The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology

ASheridan · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Seems like a perfectly valid call from GMail if you ask me...

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Yeah, refreshingly honest. Wish MS did the same. However many times I add their hotmail emails to my hotmail account's spam folder, new ones still appear in my inbox.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

To be fair to the null null thing, it does at least warn you that it's a description of "Products for Little Logic". Expecting a coherent sentence structure for such a thing is, well, not logical.

tin · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Bob:
Yeah, refreshingly honest. Wish MS did the same. However many times I add their hotmail emails to my hotmail account's spam folder, new ones still appear in my inbox.

Yep - I used to do that too, wondering if they ever collected statistics on people doing that. Obviously they don't, and simply assume we all want to read their rubbish. Not that I use Hotmail for anything much at all now - mostly spam, so the inbox is my second spam folder anyway.

Edit: Also, the real WTF is the number of Error'd images that are website screenies with white backgrounds which just blend into the page... Perhaps Alex or someone could add some CSS to stick a simple border around Error'd images? Then idiots like me will be less confused :P

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

tin:
Bob:
Yeah, refreshingly honest. Wish MS did the same. However many times I add their hotmail emails to my hotmail account's spam folder, new ones still appear in my inbox.

Yep - I used to do that too, wondering if they ever collected statistics on people doing that. Obviously they don't, and simply assume we all want to read their rubbish. Not that I use Hotmail for anything much at all now - mostly spam, so the inbox is my second spam folder anyway.

Edit: Also, the real WTF is the number of Error'd images that are website screenies with white backgrounds which just blend into the page... Perhaps Alex or someone could add some CSS to stick a simple border around Error'd images? Then idiots like me will be less confused :P

I'm sure you tried to fill the survey

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Once the Beeb have fixed their streaming channel, to you have to watch all of the 11722 minutes of movie so far watched again, or can you fast-forward? I mean, you've lasted so long so far, you wouldn't want to miss the end, would you?

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

TI's website has got to be the most broken thing in the world. I cringe every time I have to go there.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

TRWTF is Aristocats.

Kushan · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Dog Lover:
TRWTF is Aristocats.

It's worse than that. As an owner of a 2 year old child, I happen to know that Cbeebies does not show animated films. It has a strict schedule of programs that only changes on occasion so the kids don't get confused. So basically, the guide isn't just showing an incorrect running time, it's showing it for the wrong channel as well.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

That last could potentially be legit if someone started watching that long ago, paused it and went back to it 8 days later... That's not long to be distracted for considering that there is the internet.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

So in the GMail pic, at the bottom there's a wall socket with scribble on the wall saying (as near as I can tell), "Key Clear". WTF?

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Speaking of SPAM, isn't Cali Lewis just one of the ways they misspell Cialis to get past the filters?

Anyway, she looks hot enough that I wouldn't need any.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

I got a "helpful" once, but it disappear when I clack the.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

How soon we forget! Wasn't it just a month ago when the presidential candidates were spending over a billion dollars on products for little logic?

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Todd Lewis:
So in the GMail pic, at the bottom there's a wall socket with scribble on the wall saying (as near as I can tell), "Key Clear". WTF?

I believe it says "Key Cleaner".

DCRoss · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Wow, there were three posts on Google+ this week? That must be a new record.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

TRWTF is Macromedia Dreamweaver.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

"Remember the days when Disney released films with a running time of 8 days? They sure don't make them like they used to!"

It's hard to get kids to sit still that long these days. After about 6 hours, they get fidgety.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Charles F.:
"Remember the days when Disney released films with a running time of 8 days? They sure don't make them like they used to!"
It's hard to get kids to sit still that long these days. After about 6 hours, they get fidgety.

You're not medicating them enough.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Watching the Disney classic 'The Black Hole' felt like it took eight days.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Pita:
Watching the Disney classic 'The Black Hole' felt like it took eight days.

Yeah, that's cause some scientist told the writers that time stops at the singularity, so they tried to illustrate that by having nothing happen for about half the movie.

