The Dry Dry Forest of Physics

Lexx Education

This week it’s another slow start into the science… I suppose actually it might be better to stop writing this here and just tell you if we ever jump straight into the science.

There’s a long section at the beginning where Ron appeals for a job. A sassy job.

There’s a recap on Standard Form that initially overwhelms Laura’s smooth pea brain but then she rises to the challenge like a magnificent physics phoenix.

Laura has a major realisation about the divided symbol.

TIME FOR A TANGENT: Laura is very impressed by a man who can do two accents and Ron is not.

There are actually a lot of tangents, literally from Helen of Troy to Peaky Blinders in one fell swoop. Every now and again one of them will say “uncertainty” as if they’re going to get back to it but they don’t.

Ok, then there’s like a four minute bit at the end where they do some uncertainty and errors stuff. It’s not juicy. Ron tries to juice it using an elephant.

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💬 Show Notes

This week on Lexx Education, Laura and Ron dive into the murky waters of uncertainty, both in physics and in life. The episode kicks off with a hilarious discussion about their recent admin meeting, which somehow devolves into a debate about Boggle and emotional content in the podcast. As they navigate through their feelings, they also touch on the complexities of antidepressants and the quest for joy.

Once they finally get to the science, it’s all about understanding uncertainty in measurements. Ron attempts to explain the concept of uncertainty with a series of amusing analogies involving elephants and wacky glasses, while Laura struggles to keep up with the technicalities. They cover absolute, fractional, and percentage uncertainty, all while weaving in their signature banter and tangents about everything from Mario to Christopher Nolan films.

As the episode progresses, the siblings tackle some quiz questions that test Laura's grasp of the concepts they've covered. Expect plenty of laughs as they navigate the confusion and chaos that often accompanies their discussions. Will Laura manage to grasp the intricacies of uncertainty, or will Ron’s explanations leave her more baffled than ever? Tune in to find out!

00:00 - This is the second episode of Lex Education, the comedy science podcast

01:14 - Ron says he's trying to come off antidepressants to lose weight

07:10 - It's been nine days since we last did a lesson, Ron

10:10 - Ron says he works in customer success in SaaS

12:47 - The divided sign is a very easy way to represent enormous or tiny numbers

16:01 - This narrator jumps flawlessly between Portuguese accent and an Icelandic accent

18:34 - There was a twist in the plot last night, Ron, driving home

20:44 - Laura: We're going to talk about a concept called uncertainty

24:30 - Tom and I are trying to watch all the Bond films

28:17 - Peaky Blinders is a slog. I watched that bleak show. It's not edited and directed by Stalin

29:23 - Uncertainty is the uncertainty in a measurement that you've taken

34:58 - Ron says Facebook is bottleneck for female comedians

38:12 - The uncertainty in a reading is one way to measure uncertainty

40:28 - Next one is uncertainty in repeated data. So that's one we've already covered

42:22 - Okay. So we've got elephants. And that we're uncertain about their weight

44:17 - Ron M. Cohen has a video that's going viral on Facebook

47:54 - Child of the podcast was drawing a picture today of Mario

50:04 - What is the percentage uncertainty of a thermometer measuring 78 degrees

53:01 - What is the uncertainty in a reading, eg, from a voltmeter

58:07 - We've run out of guests, though, have we

01:01:28 - Class dismissed. Let's up that Carol strode out ahead of the rest

Show notes created by https://headliner.app

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