MigL

Why do we want you to stick around ? Because we've gotten used to you. This forum is a community of friends. I've disagreed with and probably pissed off quite a few people, yet I respect and would buy a drink for any one of these guys if I ran into them. ( have to hurry and delete my address from my profile, if Ophiolite looks me up, I have to buy him that expensive, single malt crap )

Sure swansont, but when he WAS president, most Liberal/Democrats had no problem at all excusing Bill Clinton's behavior, arguing that his private life and attitude towards women had no bearing on his presidency, that it was all a 'massive right wing conspiracy', that women, young women, were attracted to his power and threw themselves at him, etc, etc. Seems a little hypocritical for those same people to now argue that Donald Trump's behavior and attitude towards women is not presidential. And as I said, CharonY, there is physical proof that the most powerful man on earth ( at the time ) took advantage of a young impressionable girl ( a few years out of her teens ). There is no evidence ( yet ) that D Trump has done any of the things he claims or is accused of doing. Or is it OK to draw conclusions from innuendo in D. Trump's case, but not in H. Clinton's ( @ u swansont ) This presidential ( and I use the term loosely ) race has become a contest to dig up the most dirt on the opponent. One candidate was always an idiot, and the other is starting to look more and more like one every day. And the Republicans are imploding and fracturing, while the Democrats have proved they can be just as deceitful. Its become a race to the bottom.

Exactly, stringy. Space-time 'acts' like its curved. So GR models it with mathematical curvature of the co-ordinate system..

This election is making the US a joke. Who gives a damn about e-mails, Russian hackers, stupid insensitive locker room talk, goofy hair and finger size ? When are the issues going to be discussed ? I've said numerous times that I would cast my vote for H. Clinton, and D. Trump is a buffoon, and I'll add that I think Bill Clinton was a good president. But I find it somewhat hypocritical, that those people who defended Bill's oval office antics as having nothing to do with the Presidency, are now outraged by Donald's private ( he thought ) remarks. I still remember Gary Hart's presidential ambitions being dashed in 88 because of a picture. yet a few years later, rumors about Bill's indiscretions were already circulating. And I don't recall Hillary speaking out against Bill, or contacting her divorce lawyer, as that would ruin his presidential ambitions; instead she chose to blame the women involved, saying they were failed chorus line girls with no resume to fall back on ( seems Donald isn't the only one who disrespects women ). And by the time Bill became president, all of a sudden, his indiscretions were all part of a 'right wing conspiracy', and all his supporters claimed his private life had no bearing on the presidency anyway. We now seem to have swung back to puritanical ways, since all the people who were ready to excuse Bill, are now shocked, not by what Donald does, but by what he says. Apparently its OK to be 'serviced' under the desk by an intern 40 yrs younger while smoking a 'dipped' cigar, than to fantasize about shooting a woman a 'grip'. And speaking of grips, some of you guys should get one, since Donald just spoke about it, there is no evidence he actually did it. Bill actually did it, and there's a DNA stained dress to prove it. How's that old saying go... " don't throw rocks if you live in a glass house "

Or, to put it in a way that guys understand... Cars always look more shiny when they're wet.

As I said, maybe 'density' isn't the appropriate word to use. But if the separation of the co=ordinate system which is space-time is altered in some areas as compared to others, somewhat like if the ruling on graph paper was closer together in some areas compared to others, what would we call it

All models allow you to do is make certain predictions ( within limits ). That is their purpose. But a model is NOT 'reality' ( whatever that may be ). And there is certainly no one-to-one correspondence between every/all aspects of the model and the 'reality'. It takes a little thinking to consider only the corresponding aspects between model and 'reality' so as to be able to make valid predictions and draw valid conclusions. The non-corresponding aspects lead to non-sensical results, such as infinities, 'fabric' of space-time, and what pulls down the rubber sheet in the analogy.

That is one of the difficulties. The use of words and definitions which aren't meant to be used for such concepts. The 'density' of space-time is the density , or spacing if you will, of a co-ordinate system. It is like taking a sheet of graph paper and changing the spacing of the grid lines. That 'something' is a mathematical concept , and as such, it doesn't need to be anything or live anywhere. It just needs to be measurable.