Still not as bad as the first Star Trek movie though. What was it, three hours of the Enterprise drifting through layer after layer of cloudy lights as it approached V'ger?

I knew a movie special effects guy once who taught me something that has proved useful in my software career. The boss wants to think he's in charge. But he doesn't really have the expertise to know what's best. So you make three versions of everything he requests: two crappy and one good. Then ask which one he likes.

I guess the Star Trek director said "give me all three!"

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Yeah, I used to visit this web site that promised free articles every day, but occasionally they'd skip a day. This made me so furious I never went back. Showed them they can't get away with false advertising and misrepresentation!

cellocgw · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Dog Lover:
TRWTF is Aristocats.

Yeah, well, at first glance I thought it said "The Aristocrats" . You'd hate to confuse those two movies.

PedanticCurmudgeon · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Jack:
Yeah, I used to visit this web site that promised free articles every day, but occasionally they'd skip a day. This made me so furious I never went back. Showed them they can't get away with false advertising and misrepresentation!

So how did that work out for you? Did they give you your money back? Were you awarded any damages when you sued?

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Jan:
Charles F.:
"Remember the days when Disney released films with a running time of 8 days? They sure don't make them like they used to!"
It's hard to get kids to sit still that long these days. After about 6 hours, they get fidgety.
You're not medicating them enough.

How do you think I get them to sit still for 6 hours?! I tried upping the dosage 30%, but then they wanted to go to a rave.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

PedanticCurmudgeon:
Jack:
Yeah, I used to visit this web site that promised free articles every day, but occasionally they'd skip a day. This made me so furious I never went back. Showed them they can't get away with false advertising and misrepresentation!
So how did that work out for you? Did they give you your money back? Were you awarded any damages when you sued?

I'm not that vindictive. No, I just asked them to post an apology on their site. But since I never went back, I guess I won't know if they did it.

RichP · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Ah, the good old high-quality analog null null solutions. True connoisseurs appreciate how much better they are than the digital null null solutions.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Dog Lover:
TRWTF is Aristocats.

Classic voice acting by Phil Harris, Scatman Crothers and Eva Gabor and you have a problem with it!?! For shame!

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Jack:
Yeah, I used to visit this web site that promised free articles every day, but occasionally they'd skip a day. This made me so furious I never went back.

Apparently you did.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Kushan:
Dog Lover:
TRWTF is Aristocats.

It's worse than that. As an owner of a 2 year old child, I happen to know that Cbeebies does not show animated films. It has a strict schedule of programs that only changes on occasion so the kids don't get confused. So basically, the guide isn't just showing an incorrect running time, it's showing it for the wrong channel as well.

It's not an animated film. It's a "making of" showing the animators draw the anmiated film. In full.

Gurth · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Now I've gotten myself into this web design lark, I'm wondering which control I should use to present a large number of mutually-exclusive choices …

<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<input type="radio"/>
<select><option>Popup button</option></select>

powerlord · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Dan:
TRWTF is Macromedia Dreamweaver.

Yes, particularly the part about how it's been called Adobe Dreamweaver for the last 5 releases.

Is the copy in the picture older or newer than the turn of the century?

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

"Hey Mercury Magazines, is it possible that the reason for all that 'overwhelming demand' you have for PCWorld is the fact that it's the only damn stupid 'choice' available?"

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Stephen:
Still not as bad as the first Star Trek movie though. What was it, three hours of the Enterprise drifting through layer after layer of cloudy lights as it approached V'ger?

That whole movie made no sense anyway.

Small problem: According to the movie, V'Ger turns up in "Klingon space" at some time several hundred years in the future. But Voyager is travelling at about 35,000 miles per hour, or 300 million miles per year. So in, say, 300 years it would travel about 90 billion miles ... or about .015 light-years, just a step outside of our solar system. I don't know exactly where "Klingon space" is, but there's no way Voyager will reach another solar system in less than 100,000 years or so. There was some quick talk about a black hole. Are we to suppose that there is a black hole lurking just a few million miles outside our solar system? I'd think even our current technology be able to measure the graviational pull of such an object. Well, maybe not. I don't know what all the assumptions are here.

