What is Stupid: Definition and 313 Discussions

Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word stupid comes from the Latin word stupere. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B. Pitkin called stupidity "evil", but in a more Romantic spirit William Blake and Carl Jung believed stupidity can be the mother of wisdom.

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  1. Saladsamurai

    Stupid Tabular Method for Integration by parts

    Is this the correct way to use the Tabular Method for \int x^2e^{-5x}dx repeated diff: x^2 2x 2 repeated Integration: e^{-5x} -\frac{1}{5}e^{-5x} \frac{1}{25}e^{-5x}...
  2. Saladsamurai

    Stupid Buoyancy, this is getting ridiculous.

    [SOLVED] Stupid Buoyancy, this is getting ridiculous. A hollow sphere of inner readius 8cm and outer radius 9cm floats half submerged in a liquid of density 800kg/m^3. What is the mass of the sphere and the density of the material it is made from. \sum F=0 \Rightarrow mg-F_b=0 \Rightarrow...
  3. D

    Using a Lower Rated Adapter: Potential Damage to Laptop and Battery?

    So, I find myself without the AC adapter for my laptop and I need power. My adapter is rated 19.5v 4.7a. I have an adapter from an older machine (same manufacturer), rated 19.5v 3a. The physical connection to the laptop is the same. Will I damage the laptop and/or the battery if I...
  4. S

    Can Evolution Explain Increasing Complexity in Life?

    Personally i don't think evolution is stupid. I was watching a documentary with this title out of interest. You can watch the full documentary here: h**p://tv-links.co.uk/video/9/5566/8296/53218/76984# (If you copy and paste the link and replace the *s with ts it should work, if not...
  5. K

    No such thing as a stupid question, just stupid

    grad students that should know things by now (like me!): [though in my defense, I have not had any GR yet, only what I've picked up in some books] My 2 questions: The effect of our time distortion from being near the Earth is cool and all, can I assume we have a similar GR effect from...
  6. L

    Understanding Electrostatic Waves: A Personal Experience

    So I was reading a journal article and I saw the phrase "electrostatic wave", and I became somewhat disgruntled and ranted a little bit to the guys I share an office with, since the phrase is seemingly an oxymoron...'electrostatic' implies a time invariant field and therefore a 'wave' cannot be...
  7. L

    Understanding Nuclear Disposal: A Basic Question About Radioactive Fuel

    It's one basic question about nuclear disposal that I have never understood. Nuclear "fluel" like Uran, etc comes from nature - right ? The way nuclear fuel is produced is by increasing the consentration of nuclear material - right ? As the nuclear fuel is used and energy is taken out...
  8. C

    Stupid Mistake: Measuring Body Resistance with a Multimeter

    Hi everybody, I have a question concerning a "stupid" thing i did today. I found a electric multimeter (if it is called so- you know, the device that measures dc current, the resistance in Ohms, dc and rms of ac voltage...), and thought to measure my body resistance. I didn't even think that...
  9. J

    Possibly incredibly stupid question about gravity in an aeroplane

    I just want to make absolutely sure, but does anyone know if you actually do weigh less in a plane, and if you do, is it measurable? Obviously a flying aeroplane, and not one on the ground ;) Thanks! Jess
  10. W

    Find Perimeter of Quadrilateral with Midpoints of Sides

    I don't know how to tackle this question as I was absent from class the day it was taught but I need to know: A quadrilateral has vertices P(0,8) Q(-4,4) R(2,-2) and S(6,4). Find the perimeter of the figure whose vertices are the midpoints of the sides of the quadrilateral.
  11. D

    Uncovering the Mystery of Photons, Mass, and Gravity for Beginners

    Sorry folks, I couldn't find the "newb" section for this undoubtedly stupid question. I started reading the wikipedia article on photons, and it states that a photon is massless. My understanding was that all light is photons, but also that light is affected by gravity. It was also my...
  12. T

