Editing Talk:1670: Laws of Physics

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This was demonstrated nicely by Neil deGrasse Tyson in episode six of the new Cosmos.  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVSYA1RnSMQ]  [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:18, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
: Another demonstration: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UkUHC8hlL8] ;) --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.240|198.41.242.240]] 16:06, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
: This youtube video with Neil deGrasse Tyson has been modified heavily from 6 secs to the end and no longer represents true psychics. Is this video here as a joke or should it be removed? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.197|108.162.214.197]] 22:19, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

I believe that the line about having faith is also supposed to be a dig at magical thinking in science. Cueball may "know" that the experiment works because he's seen it done, but he hasn't thought it through enough to realize that it doesn't work from the other direction. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.252|173.245.54.252]] 16:32, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
:I concur. "if you really believe in the laws of physics, you won't flinch" seems like Black Hat teaching a very important lesson to Cueball about trusting appeals to science. Not kindly. {{unsigned ip|162.158.255.103}}

Could it also be interpreted that Black Hat is talking to himself, instead of Cueball?
 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.221|108.162.237.221]] 17:29, 20 April 2016 (UTC) Brian
: Black Hat being Black Hat, I very much doubt that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.219|162.158.150.219]] 19:53, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
: He could be reassuring the ball. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 03:49, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

The comic is in 2d. Are we sure that Black Hat will release the ball in a plane that actually runs through the volunteer? If the plane is actually just in front of the volunteer's nose, then he will not be hit (okay, there may be {{w|Foucault_pendulum|precession}}, but that will only come into play after a while).
In that interpretation, the volunteer still needs trust, but not only in physics, but also in Black Hat's ability to release the ball in a suitable plane. --[[User:Markus|Markus]] ([[User talk:Markus|talk]]) 17:47, 20 April 2016 (UTC)
: There's slack in the line. Assuming the ball swings, a rough measurement seems to position it below Cueball's chin. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 03:49, 21 April 2016 (UTC)
: Around [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/64:_Solar_Plexus this location] actually; I bet that smarts. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 05:11, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

Inocalash: Assuming that the line is not a bungee cord. otherwise knowing black hat he might of set this off in a very well calculated bouncing action that will actually not hit Cueball. as if the balls weight was just right it would bounce over Cueball's head. as the start height is indeed above Cueball. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.85}}

Possible reference to #755? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.143|108.162.222.143]] 03:27, 21 April 2016 (UTC)
: It does seem his head is tilted towards the ball. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 03:49, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

This experiment is in the novel "Contact" by Carl Sagan. [[User:Chvsanchez|Chvsanchez]] ([[User talk:Chvsanchez|talk]]) 06:09, 21 April 2016 (UTC)
: In that demonstration the tested subject flinches and her companion notes "You have a lot of trust in science, but not total trust" (or something along those lines), upon which she answers "No, that’s not it: that was a million years of brain fighting a few billion years of evolution." – which is imho the same topic as Randall's title text. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.137|162.158.150.137]] 12:06, 22 April 2016 (UTC)
: Definitely reference to "Contact". It should be mentioned. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.22|162.158.238.22]] 11:33, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

Could the joke also be that flinching won't help Cueball much at all when he gets creamed by a bowling ball? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.31|173.245.54.31]] 21:18, 21 April 2016 (UTC)
:Bowling ball? Who said it was a bowling ball?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.97|162.158.74.97]] 17:59, 21 November 2019 (UTC)
:It's always been a bowling ball type ball in my experience. I was a substitute for a university physics teacher who did this demonstration, sneezed, and got hit in the forehead by the ball.  [[User:PAIR|PAIR]]
:To me, the ball looks like a bomb (explosive), which makes the comic even funnier. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.230|162.158.107.230]] 00:44, 18 February 2022 (UTC)