The Ultimate Question

[PANZERCATWAGON]

If you are reasonable, you will have to say, "Having the limited knowledge I have at present, I believe that there is no God."  In other words, you don't know if God exists, so you are not an "atheist," you are what is commonly known as an "agnostic."  You are like a man who looks at a building, and doesn't know if there was a builder.

this was possibly the most intelligent thing on the page

until it started talking about the ten commandments

then it was shit

and it was going so well too

[The Geologist]

For me, it went downhill a bit before that when they started talking about a knowledge of gold in China vs. an absolute knowledge of China.  I guess they never figured a geologist would read their page?

'eh.

[Espadon]

What area of geology do you spec in, Geo?

[Sir Jeremy]

no

[The Geologist]

What area of geology do you spec in, Geo?

Interesting question.

Originally I started out with petrology and ore deposits.  I must warn you that to keep this post to any considerable length I must ask you to wiki any terms that are unfamiliar. 

College was all about ore deposits...at least towards the end.  Rare elements, metals, etc.  Very interesting stuff from a variety of aspects.  But that was college - find a major, get interested, get a general background, and go on from there.  I didn't take any undergrad research, which I'm a but bummed out about now...but that's besides the point.

In graduate school my focus has shifted (a bit) from ore deposits to geochemical analysis of rocks, rare earth element geochemistry, and thermodynamic modeling of rocks.  So the focus is on high temperature, high pressure metamorphic rocks - with many applications to lower temp. metamorphism and ore deposits as well.  Still very focused on petrology.  But as an offshoot I know spend a lot of my time (when not preparing samples or working on something for my adviser) working with the electron probe microanalyzer.  Soon to get scanning electron microprobe skillz. 

[Splinter-Snake]

What the fuck? I thought this was about fingers.

[Mangled*]

I love it when geo talks about his work, I find it really interesting.

As for the thumb, I recognise that it is essentially a finger. Whilst the word 'finger' can refer to any of the digits, it especially refers to the ones which aren't a thumb.

From an etymology standpoint, the thumb should be referred to as a thumb, because that is a word that specifically means what it is. Whilst it does by technicality count as a finger, "finger" is too much of an inspecific word to correctly refer to the thumb as.

From an evolutionary standpoint it is a finger which has evolved to perform a different function from the rest. It is a specialised finger which we refer to as the thumb. But with regards to that, this is how new specialised tissues branch off from what they originally were.

It is a thumb more than it is a finger.

[PANZERCATWAGON]

geologist your job sounds like it rocks

because i can still remember your old signature

im that lame

[jrgp]

What area of geology do you spec in, Geo?

Interesting question.

Originally I started out with petrology and ore deposits.  I must warn you that to keep this post to any considerable length I must ask you to wiki any terms that are unfamiliar. 

College was all about ore deposits...at least towards the end.  Rare elements, metals, etc.  Very interesting stuff from a variety of aspects.  But that was college - find a major, get interested, get a general background, and go on from there.  I didn't take any undergrad research, which I'm a but bummed out about now...but that's besides the point.

In graduate school my focus has shifted (a bit) from ore deposits to geochemical analysis of rocks, rare earth element geochemistry, and thermodynamic modeling of rocks.  So the focus is on high temperature, high pressure metamorphic rocks - with many applications to lower temp. metamorphism and ore deposits as well.  Still very focused on petrology.  But as an offshoot I know spend a lot of my time (when not preparing samples or working on something for my adviser) working with the electron probe microanalyzer.  Soon to get scanning electron microprobe skillz. 

hmm, sounds like a pretty feckin' interesting career. Does it pay well?

Is a thumb a finger? Let me put it this way, it's a finger on steroids. It's the Chuck Norris of fingers. It's a maverick in its own right; it avoids the rest and does its own thing, a function they cannot. It rules the roost, but still, technically, is a finger.

[LtKillroy]

Basically it boils down to this, I have 5 fingers, do you?

[a-4-year-old]

Basically it boils down to this, I have 5 fingers, do you?

I have 10.

[PANZERCATWAGON]

Basically it boils down to this, I have 5 fingers, do you?

i almost forgot

that terrible buzz saw accident

let us never speak of that day again

[Sir Jeremy]

I have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs..

[The Geologist]

I love it when geo talks about his work, I find it really interesting.

Thank you, good sir.

geologist your job sounds like it rocks

because i can still remember your old signature

im that lame

Nice pun, and even I have trouble remembering.

hmm, sounds like a pretty feckin' interesting career. Does it pay well?

Not as much as I'd like it to.  Mind you, I'm finishing grad school.  But I've been eyeing a tech position, basically doing what I am now, for 30-40k yearly.  Nice starter.


'eh...in the end, it (to me) stems  back to whether you're a lumper or a splitter.  Lumpers have 10 fingers.  Splitters have eight fingers and two thumbs.  As far as the technical definition goes, I don't particularly care.  Devil's advocate for thumbs ftw.

[PANZERCATWAGON]

does your job require the use of all five fingers or just your thumb

[The Geologist]

does your job require the use of all five fingers or just your thumb

A combination of one finger and/or my forefinger and thumb (and sometimes middle finger).  And then there are times where I have to grasp something with all four fingers and my thumb.  Kinda complicated.

[ds dude]

Arms ARE legs. They're modified legs. What else would they be? We call them arms because human culture didn't start out with a full understanding of science.

By your logic of nomenclature, weaponry-arms should be no different than limb-arms.

Dude, that's like the best thing I've heard.

And it makes sense too.  The thumb has to be a finger

I love it when geo talks about his work, I find it really interesting.

Thank you, good sir.

geologist your job sounds like it rocks

because i can still remember your old signature

im that lame

Nice pun, and even I have trouble remembering.

hmm, sounds like a pretty feckin' interesting career. Does it pay well?

Not as much as I'd like it to.  Mind you, I'm finishing grad school.  But I've been eyeing a tech position, basically doing what I am now, for 30-40k yearly.  Nice starter.


'eh...in the end, it (to me) stems  back to whether you're a lumper or a splitter.  Lumpers have 10 fingers.  Splitters have eight fingers and two thumbs.  As far as the technical definition goes, I don't particularly care.  Devil's advocate for thumbs ftw.

Geo, don't worry.  I think your a very good geologist despite what other people say about rocks.

I collect them.  So I have to agree with you career.