    Stupid question about page 70 in a first course in GR

    Ok thhe follwoing questio is extremely silly. everything else that I've read in the book makes sense but this part doesn't. i just can't seem to udnerstand it because of a combination of stupidity and notation. Near the end of page 69 an identity is derived to show how the components of the...
  13. J

    Rotation Kinematics and a stupid fridge

    Problem as stated: -A refrigerator is approximately a uniform parallelepiped h = 7 ft tall, w = 4 ft wide, and d = 2 ft deep. It sits upright on a truck with its 4 ft dimension in the direction of travel. Assume that the refrigerator cannot slide on the truck and that its mass is 110 kg. For the...
  14. W

    Funny & Stupid Articles: Good Humor from The Onion

    Really funny and stupid articles, good humor though: http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/im_prepared_to_do_anything_to" http://www.theonion.com/content/node/53191"
  15. J

    Understanding Capacitor Charge Distribution in a Circuit

    Q=CV for a capacitor. The Q is for the amount of charge on one plate right(for parallel capacitor case)? So is the total charge 2Q on the capacitor? Does it always have +Q on one plate and -Q on the other? Will it ever happen when it's +Q on one plate and not -Q on the other or vice...
  16. R

    Is Lack of Structure in Teaching a Common Problem Among Professors?

    I'm wasting paper today because I have to throw away the homework which has scribbled-in curses, rants, insults to the grader, etc. Does anyone else have this problem? "This problem is useless." "This is obvious. Why do I have to write this out?" "Only a moron would use this notation." &c...
  17. JasonRox

    News Welcome to Stupid Bobby's Comic Strip

    Hey! I finally got something I wanted to get done. You guys are the first to see the website. I won't be publishing the link to the website for another 2 weeks. This is my comic strip that I write at my university. I write one issue every week. The website contains an extra one at that...
  18. C

    May be a stupid question, but bothering me for long time

    When thinking of what's the philosophy behind the "magic" complex i, i*i=-1, this seems the connection between real world and imaginary world, but what this imaginary world stands for? why with its help, many functions get resolved? and we can use the Euler formula, which is the basic of many...
  19. T

    Stop Making Stupid Mistakes: Improve Your Math Skills with These Tips!

    I just came home from a local math league, and I completely let my team down by making a mistake on what is quite possibly the easiest problem I've ever seen, even in junior high (we're in high school): Find the sum of all multiples of 9 less than 50. I thought, for some reason, that 54<50...
  20. Q

    Uncovering the Truth: Flawed Statistics in Iraq War Coverage

    Just read http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19303337.htm", which conveys the message that the war in Iraq is going so badly, that the suicide rate has doubled. However, this is simply a Poisson distribution, and the values they list do not seem to indicate that the mean value has...
  21. JamesU

    Stop Programs from Minimizing to System Tray: Windows Taskbar Guide

    How can I stop a program from minimizing to the system tray? THere's probably an easy answer to this, and yes, I googled it.
  22. L

    Stupid question, and I have honestly attempted to find the answer elsewhere

    But how does one become a homework helper or science advisor?
  23. russ_watters

    Will Natural Gas Prices Soar This Winter?

    http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-12-01-nat-gas-usat_x.htm To be fair, the article isn't terrible, but it does have several "duhs" in it. The headline on the main page, though, is rediculous: First, the obvious: fuel prices follow very regular cyclical patterns during...
  24. A

    Dirac's Relativistic Equation and the Mysterious Nature of Gravity

    Teacher said "Stupid Question" We were learning about Dirac's relativistic equation. The teacher wrote on the board: Free Particle Dirac Equation: [ \alpha \cdot \bold {p}c + \beta mc^2]\psi = -\frac{\hbar}{i}\frac{\partial\psi}{\partial t} Then the teacher said "if we want to add a...
  25. K

    Untrained Physicist Seeking Feedback on Written Theory - Tips and Advice"

    Hello everyone. How does one get a theory "out"? Let's say I have theory, but I'm not a trained physicist. I can't write out my theory as a mathematical equation. I can simply put it in words. How can I get someone trained in physics to look at it and tell me whether I'm smoking crack...
  26. A

    Solving Inequalities in Interval Notation: Where Did I Go Wrong?