But the big problem: The big revelation of the movie -- spoiler alert here! -- was when the Enterprise crew learns that V'Ger is built around one of Earth's Voyager spacecraft, discovered by some advanced living-machine intelligence, who were impressed with its "primitive 20th century programming" to "learn all that is knowable and return that knowledge to its creator". (Not the exact words; it's been decades since I saw the movie.) The machine-aliens are so impressed with this concept that they decide to complete Voyager's mission themselves.

But ... Voyager was not programmed to "learn all that is knowable". You can't write a Java program that says, "learn(all); send(creator);" Voyager was programmed to operate a few specific monitoring devices and take some pictures. Somehow the aliens had to go from "at this predetermined time send an electronic signal to this component to cause a shutter to open, allowing external light to impinge on this surface, causing electric currents to flow to this other device, and then code those signals and transmit them in this direction" (even that, of course, is a high-level human interpretation of the actual program code), the aliens had to go from that sort of actual programming, to "take photographs and send them back to mission control". Then they had to realize that the purpose of these photographs and other sensors was to learn about other planets. And then they had to grasp that the ultimate goal was not just to acquire these specific facts but to learn about the universe. And if they could figure all that out, then they must ALREADY understand the concept of curiousity and science and a thirst for knowledge. If they didn't already understand curiousity etc, they would have seen that Voyager collected certain data, and then said, "Huh. Lunch time yet?"

Indeed, if they didn't already possess scientific curiousity, why would they have studied this strange spacecraft to figure out its programming in the first place? If they had no curiousity, they would have said, "Oh, there's a strange spacecraft. Whatever." Or if they were concerned about it possibly having practical harm or benefits -- being the vanguard of an attack or containing valuable resources, they would have studied it far enough to resolve those issues and then thrown it away. The only reason to study its programming and try to learn its purpose was if they were curious about the universe around them.

So no matter how you look at it: How was Voyager's programming a big ephiphany to them?

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Charles F.:
"Remember the days when Disney released films with a running time of 8 days? They sure don't make them like they used to!"
It's hard to get kids to sit still that long these days. After about 6 hours, they get fidgety.

I have no idea what people mean when they say that children have a short attention span. When my sons were little they would sit and play the same video game for days, pausing only briefly to eat and take quick naps when exhaustion set in.

Coyne · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

"Hey, Brent, wait until you find out what the other free choices are: 1, Dead Horse and Dog; 2, Unpopular Rocks and Minerals; 3, Horseradish Quarterly; 4, Cancerous Dermatology Illustrated; 5, Weakly Conspiracy Theory; and 6, Analytic Behavioral Sociology Management Journal. Enjoy!"

"What can I say, Rishabh? You probably wouldn't have thought that a fur coat for your computer was 'hot', anyway!"

"Claire, I think your program is in denial."

"Hey, Bobby, they're just testing your searching skills...and researching skills...and eyesight...and determination..."

"All I can say, Renan, is that you're getting just as much if you buy 'null null' as you would get with most other things you buy nowadays."

"Well, Neil, what did you expect with messages that contain 'yeah', 'do', and 'that'? Isn't it obvious that most spam contains those words?"

"Listen, Stephen, they said it was supposed to run for 8 days. What did you expect, trying to play it at 3:22 AM on the 9th day?"

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

That's right little logic.

shadowman · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

ASheridan:
Seems like a perfectly valid call from GMail if you ask me...

That's funny; I'm the submitter for that image, and my supplied comment was along the lines of:

"Heh, even google thinks google+ isn't worth my time."

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

jay:
Stephen:
Still not as bad as the first Star Trek movie though. What was it, three hours of the Enterprise drifting through layer after layer of cloudy lights as it approached V'ger?

That whole movie made no sense anyway.

