The 10,000 Post thread V3

[Muck308 55]

1351

 

My dad mentioned to me at one point that if one stands atop Philadelphia City Hall that NYC's skyline can be seen, provided it is a very clear day. Now, he lived in Philly before the height restriction was removed, which is obviously when the WTC was still standing. He didn't tell me you could see ESB, only WTC. I've never been up there but I have been all through the PSFS building when they were converting it to a hotel or whatever. I forgot my camera that day, like an idiot. This was during my brief stint as an architecture student that lasted one year before I embraced Industrial Design, only to eventually end up waiting tables for 5 or 6 years. Stay in school, kiddos!

[Mr Saturn64 742]

1351

 

My dad mentioned to me at one point that if one stands atop Philadelphia City Hall that NYC's skyline can be seen, provided it is a very clear day. Now, he lived in Philly before the height restriction was removed, which is obviously when the WTC was still standing. He didn't tell me you could see ESB, only WTC. I've never been up there but I have been all through the PSFS building when they were converting it to a hotel or whatever. I forgot my camera that day, like an idiot. This was during my brief stint as an architecture student that lasted one year before I embraced Industrial Design, only to eventually end up waiting tables for 5 or 6 years. Stay in school, kiddos!

1352

You can't see anything from 900 feet up in Comcast, so I think it's easy to say you can't.

[B.C builder 291]

1353

(1350)

 

I have no idea what the status of that lower ledge is. I do however know that the highest occupied floor is currently home to a dentist's office (and he has a very cute receptionist, I must say), and that there are several unoccupied floors above that in the spire which are used as mechanical rooms. Getting to the very top of the spire requires climbing several ladders and there is a hawk that nests up there.

A dentist...in the Chrysler building ! Wow, I must make an appointment  (and see the cute receptionist of course ) one day!

[Duke87 1,070]

(1354)

 

Assuming the ground is a smooth spherical surface, a vantage point 900 feet up will allow you to see anything on the ground up to 36.7 miles away. The roof of both the old and new 1 WTC towers is 1368 feet, which means it disappears below the horizon after 45.3 miles. Add those two numbers and you have a maximum sight line distance of 82 miles. The distance as the crow flies between those two points is about 78 miles, so the top of one could in theory be visible from the top of the other - the problem is this would be rare in practice because in this part of the world humbidity and haze typically make seeing that far difficult even if you do have a clear line of sight.

 

It should be noted, though, that if we drop the Philadelphia height from 900 feet to 500 feet, the maximum visible distance drops to 72.6 miles... so the only way any of the WTC would have been visible from Philadelphia City Hall is if the atmosphere refracted the light towards the surface. But that does actually happen in practice, so it is still plausible.

[Larks2242 251]

1355.

 

Just passing through, nothing to add atm.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

(1354)

 

Assuming the ground is a smooth spherical surface, a vantage point 900 feet up will allow you to see anything on the ground up to 36.7 miles away. The roof of both the old and new 1 WTC towers is 1368 feet, which means it disappears below the horizon after 45.3 miles. Add those two numbers and you have a maximum sight line distance of 82 miles. The distance as the crow flies between those two points is about 78 miles, so the top of one could in theory be visible from the top of the other - the problem is this would be rare in practice because in this part of the world humbidity and haze typically make seeing that far difficult even if you do have a clear line of sight.

 

It should be noted, though, that if we drop the Philadelphia height from 900 feet to 500 feet, the maximum visible distance drops to 72.6 miles... so the only way any of the WTC would have been visible from Philadelphia City Hall is if the atmosphere refracted the light towards the surface. But that does actually happen in practice, so it is still plausible.

1356: Yea Mr Duke... yeah science!

[Duke87 1,070]

(1357)

 

That was mostly geometry, not science.

[Muck308 55]

1358

 

Yeah! Geometry, Mr. White!

