Everyone has sexy phrases -- groups of words that appeal to them, that make them light up.
Usually, they're something to do with sex -- lacy, perhaps, or thong, or whipped cream (which I've personally only tried once and thought my, that dries quickly). I'm sure you can think of others. Some, you wouldn't admit to other people; at most, you might edge into it with one other person (unless, of course, the word is orgy; kind of hard to have a two-person one of those. And is it or-gee or org-E? I've never been sure), trying them out to see if they're amenable, whether they'll do it without laughing (..and then you want me to dress up like Minnie Mouse? Um...). A person once mentioned in a blog response elsewhere that she is occasionally interested in a little light BDSM. I'm not too comfortable with that concept (I don't let people get close to me, so the idea of letting them actually control me is unsettling; there's only one other person in the world I trust enough for that). But this person likes it, and I was a little flattered that she was willing to mention it.
There are some phrases that you just don't come across all that often. You might find them attractive, but you can be pretty sure that you're not going to casually run into someone else who also likes it. For example, this one, from a recent Washington Post article: fluid dynamics.
Now, tell me that you don't find that intriguing. The idea of fluid motion, of understanding the method in which the individual units of a given flud combine to form the motion, the surge or trickle, the ebb and flow; applying that concept to traffic flow, or flow around an object, being able to predict where turbulence will occur, where it will be smoother -- good golly. I mean, that's fascinating. Or it would be if I really understood it, which, not being all that competent in math, I don't. But I like the overall concept.
Excellent.
10 comments:
you do realize this post could go south, fast, right? lol
I'm not commenting for fear of foot inserting into mouth. :P
I actually rewrote it a bit, just for that reason. Sexy stuff is fun, but that's not what I'm - usually - selling here.
Ok, Bill. When I first read the words "fluid dynamics", you know traffic was not what I thought you were going to be talking about :-)
Really? Now that, I would not have expected. That fluid dynamics isn't a common phrase, yes; that it might suggest other things, no. Surely you know me better than that!
When I was younger, I was discussing a science fiction novel with a coworker. The novel referred to space as 'the up and out'. I misstated it as 'the old in and out', and did not understand why he laughed so hard. Now I do, though. Got to watch those reinterpretable phrases.
Don't worry, it's totally my fault. I guess I just got sidetracked and sent down the wrong path when you opened up talking about BDSM ;-)
Whip me, beat me, make me write bad checks....
Lol!
Ok, I've heard that before, but I can't remember where. Movie from the 80s?
I've heard it a lot, and its certainly referenced in numerous places. However, my guess, based on a couple of references, is that it's from a film called Eating Raoul.
I took a fluid dynamics class including labs in college and what I remember most is what a pain the lab reports were to write. :) But it is a cool idea and the ways it is applied to traffic and other seemingly unrelated fields is facinating.
A - It does seem to me almost miraculous that people can take concept from one discipline and apply them to another. I think that the linkage gets shaky as you move to the softer sciences, such as economics -- I recall a funny article about a meeting at the Santa Fe institute, years ago, to talk about chaos theory, and a physicist expressed scorn at the habit of economists and their 'analysis', wherein they basically 'assumed a ladder' whenever they got into a hole. Behavior and microeconomics aren't as bad as classical economics in that regard, but they're bad enough. However, overall, the concepts are, as you say, fascinating. Thinking about cars the same as inanimate particles -- would that be the right word? -- of fluid is a very nice, very stylish crossover, to my mind. Similarly, I recall reading of people from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory using techniques developed to analyse aeronautical data successfully applying those techniques to financial analysis. (One of them remarked that the bank staff liked to say 'this isn't rocket science', and he would mentiont hat he actually WAS a rocket scientist, which tended to stop the conversation for a minute.) I keep having this lurking feeling that we ought to be doing much more of that kind of cross-disciplinary thought -- though where, I've no idea. I read years ago that even the Institute for Advanced Studies didn't do it -- and thats why it was created!
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