Small problem: According to the movie, V'Ger turns up in "Klingon space" at some time several hundred years in the future. But Voyager is travelling at about 35,000 miles per hour, or 300 million miles per year. So in, say, 300 years it would travel about 90 billion miles ... or about .015 light-years, just a step outside of our solar system. I don't know exactly where "Klingon space" is, but there's no way Voyager will reach another solar system in less than 100,000 years or so. There was some quick talk about a black hole. Are we to suppose that there is a black hole lurking just a few million miles outside our solar system? I'd think even our current technology be able to measure the graviational pull of such an object. Well, maybe not. I don't know what all the assumptions are here.

But the big problem: The big revelation of the movie -- spoiler alert here! -- was when the Enterprise crew learns that V'Ger is built around one of Earth's Voyager spacecraft, discovered by some advanced living-machine intelligence, who were impressed with its "primitive 20th century programming" to "learn all that is knowable and return that knowledge to its creator". (Not the exact words; it's been decades since I saw the movie.) The machine-aliens are so impressed with this concept that they decide to complete Voyager's mission themselves.

But ... Voyager was not programmed to "learn all that is knowable". You can't write a Java program that says, "learn(all); send(creator);" Voyager was programmed to operate a few specific monitoring devices and take some pictures. Somehow the aliens had to go from "at this predetermined time send an electronic signal to this component to cause a shutter to open, allowing external light to impinge on this surface, causing electric currents to flow to this other device, and then code those signals and transmit them in this direction" (even that, of course, is a high-level human interpretation of the actual program code), the aliens had to go from that sort of actual programming, to "take photographs and send them back to mission control". Then they had to realize that the purpose of these photographs and other sensors was to learn about other planets. And then they had to grasp that the ultimate goal was not just to acquire these specific facts but to learn about the universe. And if they could figure all that out, then they must ALREADY understand the concept of curiousity and science and a thirst for knowledge. If they didn't already understand curiousity etc, they would have seen that Voyager collected certain data, and then said, "Huh. Lunch time yet?"

Indeed, if they didn't already possess scientific curiousity, why would they have studied this strange spacecraft to figure out its programming in the first place? If they had no curiousity, they would have said, "Oh, there's a strange spacecraft. Whatever." Or if they were concerned about it possibly having practical harm or benefits -- being the vanguard of an attack or containing valuable resources, they would have studied it far enough to resolve those issues and then thrown it away. The only reason to study its programming and try to learn its purpose was if they were curious about the universe around them.

So no matter how you look at it: How was Voyager's programming a big ephiphany to them?

Waves Hand These aren't the plotholes you're looking for. We can go about our business. Move along. Stops Waving

PiisAWheeL · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

I think that survey is bothering by the book. A web developer somewhere is trying to get a raise. ^__^

Silverhill · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Stephen:
Still not as bad as the first Star Trek movie though. What was it, three hours of the Enterprise drifting through layer after layer of cloudy lights as it approached V'ger?

I'm told that that was an artifact of the production schedule. They shot lots & lots of footage for the "approaching V'ger" scene, with the idea of distilling it down to what they most wanted. This would take considerable time, of course -- time which the producers would not allow them beause of the proximity of the desired Christmas release date. So the audiences had to suffer through seeing the excess footage. (Other suffering was caused by the scriptwriters, the director, the actors, et al., but that's another rant.)

da Doctah · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

The sorting one isn't a WTF. We've all run across bosses, sergeants, gym teachers and such who give instructions like "You guys pair off in groups of three, then line up in a circle, arranged alphabetically by height!"

Watson · 2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Stephen:
Still not as bad as the first Star Trek movie though. What was it, three hours of the Enterprise drifting through layer after layer of cloudy lights as it approached V'ger?

Don't forget the week and a half spent flying around the Enterprise in dry dock trying to find the door.

2012-11-30 Reply Admin

Aneirin:
jay:
Stephen:
Still not as bad as the first Star Trek movie though. What was it, three hours of the Enterprise drifting through layer after layer of cloudy lights as it approached V'ger?

