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May 26

The Answer Man

According to an article printed in the 1940s, there were two questions that The Answer Man was unable to answer:

How many buffalo would it take to fill Grand Canyon?
Do birds dream?

Can these questions now be answered? Pepso2 (talk) 17:49, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The buffalo one is a bit of a joke (and it was originally cows, not buffalo). In short, the "wrong" answer begins with "assume each cow is a perfect sphere." In other words, it makes fun of the way mathematicians tend to oversimplify real world problems. As for an answer - it is answerable if you ask a distinct question. What kind of buffalo? How big? How small? Can we purée them so they fill every crook and cranny? How do you want to declare the ends of the canyon? Do we put up a dam on each end to hold the buffalo in? Only when you precisely state the question is there an answer. Until then, it is "answerable" but no answer may be correctly given. -- kainaw ™ 18:08, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

As for the cows/buffaloes, the mathematician in me says that one should suffice, given enough food and eternal life. --NorwegianBlue^talk 18:16, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Just want to point out that Wikipedia actually has an article on the Spherical cow. --Zerozal (talk) 19:42, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

And as for the birds, this source says they do have REM sleep, which strongly suggests that they dream. --NorwegianBlue^talk 19:22, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What do birds dream about? Bus stop (talk) 19:30, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The fiords. --NorwegianBlue^talk 19:48, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That answer deserves immortalization at Dweller's Ref Desk thread of the week award (unless Bus Stop is your sockpuppet, so that you served as your own straight man). Deor (talk) 21:22, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No, I'm not NorwegianBlue's sockpuppet. In all honesty -- I don't even "get" the joke. I really would genuinely appreciate it if someone would explain it to me. Bus stop (talk) 22:45, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Dead Parrot. -- JackofOz (talk) 23:04, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That is funny. I have seen that comedy routine once or twice, but I never took note of the reference to the "fjords." Thanks. Bus stop (talk) 23:29, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The Edsel is dead. It has ceased to exist. Pepso2 (talk) 12:30, 27 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, such a lack of imagination and such hamstringing by trying to be scientific.

These questions are easy to answer using language and logic, rather than science.

Q1) One. As soon as one buffalo has been placed in Grand Canyon, regardless of size, the canyon is by definition no longer empty. It has therefore been filled. It may not be filled completely, but that's a problem for the person who set an imprecise question.

Q2) Birds definitely do dream, although they may forget the content when they wake up. NB Birds generally prefer to be called "women" in these days of political correctness.

Hope that helps. --Dweller (talk) 15:43, 27 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Q1) One, but he would have to find a shovel he could use with his hooves? DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:37, 27 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Nice. --Dweller (talk) 19:28, 27 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm bored

While Fishing, I get bored quite quickly. I check the Ref Desk regularly, as well as numerous webcomics that I don't want to add to, and the various offshoots of lolcats. What else can I do, sat in front of a computer, while Fishing? What do you do? Vimescarrot (talk) 19:32, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This really isn't a question for a reference desk. We provide references and answer questions. Would you walk into a library and tell the refdesker there that you're bored? Enjoy the "doing nothing" that comes with fishing; if you're getting that bored, maybe you should go do something else. Matt Deres (talk) 20:25, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Just to make this clear, judging by his link, is fishing is Runescape fishing, Matt. Anyway, personally, I'd play a game that doesn't bore me. (By definition, that game is most definitely not Runescape, but if it works for you...) -- Captain Disdain (talk) 20:31, 26 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You could check out Second Life or, even better, IRC. Or find a forum for a subject that interests you. --Richardrj ^talk ^email 07:51, 27 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps you need to examine your motives here. Why are you playing a game that bores you? Why not find one that is entertaining from start to finish? APL (talk) 14:52, 27 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

When I'm bored, I like to write an encyclopedia. --Dweller (talk) 15:35, 27 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Request Rollback permission, and help fighting vandalism on Wikipedia using Huggle. I've been doing it the last couple of weeks, and am amazed by both the stupidity, creativity and sheer numbers of those who want to vandalize. You need to take quick decisions, and be bold and cautious at the same time. It's really quite addictive. --NorwegianBlue^talk 18:29, 28 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Go to Omegle and chat to a complete stranger. --Richardrj ^talk ^email 18:45, 28 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You're all awesome. Thanks. Vimescarrot (talk) 09:09, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]