 

There is a spot at the Grand Canyon where on a clear day people can see very far as a result of looking through the canyon long ways. I remember reading the sign. Sheesh, that was 22 years ago. Ugh.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

1359

 

You can see Mt. Fuji from just about anywhere in this region, so long as mountains in the foreground aren't blocking your view.  But then, we're talking thousands of meters, not hundreds of feet.  It's difficult to see it from the far reaches of the Kanto plain because as Duke said, humidity and haze etc etc.  But on clear winter days, it's magnificent.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

1360

 

(1357)

That was mostly geometry, not science.

Maths is a type of science?

[Duke87 1,070]

(1361)

 

Math is vital to science but they are not the same subject.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

1362

 

The humanities want to use science and the scientific method in their work, but my experience is that stuff like political science, economics, history, etc are so far removed from what actual science is that they are doing a serious disservice to the world by trying to study them in the same manner.  There must be a better way.  OH, the humanities!

[Mr Saturn64 742]

(1354)

It should be noted, though, that if we drop the Philadelphia height from 900 feet to 500 feet, the maximum visible distance drops to 72.6 miles... so the only way any of the WTC would have been visible from Philadelphia City Hall is if the atmosphere refracted the light towards the surface. But that does actually happen in practice, so it is still plausible.

1363

The World Trade Center still existed at the time of the breaking of the Gentlemen's Agreement surrounding City Hall's statue of Penn on top. When One Liberty Place was constructed in 1987, it reached a total height of 945 feet. So from 945 feet, approximately 408 feet higher than City Hall, you could if it was closer. But since Philadelphia and New York are 90-100 miles apart, that makes One Liberty Place, (or just Liberty Place as us locals call it) unable to be seen from the said visibility range.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1364)

 

But since Philadelphia and New York are 90-100 miles apart

 

Not so much. I just used the ruler tool in Google Earth to measure the distance from Philly City hall to NY WTC and it came out as 80.18 miles (slightly off from the 78 mile figure which I forget where exactly where I got it from). The 90-100 figure you're getting is probably driving distance. This is what most sources will give you if you ask "how far is it from A to B" and is what's relevant to anyone planning a trip. But for this exercise we need the distance as the crow flies, which will always be shorter.

[Larks2242 251]

1365.

 

Closer then I would have expected.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

1366

 

80 miles.  Huh.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1367)

 

Yep, New York and Philadelphia are so close their metro areas overlap a bit. If you live in Trenton you can catch a train to Penn Station in New York or to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia from the same spot.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

1368:
 

1366

 

80 miles.  Huh.

​Why do people still use miles?

[B.C builder 291]

1369

1368:
 

1366

 

80 miles.  Huh.

​Why do people still use miles?

I thought you use miles in Australia? 

[Muck308 55]

1370

 

Despite being fairly good at converting to metric, I still think in miles and regardless of how good I get at converting, I still have to convert metric distances to English distances before I really get an understanding of what said distance is. So, yeah. There's my explanation.

[Mr Saturn64 742]

(1364)

 

But since Philadelphia and New York are 90-100 miles apart

 

Not so much. I just used the ruler tool in Google Earth to measure the distance from Philly City hall to NY WTC and it came out as 80.18 miles (slightly off from the 78 mile figure which I forget where exactly where I got it from). The 90-100 figure you're getting is probably driving distance. This is what most sources will give you if you ask "how far is it from A to B" and is what's relevant to anyone planning a trip. But for this exercise we need the distance as the crow flies, which will always be shorter.

1371

But if you move the number from City Hall's 537 feet to Liberty Place's 945 or Comcast's 975, you're nearly Twice as hi as City Hall. But maybe if you're at 975, your visiblity range is increased.

Or let's have some more fun.

In 2008 a Philadelphi developer wanted to build the 1510 foot American Commerce Center, which would today be America's tallest until 1. WTC opens. So if your visibility range is increased, yes.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1372)

 

​Why do people still use miles?

 

Because 'Murica!

 

But if you move the number from City Hall's 537 feet to Liberty Place's 945 or Comcast's 975, you're nearly Twice as hi as City Hall. But maybe if you're at 975, your visiblity range is increased.

 

Yes, I addressed that in post #1354.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

1373: Here we use Metric, except tire pressure is does as psi, TV screens are measured in inches, you order pints of beer (actually drink sizes vary depending on which city you are in), and many people I know still refer to their height in feet, yet interestingly never their weight.

