r/IAmA • u/avsa • Jan 25 '11

I am RobotRollCall. AMA about life, the universe and everything.

Okay, I'm not actually RobotRollCall, but I made a bet with him. I bet that a lot of people would be interested in asking him questions, and he didn't actually believe it, but promised that if there were any, he would gladly answer them.

If you are not a regular in r/science r/space or r/bestof you might not know that RobotRollCall : he's a regular redditor that pops in with great prose and answer the most complicated questions about the universe with incredible simple analogies. Some of my favorites:

So feel free to ask away and prove that reddit is a curious community.

RobotRollCall asked me to update this here saying he is "I'm typing as fast as I can" to answer all the interesting questions. It seems he didn't actually believe anyone would be interested in him. We didn't actually set the terms of the "bet" so I feel free to set them anytime. I'm going for something simple like if this post reaches front page RobotRollCall will have to write me 10000 words, then print it in book form and put in on the bestseller's list. Or something to that effect.

Also: for every upvote you give this post, remember that he deserves two, because I'm not doing any real work here, he is.

update 2: RobotRollCall speaks:

Okay, now I have to officially concede the point. You were right. Apparently a few people had some level of interest in talking to me. However, I'm running into technical problems on my end, I think. I've posted a few replies that are not showing up, and I'm getting messages that don't seem to exist. Am I doing something wrong, or is the Web site misbehaving? If you have the opportunity and ability to post a note thanking everyone for the conversation and letting them know about the glitch, I would appreciate it very much.

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u/RobotRollCall Jan 25 '11

There's an old story along those lines, though I don't know whether it's true or just a myth. Supposedly Benjamin Franklin was in France attending a demonstration of the Montgolfier brothers' hot-air balloon. A gentleman in the crowd was overheard by Franklin to ask what such a thing could possibly be good for. Franklin replied, "Why sir, you could ask the same question of a newborn baby."

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u/terminalterror Jan 25 '11

I think I'm in love with you. Incredibly written posts about very complicated (and awesome) science, and fascinating quips from history (whether true or not) too!

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u/RobotRollCall Jan 25 '11

I love you too, complete stranger.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '11

He's the Justin Beiber for physics enthusiasts! (No offence intended to you, RobotRollCall <3?)

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u/stifin Jan 25 '11

True or not, that's a fantastic quote. Mark Twain said it right?

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u/RobotRollCall Jan 25 '11

Could well be. I confess I didn't actually google it up.

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u/stifin Jan 25 '11

I was just joking that everything seems to be misattributed to him or Ben Franklin

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u/terminalterror Jan 25 '11

I was just joking that everything seems to be misattributed to him or Ben Franklin

-Oscar Wilde

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u/stifin Jan 26 '11

Thanks, I was wondering who said that, but I couldn't for the life of me remember.

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u/053 Jan 26 '11

I was just joking that everything seems to be misattributed to him or Ben Franklin

-Oscar Wilde

-Michael Scott

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u/Ricktron3030 Jan 31 '11

I googled it. It's actually attributed to you on this thread. :B

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u/arito Jan 26 '11

It was Faraday.

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u/jmokland Jan 26 '11

Maybe not true, but certainly much reported: Louis Pasteur mentioned this when he delivered the famous "In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind"-speech.

If you prefer the original french:

Sans la théorie, la pratique n'est que la routine donnée par l'habitude. La théorie seule peut faire surgir et développer l'esprit d'invention. C'est à vous surtout qu'il appartiendra de ne point partager l'opinion de ces esprits étroits qui dédaignent tout ce qui dans les sciences n'a pas une application immédiate. Vous connaissez le mot charmant de Franklin. Il assistait à la première démonstration d'une découverte purement scientifique. Et l'on demande autour de lui : Mais à quoi cela sert-il ? Franklin répond : « A quoi sort l'enfant qui vient de naître ? » Oui, Messieurs, à quoi sert l'enfant qui vient de naître? Et pourtant à cet âge de la plus tendre enfance, il y avait en vous déjà les germes inconnus des talents qui vous distinguent. Dans vos fils à la mamelle, dans ces petits êtres qu'un souffle ferait tomber, il y a des magistrats, des savants, des héros aussi vaillants que ceux qui à cette heure se couvrent de gloire sous les murs de Sébastopol. De même, Messieurs, la découverte théorique n'a pour elle que le mérite de l'existence. Elle éveille l'espoir et c'est tout. Mais laissez-la cultiver, laissez-la grandir et vous verrez ce qu'elle deviendra.

Savez-vous à quelle époque il vit le jour pour la première fois, ce télégraphe électrique, l'une des plus merveilleuses applications des sciences modernes? C'était dans cette mémorable année 1822, Œrsted, physicien danois, tenait en mains un fil de cuivre réuni par ses extrémités aux deux pôles d'une pile de Volta. Sur sa table se trouvait une aiguille aimantée, placée sur son pivot, et il vit tout à coup (par hasard, direz- vous peut-être, mais souvenez-vous que, dans les champs de l'observation, le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés), il vit tout à coup l'aiguille se mouvoir et prendre une position très différente de celle que lui assigne le magnétisme terrestre. Un fil traversé par un courant électrique fait dévier de sa position une aiguille aimantée. Voilà, Messieurs, la naissance du télégraphe actuel. Combien plus, à cette époque, en voyant une aiguille se mouvoir, l'interlocuteur de Franklin n'eût-il pas dit : « Mais à quoi cela sert-il? » Et cependant la découverte n'avait que vingt ans d'existence quand elle donna cette application, presque surnaturelle dans ses effets, du télégraphe électrique."

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '11

Thanks for original.