Random questions

[Johnni]

I tried then, they were crap if you dont have one of the top phones i.e iphone.

[diplodocus]

Originally Posted by Johnni

I tried then, they were crap if you dont have one of the top phones i.e iphone.

Well the internet is your only hope really. If you can't for some reason then maybe ask someone else to get it for you?

[Salusa87]

Does anyone actually like watching a question of sport? To me its the most awful, boring shit program ever.

[Caribou]

Originally Posted by Salusa87

Does anyone actually like watching a question of sport? To me its the most awful, boring shit program ever.

No, they carry on like big daft kids.

[Caribou]

That Phil Tufnell guy sickens me.

Ugh, I know.

[Salusa87]

Lol I know, he's kind of like dougal in father ted, just the not funny version.

[ryanharris]

Can i pay off my student loan as soon as i leave university?

[Rane]

Originally Posted by ryanharris

Can i pay off my student loan as soon as i leave university?

Yes indeed you can, though as it stands just now, if you were to pay off the loan early , much the same as a mortgage, you would be subject to a penalty payment on top of the loan.

However I'm pretty sure when the new Uni fees / loans stuff comes into effect that the early payment penalty will be done away with. At least that's what they are claiming just now.

[ryanharris]

Penalty payment what with all the grants and such that i got, i'm in a postion to pay it off right now. Any idea how much this penalty is?

[Rane]

Originally Posted by ryanharris

Penalty payment what with all the grants and such that i got, i'm in a postion to pay it off right now. Any idea how much this penalty is?

Looks like I was wrong, I foolishly thought the Government were trying to make changes to improve things by removing the penalty for early payment hahaha but it actually appears they are wanting to introduce a penalty for early repayment. I should have known better when speaking of a Torie Government

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14836202

Good info on early loan repayments

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/stu...nt-loans-repay

[ryanharris]

after reading those links it looks like i should be able to repay earlier without a penalty because i'm not part of the new system. Thanks for the info

[Fluppy]

How do i use quote and multi-quote?

"If a tree falls in a forrest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

[AxelFendersson]

Originally Posted by Fluppy

How do I use quote and multi-quote?

When you click on the 'quote' button, then you are immediately taken to the 'new post' page, with the selected message quoted at the top of your new post.

If you click on the multi-quote button, then it just changes colour. Once you've done this for all the posts you want to quote, then click on the 'new post' button. All of the posts you selected will be quoted in your new post.

Originally Posted by Fluppy

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Do you want an answer in terms of epistemology or semantics?

[Fluppy]

Originally Posted by AxelFendersson

When you click on the 'quote' button, then you are immediately taken to the 'new post' page, with the selected message quoted at the top of your new post.

If you click on the multi-quote button, then it just changes colour. Once you've done this for all the posts you want to quote, then click on the 'new post' button. All of the posts you selected will be quoted in your new post.

Thankyoouu

Originally Posted by AxelFendersson

Do you want an answer in terms of epistemology or semantics?

Both i suppose . i know the answer i was just interested in hearing how others would answer it

[AxelFendersson]

Epistemological answer:
It's impossible to be sure. In the absence of an observation, then the presence of a sound cannot be verified. However, to explain why the sound made by a falling tree would depend on an observer being present would be very difficult and require numerous assumptions to be made that are completely unnecessary if we assume that the tree behaves in the same way when unobserved as when observed. Thus, following the principle of ontological parsimony (Occam's Razor), it is reasonable to believe that the tree probably does make a sound.

Semantic answer:
That depends on what is meant by 'sound'. Do we define a sound in terms of something that we hear, or do we define it in terms of the physical processes that lead us to hear it? If a sound is a travelling vibration in air (or any other medium), then there is no need for an observer; the universe carries on whether we're there to see it or not. However, if we define sound in terms of the experience it creates in a listener, then vibrations that are not detected cannot be considered sound.

Personally, I favour the physical definition, as it better suits a Copernican, scientific understanding of the universe.

[Jables]

Originally Posted by AxelFendersson

Epistemological answer:
It's impossible to be sure. In the absence of an observation, then the presence of a sound cannot be verified. However, to explain why the sound made by a falling tree would depend on an observer being pleasant would be very difficult and require numerous assumptions to be made that are completely unnecessary if we assume that the tree behaves in the same way when unobserved as when observed. Thus, following the principle of ontological parsimony (Occam's Razor), it is reasonable to believe that the tree probably does make a sound.
.

