[Amps] setting the grid adrift

[Tom W8JI]

>> Why? Why do you think a Ham staring at an amplifier panel
>> would understand the statistics of making a mod over a 
>> large
>> scale field sample?
>
> Because if 1000 hams make that same mod and they all think
> it was worth the effort then either 1) they are under mass
> dilusion, or 2) something about it worked.

First, how do you know 1000 people did that mod?

Second,  millions of things are sold every year that do 
absolutely nothing. Look at the New Age things.

Third, it can easily be demonstrated in controlled tests it 
does no good at all.

>You could
> make the argument that the amps they modified were crappy
> to begin with... well ok, maybe now they are less crappy.

Or maybe even slightly more crappy.

> Now, if you and I are unable to imagine an explanation for 
> why
> it works, that hardly seems to be their fault.

There really is no imagination to it. It's all very simple 
basic physics and basic electronics. The imagination comes 
from imagining it does something useful and not being able 
to prove it other than through raw emotion.  It's a lot like 
telling my wife numerology and the $5000 a year she spends 
on new age science things like red light threapy for weight 
loss and helth doesn't work.

>You get to one
> of those, "scientist insist bumble bees cannot fly" type 
> of
> situations.  That just makes the scientists look foolish, 
> the bees
> don't care.

You might  find this link educational:

http://www.paghat.com/beeflight.html

There isn't any scientfic principle at all that says bees 
can't fly, but it does indicate something. People who use 
that line are generally less able to reason through complex 
problems.

Notice in the "bee's can't fly" story on the link one person 
initially misrepresented a very simple basic principle, and 
from that single point we now have the urban myth bees can't 
fly.

The parallel in this thread is the resistor fuses all come 
from one clearly defined point source, who never even 
properly read the schematic of an amplifier he was using as 
an example. I would expect a certain percentage of people to 
not be able to grasp the facts, and think the theory was 
correct, just like I expect a certain number of people to 
believe in Tarot Cards and Ouija Boards.

73 Tom