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Posted

Talked to my lecturer today to make sure it isnt a mistake but he said its right. Need to think laterally apparently, whatever that means. Thanks for the help Fish :) appreciate it, ill let you know when i find out what they actually are :P

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Posted

Well, it's used way too much but there are some questions that really do require you to think laterally - i.e. the solution can only be reached by non-standard means. The best examples I can think of come from maths - have a go at these two if you dare:

 

1. Integrate sin(x)*e^x.

2. You have a stick of length L with n unevenly spaced ants on it, each of which walks at velocity v. The distance between the end of the stick and ant 1 is x1, the distance between ant 1 and 2 is x2, and so on. The prime numbered ants are facing away from this end of the stick, while the non-prime ants are facing the other way. When two ants collide they have a perfect elastic collision - i.e. they turn round instantly and carry on at the same speed in the opposite direction. How long before all the ants fall off the stick?

 

That second one is a bastard, and the guy who told it to me refused to give me the answer. :heh: The first requires A-level maths (integration by parts), but for the second you only need to know the relation between distance, velocity and time.

Posted

Argh don't even mention integration by parts! Brings back some bad memories.

 

Handing in my assignment today on the rocks, put down concrete for the mystery rocks, someone mentioned it might be a synthetic material. I guess thats lateral thinking? Anywho will let you know what it actually is hehe

Posted
Well, it's used way too much but there are some questions that really do require you to think laterally - i.e. the solution can only be reached by non-standard means. The best examples I can think of come from maths - have a go at these two if you dare:

 

Yeah but I don't do maths :p

 

I just prefer the term 'think outside the box'.

Posted

(best place I can think to post this without starting a new thread in tech)

 

Any way of doing a powerpoint presentation that doesn't take up the whole screen? I want to do a presentation but show a video clip running alongside (at least for parts of it).

 

Unless people can come up with other solutions (not including adding the presentation to the video because its a youtube video)

Posted
Well seeing as you said that we need to think laterally I'm guessing this is going to be wrong but;

 

-cos(x)*e^x

The e^x multiplier changes things - you wouldn't be able to ignore it when differentiating (you'd need the product rule), so you need to take it into account when integrating, too. So you use integration by parts, but that isn't the lateral bit yet.

Posted

Kinda specific question, but with an op-amp with a feedback loop going into the inverting input, and a non-resitored input going into the non-inverting input.

 

What is the purpose of the resistor on the inverting input?

 

EDIT: Hangon I'll get a diagram.

 

opampdj9.gif

Posted
Kinda specific question, but with an op-amp with a feedback loop going into the inverting input, and a non-resitored input going into the non-inverting input.

 

What is the purpose of the resistor on the inverting input?

 

EDIT: Hangon I'll get a diagram.

 

opampdj9.gif

It's to stop the circuit totally bypassing the op-amp - unless the inverting input is of higher resistance than the op-amp itself, this will happen.

 

Good old op-amps. I once staggered about 12 of them and hooked them up to LEDs and a thermistor, so I had a sort of discrete thermometer thingy. Fun stuff.

Posted
The e^x multiplier changes things - you wouldn't be able to ignore it when differentiating (you'd need the product rule), so you need to take it into account when integrating, too. So you use integration by parts, but that isn't the lateral bit yet.

 

Using the product rule it would be sinx*e^x-cosx*e^x?

 

Factorise -> e^x(sinx-cosx)

 

sinx-cosx = /2sin(x-45)

(/ = square root)

 

so... e^x*(/2sin(x-45))?

Posted
It's to stop the circuit totally bypassing the op-amp - unless the inverting input is of higher resistance than the op-amp itself, this will happen.

 

That makes sense.

 

What if you move the resistor to the wire connecting to ground?

Posted
Using the product rule it would be sinx*e^x-cosx*e^x?

 

Factorise -> e^x(sinx-cosx)

 

sinx-cosx = /2sin(x-45)

(/ = square root)

 

so... e^x*(/2sin(x-45))?

That's the differential, I asked for the integral. You need to use integration by parts like I said - it's the standard way to integrate the product of two functions.

That makes sense.

 

What if you move the resistor to the wire connecting to ground?

Not sure, but I'd imagine the whole chip would be bypassed.

Posted
That makes sense.

 

What if you move the resistor to the wire connecting to ground?

