this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2024
657 points (95.8% liked)

Funny

6738 readers
375 users here now

General rules:

Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the mods.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 212 points 1 month ago (3 children)

As a PhD who has tried doing home improvement projects, it’s the most believable thing in the film.

[–] MadBob@feddit.nl 40 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Actually some of the most naïve people I've ever met were theretofore academically successful.

[–] Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 1 month ago

My fiancee has a couple degrees while I just graduated high school. She's incredibly smart but I'm definitely more street savvy. She grew up a bit sheltered.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net 25 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Some pleeb shouted at me, "I thought you were an engineer!" And I shouted back, "A software engineer!" while I hammer a nail with my shoe.

[–] calcopiritus@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

Ah, a C programmer.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I’m a regular engineer and yeah I pull such shit. Listen, there’s a reason I tell everyone not to do what I do.

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The difference between a regular idiot doing a dangerous job and an engineer doing a dangerous job is the engineer knows which parts of the job he's risking imminent death on. There may often be no other difference.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] 0x4E4F@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Really?

Genuinely asking, I'm just an engineer... with very very bad grades. Passed was enough for me.

Once a professor asked me if I wanted to take the exam again because it was clear that I knew more than what I showed on the exam (a lot of 2 + 2 = 5 mistakes, I was fairly good at that and owe most of my low grades to that). I asked him if I passed, he said yes. Fuck that shit, I'm taking that grade and parading it across town, wooohoo 🥳.

[–] GreenPlasticSushiGrass@moist.catsweat.com 34 points 1 month ago (1 children)

As they say, a PhD is about learning more and more about less and less. Some of the smartest people at conferences I've attended legitimately risk death crossing the street.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 162 points 1 month ago (13 children)

A high voltage electric fence. At some point even standing in front of the thing is enough.

[–] SzethFriendOfNimi@lemmy.world 51 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Air only has so much resistance itself. High enough voltage and the closest path to ground is where the charge will go.

Just like with Lightning

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] thefartographer@lemm.ee 36 points 1 month ago (5 children)

My arm once got pulled into an electric fence when I was a kid and I couldn't stop getting shocked until someone physically pulled me away. It was more of a self-control issue than accidentally bridging the gap.

That was the day I learned that some pain can be pleasant. The owner of the property didn't seem as pleased with my discovery as I did. He had to shut off the fence and yanked my arm away and then told me to go explore my perversions somewhere else. I was too young to understand the word "perversion," and I'm now eternally grateful to that poor unprepared rancher.

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 12 points 1 month ago

For more fun form a chain with other people and be the furthest from the person touching the fence.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz 17 points 1 month ago (7 children)

At approx 3kV/mm, you would have to be pretty close to a 10kV fence.

Humidity plays a big role as does the frequency that the fence is running on. But you would be pretty safe standing a meter away, on that dry sunny day in the picture.

Also above a point, the high voltage causes the conductors to buzz.

[–] frezik@midwest.social 12 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Dry? It was a carribean island, right? Probably humid as fuck.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (6 replies)
[–] ArbiterXero@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

With enough voltage, everything is a conductor.

[–] Grumpy@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I have a 10KV electric fence. 5KV to 15KV is typical electric fence voltage in a farm or bear prevention fence. Can't feel a thing unless you actually touch it.

They are also not lethal. Very low current, just very high voltage. So it only hurts like fuck, but won't kill a human, cow, or any other mammal that touches it.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (8 replies)
[–] Lev_Astov@lemmy.world 100 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

At 10kV, a random stick would be all it takes to start an arc. He knows what he's doing.

[–] stupidcasey@lemmy.world 47 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

True, True… Hay who thought it was safe to run 10,000V Wire through a flammable overgrown jungle?

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 64 points 1 month ago (8 children)

Just because you're very good at one thing doesn't mean you're good at another. Sometimes the further you go down one path, the less you know about everything else.

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] SharpieThunderflare@lemmy.ca 59 points 1 month ago (3 children)

IIRC, he was messing with the kids and knew it was off because the lights were off. He proceeded to put his hands on it and convulse wildly as a joke.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Th4tGuyII@fedia.io 53 points 1 month ago (4 children)

As someone who has worked with academics, the more specialised the person, the less common sense they seem to hold onto.

As such, if this was outside their PhD specialisation, then it'd absolutely make sense that this wouldn't occur to them.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world 51 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Clearly his PhD is not in electrical engineering or biology

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 38 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's actually a PhD in trombone. Someone misheard it one time, and nobody has ever thought to follow up.

"Oh, Alan? Yeah, he has a doctorate in bones or something."

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 45 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah that’s people with PhDs in my experience

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Yeah, in this case it's so high voltage that the resistance of the dry stick wont mean as much.

[–] Damage@feddit.it 42 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Wet wood from the ground is probably a better conductor than dinosaur scales

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Did dinosaurs have scales?

[–] Steve@startrek.website 29 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They couldn’t even read music at all 😞

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I dont think so, bananas are a relatively new thing iirc.

[–] MySkinIsFallingOff@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Mmmmmh, nom nom nom nom.

That's exactly the right amount of dopamine hit I'm scrolling for. Now I can turn off my phone and roll over to sleep. Thanks bud 👌

[–] MelastSB@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Obviously: how would they weight themselves otherwise?

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Bertuccio@lemmy.world 42 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I invite you to touch an electric fence with a stick then.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 34 points 1 month ago

I don't remember the scene, but personally I'd test an electric fence with a nonconductor. You'll probably get some sparks but won't die. You do you, ppl in this thread.

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 33 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

Well, I have an EE Degree specialized in Digital Systems - pretty much the opposite side of Electronic Engineering from the High Power side - and I would be almost as clueless as that guy when it comes to testing a 10,000V fence for power.

On the other hand I do know a lot of interesting things about CPU design ;)

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 31 points 1 month ago

Is his PhD in Electrical Engineering?

[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago (4 children)

He is already standing too close and that stick would arc with that many volts flowing through it. The most likely outcome in reality if it had been energized. The arc would have jumped from the stick to him and no more New Zealand guy.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Matriks404@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Hey it's a "It's a UNIX system" movie, isn't it?

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 17 points 1 month ago

Did you know the weird 3d file system navigation thingy was a real program (just not widely used)?

But I can't get over the way she held the mouse lol

[–] darklamer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The funny thing about that quote is that it really was a Unix system that was shown on screen.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] wowwoweowza@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Why people gotta hate on a movie three decades old that remains perfect?

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

Gotta meme to keep it alive

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yep. Very domain specific knowledge but couldn’t pour piss outta a boot with the instructions on the heel.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›