    In interval notation, I was asked to solve for 5 < 2x - 1 ≤ 15 I did this by making the 4 cases... 2x-1>5 or 2x-1<-5 AND 2x-1≤ 15 and 2x-1≥-15 x > 3 or x < -2 AND x ≤ 8 and x ≥ -7 So for my final answer...i got [-7,-2),(3,8] But when i check it, none of the numbers between -7 and...
  27. S

    Understanding Proof Writing: Why We Use 3) instead of 4)

    I have no idea how to type math symbols into here so it's all in the PNG attached. I'm probably kind of dumb for not getting this but... I understand that 1) & 3) are true. And the 2) is not right, as it means all x are members of F and true for P(x) when we mean all x that are members of...
  28. S

    How Do You Solve the Oscillation Problem with Damping and Driving Forces?

    A particle of mass m is moving under the ocmbined action of the forces -kx, a damping force -2mb (dx/dt) and a driving force Ft. Express the solutions in terms of intial position x(t=0) and the initial velocity of the particle. For the complementary solution, use x(t) = e^(-bt) A sin (w1t +...
  29. K

    Understanding Eigenstates: Exploring Energy Levels and Linear Combinations

    I've read the chapter but it hasn't helped. Eigenstates are states with a definite amount of energy independent on time? and then any other state is a linear combination of the eigenstates, with some Cn acting as a weighting factor...is there a limitation on what the Cn's can be? otherwise...
  30. Pengwuino

    Unbelievable Wheel of Fortune Contestants | Don't Miss the Hilarious Mistakes!

    Why is it that everytime i decide to stick around after jeopardy, i get to be fascinated at the stupidity of some wheel of fortune contestants. When they have a very long puzzle... especially with a jackpot thingy... why is it that they solve soooooo early in the round? Theres maybe... 1 in 20...
  31. H

    Curve Sketching: How to Identify Multiple Global Minimums in a Quartic Function?

    Is it possible to have 2 global minimums? I'm just having trouble determining whether this quartic has minimums or not =/
  32. A

    How High Does a Balloon Rise With 97000 J Work Against Gravity and Wind?

    a 500kg hot-air balloon takes off from rest at the surface of the earth. the nonconservative wind and lift forces take the balloon up, doing 97000 J of work on the balloon in the process. At what height above the surface of the Earth does the balloon have a speed of 8.00 m/s? I stared at this...
  33. fargoth

    Funny interpetations for stupid drawings

    http://www.lileks.com/institute/frahm/index.html (browse around... be sure to see the next ones too, its pretty funny) just some quotes i liked...
  34. A

    The End of Physics? TOE Discovery Questions

    If a TOE is discovered, is physics over? Will there be nothing worthwhile left to study?
  35. A

    Master Your Calculator: Learning to Divide with Taylor Series and Inequalities

    My prof has inflicted us with his infinite wisdom in that calculators are stupid because they can only do a certain series of things they're programed to do. Based upon that principle, he's also inflicted the following problem upon us, of which my groupmates and I have no idea how to even get...
  36. E

    Dumb & Dumber: The Most Ridiculous Theories of Modern Times

    Hello everybody...it,s showtime:redface: :redface: why care for studying and being a serious scientist when you can make millions and fame by saying nonsenses?...heeere..we are our list of "Dumb & Dumber" of modern times... Bible secret codes:=oh yeah¡¡..yes you don,t need to get a...
  37. Pengwuino

    Parking Tickets: I Got Two Last Week!

