CaseFail

[Flipside Week] The internet as a source of truth

Did you enjoy the week of alternative opinions? Some of them are logical fallacies, many are incomplete truth such that if you know the entire picture, the current practices will be explained. It is all troll logic, so don't message me about your intellectual superiority.

But it gets you thinking. Why are some things done some way. It need not always follow logic, or more specifically, layman's logic. Common sense differs between people with different amounts of knowledge. What is logical to a child may not be logical to a scientist.

I decided to finish up the week with a big topic that affects all of us: the internet.

[Flipside Week] A government that keeps quarreling and gets nothing done is bad?

An argument against too much opposition in the government is that people will quarrel the whole day and get nothing done.

Taiwan and USA are cited as examples.

But, is getting nothing done bad?

[Flipside Week] People who get sexposed the most are the ones who get elected

[Flipside Week] Strong national currency is bad? Yea rite.

A strong currency is said to hurt the nation's competitiveness. The reason given is that the exports are now more expensive to other countries.

So there will be less demand for the nation's exports. So less jobs for the people.

Is that a bad thing?

[Flipside Week] Are you really being smart?

People in some jobs, some majors, we consider them smart.

But, are they really being smart?

[Flipside Week] Another view of what the Earth thinks about us

[Flipside Week] School exams grades are not useless for measuring the capabilities of employees

[Flipside Week] Being retrenched is good

Welcome to Flipside Week!

Flipside week is another of my themed weeks. This time, I will be looking at things from a different angle and giving interpretations that are opposite of the norm, yet still makes logical sense. This begs the question - by how much have our beliefs been shaped by the common view of others, instead of logic.

So here is the first one -

Truth hurts

That's why scams based on the target's beliefs work.

[Audio] Why good engineering never wins

Engineering is not just about building something - a monkey can do that

Building something that performs well.

And building the best while working within limits.

And cost is always one of the limits.

If a product of a specific performance is required, a well-designed product would be cheaper for the same performance.

Cheap parts can be used to achieve same or better performance than a design using expensive parts.

This translate to lower costs. And if the market is perfectly competitive, lower prices. Consumers are happy. Designers incapable of reducing the cost die off.

This is practiced almost everywhere.

But, when it comes to audiophile equipment, things can be different.

An amplifier with NE5532 and electrolytic caps for output, versus an amplifier with (insert discrete op-amp here) and PIO caps for output, which one would you think performs better?

Majority of fanatics would choose the latter.

Even though it may not be. Remember that engineering is about building the best for the least.

Or heck, say the two amps perform identically, but one uses cheaper parts through good design, the other uses a design from the 80's. The cheaper parts one is priced cheaper while the more expensive one is priced more expensive.

Which would people think performs better?

More expensive, more expensive parts, no doubt.

Even if the well-designed one is priced the same, people will look at it, and go for the more expensive-looking one. And then claim it is value-for-money because of the more expensive parts for the same price.

So a well-designed product is being penalized for being cost-effective.

And that is why people pay so much for wood.

Taiyo Yuden YUDEN000 T02 DVD+R: Surviving fine after five years

So my PC's soundcard is less noisy when the CPU is under load? - An investigation on computer activity and audio noise

A while back I discovered that my laptop's onboard audio's RMAA-measured performance was better when the CPU was under load. However I could not reproduce it on my desktop (it is still completely reproducible on the laptop) so I took it as a one-time affair and let it rest.

I was reminded of this topic again, with all those low-power CPUs, minimalistic OS builds, and SSDs, as well as linear power supplies and power filters for HDDs and fans running around. But this time, I can measure down to -120dB.

Repairing a Yamaha keyboard

So my family's keyboard had a few keys that didn't make sound when pressed. It is not a good keyboard in the first place (though it did accompany me or mostly my bro to various performances and competitions) and very old (>10 years), so I didn't want to repair it. But my mom was asking me to.

So on a free day, I took it apart to try my luck.

Whistling away at 600rpm...

Back to being silentpcreview.com-approved.

I had to do some things to the HD5670 to achieve this though:

 

HD5670, 92mm fan edition.

And then undervolt the HD5670 to 1.0V @ 700MHz. The HD4770 could do 0.9V @ 675MHz.

Quote of the day:

"In science, contrary evidence causes one to question a theory. In religion, contrary evidence causes one to question the evidence." --Floyd Toole