Rude people ain't gonna hear a damn thing!

[Azi]

Originally Posted by AxelFendersson

Epistemological answer:
It's impossible to be sure. In the absence of an observation, then the presence of a sound cannot be verified. However, to explain why the sound made by a falling tree would depend on an observer being present would be very difficult and require numerous assumptions to be made that are completely unnecessary if we assume that the tree behaves in the same way when unobserved as when observed. Thus, following the principle of ontological parsimony (Occam's Razor), it is reasonable to believe that the tree probably does make a sound.

Semantic answer:
That depends on what is meant by 'sound'. Do we define a sound in terms of something that we hear, or do we define it in terms of the physical processes that lead us to hear it? If a sound is a travelling vibration in air (or any other medium), then there is no need for an observer; the universe carries on whether we're there to see it or not. However, if we define sound in terms of the experience it creates in a listener, then vibrations that are not detected cannot be considered sound.

Personally, I favour the physical definition, as it better suits a Copernican, scientific understanding of the universe.

[AxelFendersson]

^ *Tips hat*
(Note: I genuinely did this.)

Originally Posted by Jables

Rude people ain't gonna hear a damn thing!

Haha! What a strange typo!

Now fixed.

[AxelFendersson]

Is having a girlfriend and best friend with the same name weird?

Also, why does Thunderbird keep misidentifying my emails from the BHA as scams?

[Fluppy]

Originally Posted by AxelFendersson

Epistemological answer:
It's impossible to be sure. In the absence of an observation, then the presence of a sound cannot be verified. However, to explain why the sound made by a falling tree would depend on an observer being present would be very difficult and require numerous assumptions to be made that are completely unnecessary if we assume that the tree behaves in the same way when unobserved as when observed. Thus, following the principle of ontological parsimony (Occam's Razor), it is reasonable to believe that the tree probably does make a sound.

Semantic answer:
That depends on what is meant by 'sound'. Do we define a sound in terms of something that we hear, or do we define it in terms of the physical processes that lead us to hear it? If a sound is a travelling vibration in air (or any other medium), then there is no need for an observer; the universe carries on whether we're there to see it or not. However, if we define sound in terms of the experience it creates in a listener, then vibrations that are not detected cannot be considered sound.

Personally, I favour the physical definition, as it better suits a Copernican, scientific understanding of the universe.

Cheers, fun read

To your Q's
I dont think having a girlfriend and best friend with same name is weird
Sounds like something to do with how the scam detection is implemented (has aspects of scam/potential to be, but isnt)..page redirection

[daznsaz]

what were barn owls called before we invented barns?

[AxelFendersson]

Well, barns pre-date the modern English language. So it wouldn't be an English term as we would recognise it today. But it would probably be some name derived from their appearance, the sound that they make, their diet or similar. Wikipedia lists the following alternative names for them: White Owl, Silver Owl, Demon Owl, Ghost Owl, Death Owl, Night Owl, Rat Owl, Church Owl, Cave Owl, Stone Owl, Monkey-faced Owl, Hissing Owl, Hobgoblin or Hobby Owl, Dobby Owl, White Breasted Owl, Golden Owl, Scritch Owl, Screech Owl, Straw Owl, Barnyard Owl and Delicate Owl. It could easily have been something along the lines of most of those.

[daznsaz]

think i like all of the above.seems to be a lot for one type of owl though.

[Salusa87]

Originally Posted by daznsaz

what were barn owls called before we invented barns?

Could be the barns that are named after the Owls =P.

[daznsaz]

^yea good point

[AxelFendersson]

Nope. 'Barn' comes from the Old English 'bereærn', meaning 'granary', which is a compound of the words 'bere' (barley) and 'ærn' (dwelling or storage place). Nothing to do with owls.

[Azi]

^ Ooh, is that where the 'Bere' in Bere Ferrers and Bere Alston comes from?

Edit: Ah, sadly not. It means promontory.

[Mortigantoj]

^ but, pretty sure it's where "beer" comes from

[Azi]

Ha! Knowing some of the people from those places, I'd have to agree.

[Salusa87]

Originally Posted by AxelFendersson

Nope. 'Barn' comes from the Old English 'bereærn', meaning 'granary', which is a compound of the words 'bere' (barley) and 'ærn' (dwelling or storage place). Nothing to do with owls.

But that could be because barn owls are fond of grain eating animals, so barely was named after barn owls.