In common use it generally refers to a generic non-measurement of any kind in a similar vein to “widgets”, however it is actually a speed.

The barleycorn was used as a measurement of length in early Anglo-Saxon times, now, generally accepted as one third of an inch.

Therefore your average person walks at approximately 127,733,760 barleycorns per fortnight.

2 miles per hour
== 10,560 feet per hour
== 126,720 inches per hour
== 380,160 barleycorns per hour
== 9,123,840 barleycorns per day
== 63,866,880 barleycorns per week
== 127,733,760 barleycorns per fortnight

And, to answer the question

A barleycorn per fortnight is 3.91439 × 10^-9 mph

Interestingly, a poppy seed is a quarter of a barleycorn.

Accretion.

The Big Bang “process” created a little more than the solar system.

Inspired by a recent letter in the New Scientist…

Obviously you are all aware of Schrodinger’s cat, but have you ever heard of Schrodinger’s socks. It goes like this.

Socks start off as pairs, but which is the left and which is the right. In fact they are both and neither at the same time. And the really interesting thing is that the instant you put one sock on your left foot, the other sock becomes a right sock.
(more…)

Due to a scientific quirk called the Mpemba effect hot water can freeze quicker than cold water.
(more…)

Engineers and scientists will never make as much money as business executives will. Now, for the first time we have mathematical proof that explains why this is in fact true.

As we all assume, knowledge is power.

knowledge  =  power

And as we all know, time is money.

time  =  money

As every engineer knows, power = work / time.

power  =  work  /  time

Substituting for power and money we get:

knowledge  =  work  /  money

Rearranging so we solve for money, we get:

money  =  work  /  knowledge

Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of work done.

Conclusion: The less you know, the more you make, consequently, your manager makes more that you do.

You all know the score… work often demands you give more than 100%… now there is a mathematical formula that can help you out.

If you represent the alphabet in numerical form, like this…

Then, you can use use simple addition to see how far you are getting at work. For instance, "Knowledege" of your chosen subject area…

But, see how close "Hard Work" gets you…

And, it just goes to prove, that having the right "Attitude" really does help…

But, if you can’t be bothered, or don’t know the answer, you could always just "Bullshit"…

At the end of the day though, the best way to get ahead in business is, as usual… "Ass kissing"…

In summary though, Bullshit and ass-kissing will always get you further than Knowledge and Hard work.

Everyone knows that if you have a square with sides each of 2cm, the area is 4cm², or is it?

Everyone knows that if you have a shape, its area does not change. if you make a shape out of shapes, then the bigger shapes area does not change either… no matter how you re-arrange the bits…

Justifying this another way… If you have a large area, and cut it into smaller parts, the area you get when you put it back together has to be the same…

so how does this work…

Thanks Robin (and Liz) for eventually sorting this out for me.

Ever wondered why you always end up with one odd sock after you wash them? well, maybe science has the answer.

First off we let a = b.
a   =   b

Next We multiply both sides by a
a2   =   ab

Next We can add a² to both sides
2a2   =   a2 + ab

Next We can subtract 2ab from both sides
2a2 - 2ab   =   a2 - ab

We can simplify this with factorisation
2 (a2 - ab)   =   a2 - ab

Dividing both sides by (a² - ab)
2   =   1

After a good meal, the last thing you want to do is think hard, but beware, there could be foul play afoot.

Three friends go to dinner. At the end of the dinner the bill arrives and it is £30 (sterling) Each friend puts in a tenner and the waiter goes back to the till… looking at the bill the waiter realises he has made a mistake and it was only £25, as the till is low on change and there is only 3 of them, the waiter gives each man a pound back, and pockets the other £2.

Each man has paid £9, thats £27, plus the £2 the waiter took, thats £29..

What happened to the other £1

A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. This new element has been tentatively named “Administratium."

Administratium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 111 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by a force called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Administratium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Administratium causes one reaction to take over 4 days to complete when it would normally take less than a second.

Administratium has a normal half-life of 3 years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Administratium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization causes some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Administratium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration.

This hypothetical quantity is referred to as “Critical Morass."

You will know it when you see it.