That whole movie made no sense anyway.

Waves Hand These aren't the plotholes you're looking for. We can go about our business. Move along. Stops Waving

That’s not even from your franchise!

2012-12-02 Reply Admin

jay:
Small problem: According to the movie, V'Ger turns up in "Klingon space" at some time several hundred years in the future. But Voyager is travelling at about 35,000 miles per hour, or 300 million miles per year. So in, say, 300 years it would travel about 90 billion miles ... or about .015 light-years, just a step outside of our solar system. I don't know exactly where "Klingon space" is, but there's no way Voyager will reach another solar system in less than 100,000 years or so. There was some quick talk about a black hole. Are we to suppose that there is a black hole lurking just a few million miles outside our solar system? I'd think even our current technology be able to measure the graviational pull of such an object. Well, maybe not. I don't know what all the assumptions are here.
But the big problem: The big revelation of the movie -- spoiler alert here! -- was when the Enterprise crew learns that V'Ger is built around one of Earth's Voyager spacecraft, discovered by some advanced living-machine intelligence, who were impressed with its "primitive 20th century programming" to "learn all that is knowable and return that knowledge to its creator". (Not the exact words; it's been decades since I saw the movie.) The machine-aliens are so impressed with this concept that they decide to complete Voyager's mission themselves.

But ... Voyager was not programmed to "learn all that is knowable". You can't write a Java program that says, "learn(all); send(creator);" Voyager was programmed to operate a few specific monitoring devices and take some pictures. Somehow the aliens had to go from "at this predetermined time send an electronic signal to this component to cause a shutter to open, allowing external light to impinge on this surface, causing electric currents to flow to this other device, and then code those signals and transmit them in this direction" (even that, of course, is a high-level human interpretation of the actual program code), the aliens had to go from that sort of actual programming, to "take photographs and send them back to mission control". Then they had to realize that the purpose of these photographs and other sensors was to learn about other planets. And then they had to grasp that the ultimate goal was not just to acquire these specific facts but to learn about the universe. And if they could figure all that out, then they must ALREADY understand the concept of curiousity and science and a thirst for knowledge. If they didn't already understand curiousity etc, they would have seen that Voyager collected certain data, and then said, "Huh. Lunch time yet?"

(...)

So no matter how you look at it: How was Voyager's programming a big ephiphany to them?

Two things: first, black holes don't have to be very big, and their overall gravitational pull is the same as any other object of the same mass. So a Earth-mass black hole 500AU out would be very difficult for us to detect. The problem with small black holes, though, if you want to fall into one, is that the tidal forces will be catastrophically high as you approach the event horizon, enough so that you'd be reduced to sub-atomic particles (unlike a very, very, large black hole, where the gradient can be very small).

Second, V'ger was Voyager 6. NASA hasn't told us much about that probe's programming - heck they won't even admit they launched any after Voyager 1 and 2.

2012-12-02 Reply Admin

PedanticCurmudgeon:
Jack:
Yeah, I used to visit this web site that promised free articles every day, but occasionally they'd skip a day. This made me so furious I never went back. Showed them they can't get away with false advertising and misrepresentation!
So how did that work out for you? Did they give you your money back? Were you awarded any damages when you sued?

And if you never went back, why are you here?

Cbuttius · 2012-12-03 Reply Admin

CBeebies never shows films like Aristocats.

Most of the programs they show are home-produced, with the rare foreign one like Lazytown which was a regular at one time at least (and is from Iceland, although I think the Lazytown Extra may have been a British production). I don't think anything American is ever shown on CBeebies.

Much of what is shown is just repeats, some like the Tweenies dating back over 10 years. Every few years they bring in something new (like Zingzillas).

It looks like there is something wrong with that set-top box. Incidentally on my Virgin box, CBeebies is channel 702.

2012-12-03 Reply Admin

Yes, that was taken this year.

We were also using Macromedia Fireworks for image dev there.

