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Archaeologist May Have Found the First Protractor
If physicist Amelia Sparavigna is correct, in addition to frogs, lice, and locusts, Egyptian schoolchildren were also plagued with useless geometry instruments in their new notebooks at the beginning of every school year. A mysterious object was found in the architect Kha's tomb in 1906 and its function has remained the subject of debate ever since. Sparavigna is certain the object is actually the world's first protractor. From the article: "The key, she says, lies in the numbers encoded in the object's ornate decoration,(Pdf) which resembles a compass rose with 16 evenly spaced petals surrounded by a circular zigzag with 36 corners."
Seriously.
sig not found
Seriously, this is supposed to be news for nerds and the summary gets a gratuitous attack on protractors? They aren't useless now and they certainly weren't useless in the past. Before electronic systems, protractors were needed for all sorts of applications in architecture and engineering. In other areas, the way stars were carefully charted used protractor-like instruments. This last was particularly important in many ancient cultures because they relied on the stars to figure out just when to plant. Later, in the age of navigation, the sextant (again a protractor variant) was used to help accurately estimate latitude, a critical ability for sailors allowing the exploration and trade which eventually gave us the modern world. Moreover, aside from these applications, having children work with protractors helps them improve their ability to estimate things at a glance and improve their geometric intuition something that is important in daily life as well as all sorts of jobs, whether as things like carpenters or more academic jobs like engineers and physicists.
I read the fine pdf. Appears to be a degree system of measurement. Eat that, grad and radian fans...
How she has ruled out a flower with 18-fold symmetry, or just random decorative stuff, is not described. I'd like to see a table of intervals vs measured degrees, I wonder how accurately it measures up.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
I would considered it multi-tool.
You could use it a balance scale, a straight edge, a measuring unit, a protractor... Probably more. It would seem like a good tool for a Foreman to carry around and make sure the workers are getting things right or they need to be beaten more, heck by the look of it it could work as a nice club too.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I love when people don't get jokes, and then start insulting the joker. Makes them look really special.
which is totally what she said
The Egyptians who built the pyramids were white (or at least, the people who DESIGNED them were white)
White? Really? Can you please explain why Scandinavians were living in Egypt?
Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
when you look at it from the Right Angle ...
Ducks!
How do we know that this isn't the world's second protractor?
... all they have is a protractor.
Now really, this is definitely cause to worry. Everyone knows the overpowered force with the incredible super weapon will be defeated at the last second, usually with that same super weapon.
-- "The Price of Freedom of Speech, of Press, or of Religion is that we must put up with a good deal of rubbish."
Hidden within the article is that this is an empty case that might have held something. Looking at the outer shape, it could just as easily have been a cannon. If they wanted to be helpful, they shou'd have shown pictures of the opened case. There is also no scale for this object, but it appears fairly large. Why would an empty box be put into a tomb? It could be hollow as a way to make it lighter, instead of making it a box. It could have been a childs see-saw. I'd look for wear patterns on this, ubkess it was made new for the funeral. Is this the only one of these ever seen? If they were being commonly used, they would have shown up in one of the numerous paintings the Egyptions were known for.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
I thought the archaeologist found Phssthpok, a Pak Protector. That would have been news.
The worlds first pocket protector too? I'm also missing a "Dukes of Hazzard" lunchbox and Thermos so if the archaeologists see it, let me know.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
oh now that's acute comeback!
Indeed. Tha'ts exactly what is said in all the movies and literature put out by the over-powering force.
Actually, the original quote is something along the lines of "[They] have nuclear weapons, all we have is a protractor" ... but I kinda expected some people to recognize it anyway.
Meh I must have been playing too much Bioshock I&II lately because I thought it said protector and thought "There is something earlier than the Alpha series? Can i kill it?" as hunting Big Daddies and Alphas is my idea of a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
As for TFA I wonder if they used this to "teach to the test" back in the olden days? Because while they may have been able to use protractors then I doubt today's kids would have a clue unless it was part of "no child not left behind". Hell you want to see sad just watch what happens when their little electronic cash registers fail at any store. the HS grads often can't even count out basic change without a calculator. Memorization may get them through the test but it sure as fuck don't help them with everyday life. All I have to say is thank God for Turbo tax as I'd hate to see these kids try to fill out a tax form without hand holding!
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Wow, you're all over the place with that post.
It's always astonishing how unreliable memory is, even though you seem to remember it as if you'd just read it.
I've used a protractor before, when I was in elementary school. I cannot imagine a practical use for one today. Arithmetical calculation is far from a necessary task and does nothing to further human knowledge or ennoble the human spirit. It is a drudge task, for which we invented mechanical and, later, digital calculators beginning over a century ago. They are far faster and more accurate than the best human computers, to use the term in its old sense.
But I realize that anyone that disagrees with you is an idiot, so I'll just don my dunce cap and go lick a window or two.
Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
If this is such a mystery, why don't they just go to Egypt and ask these schoolchildren? They know Egypt is a country right? "Egyptian schoolchildren" from which era?
