You're right about that. It's maddening. I've got some Star Wars sets from 2000, and the dark grey is a little bit browner than the stuff coming out today.
There's room for both. My kid builds Lego Star Wars sets. When he gets tired of them, he takes them apart and makes his own stuff.
Loose Legos from garage sales or craigslist are great, too. Lego still makes "generic unstructured pieces;" a large part of current sets are made from them.
Parochial and religious schools? So if I want my child to be educated outside the public school system and outside of home schooling, he needs to hear about The Great Sky Fairy and Resurrection Boy when he goes to school?
No. It is in our national interest to fund primary and secondary level education. An educated workforce benefits everybody, those that own capital, to the lowest level of manual labor. I'm not saying what we have for a school system is good, though, just that some form of public education is valuable and cannot be replaced by religious entities.
To those who argue against using collective resources for basic education, what, if anything, should we direct resources to? Only the military? At some point the quality of the republic is degraded to the point that it isn't worth defending.
Science has not provided a robust explanation for the origin of the universe. It cannot explain the four forces. It cannot explain time.
What we have from science is a much better explanation than anything from religion, which is to say no explanation at all. The Big Bang and rapid expansion, while simple, at least takes into account data at hand. The Sky Fairy on a six-day creation tour doesn't.
I'll merely point out that instruments other than flute are constructed to make the pentatonic scale simple to play - the black notes on the keyboard are the most obvious. The scale, and the pitches exist independently of the instruments that produce them.
The AC's post regarding perception of harmonics in the brain bears this out. The pentatonic scale offers all the consonant intervals, leaving out only minor seconds and augmented fourths. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that people perceived consonance 35,000 years ago.
The example shows clearly an accurate major pentatonic scale. The pitches are Eb, F, G, Bb, and C. The proximity to modern pitch is incidental, as pitch has been standardized for only a couple hundred years. The important thing is the distance between the pitches, or the ratio of one pitch to the rest. The pentatonic scale has ratios of 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3, meaning if Eb is given the value of 1, F is 9/8 of Eb, G is 5/4 of Eb, Bb is 3/2 of Eb, and C is 5/3 of Eb. To construct an instrument that can play exactly (apparently exclusively) this scale shows, even if only through sound, an understanding of the mathematics underlying the scale.
The chance of constructing an instrument that happens to produce these exact ratios is impossibly small. Considering this and that it has a functionally placed embouchure hole opens up more possibilities. The person who made this instrument had made them before, or was taught by someone who had, or made it in imitation of something already seen. Now we know the pentatonic scale, which has been found all over the world is at least 35,000 years old. That's staggering.
I'm a tenured professional orchestra musician. I'll try to explain.
NotBornYesterday's conclusion was dead on! The AC is also correct.
In the example, the ancient flute played the pitches Eb, F, G, Bb, and C, which is a simple pentatonic scale. When in this particular order, it's called a major pentatonic scale. It's incidental that the pitches are close to these modern pitches (AC's point). The important thing is the distance from one pitch to the next, or in other words, the ratio of one pitch to another (NBY's point).
The ratios in the pentatonic scale are 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3. So if you set Eb as 1, F is 9/8 of Eb, G is 5/4 of Eb, Bb is 3/2 of Eb, and C is 5/3 of Eb. The ratios are what is important. The absolute value of the pitch in Hertz is incidental. The maker of this flute understood these ratios, and constructed the flute accordingly.
The fact that people were using the pentatonic scale 35,000 years ago or more is stunning.
Almost like the laws of physics haven't changed at all!
I think you missed the point. The amazing thing is that 35,000 years ago, we understood, in a simple way, this specific law of physics.
Same size shaft, holes, and lengths will produce nearly the same frequency.
Well, this flute doesn't have the same size shaft, holes, and length as a modern Western flute. This flute is much smaller. But it's not surprising that the modern flute shares part of its range with it. The modern flute has a 3 1/2+ octave range and is capable of extreme dynamics, incredible pitch accuracy, and quick technical facility, thanks to 35,000+ years worth of mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and artistry.
The surprise in this story is that people were playing pentatonic scales 35,000 years ago, and had refined instruments to do it.
