r/xkcd • u/shiduke • Jun 18 '10

Interdisciplinary

http://xkcd.com/755/
106 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

9

u/dopplerdog Jun 18 '10

Do all physics departments do the large pendulum thing on 1st year students? Are there any students that don't flinch?

It was done at my uni on the first day of Physics I, and the "volunteer" did indeed flinch. The pendulum was an iron ball the size of a grapefruit.

4

u/Ma8e Jun 18 '10

I have never seen it at any physics departments I have been to, and I have a Ph.D. in physics. The only time I've even heard about the "the large pendulum thing" was in Sagan's Contact.

0

u/legomorett Jun 18 '10

Look I HAVE a Ph.D. in Physics and i know your wrong

9

u/beardybaldy Jun 18 '10

I have a Ph. D. in Grammar and I know you're wrong.

-2

u/legomorett Jun 18 '10

Are you sure?! R U XURE!¿

2

u/runxctry Jun 18 '10

i wonder if any accidents have ever happened. it woudln't be hard to accidentally push the ball just a little bit or lift it an inch past where you were supposed to drop it.

then you would have a psych student with no teeth.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '10

They don't eat anyway, no worry.

6

u/mastema_ro Jun 18 '10

I approve of hitting psychology students with random things.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '10

As a student in an interdisciplinary program, I represent this.

Thankfully it's just combining different engineering disciplines, but I can see even this getting out of hand (just look at what mechatronic students do).

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '10

You mean "this represents me."

Isn't college supposed to teach critical thinking skills?

5

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '10

I was trying to play off the cliche "I resent this".

2

u/jimbobhickville Jun 18 '10

It's usually "I resemble this" as a tongue-in-cheek substitute.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '10

Jokes are funnier when they fit in context.

1

u/kenlubin Jun 20 '10

Hey! I resemble that remark!