Search found 11 matches

by JustRob
Sun May 21, 2023 12:00 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: CH and slavery
Replies: 15
Views: 48991

Re: CH and slavery

It is a well known principle in statistics that selection results in nonsensically biased conclusions. While it may be undeniable that CH benefitted from wealth acquired through slavery the question that must be posed by the investigation into the finances of independent schools is whether that bene...
by JustRob
Sun May 21, 2023 9:45 am
Forum: General Chat - Non CH
Topic: AI the future or the end?
Replies: 7
Views: 17867

Re: AI the future or the end?

The problem with AI is that we can't see it, only its intended effects rather than its unavoidable ones. Consequently we don't understand just how inefficient it is. It is fundamentally artificial, so by definition requires artefacts to exist. These include electronic devices manufactured by process...
by JustRob
Fri Apr 07, 2023 11:43 am
Forum: General Chat - Non CH
Topic: New daily maths puzzle - give it a go and share?
Replies: 5
Views: 8320

Re: New daily maths puzzle - give it a go and share?

eucsgmrc wrote: Wed Jul 27, 2022 12:06 am Now, if you were to reformulate it to use Reverse Polish notation (which needs no brackets), that might be fun ... for antique geeks like me. Not for any normal person.
Go Forth and multiply (and divide, add, subtract, swap etc) to reduce the average age of such geeks.
by JustRob
Sat Mar 11, 2023 5:46 pm
Forum: General Chat - Non CH
Topic: Just a coincidence?
Replies: 6
Views: 2295

Re: Just a coincidence?

Thanks for your coincidences, if that was what they really were. Research into whether such things are simply random continues. I set up my website because I was encountering so many but mainly because I couldn't understand why and how I wrote an entire novel when I have never had any aspirations to...
by JustRob
Wed Mar 01, 2023 12:34 pm
Forum: General Chat - Non CH
Topic: Just a coincidence?
Replies: 6
Views: 2295

Just a coincidence?

Have you encountered strange coincidences in your life? Have you even noticed them or have you just ignored them when they've happened? Mine got to the stage where I felt obliged to consider them more carefully and I have recently documented many of them on my website https://www.menstemporum.uk/ , ...
by JustRob
Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:10 am
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Article about the Tube
Replies: 12
Views: 4694

Re: Article about the Tube

I'm catching up on old threads again. I really ought to visit the site more often. Thanks for the article. My wife and I also did the tour of the tube some years back. In my time at the school it was used regularly and I remember the enormous hot water pipes with their sometimes crumbling asbestos l...
by JustRob
Tue Dec 14, 2021 10:34 am
Forum: General Chat - Non CH
Topic: Pilgrim Fathers 1620 -- 400th anniversary -- any connections?
Replies: 7
Views: 3853

Re: Pilgrim Fathers 1620 -- 400th anniversary -- any connections?

No, it was purely a case of mistaken identity. During my first year at CH I went back to my old primary school in southeast London in my Housey uniform to meet my past school mistress again and show the class the unique uniform. Afterwards as I was walking back home along the streets a youth shouted...
by JustRob
Sat Dec 11, 2021 6:19 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Gaia Week at Christ's Hospital
Replies: 25
Views: 8038

Re: Gaia Week at Christ's Hospital

Sorry, I forgot to mention that that aforementioned handbook on parapsychology also mentioned that of the romantic poets it was Coleridge who in particular made a clear distinction between Imagination, which he regarded as a higher faculty of the mind, and mere Fancy, i.e. fantasy. I would say that ...
by JustRob
Sat Dec 11, 2021 4:08 pm
Forum: General Chat - CH Stuff
Topic: Gaia Week at Christ's Hospital
Replies: 25
Views: 8038

Re: Gaia Week at Christ's Hospital

Any theory based on parapsychology has to meet the “Extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof” test. For decades, the Randi Foundation has had a standing offer of $1,000,000 for ANY proof of any such claim, with no takers. I apologise for resurrecting a dormant topic but I seldom visit this for...
by JustRob
Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:48 pm
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: CH and flu
Replies: 33
Views: 17062

Re: CH and flu

There was a severe outbreak in1957 - no vaccines then. I did not catch it and remember helping in the infirmary. Several houses were used for emergency beds. Can anyone shed any more information about this? My memory is poor. Er yes, because I apparently started it. Anyway, at the time that's what ...
by JustRob
Fri May 27, 2016 5:44 pm
Forum: Stories, Reminiscing & Teacher/Pupil Memories
Topic: Your nickname
Replies: 136
Views: 58729

Re: Your nickname

My nickname? Now therein lies a tale and I am not known for my brevity, so ... When I became a pupil at CH I quickly gained the nickname Wonky Pooh because I had a dense mop of unruly hair, which a comb would not penetrate. For the less well read here, Wonky Pooh was a persian cat in Agatha Christie...