Disclaimer - IAPOM. I am a professional orchestral musician.
"Harmonics" doesn't really mean anything in this sense. Flutes don't play two notes simultaneously, so there is no harmony. This flute is capable of playing at least 5 distinct pitches, or at least 10 if you count overblowing to get a higher octave. The notes in the example are Eb, F, G, Bb, and C, which is a pentatonic scale.
This is the most amazing thing to me. The pentatonic scale's pitches have the simple frequency ratios of 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3. Instruments designed to play this scale have been found almost everywhere humans play music. The person that made this instrument perceived, through sound, these simple mathematical ratios. 35,000 years ago, humans had already discovered the beauty in mathematics.
Also, I can draw the conclusion that the person that made this flute had made flutes previously, or learned from someone who did. The chances of gouging holes in a bone at random and having a very accurate pentatonic scale along with a serviceable embouchure hole in the end product is vanishingly small. This skill is learned by trial and error or instruction. This opens up more questions. If the maker of this flute didn't invent the pentatonic scale, who did? How old is the scale?
Even now, the level of discourse here is quite a bit above most sites that allow comments. The only thing that's really sunk significantly is the quality of the trolls.
The level of discourse is what keeps people coming back. Sometimes I just want to read a good debate. Is there a better place?
Slashdot Mirror
Pop one of these AKDL1's on it, and the machine is immune to trojans.
A user ID of 1.5M+? STFU, noob.
It isn't.
You're right about that. It's maddening. I've got some Star Wars sets from 2000, and the dark grey is a little bit browner than the stuff coming out today.
Now, LEGO needs to make the next step and allow people to build their own kits online. I think that would be even bigger than LEGO Star Wars.
Seriously Lego, where are you?
It's called Lego Degital Designer. If you've got a complaint, at least take a couple of minutes to figure out if it's valid.
Wish I could mod you up.
The term "specialized parts" makes no sense.
There's room for both. My kid builds Lego Star Wars sets. When he gets tired of them, he takes them apart and makes his own stuff.
Loose Legos from garage sales or craigslist are great, too. Lego still makes "generic unstructured pieces;" a large part of current sets are made from them.
I usually hate your comments, but this is spot-on.
Parochial and religious schools? So if I want my child to be educated outside the public school system and outside of home schooling, he needs to hear about The Great Sky Fairy and Resurrection Boy when he goes to school?
No. It is in our national interest to fund primary and secondary level education. An educated workforce benefits everybody, those that own capital, to the lowest level of manual labor. I'm not saying what we have for a school system is good, though, just that some form of public education is valuable and cannot be replaced by religious entities.
To those who argue against using collective resources for basic education, what, if anything, should we direct resources to? Only the military? At some point the quality of the republic is degraded to the point that it isn't worth defending.
Science has not provided a robust explanation for the origin of the universe. It cannot explain the four forces. It cannot explain time.
What we have from science is a much better explanation than anything from religion, which is to say no explanation at all. The Big Bang and rapid expansion, while simple, at least takes into account data at hand. The Sky Fairy on a six-day creation tour doesn't.
I actually would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
You just went from foe to neutral for that good post. Not sure why you were a foe in the first place.
Interesting replies.
I'll merely point out that instruments other than flute are constructed to make the pentatonic scale simple to play - the black notes on the keyboard are the most obvious. The scale, and the pitches exist independently of the instruments that produce them.
The AC's post regarding perception of harmonics in the brain bears this out. The pentatonic scale offers all the consonant intervals, leaving out only minor seconds and augmented fourths. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that people perceived consonance 35,000 years ago.
I am a tenured professional orchestra musician.
The example shows clearly an accurate major pentatonic scale. The pitches are Eb, F, G, Bb, and C. The proximity to modern pitch is incidental, as pitch has been standardized for only a couple hundred years. The important thing is the distance between the pitches, or the ratio of one pitch to the rest. The pentatonic scale has ratios of 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3, meaning if Eb is given the value of 1, F is 9/8 of Eb, G is 5/4 of Eb, Bb is 3/2 of Eb, and C is 5/3 of Eb. To construct an instrument that can play exactly (apparently exclusively) this scale shows, even if only through sound, an understanding of the mathematics underlying the scale.
