The Universal Laws Of Physics

[Sabum]

Education is not manipulation or "adopting attitudes" and to suggest so is silly. Educamation has alwees bin and alwees wil bee a gud thin.

[spectrum]

I am an antipodean woman with some exposure to edumacation.

I know my blindspots, and while I am a "feminist" ( ! the horror ! ) I believe men & women do tend to have gender-specific strengths and weaknesses. The same can be true of cultures. Some are more "right-brained" overall, some more "left brained".

All just honest, and one of the funnier threads we have had here in a long time.

[spectrum]

Spooky -- I wrote "edumacation" in my post at the same time Sabum was writing.

Dustoff, you seem overly defensive somehow. Kinda like taking the "noble savage" point of view. I am a major skeptic, but I do believe there are laws of physics.

[12DrinkMore]

No, no, this is where you are wrong. Thais have a very profound understanding of cause and effect.

Absolutely, foreigners and foreign countries are the cause of all problems in Thailand.

[Dustoff]

Mrs L still argues that rain water when collected is purer than pure.......

She also thinks that opening the fridge for two minutes is O.K. and an empty freezer uses less power and that cold water freezes more quickly than boiling water.

However she is able to do those ball-bearing puzzles that I used to think were impossible.

Interestingly, she would be right on several counts except for the 2/min open door. Air in a fridge is circulated first thru the freezer and, even if the items in there are already frozen, any bulk in that box hinders airflow that needs to reach the rest of the fridge, hence more energy expended.

I just asked my wife about putting hot water in our ice cube trays and she says, "No, no, too much ice!"

Speaking of course of the ice build-up on the walls of our freezer which is right on.

Hot water only seems to freeze more quickly because so much of it evaporates into the dry cold air of the freezer then what little water remains turns quickly to ice. Unfortunately, all that evaporated water does indeed mean that you will be defrosting your fridge far sooner than usual and your trays will only be half full of ice. You can accomplish the same quick freezing of water by filling the trays halfway which is what you would have ended up with anyway..

And rainwater is formed by evaporation which is the same as distillation and is very pure water indeed as long as it does not fall through pollution where it picks up them icky particles of crud. Like snow in Denver which is a bit gray to begin with, collecting rainwater after the atmosphere has been washed is about as pure as you could want..

Edited July 20, 2008 by Dustoff

[Gary A]

The entire thread strikes me as rather inane. Why would you even want to try to explain something that she won't understand and wouldn't believe anyways?

If you have the patience to try to explain, you have NOT lived with a Thai woman for very long.

[Theyreallrubbish]

I've found that many Brits think it gets warmer in the summer because the earth is closer to the sun than in winter so ignorance is not limited to Thailand

[IMA_FARANG]

In general, I have found most Thais have little or no understanding of the concept of cause and effect. This applies to many situations, not only the laws of physics.

Not only Thais, many people don't. Once when I was working in Saudi Arabia we came upon a pickup truck with a full size refrigerator standing upright in the back of the pickup. I told my friend not to stop behind the pickup, because the refrigerator might topple over if the driver of the pickup started forward too fast. A Saudi driver drove around us, to stop directly behind the pickup. Now it seems to be a point of honor for Saudi drivers to see who can accelerate fastest away from a stoplight when it goes green. If you can be first, you win. Anyhow, this pickup trunk immeadiately accelerated away as soon as the light turned green. The refrigertor naturally toppled backwards. The Saudi car behind the pickup took the force of the falling refrigerator to it's front, crushing it's hood (bonnet to you Brits). It was one of the funniest accidents I have ever seen.

Point is: anyone with common sense and some basic idea of the laws of physics would never have parked their car behind that pickup truck, would they?

[vagabond48]

I find this thread uncomfortable in that it seems just another thread to 'innocently' demean Thais, especially Thai women.

My ex-gf in the US wasn't Thai, althought she was a certified JAP, a Jewish American princess.

[Dustoff]

Dustoff, you seem overly defensive somehow. Kinda like taking the "noble savage" point of view.

Well, if I were Thai, or a woman, that could perhaps be true but I DO like the Noble Savage thing and may take it on as my new TV name!

Whoa, Noble Savage - I like it!

I am a major skeptic, but I do believe there are laws of physics.

Not me. Since my birth was obviously an accident, everything else must be as well...

Edited July 20, 2008 by Dustoff

[onnut]

My wife actually knows far more then me which isnt hard. But she cant bench press 200 kilo's SO ive got something on her

I dont think your wife knows more then you. its just that you know less then her.

[spectrum]

Dustoff, you seem overly defensive somehow. Kinda like taking the "noble savage" point of view.

Well, if I were Thai, or a woman, that could perhaps be true but I DO like the Noble Savage thing and may take it on as my new TV name!

I mean defensive of your wife, as I think you know very well.

I am a major skeptic, but I do believe there are laws of physics.

Not me. Since my birth was obviously an accident, everything else must be as well...

Obviously ? How so ?

[spectrum]

Well, if I were Thai, or a woman, that could perhaps be true but I DO like the Noble Savage thing and may take it on as my new TV name! Whoa, Noble Savage - I like it!

So cu-eww !!!

[Dustoff]

Dustoff, you seem overly defensive somehow. Kinda like taking the "noble savage" point of view.

Well, if I were Thai, or a woman, that could perhaps be true but I DO like the Noble Savage thing and may take it on as my new TV name!