    I can't believe i got two parking tickets last week. Can you seriuosly be fined for having your car go a foot over the white lines that mark out your space? I guess so because I did. I was notified of my second parking ticket in a rather humorous way. I got it wednesday night but didn't notice...
  38. N

    Stupid question: saving from notepad with extension not .txt

    I think the heading pretty much says it all! I want to write a python program and I am typing it in Notepad. when I save it, it adds .txt to my filename "myprogram.py". How do I avoid that? (I know, it's a stupid question!) Pat
  39. B

    Stupid, little, tiny, itsy-bitsy, yet problem-breaking

    errors that I make commonly are ANNOYING. Examples: Forgetting to add or multiply something, and just using 1 number, forgetting the other number completely Sign-switching (Negatives lost/added) Basic arithmetic errors out of haste And so on. What's a good way to help lower the...
  40. R

    Native Speaker Struggle: The Past Tense of Meet

    For the life of me I can't remember the past tense of "to meet", as in "to meet with". And you know, this IS my native language. :frown:
  41. Pengwuino

    Kid thinks hes not stupid, dad puts the smackdown on him

    :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: I'm going to be like this guy on dr phil! He put a chip in his son's car that tracked his speeds and he went ~103mph 3 times. Son's response? "blahb lah blah waaaa waaaa waaaa" "All my friends do it" "I'm driving...
  42. Q

    I am stupid and everyone hates me

    Well I'm almost 18, and I don't know what I want to do yet but something to do with either psychology or science, I'm really interested in science. Please, please read my accuont, www.myspace.com/spacetimecont. I have no friends. No one wants to hang out with me. If I talk about what I like...
  43. Q

    Are Teenage Males Really Charged More for Car Insurance Than Females?

    Well I'm 17, and my car insurance billf or full coverage is around 260 dollars a month. I cannot afford this. I have no job, and my parents are paying for my car insurance now, they said that if I get a job I could pay for it, but they will not let me do it since it is so expensive (its...
  44. F

    Solving Nonlinear Differential Equations for Air Drag in One Dimension

    I'm working on this project that involves air drag. The model for the air drag is given as: \vec F_d = \frac{1}{2} C \rho A v^2 I'm using Newton's Second law in relation to this force and gravity (in one dimension) which yields: a = \frac{1}{m} \left( -mg + \frac{1}{2} C \rho A v^2...
  45. B

    Will Any Light Ray Striking a Slope Segment Reflect Through Point (0,k)?

    Ok...well, here goes: Let's say we draw a slope-field for \frac{{dy}}{{dx}} = \frac{x}{{k - y + \sqrt {x^2 + \left( {k - y} \right)^2 } }} --------------------------------------- Now, let's say a ray of light traveling in the direction \left\langle {0, - 1} \right\rangle "hits" one of the...
  46. T

    Discover the Answer to This Mind-Boggling Riddle About Average Speeds

    You drive a car at a speed of 40 km/hr to a place and then 60 km/hr back... what is the average speed of the car. I feel really stupid for asking this but its really making me mad..
  47. Pengwuino

    Wow, policitical commercials = stupid

    I'm starting to think that all the money spent on political commercials for the upcoming propositions on the CA ballot could easily pay off the debt California has... nay, the entire country has. I just checked a spurt of commercials and out of 7 commercials, 4 were commercials about the...
  48. A

    Very easy mechanics problem - am i making a stupid mistake?

    An object starts at time t = 0 with a velocity of v0 = +50 m/s and undergoes a constant acceleration of a = -11 m/s^2. b) How far from its starting (t = 0) position is the object at time t_1? I get 44.5 meters. it sounds right 'cuz the equation would mean 0+50*1 - 11/2 *1^2 = 44.5 meters...
  49. M

    What Letter Is This? A Stupid Question About Scripted Letters

    This question's going to sound really stupid, but here goes: what letter is this supposed to be? I just came across it in a book of mine, but for the life of me, I can't tell whether it's a scripted R, n, or even pi. If I had to guess, I'd say that it's an n, simply because it looks somewhat...
  50. S

    Should I even bother disputing my grade? How I hate stupid team members@#

    Well here is what happened. Long rant so be prepared. All throughout my time at community college I worked my *** off to keep a good GPA. This last semester was my final semester in my Computer Programming and Analysis diploma program. All I needed was to receive four 4.0 across the...
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