The chance of constructing an instrument that happens to produce these exact ratios is impossibly small. Considering this and that it has a functionally placed embouchure hole opens up more possibilities. The person who made this instrument had made them before, or was taught by someone who had, or made it in imitation of something already seen. Now we know the pentatonic scale, which has been found all over the world is at least 35,000 years old. That's staggering.
I'm a tenured professional orchestra musician. I'll try to explain.
NotBornYesterday's conclusion was dead on! The AC is also correct.
In the example, the ancient flute played the pitches Eb, F, G, Bb, and C, which is a simple pentatonic scale. When in this particular order, it's called a major pentatonic scale. It's incidental that the pitches are close to these modern pitches (AC's point). The important thing is the distance from one pitch to the next, or in other words, the ratio of one pitch to another (NBY's point).
The ratios in the pentatonic scale are 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3. So if you set Eb as 1, F is 9/8 of Eb, G is 5/4 of Eb, Bb is 3/2 of Eb, and C is 5/3 of Eb. The ratios are what is important. The absolute value of the pitch in Hertz is incidental. The maker of this flute understood these ratios, and constructed the flute accordingly.
The fact that people were using the pentatonic scale 35,000 years ago or more is stunning.
Almost like the laws of physics haven't changed at all!
I think you missed the point. The amazing thing is that 35,000 years ago, we understood, in a simple way, this specific law of physics.
Same size shaft, holes, and lengths will produce nearly the same frequency.
Well, this flute doesn't have the same size shaft, holes, and length as a modern Western flute. This flute is much smaller. But it's not surprising that the modern flute shares part of its range with it. The modern flute has a 3 1/2+ octave range and is capable of extreme dynamics, incredible pitch accuracy, and quick technical facility, thanks to 35,000+ years worth of mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and artistry. The surprise in this story is that people were playing pentatonic scales 35,000 years ago, and had refined instruments to do it.
Disclaimer - IAPOM. I am a professional orchestral musician.
"Harmonics" doesn't really mean anything in this sense. Flutes don't play two notes simultaneously, so there is no harmony. This flute is capable of playing at least 5 distinct pitches, or at least 10 if you count overblowing to get a higher octave. The notes in the example are Eb, F, G, Bb, and C, which is a pentatonic scale.
This is the most amazing thing to me. The pentatonic scale's pitches have the simple frequency ratios of 1:9/8:5/4:3/2:5/3. Instruments designed to play this scale have been found almost everywhere humans play music. The person that made this instrument perceived, through sound, these simple mathematical ratios. 35,000 years ago, humans had already discovered the beauty in mathematics.
Also, I can draw the conclusion that the person that made this flute had made flutes previously, or learned from someone who did. The chances of gouging holes in a bone at random and having a very accurate pentatonic scale along with a serviceable embouchure hole in the end product is vanishingly small. This skill is learned by trial and error or instruction. This opens up more questions. If the maker of this flute didn't invent the pentatonic scale, who did? How old is the scale?
... MODERN nuclear power, especially with re-using the waste, gas-cooled pebble bed designs, Thorium designs, etc. .
Nobody mines Thorium anymore. I'm not sitting in Whispering Gorge waiting for nodes to spawn, either.
... I should probably get cracking on finding one here.
Even now, the level of discourse here is quite a bit above most sites that allow comments. The only thing that's really sunk significantly is the quality of the trolls.
The level of discourse is what keeps people coming back. Sometimes I just want to read a good debate. Is there a better place?
As for the trolls, they keep me laughing, too.
I'm glad we're spending 7.5% of our GDP on a load of beurocrats... ... ...
... dieing from desises
Before claiming how grat the NHS is
Looks like the UK needs to spend more on education as well as health.
Life expectancy rates and infant mortality rates. The US ranks in the 20's and 30's. While we have amazing doctors and technology, we do not have the best healthcare.
Oops, replied to wrong post above.
Here's the article. It's a great read.
Here's the article. It's a great read.
Single-payer isn't even being considered, despite heaps of data (here's a recent graphic)suggesting that it is preferred.