# Westom, you're either an idiot or insane **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 3, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627 "2012-03-03T06:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BunnyTVS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BunnyTVS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyTVS)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/21 "2012-03-03T18:00:23Z")
I don’t suppose anyone would like to help with [this guy.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14830978&postcount=444) He’s **westom** with the added extra of being unable to use the quote function. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/22 "2012-03-03T18:04:05Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s pretty clear that the **weston** would be correct in that thread only if the cars in question were on a treadmill… The solution to the flying car problem… it’s so simple. Just put them on a treadmill and they’ll take off! You just advanced scientific progress by decades in a _mere sentence_. **Westom** doesn’t stand a chance next to you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/23 "2012-03-03T18:08:40Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > After reading this [post,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14831975&postcount=127) I really wish **Tangent** had been my HS physics teacher. Well done sir. Indeed, thanks for the additional supporting equations, **Tangent** and **Half Man Half Wit**. Thanks also to **Chronos** , **Baracus** , **Machine Elf** , **Irishman** , **Terr** , and **FinnAgain** for their contributions. (Sorry if I missed anyone.) ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/24 "2012-03-03T18:09:44Z")
> [@santorum](#): > > Robby, Thank you for your explanation (as well as FinnAgain and Tangent). I was the OP in that thread, but I won’t respond there as I want it to die. Thanks, but I was really lazy. Just got done entering quarter grades for my students and I’m still a bit exhausted. I figured that since Robby did and Tangent did the heavy lifting, I’d just chime in with a ‘yep’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/25 "2012-03-03T18:19:11Z")
> [@santorum](#): > > Robby, Thank you for your explanation (as well as FinnAgain and Tangent). I was the OP in that thread, but I won’t respond there as I want it to die. You’re very welcome. I hope it helped. My Pit thread seems to be taking a strange turn here, but that’s probably for the best. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/26 "2012-03-03T18:34:48Z")
Well now I feel like an idiot… I composed a response explaining the role of P[sub]net[/sub] in the problem and why depending on the P values in the head on collision you could still have a rolling, combined object. I have the distinct impression that I just tossed pearls before a swine. I need a cup of tea. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/27 "2012-03-03T20:30:11Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > Well, thanks for answering the question anyway. I’m still confused about KE and frames of reference, so I was going to ask a follow-up question if people aren’t completely sick of the subject… Believe me, you won’t even begin to _touch_ the blue-eyed-islanders threads on the I-cant-believe-we’re-still-doing-this scale. What’s your question? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/28 "2012-03-03T20:55:44Z")
Sooo… If I don’t know the difference between a quark and a lepton, I vote republican? Ok: Quark is a bartender of sorts. Lepton is a creature that if you’re lucky enough to catch one; he’ll give you a pot of gold. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/29 "2012-03-03T21:07:13Z")
And, while we’re at it, [this piece of work](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php) managed to get a GD thread shut down pretty much all by himself after his endless racist screeds. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/30 "2012-03-03T22:09:25Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > And, while we’re at it, [this piece of work](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php) managed to get a GD thread shut down pretty much all by himself after his endless racist screeds. He’s a busy one, that’s for sure… Total Posts: 95 Posts Per Day: 46.82 ---
**Author:** ![JimboJamesJimmersonIII\_Esq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@JimboJamesJimmersonIII\_Esq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimboJamesJimmersonIII_Esq)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/31 "2012-03-03T22:21:00Z")
Holy fuck. Talk about irritating. I usually just lurk, but that asshole compelled me to post _twice_ in that thread… and once here. I’d say he’s a troll, but would a troll really put in that much effort? That guy has to have few screws loose. How does a person like that actually function in real life? That’s some amazing stubborness and stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/32 "2012-03-03T22:49:03Z")
This is the first Pit thread that ever made me fall asleep. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/33 "2012-03-04T17:25:15Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > This is the first Pit thread that ever made me fall asleep. Oh, come on now. Where else can you read about how “scammers and politicians” are able to “easily manipulate the naive” and “make money and get elected because the public is uneducated,” lectures about how others should “learn how to do the work” while opining that it is “[s]cary that so many do not even know simple high school physics,” and claims that those who actually know what they are talking about are “outright lying or lack…basic high school education”, all while the same poster making these outrageous comments is so jaw-droppingly ignorant and/or deluded with statements like “[y]our own numbers demonstrate that conservation of momentum does not exist.” :rolleyes: Oh, and don’t forget the part about how this can lead to “lies, propaganda, anger, miscommunication, myths, and even pagan religions.” 😕 While on the one hand it’s like watching a train wreck in action as well as being extremely irritating and frustrating to be lectured _ad infinitum_ by someone who has absolutely no clue what he is talking about, on the other hand much of this is pure comedy gold. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/34 "2012-03-04T20:03:22Z")
> [@JimboJamesJimmersonIII\_Esq](#): > > How does a person like that actually function in real life? That’s some amazing stubborness and stupidity. Well, as long he avoids crashing his car into something, his beliefs never get tested. ---
**Author:** ![florez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@florez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/florez)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/35 "2012-03-04T20:44:27Z")
I wonder how old he is, maybe he took one to many acid trips in the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/36 "2012-03-04T21:05:10Z")
In every transaction, ignorance might be lost. But not stupidity. It is conserved forever. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/37 "2012-03-06T20:07:56Z")
I’m voting troll. The combination of arrogance, insistence of falsity of basic principles, and intentional impugning the motives of the other respondents in the thread combined with political screeds embedded in the responses leads me to believe he’s just trying to be irritating. Seriously, arguing that Conservation of Momentum is bogus screams deliberate troll. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/38 "2012-03-06T20:31:21Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I would point out that “Scammers And Politicians” would make a capital username. No, SCAMMERS AND POLITICIANS would make a capital username. > [@Irishman](#): > > I’m voting troll. Yeah, the 2 party system stinks, but that’s kind of like throwing your vote away… ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/39 "2012-03-06T20:51:32Z")
> [@robby](#): > > You know, I think you’re right. I’ve wasted hours of my day on this today. :smack: I’m going to bed. You didn’t completely waste that time. I read a lot of that thread, you, and some others, explained things nicely and you knocked some of the rust off my physics. If you had included an example of two cars colliding on a moving treadmill the tale would have been awesome. Bloody hell, we’re in the pit. Piss, fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627/40 "2012-03-06T21:03:07Z")
I would like to see that discussion – two cars colliding on a giant treadmill. Supposing they were each driving at a speed slower than the treadmill. Would that be like one car backing away before the collision? Oh, yeah. Shit, piss. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westom-youre-either-an-idiot-or-insane/614627.md?page=3)