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Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
Work in remodeling very long and you'll figure out how to make protractors and compasses from random scraps laying around the job site, since you can't really do without one. Well, not if you do quality work, anyway.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
When I used to cashier a million years ago I made a point of counting out change to people, and the younger ones would generally give me a 'What the hell are you doing?" look, while older customers would look pleased. Caught myself making a mistake more than once. I make a point to compliment the few people who still know how to give change correctly.
Want to really confuse a cashier? If your total is (for example) $9.62 give them a ten and twelve cents. Stand back though, their brain may explode before they finally figure out that you want two quarters for change.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
r.e. your sig: I think it was mostly his employees he tortured, and some poor elephant he electrocuted to "prove" that AC electricity was dangerous. However, if the 'puppies' statement is true I'd be interested in learning more (he really was something of a bastard).
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
The Egyptians who built the pyramids were white (or at least, the people who DESIGNED them were white)
White? Really? Can you please explain why Scandinavians were living in Egypt?
There for protracted tanning?
Sadist. (In a good sense.)
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
This says more about the paucity of your imagination than it does about the utility of protractors. Do any sort of work where you (not a machine) have to produce a material object and you'll soon come across situations where you need them. Same if you only design or specify the objects.
If and only if they are used correctly. And very often, working out how to present a calculation (including checking if you've got the appropriate number of parentheses if you have a calculator which does parentheses ; I've never had one) takes longer than doing the maths in your head, to the first couple of significant digits at least. If you're then punching the problem into the machine (to get the 5th and 6th significant digits, say), then you've got a "road map" of the problem to check whether you've entered the numbers correctly.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Oh lord I've done that and I only wish I'd had a camera at the time, as it is like you found their off switch or something! They just stare and stare at the money, like they know there is a reason for what you've done but their brains just can't process it. The smarter ones will just ask "Why did you give me X?" or say "You've given me too much" and the others just sit there in vapor lock until you get tired of watching their gears slip and explain what you wanted.
It is a pretty damned sad state of affairs though when you see how widespread that is among HS grads. Last year a farmer cut through the fiber line to my home town and for 3 days the electronic registers would NOT work, for about half a day NO store was doing ANY business until the managers went and got a hold of pocket calcs and even then you'd have to explain what change you'd get as they were so used to the machines spitting out the change they'd try to give you dimes for everything.
It just shows you how worthless "teach to the test" is when you have to stand there behind someone and say "No M'am you don't need to give 8 dimes and 3 pennies for 83 cents, you can give her 3 quarters, a nickle, and 3 pennies. Yes I'm sure that's right". while I was at one shop I saw a manager give up an tell an employee to go get him $60 worth of dimes from the bank!
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
The only useful thing Edison actually invented was the lightbulb. Most everything else was invented by his staff and patented under the Edison company. His rejection of AC in the face of its clear benefits and his insistence on 'magnetic ore mining' as the future way to dig for gold shows he didn't have much creative talent.
He killed thousands of dogs and cats, including horses and an elephant. Read the book "The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History". Here's a link to an electronic version from Google: http://books.google.com/books?id=nSLU3ge91NoC&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Specifically pages 74 and 77-79 (and others) talk about the animals he murdered. He really was a sadistic bastard.
Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
I made a point of counting out change to people, and the younger ones would generally give me a 'What the hell are you doing?" look, while older customers would look pleased.
I'm no longer young, but I hate it when people count my change back. I can count the change in my hand a lot faster than you can count it into my hand. (I've usually counted it as they're pulling it out of the register anyway.)
Want to really confuse a cashier? If your total is (for example) $9.62 give them a ten and twelve cents.
I do this all the time. It is hilarious.
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JimFive
Please stop using the word theory when you mean hypothesis.
...or first Adult toy.
That's a toddler's see-saw...it's just leaning that way because that kid had no friends.
There are 2 groups of people you can make fun of on the Internet without fear of attack. The illiterate, and the Amish.
I've used a protractor before, when I was in elementary school. I cannot imagine a practical use for one today.
Well, I used one just a few days ago. The occasion was a piece of patio furniture, mostly made of wood, with a piece that was getting old and feeble. I had some pressure-treated boards in the shed, so I decided to just cut a replacement part. One of the tools I used was one of those gadgets that consists of a metal ruler with a rotatable protractor attached. I used it to copy the angles of the original piece, so it would fit correctly. It worked fine, and the patio chair has a bright new segment that I should probably stain to match the rest.
A few days before that, I decided that the old grape arbor in our back yard (over part of the same patio) was leaning a bit much, due to having been built years before without all the diagonal supports that it should have had. I used the same tool to cut a board to the right shape, though in that case I didn't have to measure anything on the arbor itself. The only angles needed were 45-degree angles, and I did this by setting the same gadget to 45 degrees, using its protractor component.
This is probably why that sort of protractor-based tool is still manufactured in large numbers, and sold in hardware stores everywhere. And there's a simple reason that those hardware stores exist: There are still enough people capable of building things that they can stay in business. Those people need the appropriate tools, which hardware stores sell. And among those tools there are a number that include protractors as a component. Look at any table saw, for example; you'll find a protractor built into the blade-tilting mechanism. And lots of us know how to use it. Even us computer geeks.
Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.