All models are, by necessity, incomplete. GR may be the best mathematical model we have, but it also has some 'misrepresentations', as it gives non-sensical results at certain limits. Newtonian gravity is even more crude. Analogies are simply non-mathematical models; And even more crude ! And, just like GR, they only make sense when applied in their areas of validity.

Looks like your 'gentle welcome' was not appreciated nor reciprocated, Ophiolite.

I would be of the opinion that it is the freedom we enjoy in our democracy, that places power in the hands of the people and not the government, which makes it easy for influential people ( rich , famous, etc. ) to take advantage of that power to their own ends. ( I guess you've gotta take the good with the bad ) That's how a buffoon came close to becoming the President of the most powerful country on Earth, before imploding due to his stupidity. He's got nothing to lose. He'll be going after H. Clinton with all the rumours and innuendos about Bill's extramarital activities. Her best bet is to quickly change the channel, and stick to the issues. He'll come across as an immature high-school kid talking 'gossip', and she'll be seen as even more presidential than the last time.

My first exposure to symmetry groups, and application of Fourier transforms, was in a third year, half course on x-ray crystallography. Arguably solid state physics, but the boundary between physics and chemistry is not well defined in a lot of areas. These guys ( and girls ) play rough, AJB.

Remember all the flack H. Clinton took when she called a selection of voters 'a basket of...' ? Well D. Trump has possibly NOT paid taxes over the last 18 yrs, and his excuse is because he's 'smart'. ( actually genius according to R. Giuliani ) He's implying that all the voters who do pay taxes are, therefore 'stupid'. You couldn't make up the stuff of this election !

And here I thought you'd re-started this old thread to tell us you had a girlfriend, and had decided to quit talking on-line to us losers !

A dog's temperament is influenced much more by training than breeding. But 'pit-bulls' have gained a 'reputation, and now every 'arsehole' and 'yob' ( you Brits are ruining the English language ) wants one to prove how 'tough' they are. They are the guard dog of choice for most drug dealers and other low-lives here in Canada. I don't think those types of people are training them to be gentle and play with babies. But what do I know, I'm a cat person.

As others have already pointed out, and I'm repeating ( just to be annoying ). A sudden cataclysmic event can become an extinction event, but a gradual, drawn-out event is simply an evolutionary forcing. I remember reading a science fiction story about intelligent, evolved dinosaurs, but for the life of me, can't recall title or author. ( damned old age ! )

Hey, don't knock The Daily Mail. Where else would we get our updates of what Kim Kardashian is doing every minute of the day.

Because 'beginning' is a measure of time. ( not length, width or height )

Unconscious people do not 'float'; they fall to the ground.

How do you know you haven't encountered any ? Why would they tell you ? How do you know Sensei is not a time traveler sent back from the future to terminate you ?

The last time I heard a good come-back for " Who is 'we' ( sucka') ? " was from my avatar... " Mr. Smith, Mr. Wesson and me " Unfortunately that doesn't apply in this case. But I gotta ask Willie, who do you support now ?

You're right iNow, it was a 'jab', but not directed specifically at Swansont, just his line of reasoning. We're all perfectly ready to accept and believe all sorts of wrongdoing on D. Trump's part, stemming from the fact that he won't release his tax records ( H. Clinton mentioned those conclusions that may be drawn last night and Ten oz has summarized ). But this doesn't belong in a thread about H. Clinton ( something I've railed against previously ). For that, I extend my apologies, Swansont.

A better outlet for your active imagination may be writing science fiction stories. That is, if you can get a handle on your writing style.

Well, it is about personalities, for sure. But you're absolutely right, people who have always voted Republican will continue to do so, no matter who's heading them up, and people who have always voted Democrat will also. Is that a problem with the American political system, or the American populace ?

So what assumptions do you make about D. Trump, who hasn't released his tax returns ? Given that he paid no federal taxes in the years when he had to disclose them to the Gaming Commission, and that he boasted last night that 'he's too smart to pay taxes', is it just your bias making you assume that he pays very little or no taxes ? Or can you draw some conclusions from innuendo ?