I mean defensive of your wife, as I think you know very well.

I am a major skeptic, but I do believe there are laws of physics.

Not me. Since my birth was obviously an accident, everything else must be as well...

Obviously ? How so ?

Let's see if the above reflects what I am getting from ThaiVisa. For some reason only part of, or some posts are coming through here.

Defensive about my wife? No, I didn't know that is what you meant, in spite of what you think. Okay, just as she would defend against generalisations about farangs or Americans I suppose but most of my comments are satirical with only giggles intended but for the slight tone of prejudice in this thread.

Time to reload or go to bed and try again tomoro...

Noble Savage

Edited July 20, 2008 by Dustoff

[realthaideal]

I don't see Dustoff as defensive here. Rather, he's eloquently spelled out where this thread might go if we were careless. For my own previous post, I do find it amazing that Thais (men n women) don't get the concept of hot n cold water, but I guess you could reduce it to marveling that they have so little knowledge of physics principles from their education that they can apply to their general lives - more of a criticism, and frequent shock at the level of actual learned education here, not a judgment of the people.

As for 'understanding' about electrons n electricity, how computers work, whether the sun or earth rotates around the other, how many of us could actually give proof in real life examples all with our own mental mathematical and physics toolkits ? I doubt few would pass upon close examination. Close examination! For many the earth revolving is just a memorized concept, not really making us any smarter that them at all. So in that sense it is just gloating.

But in a light sense, yeah, the cultural differences always give pause, and maybe a chuckle because there's just a n easier or simpler understanding of some things here. And that's fine.

[elkangorito]

Not serious just for fun.

Some while........

Well, it was fun...for a while.

[lannarebirth]

Get your tickets early

http://mpec.sc.mahidol.ac.th/apho10/

All kidding aside, Thai teams have done very well in these competitions.

[Daffy D]

Oh! Dear it always happens – topics that start as just fun or entertainment get hijacked and turned into some high moral politically correct debates and slanging matches.

As I wrote in the OP just for fun, why can’t we keep it like that? Let’s not get all serious and uptight, knickers and Yfronts in a twist?

Thanks to those who, in the spirit of the topic, added their own stories some nice insights there.

Just for the record I don’t in any way consider myself intellectually superior to my Thai wife. She knows a lot more about local things than I will ever learn. I make mistakes or do stupid things that she thinks are funny and laughs at so it’s not a one way intellectual thing. I find her sometime “naivety” endearing and wouldn’t want her to be any other way.

[h90]

Well my wife....good educated....physics: zero understanding.......And when I write zero I mean zero......

[slapout]

My wife is still learning, but she is a trooper. As I have gotten older she has come to realize that what goes up does come down. quicker it seems.

[TheDon]

I also heard that the young americans that only 25% of them know the universal law of physics (the basics)

[surface]

I also heard that the young americans that only 25% of them know the universal law of physics (the basics)

Isn't it something like...

The bigger you are, the harder you fall.

j/k!

[egg6447]

Just for the record I don’t in any way consider myself intellectually superior to my Thai wife. She knows a lot more about local things than I will ever learn. I make mistakes or do stupid things that she thinks are funny and laughs at so it’s not a one way intellectual thing. I find her sometime “naivety” endearing and wouldn’t want her to be any other way.

agreed. on all fronts. how about you noble savage. you know it makes sense.

[lannarebirth]

Physics hat trick

By The Nation

Secondary students are bringing home three gold medals from the Physics Olympiad in Vietnam.

The annual Olympiad, held in Hanoi and winding up today, is open to secondary students who have won domestic competitions. Each national team is five strong.

http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/07/28/nat...al_30079175.php

And a plug for my favorite Thai charity:

http://www.thaistudentcharity.org/index.ph...5&Itemid=33

Edited July 28, 2008 by lannarebirth

[sibeymai]

that Thais know little about physics, or many other things for that matter, is only an enditement of the school system, or the fact that many Thais left the school system before these things ever get discussed.

The list of things which westerners have accumulated as knowledge, and of which Thais have not, is endless, but Thais are always, and will always be, better at living in Thailand than any westerner.

Does it infuriate me at times ? Yes, absolutely.

The best I can do is ensure my children get the best of both. The biggest problem I see with Thais is a lack of curiosity. You don't need years of university education to learn. A sense of curiosity will teach you more than you can ever learn in a classroom in 100 lifetimes.

[Cuban]

...take a Thai older than 15 years to one of 'our' western countries for 5 years - when they return they understand the differance. I have heard this directly from about ten different Thais that have lived or worked overseas in different countries. Some had farang partners some not.

[TheDon]

...take a Thai older than 15 years to one of 'our' western countries for 5 years - when they return they understand the differance. I have heard this directly from about ten different Thais that have lived or worked overseas in different countries. Some had farang partners some not.

Depends on which western country, In sydney most teens cant even read let alone know the laws of physics, this guy in my year at high school thought if your toe gets chopped off it grows back. Me and my mates were like <deleted>???????????

[egg6447]

forgot to ask. what is the universal law of physics

[PeaceBlondie]

forgot to ask. what is the universal law of physics

Since my daughter taught physics last month (and this is hereditary, you get it from your kids, like insanity), I will answer, tongue in cheek.

There are lots of laws of physics. I believe Einstein failed to clearly formulate a unified field theory, because he could not include an explanation of slapkicking..

[Naam]

"this guy in my year at high school..."