[continued from previous message]   
      
   >>>>>>> But that's not possible.Besides it seems to me that you are not   
   convinced   
   >>>>>>> that Lorentz force can exist in circuits in which alternate current   
   flows.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> Regards   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> Thank you for keeping Mr Sloman amused.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> It's Dr.Sloman.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Given a sound theoretical basis confirmed by experiment, it is our   
   >>>> company policy to never hire PhDs.   
   >>>   
   >>> That makes sense. The literature survey is an essential part of a any   
   >>> Ph.D. thesis, and it has to demonstrate a capacity of for critical   
   >>> thinking. John Larkin doesn't like criticism.   
   >>   
   >> Just four of the problems with PhDs:   
   >>   
   >> Years of being forced to kowtow to authority   
   >   
   >I don't recall doing much of that.   
   >   
   >> and   
   >>   
   >> Ingrained unwillingness to think crazy   
   >   
   >My Ph.D. work didn't proceed the way my supervisor had expected. There   
   >wasn't anything crazy about using computers and modern electronics, but   
   >he wasn't familiar with either - it didn't worry him, though he would   
   >have liked it to go faster.   
   >   
   >> and   
   >>   
   >> Affection for complexity.   
   >   
   >Knowing what you are doing - not your strong suite - can lead to   
   >elaborations that the less well-informed can see as unnecessary   
   >complexity. My colleagues were known to describe me as "gadget happy"   
   >but were happy enough to accept my help when writing computer programs.   
   >   
   >> and   
   >>   
   >> Lack of common sense   
   >   
   >You think that Trump has common sense. Anything that cures what he has   
   >got has got to be a good thing.   
   >   
   >> Phil, of course, is the rare exception. The occasional dose of   
   >> gin+tonic cures any residual academic side effects.   
   >   
   >Alcohol does make people stupid.   
   >   
   >> I've been to some meetings of physicists. They are brutal, instantly   
   >> attacking any non-scientifically-defensible idea. Not a good   
   >> brainstorming environment.   
   >   
   >They can probably spell defensible correctly too.   
   >   
   >You can waste a lot of time in brain=storming sessions on obviously   
   >impractical ideas. Getting rid of them without inhibiting the expression   
   >of the unconventional idea you want can be difficult. Not including   
   >ignorant half-wits in the the brainstorming session is an easier solution.   
   >   
   >> Are chemists the same way?   
   >   
   >The ones I interacted with mostly knew what they were talking about,   
   >which didn't prevent heated discussions.   
      
      
   When I was in high school, I worked two summers in the physics   
   department of LSUNO. MIcrowave spectroscopy and Mössbauer Effect   
   mostly.   
      
   They registered me as a fake student so they could pay me 50 cents per   
   hour, made me student number 20,000.   
      
   I noticed even then the streak of cruelty that runs through academic   
   physics. The dean wanted me to be a physicist but I didn't like the   
   vibe. Good choice I think: engineering is more fun.   
      
      
      
      
   John Larkin   
   Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center   
   Lunatic Fringe Electronics   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)