NGT’s not even going to mention that Santa probably solved or approximately solved the traveling salesman problem for a complete graph of several hundred million vertices?
Speedy Delivery
Submitted 2 weeks ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/feebde3c-8281-4cd5-a2de-430f3e65f92b.jpeg
Comments
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
_stranger_@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I suppose if he’s magic he doesn’t need to solve anything.
Eheran@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Ffs that guy is annoying. Did not even do the math, which should have told him that hypersonic does not even scratch the surface unless he has an extremely wide drop-off region.
TomMasz@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I thought he could have been the next Carl Sagan, but instead, he’s that guy you never invite to parties.
spamfajitas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I dunno about you, but I’m not sure if I’d have invited Carl Sagan either…it’d take him ~13.8 billion years just to get dessert ready.
Quibblekrust@thelemmy.club 2 weeks ago
And definitely don’t marry him!
Jason@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
I can’t believe you’re really taking his comment seriously?! He made a post about Santa’s reindeer and sleigh vaporizing due to the speed of travel. It’s supposed to be absurd, not a science lesson.
It’s a little ironic that you say NDT is annoying for his joke while complaining that his math (from a joke) does’nt make sense.
Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
See? Eheran GOT YOU. He knew that Tyson was joking, so he played it straight and made you look like a dupe!
Oh wait, you’re doing the straight man switcheroo, I’ve been bamboozled again.
Samskara@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Santa is a shared delusion running on people’s minds in a distributed fashion, known in magic occult spheres as an egregore. All of those minds then manifest Santa by their own deeds and the spread of Santa memes. Santa‘s sled is everywhere at once as the sequence of delivered packages doesn’t matter. One Santa manifested everywhere through human thought and action.
otacon239@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Isn’t this how gods worked in Terry Pratchett’s books?
TheRealKuni@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
No, but it is how Santa worked, as seen in Hogfather.
Gods are a species that become more powerful the more worshippers they have and essentially powerless when they have no followers, as seen in Small Gods.
nezrock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
You’re thinking of American Gods by Gaiman.
halvar@lemy.lol 2 weeks ago
On one of our Christmas themed university events this year there was a physics teacher who calculated how many reindeers would Santa need if we assume the friction vaporizes each one at a certain rate. Like if Santa had a line of 42000 reindeers in front of his sleigh he could go around the earth once before the last one turned medium rare.
Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
Ablative raindeer.
icelimit@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I think reindeer would ablate in a similar way to pineapples given their similar water/carbon content. I think he’d get around just fine with a toasted Rudolf.
Tikiporch@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I know I’m “not cool” and a “booger man” because of what I’m about to say, but NDT just likes to post fun stuff. He’s not being serious and he’s not being a know-it-all. Does anyone here read his books or listen to his podcast? He has a damn comedian on for every episode.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
But did you know that in the mirror, you can only kiss yourself on the lips?
Tikiporch@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’m only half joking when I say, thank you for your bravery.
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
I find it very interesting that the Internet turned on Neil around when he was posting pro-vaccine messages in a pandemic
taiyang@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Y’all don’t get it. Santa is a hive mind parasite that embeds itself in people and takes over at the later months of the year. It tends to hibernate the rest of the year although much like pollen, it seems to be waking earlier and earlier.
atomicorange@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Climate change is causing Christmas creep? It’s worse than we thought!!
taiyang@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s not a coincidence they start playing Xmas music in October now… Only a matter of time until it’s year round. Blasted climate change!
OpenStars@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Naw, just your standard profit seeking.
Flyberius@hexbear.net 2 weeks ago
I genuinely hate his uh akshully approach to science
Jason@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
It’s a joke, not a science lesson. Nobody got hurt.
Flyberius@hexbear.net 2 weeks ago
I agree, it harms no-one, but I’m still not obligated to like his brand
Typhoon@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Santa likes rich kids more than poor ones.
electric_nan@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Hey, so does God.
Una@europe.pub 2 weeks ago
No because santa is a quantum being, he is in a superposition of being in every single house in the world and if someone sees him than only 1 house gets presents.
crocat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
We can test this by putting two chimneys close together and seeing if we get a diffraction pattern of presents and coal.
carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
clown-to-clown conversation
unknown1234_5@kbin.earth 2 weeks ago
i mean if the sleigh is designed properly it would be fine, it just the reindeer that need the magic and they have to have it in the first place to pull the sled.
Mcf0603@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Neil needs to be shoved into several lockers. I can’t stand smug people.
MisterFrog@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Soft magic systems aren’t any fun. Change my mind.