[timmie 988]

1374

 

1362

 

The humanities want to use science and the scientific method in their work, but my experience is that stuff like political science, economics, history, etc are so far removed from what actual science is that they are doing a serious disservice to the world by trying to study them in the same manner.  There must be a better way.  OH, the humanities!

 

As a historian I can say we don't try to use science and we don't try to imitate the exact sciences and we don't study our subject in the same manner. I am quite confident biologists don't learn about the post-modern turn of the linguistic turn, Jacques Derrida, Hayden White, Michel Foucault,... Historians do, however, since this is crucial to how we do research (the core is: how can research be biased by culture and how can we try to avoid that as much as possible). Also, historians don't see themselves as scientists (contrary to economists, they receive the title of 'master of science in economy', which is ridiculous). We try to use good methods to create a good result, to be as objective as we can, that's the 'scientific' part.

 

There is a novel about the postmodern turn and how no-one ever understands the humanities and what they are doing. It won an important prize. I don't know which one. And I have forgotten the title of the book too.

[Muck308 55]

1375

 

If I have said this before then please accept my apology.

 

I often hear people say things like "I learned algebra and have never needed it in my adult life. What gives?"

 

If you ask me, the reason people don't use things like algebra or other types of math is because they don't remember how. If they only recalled some basics I think they would find the knowledge quite useful. I use algebra at least once every week or two. When I worked at the hotel there was a figure my boss asked me to calculate after he mentioned he had no idea how to do it. I told him it's easy. Cross multiply and solve for x type stuff, ya dig? Very useful.

 

Now, math comes easy to me but it certainly doesn't for everyone. I blame a portion of that on the teaching method. Schools use what works best for most as opposed to fine tuning the teaching for different students.

 

It goes the same for other subjects if you ask me. There is either no desire to learn the curriculum to begin with and/or no desire to retain the information once the bell rings.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1376)

 

Since I am an engineer, algebra is absolutely something I use as part of my job (calculus, however, is not). I do also use algebra in my personal life although usually it's because I'm being a nerd and trying to calculate something purely out of curiosity, something most people would not do.

 

I remember my father and I standing in front of Niagara Falls, discussing out loud how we were estimating the rate at which potential energy was lost by all of the water going over the falls. Someone overheard us and was like "are you guys engineers?" We laughed and told him that one of us was.

[astronelson 339]

1377

 

 

 

 

 

80 miles.  Huh.

​Why do people still use miles?

I thought you use miles in Australia? 

 

Nope. Metric all the way here, and has been since 1988 (the end of an 18-year gradual process).

[Larks2242 251]

1378.

 

@ Mr.Saturn, kicking old Charlie to the curb huh?

 

And to get Ryno the lifelong Chicago Cub

[GeometryMath Algebra 614]

1379

 

I really REALLY hope that the US will be metricated before or by 2020. About 90% of the world's countries are using metric units.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

1380

As a historian I can say we don't try to use science and we don't try to imitate the exact sciences and we don't study our subject in the same manner. I am quite confident biologists don't learn about the post-modern turn of the linguistic turn, Jacques Derrida, Hayden White, Michel Foucault,... Historians do, however, since this is crucial to how we do research (the core is: how can research be biased by culture and how can we try to avoid that as much as possible). Also, historians don't see themselves as scientists (contrary to economists, they receive the title of 'master of science in economy', which is ridiculous). We try to use good methods to create a good result, to be as objective as we can, that's the 'scientific' part.

 

There is a novel about the postmodern turn and how no-one ever understands the humanities and what they are doing. It won an important prize. I don't know which one. And I have forgotten the title of the book too.

 

I am very interested in that novel.  I also have a serious bias against postmodernism in pretty much anything outside of entertainment.

 

Also, I was trying to think of examples of humanities to use and 'history' was one that popped into my head as my one-year-old was tottering around the room.  I realized too late that it was the wrong one to choose, but by that point I was too distracted to think of more appropriate examples.  Sorry!

 

Heh, MSE is slightly ridiculous.