Re: Re Family Words (was: sumer 3-4)

18-06-03 23:34, Miguel Carrasquer wrote:

> On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 10:21:25 -0400, "H.M. Hubey"
> <hubeyh@...> wrote:
>
>
> >Ok, I see what you mean now. When comparing forms without looking into
> >history one can easily make mistakes. The thing is that I think the
> errors
> >are symmetrically distributed (e.g. like the Gaussian) so that given
> enough
> >data they will cancel out.
>
> Oh my god.
>
>
> How to reconstruct a Brontosaurus, the Hubey way:
>
> - Take as many bones as you can lay your hands on (doesn't matter from
> which animal or which part of it)
>
> - Randomly glue them together.
>
> Since a Brontosaurus has Gaussian distribution (in the immortal words of
> Anne Elk (Miss): "All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much thicker in
> the middle and then thin again at the far end"), given enough bones, the
> errors will cancel out.
>
> Next week's recipe: Tuna salad à la Sumérienne.

And here's the surest way to drive your car straight ahead: close your
eyes and let go of the wheel. Since the steering mechanism prefers
neither direction, the distribution of possible courses is symmetrical
and any errors will cancel out. Do try it out, Hubey!

Piotr