In a paper for a regional science competition, a 13-year-old schoolboy in Germany corrected NASA's calculations regarding the chances that Apophis, a "killer asteroid," could collide with earth. NASA's prediction for whether this asteroid would collide with Earth was only 1 in 450,000. The kid figured in the chances that a collision with a satellite in 2029 could alter its course, improving the chance of a collision with Earth to 1 in 450. NASA has since stated that the kid got it right.
Wonder if they sent him a job application as well.
Poor NASA, they've just had the worst press over the last few years. But I couldn't resist this one.
Enjoy statistical corrections, especially when they involve a cataclysmic event,
Bp
[image credit in linked article]
8 comments:
I feel guilty pointing out the typo...he 'owns' NASA..he doesn't 'pwn' them. Other than that, I must admit that reading about kids like this really emphasizes how f'ing lazy I was in school; always trying to squeak through on the bare minimum of required work has resulted in a deep-seeded feeling of inadequacy.
On the flip side, its nice to know that the entire world isn't made up of morons; there are still some incredibly bright people out there. Bravo.
no no....it is pwns.
a fine example of the correct usage in fact!
Yeah, gamer geek term Andrew -- from the Urban Dictionary:
PWN (verb)
1. An act of dominating an opponent.
2. Great, ingenious; applied to methods and objects.
Originally dates back to the days of WarCraft, when a map designer mispelled "Own" as "Pwn". What was originally supose to be "player has been owned." was "player has been pwned".
Pwn eventually grew from there and is now used throughout the online world, especially in online games.
1. "I pwn these guys on battlenet"
2. "This strategy pwns!" or "This game pwn."
Ps: Still working out that "squeaking by" mentality as an old geezer student -- weird how this stuff gets wired in.
omgz, that dude just totally pwn'd teh nasa dewds!!!1111!!1
Dood, srsly
I'm in ur base, recalculating ur orbital trajectories!11!!
all your maths are mine
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