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November 17, 2005
More dorkfulness
I thought I’d pass along this link (via Teresa Nielsen Hayden). It’s a sciencey toy shop in Great Britain that sells all manner of grown-up toys. I’m most interested, thus far, in the Gaussian Gun, the Non-Transitive and Sicherman Dice, and the Bikini Pen (not sexual). I feel particularly compelled to buy a set of Sicherman Dice. Then I imagine whipping them out to show friends:
Friend: These aren’t normal dice.
Me: No! They’re Sicherman Dice! When rolled together, the probabilities of getting any given potential sum are exactly the same as with a pair of standard dice!
Friend: Huh. So they function exactly the same as regular dice, but with different numbers.
Me: Precisely!
Friend: So why not just buy a pair of regular dice!
Me: … Because these are cooler.
Friend: How, exactly?
Me: Well… they’re… different… and clever!
Friend: I don’t think we can be friends anymore.
I also recommend taking a look at the video demonstration of the Gaussian Gun (found under the Article link for the entry). I imagine that, if I had had that as a kid, I would have gotten no end of time-outs for using it to inflict harm on my sisters, likely based on the faulty legal reasoning that I shouldn’t be punished for hurting my sisters with science. Science!
Posted by Zach at November 17, 2005 03:35 PM
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Comments
Hang on. Hang on.
You can buy an Enigma machine? You can buy an Enigma machine? YOU CAN BUY AN ENIGMA MACHINE????
Okay, okay, a NEMA machine. Close enough. Do you know what I'd give to play with that for an hour?
Posted by: Dianna at November 17, 2005 04:49 PM
Well, if what you're willing to give is just under $8,000, you can have a NEMA machine for as long as you like.
Posted by: Zach at November 17, 2005 05:09 PM