most metrics the US is among the most charitable nations (usually within the top twenty). According to the World Giving Index (which is poll based and e.g. asks whether one would help strangers) the USA has currently the highest score (followed by Canada and Myanmar). Acknowledged about the quality of my source. In my defense I was in the heat of the rapid exchange but ready to find more suitable fare if I was challenged. Out of curiosity, where does Russia fall on the World Giving Index?

Consider making sure all candles are extinguished before going out. D'oh! A lot of my books were 'only' smoke damaged (lost a lifetime of photos, negatives, and slides as well) so I decided to cut my loses and disburse all but a few of the survivors. Friends, family, and midnight trips to library return boxes soon freed me from my horrid hoard. No more dusting, storing, moving, guarding, priding, or inging of the usual sorts. Buh-bye and don't let the shelf hit you in the spine on the way out! I have cringed at the addition of every wildflower book, but I take heart in knowing I can -and jolly well will- disburse them too when the jag dies.

What is your source for 'knowing' how Americans economically treat their children or girlfriends? As I don't know most Americans and don't recall reading any polls on the topic I can't really comment on the economic behavior that you're interested in.

Well, it's really only a problem if you're an admin/moderator. For the rest of us pions it's just an annoyance. Hats off to y'all for your taking on the role. PS I have no idea what happened to your link in the quote, or what Poe's biography means in this context. Guess I better read back to what you earlier said. Edit: ROTFLMAO (You guys could seriously use more smilies.) While a clever fall-back position, I find Poe's Law no more substantiated than Murphy's. Let's apply Hofstadter's Law to vanquishing trolls. It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

I would think a seed bank would be aware of the necessary conditions for improving germination, including cooling. You might ask the specific bank about their treatment of your seeds. Beyond that, here is a document on Partridge pea from USDA that may be of help. I have quoted just a couple parts related to your inquiry. Good luck & by all means report back on your experiment. USDA Plant Guide for PARTRIDGE PEA - Chamaecrista fasciculate >> http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_chfa2.pdf

I have been in a no-fiction phase for the last decade or two. Truth is stranger than fiction, if not loopier. Haven't read the new GEB. What's new in it? As I commented somewhere else here recently, I lost my library of 100's of volumes some 20 years ago and decided to go minimalist on the bookage. GEB was one of the casualties. I have only 20 or so books now of which 6 are plant ID guides. I gave Strange Loop to a deserving young man & it boomeranged after several years unread. Thought I'd go for another read & release. Did you also read Metamagical Themas? While I had read many of the articles as they came out in Scientific American, I stumbled on the book at a library and gave it a read.

We're talking here about internet trolls. Contrary to your time estimate, I find them pretty easy to spot. If I were a mod -which of course I'm not and have no desire to be- I would just boot/suspend 'em at the first tingle of my troley sense. They could then appeal off-scene without further disruption to the board, and if they fail in that then banishment.

Currently re-reading Hofstadter's I Am A Strange Loop. 'Round and 'round and 'round we go; where we stop Dougie will 'round . . .

Try this: Full article: >> http://web.archive.org/web/20060428091222/http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm

Are you wanting to clean them for looks, or to protect your pens? If for looks, you might try scraping out the detritus. If for protection, paint on some type of sealant and start a fresh detritus collection.

Snowden is an example of freedom of the press; yes. While the US government would have loved to suppress all he has said, they did not & could not. No less an issue is freedom of speech. If the US press gets ahold of evidence of killing in Ukraine, you can be sure they will report it. You seem to have gotten off your topic of charitableness, which is sorta' OK I suppose because this is your thread. However, it might be better to start a new topic for issues outside your original topic.

The last mention of the kick-back topic that I read/heard about in our press had to do with building the venues for the recent Olympic games in Sochi. According to those reports, Russia told the IOC it would cost 2 billion US dollars but it actually cost 12 billion US dollars. Granted that is big business and not everday Russians. The press is not the same everywhere, regardless of what a countrie's constitution says. I'm not sure if the Russian constitution has a freedom of the press clause or not, but even if you do the application of it by citizens is far different from that in the US. Can you re-Tweet this in Russia? source: >> http://pjmedia.com/blog/twitter-caves-to-vladimir-putin-censors-content-within-russia/

If I did & wanted to share it I would post it to the thread on that topic. Let's not hijack alki's discussion. I think the language difference is making your exact argument unclear to me. However you seem to be arguing that the US press is not free. If that were true then we wouldn't see the regular 'printing' of stories that expose, criticize, and otherwise take public exception to the US government and those in it.

Fine; you weren't referring to me. On the underlined, I see just another trite comment with no content; no meat. No; it is not in the US.

My impression of Russian kick-backs came neither from the military nor politicians, rather from the free press. I simply don't see your 'point' as furthering the topic of Russian vs. American charitableness. On the contrary, I see your comment as vacuous.

I was making the rhetorical point that your comment really added nothing factual to the discussion alkis initiated. How amazing is that?

So we both were mistaken about the other. Good to hear. That seems rather trite. Clearly Russians are not Americans or alkis3 would have no reason to pose his question.

Hi. My understanding is that Americans are the most generous givers/donators in the world. See this source: >> http://voices.yahoo.com/america-most-charitable-nation-world-327986.html My understanding about Russia is that no one gets any work done or services rendered without paying kick-backs. Sounds like greed to me.

I empathize; the entries can be quite cryptic. I'll have a go at 'splainin. So we have their list, 0, 4, 4, 10,... [i think] The first zero means there is no gap/difference between the first prime pair. [3,5] & [5,7]. (5-5=0) The next in their list, a 4, means there is a gap/difference of 4 between the next prime pair. [5,7] & [11,13]. (11-7=4) Then a gap/difference of 4 between the third pair, [11,13] & [17,19]. (17-13=4) Rinse & repeat. No doubt if I have botched that, someone will correctify my air.