 

Keep in mind that the potential on the + and - "wire" of the op-amp are the same, so it would change the potential too and like Supergrunch said the whole chip would probably be bypassed.

  • 1 month later...
Posted
Not sure how anyone is with minerology or geology but ive been given some rocks to identify and i can get them all apart from this. All three are apparently the same rock but i havent got a clue :(

 

snc00022il5.jpgsnc00023ir4.jpgsnc00025ai6.jpgsnc00026eu4.jpg

 

For anyone who remains interested, They were classified 'River Gravel' No wonder no ones ever got it right before -_-

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

Is nobody doing homework over the holidays? tsk tsk :p I needs your help!

 

I am looking at how Spirited Away reflects Japanese cultural identity due to its heavy usage of Japanese folklore. However, its popularity within Western audiences could be because Western audiences could 'read' western folklore/popular fiction within it, but ultimately its still Japanese. (and yes I'll narrow that title down a bit).

 

So, for example, Kamikakushi is a series of Japanese folklore about sprits taking children thus its Japanese-ey, but Western audiences could relate it to child abductions and such.

 

Anyway need to think of Japanese-ey stuff, then English-ey stuff, and then why its still more Japanese-ey.

 

So can anyone think of Western giant humanoid spiders? Western faceless ghosts? Western detached heads still alive? I can find these things in Japanese folklore, but not in English. (although with No-face I can mention how its based on Noh theatre and is a coincidental pun but its not really a great point).

 

Pleeeeeease? (although I am thinking of making the last point 'Ultimately however there is a lot of things audiences will simply chalk up to being Japanese (such as the above), perhaps even falsely (they may believe the soot to be a Japanese thing, when in fact its a Miyazaki thing).

 

THANKS :D!

Posted

I don't think those things are in Japanese folklore. The appeal of the film (to me) is how it resembles Alice in Wonderland, with its quirky and weird stuff.

Posted
Is nobody doing homework over the holidays? tsk tsk :p I needs your help!

 

I am looking at how Spirited Away reflects Japanese cultural identity due to its heavy usage of Japanese folklore. However, its popularity within Western audiences could be because Western audiences could 'read' western folklore/popular fiction within it, but ultimately its still Japanese. (and yes I'll narrow that title down a bit).

 

So, for example, Kamikakushi is a series of Japanese folklore about sprits taking children thus its Japanese-ey, but Western audiences could relate it to child abductions and such.

 

Anyway need to think of Japanese-ey stuff, then English-ey stuff, and then why its still more Japanese-ey.

 

So can anyone think of Western giant humanoid spiders? Western faceless ghosts? Western detached heads still alive? I can find these things in Japanese folklore, but not in English. (although with No-face I can mention how its based on Noh theatre and is a coincidental pun but its not really a great point).

 

Pleeeeeease? (although I am thinking of making the last point 'Ultimately however there is a lot of things audiences will simply chalk up to being Japanese (such as the above), perhaps even falsely (they may believe the soot to be a Japanese thing, when in fact its a Miyazaki thing).

 

THANKS :D!

 

The only thing I can think of is the fact how Japanese horror movies are remade as American movies (Grudge, Phone, and Ring) Likely not much help at all-but have you thought about comparing how the two films differ yet follow the same basic plot narrative?

 

Edit- Is the Mothman Myth based on Western Story? and what about Shadow people?

Posted
Is nobody

 

So, for example, Kamikakushi is a series of Japanese folklore about sprits taking children thus its Japanese-ey, but Western audiences could relate it to child abductions and such.

 

 

Or the pied piper!

Posted
I don't think those things are in Japanese folklore. The appeal of the film (to me) is how it resembles Alice in Wonderland, with its quirky and weird stuff.

 

Thats basically going to be my argument (or half of...long story). That its 'translatability' shows how folklore is not necessarily tied into culture, there is a degree of universality to it. However will then go on to argue that x,y,z prove this to be a Japanese film.

 

The only thing I can think of is the fact how Japanese horror movies are remade as American movies (Grudge, Phone, and Ring) Likely not much help at all-but have you thought about comparing how the two films differ yet follow the same basic plot narrative?

 

Edit- Is the Mothman Myth based on Western Story? and what about Shadow people?

 

But im looking at specifically Spirited Away....(although I did consider a J-horror but its due in a week now so its too late).

 

Or the pied piper!

 

Im not sure if thats a joke answer but I suppose maybe...it was a kind of magic.

 

Thanks peeps :D


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