Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3
#69461 05/12/02 03:39 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear FF: that URL required leading a single line a mile long. I found another URL about a Phi Beta Kappa address, which gave the same attribution to Steinmetz:


But, how do we value our engineers? This anecdote, which some of you know, may shed
some light on that question. Legend has it that long after Charles Steinmetz retired from GE
he got a panicky request from a GE employee to come fix what was wrong with a complex
system of machines that had broken down. Steinmetz agreed and came to the facility. He
walked around testing the various machines, and then took a piece of chalk out of his pocket
and marked an 'x' on a specific spot on one particular machine. The GE people took that
machine apart and found that the defect lay exactly beneath Steinmetz' 'x.'

Shortly after that, GE received a bill for $10, 000 for services rendered. Management
protested the amount and asked for an itemization. Steinmetz' bill read as follows:
Making one chalk mark -- $1; knowing where to make it -- $9, 999.



#69462 05/13/02 06:39 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
Offline
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526

Thanks for alerting me to that.


I related this story to my oldest daughter some years ago and told her that that is why she's going to school - so she'll know where to make the X.



k



#69463 05/13/02 08:22 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Perhaps the most influential person of the twentieth century was Karol Wojtyla, also known as John Paul II. My argument for his inclusion on the list is that of all those who opposed Communism, if JP II had not existed, Communism would still be the controlling system in the Soviet Union.

It is of course inappropriate to say that he defeated Communism single-handedly, but ...



TEd
#69464 05/18/02 12:14 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
A
addict
Offline
addict
A
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
Noah Webster

1758 ~ 1843

About as word related as they come! And having been in the home he grew up in, I feel a special bond.


#69465 05/18/02 12:17 AM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 200
A
enthusiast
OP Offline
enthusiast
A
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 200
The Influentials: Noah Webster

Lovely! I asked for ideas, and in flew Angel's.




#69466 05/18/02 04:28 AM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 148
A
member
Offline
member
A
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 148
Sorry if it looks like I'm picking nits, but having just finished a fascinating book called The Calendar , which encompasses the mathematics necessary for calendrical reform as well as the calendar itself, I feel I must correct TheFallibleFiend. Fibonacci did not 'introduce' Hindu-Arabic numerals into the west. From said book:

"The first Hindu numbers known to have been scrawled on a European manuscript appeared in northern Spain in 976 and used the 'western' Arabic form of the numbers...Twenty years later, in the 990s, Gerbert of Aurillac taught the Hindu numbers to his students, undoubtedly picking them up after a stint in Spain... Mention of the numbers all but disappeared for another century until the Englishman Robert of Chester (c.1100) visited Spain..." etc etc, Euros reluctant to use this magical-looking symbols...

Anyway. The book is by David Ewing Duncan, and I highly recommend it for being easy to read... and Fiend, sorry again if I appear to be acting lofty

alexis


#69467 05/18/02 11:59 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Sorry if it looks like I'm picking nits

For something as important as correctly attributing the introduction of Hindu-Arabic numerals to western "civilization" I grant you unlimited nit-picking rights, alexis.


#69468 05/18/02 02:19 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Replace Enrico Caruso with Nadia Boulanger.

Replace Princess Diana with John Wayne.



#69469 05/18/02 05:38 PM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
M
old hand
Offline
old hand
M
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
Shoot muzak, I wanted to be the one to replace Princess Di.
And you know darn well that I can't replace John Wayne.
Oh well...

KING JAMES THE FIRST to replace MACHIAVELLI THE DARK PRINCE

The King James version of the Christian Bible directed and
influenced the expantion of the redeaming values of western culture more so than other any controlling mechanism or impetus. Thank you King James.

(By-the-way musick, just between me and you, you put that Boulanger chick in there just to be politically correct, didn't you?) - mw


#69470 05/18/02 05:56 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
...just to be politically correct... Moi? Shirley, you jest... at least there was a after that!

Nadia Boulanger also had quite an impression on Quincy Jones (who, also, could replace Enrico Caruso in a heartbeat)!


Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo
9,187 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 332 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,713
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,931
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5