The scientific experiment ------------------------ An opinion was formed, that it was possible to do For such and such reason, this thing that was new As a concept, this really was an unthought-of thing As information emerged, a hypothesis took wing A fledgling, it grew, and then soared to the sky A new algorithm was worked out to try Its new possibilities, promises, commitments Then data were found for the right experiments Experimental designs were carefully made Those that addressed all questions, when raised About the possibilities, and the new hypotheses Algorithms, results, to be collated in a thesis A student began to work from the start Dedicated, took these experiments to heart They were part of his doctoral thesis (to come) In three or four years, or maybe then some At the start, the experiments were simple and so Implementations were easy, just touch and go We know its not easy to prove a declaration In science, it takes, much experimentation One after another, he built up a frame as the tests proved conclusive, gave each a name It came to a point, this last complex test Of the new algorithm, could put all doubts to rest Re. the whole endeavor, the idea's essence That things could be predicted in the Finest sense Predictions, as we know, need a good regression A line through some points, with a clear direction This last experiment, was critical, its trail would lead to the final win, hammer on nail would establish the truth, prove it, proclaim A brand new technology, powerful yet tame Credit, recognition, success, his doctorate degree All hung on a thread, of experimental filigree As it fianlly completed, he printed on paper The points predicted by this final endeavor At first glance he doubted, with distrust, disgust The printer's ability to print out this first Regression on a graph. Clearly the darn thing needed a few Updates to its software for graphics, he knew! Later as he stared, through the blob of points, at the dashed line running through, stark, disjoint on both sides of which there were (and this mattered) an equal number of points that were scattered That would have been nice, but now it was not The expresion on his face was taut and distraught Pensive, petulent, he thought with distress The points formed a circle, Oh man, what a mess! The scientific experiment, so carefully planned Examined, dissected, flow-charted and launched And this was the outcome, this lousy impression Of a line through a circle of points. Abomination! Just what had gone wrong in the implementation? Was it a bug in the code? Its interpretation? a loop, a branch, or the starting condition? A wrong algorithm? Fundamental aberration? He sought his supervisor, Professor Budweiser A leading authority on the subject, and wiser than most other people of the same restraints with one little quirk, wouldn't tolerate complaints "Fix it or lose it", "don't come and complain" "if you don't understnad it, well, go think again!" At this final result, he took a look, disgusted "you've done something wrong" "you (really) can't be trusted" Frsutrated, the student, checked all his conditions data, and settings, code, experimental situations Came back frustrated, and said "Nothing's wrong!" "I think (Sir) your basic hypothesis isn't strong!" "Don't challenge me, young man, don't you dare say" "Go back, test again, check it all the right way" "I already did so, I just told you that, Sir!" "Well then jump off a bridge, if you mind's such a blur" "What were you smoking, when you checked all your code?" "Nothing, said the student, silently thought "You Toad!" "I know this better than you now, I'm absolutely right" "So I will not check things, iteratively, all night" "Young man, your insolence is longer than your nose" "If you don't do this my way, I won't let you close" The student, incensed, then called him "corrupt", huffed, puffed and left, before a (physical) fight could erupt Went home disgusted, hurling choice insults Holding squarely responsible for his circular results The scientific experiment, which he felt, was a fake Fell asleep on the sofa, it was all he could take **************** His dream was so real, so very intense He lived it, and thought it, in the present tense He runs an experiment that is brilliant (he thinks) But the outcome, he sees, Pretty Much Stinks He takes it in his dream to his pompous professor Who takes one good look at his linear regressor And proceeds to reprimand him, deride him, and tear His paper, "Scrap it! its useless, that's clear" "The difference from your previous experiments remains" "Like the voltage difference in electric mains" "No current, high resistance, just zero connection" "This line, you idiot, is in the wrong direction!" The student thinks dark clouds, thunderous, strong "This insufferable Monster! "Oh, he's Always wrong!" "He's no saint, no scientist, just a stupid Moron" "Who they made Professor to torture everyone" If his dream (as it went on) were cast in volts If it turned electric, it would give you jolts If you read his dream-thoughts, I'm sure that you will Be palpably concerned, who they could kill "I'd shoot him but I can't now, but one day by grace" "Would be so nice if I could punch him directly in the face" Dark thougts in his dream, imaginations amok Of the Monster Supervisor, wreaking havoc "I could pour, just maybe, some chemical on his head" "Or hide something seriously poisonous in his bed" "Maybe he'll Die, have a heart attack" And then I will get him "I'll boot his back" "He's not human, this monster, this Experimental Bean" "He's a Robot, unfeeling, horrifying Machine" "He's a Criminal, he's treating me so like a slave" "I'll smother him, hang him" "I'll help him to his grave" "Then when they run an autopsy, what do you believe" "Would they find, that Really made this Ogre live?" "Sulphuric acid, sewage or mud" "Coursing his veins instead of blood" ****************** The next day he went in to meet his instructor Blackly thinking of all things sinister He'd tell him this day, "That stupid impostor!" That he was the Worst! A Despotic Dictator! Planning revenge that was dark and traumatic Milder than his dream (sure) though yet dramatic "A life for a life," "He's ruined my Phd" "Career for career," "(Someone!) Boot him from CSD!" "An eye for an eye," "I'll lodge a complaint" "Of serious harassment, inhuman restraint" "Overworked, underfed, almost zero supervision" "I'll make him Cringe for my sorry condition" When he knocked on the door, he was asked to come in The professor looked so very tired and thin And before he could act out his fury and temper With a gesture he was pointed towards a paper On the paper, marked in a light hand, with ink, highlighted, scratched, equations on the brink "Here's what was wrong, implent this again" "Come back, report it, and KEEP IT SANE!" This Ogre supervisor, had been working all night scribbling on the printout, setting things right Correcting the process, not pausing for breath working, while the student was dreaming his death His instruction was done, with this final correction The completed experiment, he knew with conviction Would work, for he knew it was fundamentally sound So he rested, waited, until the lad came around ******************* Paper in hand, the student, now quiet Implemented corrections, "That Ogre was right!" The process now worked, the points now aligned the outcomes were beautiful, they blew his mind The points, indistinguisable from the dashed, straight line Perfectly predicted, as a function of time The state of the world, results of elections Spread of diseases or wind directions The work was documented, and sent to a journal Published in a month or so, all with internal Nods and nudges by his school and instructor Distrust turned to trust and Destructor, Constructor His thesis, submitted, his degree in hand Doctorate on the subject, and in great demand Disagreements, discussions, intense, right and wrong Over those years had rendered him strong Independent and brave, he took up position In a large, revered, prestigious institution He got his own funding, and took his own students And got them to work on scientiic experiments. ------------- 6 Dec 2017 Note: Wires in electric mains are set up to have high resistance. This causes low current (so they need thinner wires), causing low power dissipation. To balance for this, the voltage is ramped up. This all comes from the fact that while resistance causes losses in eletric power transmission, those losses are only *linearly* proportional to voltage. However, they are proportional to the *square* of the current. So this otion is less expensive, extends the cable span (the distance between the towers), requiring less towers to transmit electricity over the same distance.