Apparently we didn't need new software because according to our senior developer the majority of work in making a website was just 'making buttons'.

2012-12-03 Reply Admin

Robert Wessel:
jay:
Small problem: According to the movie, V'Ger turns up in "Klingon space" at some time several hundred years in the future. But Voyager is travelling at about 35,000 miles per hour, or 300 million miles per year. So in, say, 300 years it would travel about 90 billion miles ... or about .015 light-years, just a step outside of our solar system. I don't know exactly where "Klingon space" is, but there's no way Voyager will reach another solar system in less than 100,000 years or so. There was some quick talk about a black hole. Are we to suppose that there is a black hole lurking just a few million miles outside our solar system? I'd think even our current technology be able to measure the graviational pull of such an object. Well, maybe not. I don't know what all the assumptions are here.
But the big problem: The big revelation of the movie -- spoiler alert here! -- was when the Enterprise crew learns that V'Ger is built around one of Earth's Voyager spacecraft, discovered by some advanced living-machine intelligence, who were impressed with its "primitive 20th century programming" to "learn all that is knowable and return that knowledge to its creator". (Not the exact words; it's been decades since I saw the movie.) The machine-aliens are so impressed with this concept that they decide to complete Voyager's mission themselves.

But ... Voyager was not programmed to "learn all that is knowable". You can't write a Java program that says, "learn(all); send(creator);" Voyager was programmed to operate a few specific monitoring devices and take some pictures. Somehow the aliens had to go from "at this predetermined time send an electronic signal to this component to cause a shutter to open, allowing external light to impinge on this surface, causing electric currents to flow to this other device, and then code those signals and transmit them in this direction" (even that, of course, is a high-level human interpretation of the actual program code), the aliens had to go from that sort of actual programming, to "take photographs and send them back to mission control". Then they had to realize that the purpose of these photographs and other sensors was to learn about other planets. And then they had to grasp that the ultimate goal was not just to acquire these specific facts but to learn about the universe. And if they could figure all that out, then they must ALREADY understand the concept of curiousity and science and a thirst for knowledge. If they didn't already understand curiousity etc, they would have seen that Voyager collected certain data, and then said, "Huh. Lunch time yet?"

(...)

So no matter how you look at it: How was Voyager's programming a big ephiphany to them?

Two things: first, black holes don't have to be very big, and their overall gravitational pull is the same as any other object of the same mass. So a Earth-mass black hole 500AU out would be very difficult for us to detect. The problem with small black holes, though, if you want to fall into one, is that the tidal forces will be catastrophically high as you approach the event horizon, enough so that you'd be reduced to sub-atomic particles (unlike a very, very, large black hole, where the gradient can be very small).

Second, V'ger was Voyager 6. NASA hasn't told us much about that probe's programming - heck they won't even admit they launched any after Voyager 1 and 2.

What about the Earth space craft the Klingons blew up at the beginning of Star Trek 6 (the stinker among the even numbered ones)? That little guy would have been within a few light-days of Earth, as it had been drifting in space for only a few centuries at that point. The Klingons weren't getting along with the Federation yet, so for them to be so close would be a major no-no, in the days of high-warp speed vehicles.

2012-12-03 Reply Admin

"Found this while filling out a survey. Looks like they could use some help with sorting.," wrote Bobby Fisher.

This what happens when you don't read the instructions. The survey software will automatically scramble the order of multiple-choice responses to help reduce bias; Unless a respondent has a true preference for one of the answers, he/she will more often select the first or last answer than those in the middle.

So, the heights may have been entered in sequence (ascending or descending), but the person entering the survey did not select "Keep responses in this order" for this question, or some manager/proofreader went through the survey after it was entered and automatically turned that feature off, without actually looking at the question to see if it made sense to have it on. We have seen those kind of guys here many times before. Of course, some survey engines don't even offer that feature because the people who created the survey engine did not think that somebody might enter ascending data. An example I saw (don't remember when):

When in the last twelve months did you last buy X?

September
May
January
December
March
April
November
July
June
August
October
February

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