Christianity, stranger things and paranormal activity are equally as uninteresting to me because it’s “because I said so”. Boooooooo, come up with some rules for your world.
Can we make a new category of fiction called “supernatural” SEPARATE from sci-fi and fantasy? Thanks, that would be nice.
my_hat_stinks@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
“Magic system” is a bit of an oxymoron imo. The problem with having hard rules for magic is that that’s not magic, that’s science. You just end up with a world with slightly different physical laws.
Technology can be interesting on its own but a deep understanding of the underlying mechanics kills the magic. A rock that lets you talk with someone over great distance is magic but if you explain it as manipulating imperceptible vibrations in the air you just have a radio.
MisterFrog@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“Magic system” is a bit of an oxymoron
This is just the currently accepted terminology in world building: rebeccashedd.com/…/the-worldbuilders-toolkit-buil…
I’m just extending this to sci-fi also, as have many others, because they’re basically the same thing, only that the sci-fi magic systems are vaugely based on real-life science (but vary wildly how closely).
Think Stargate with their loosey-goosey ancients and accession, vs the much more grounded The Expanse.
I’m just not a fan of magic systems without any rules at all.
Hence why I find supernatural stories less interesting, which streaming services, book shops, and movie theatres, frustratingly categorise under fantasy. They are very different from sci-fi and fantasy, in my opinion.
If your magic is purely “mysterious”, that’s boring, and lazy story-telling (In my opinion).
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
Bro do you criticize The Epic of Gilgamesh for being a pre-Tolkien world building standard too? You have to judge these fantasies in context
MisterFrog@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Just joking around, but yeah, I personally enjoy what I call “supernatural” stories less than sci-fi and fantasy with proper world-building
Etterra@discuss.online 2 weeks ago
Magic is copium for people who can’t accept or understand reality.
MeThisGuy@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
that’s religion
Fizz@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
Santa is not magic hes just really locked in and his reindeer are built different.
DylanMc6@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Santa clones himself
Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“Have you ever seen the film ‘The Prestige’?”
(Side note: this is my single favorite comedy sketch of all time.)
FosterMolasses@leminal.space 2 weeks ago
Oh I love this one lol
Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Hims-elf.
silver_wings_of_morning@feddit.dk 2 weeks ago
It’s a clever quantum operation where all the houses are entangled in a superposition and moved into a state where all the presents are delivered. So when one kid opens the present the state collapses and all the presents are delivered.
9point6@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Imagine sniffing your own farts this much
HappySkullsplitter@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Christmas is a federal holiday now too
So, it’s for everyone now. Not just Christians
Way more presents than in Tyson’s original calculation
Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Why is Santa only delivering to Christians?
Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Probably because he was a Christian.
He’s dead. I’m sorry, son
WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 2 weeks ago
The answer is most likely “the speedforce”. The amount of handwaving used to justify going fast in these movies are overwhelming.
thatradomguy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Lazy ass parents not bothering to update the believability of Santa Claus. Just say there are multiple Santa’s all around the globe that work together. That’s why Santa sometimes looks different when you see him at different places. That’s why there can be a Black Santa, or Asian Santa.
railcar@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
This joke is at least 35 years old. www.physlink.com/Fun/IsThereSanta.cfm
Friendlybirdseggs@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Localized time dilation of course!
Angelevo@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
All in due time, it is silly to put so much value on one or a few days. Every day can be Christmas when we treat each other well. Good will come to those who deserve, time will tell.
RabbitBBQ@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Parts of Santa’s narrative were adopted by colonists in New York, which blended St Nicholas and stories around Odin. Odin from Greek Mythology was known to fly around on a horse, knew who was good or bad, and at times had presents. In New York at some point, this all changed and a prior diety type figure in Odin became commercialized. The white horse became reindeer. Santa eventually adopted Coca-Cola’s colors and the commercialization and rebooting of Odin was complete. Thanks for reading.
Jayve@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Santa superpostion.
DahGangalang@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
Because I recently rediscovered this, sharing here:
–Terry Pratchett, Hogfather
zea_64@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
I actually would prefer people see them as ideals rather than unchanging facts of the universe, because unchanging facts don’t require you to fight to keep them like ideals do, and I’m tired of hearing diatribes about the world being just instead of people actually making it just.
BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
INDEED
rockerface@lemmy.cafe 2 weeks ago
The universe might not care, but we do. And that is the entire point indeed.
Live_your_lives@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
As far as I’m aware, most people who think the world is naturally just think that such justice comes slowly, and with wild swings away and towards justice happening in the mean time. So you still need to turn the ideal of justice into reality in the mean time either way.