Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

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ChrisGreaves
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Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

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In the past seven days I have three times experienced something for which I do not know the word. Right now the closest I can come to it is “regret”; but that doesn’t do it justice.

Paul Dirac
Graham Farmelo on Paul Dirac (TVO.org “Big Ideas” 012289_48k.mp3); around the 45 minute mark, Graham says that Paul Dirac is buried in Tallahassee FLA. I was in Tallahassee earlier this year; ate lunch there. Paul Dirac featured prominently in physics lectures at the University of Western Australia 1964-66. I’d have gone and visited his grave if I’d known. Never knew the man, but fancy being so close to his DNA and not knowing it.
A missed opportunity.

Francis Crick
Matt Ridley writes in Eminent Lives “Francis Crick” (Atlas books) that in the early 90s Crick and his wife Odile bought a property in Borrego Springs; Crick died in 2004. I don’t know whether he is buried in Borrego Springs. In the early 90s I hopped a plane to San Diego and drove around the nearby deserts; I spent a night in the tiny town of Borrego Springs. It is so very similar to Southern Cross in the Yilgarn where I grew up. (For what it’s worth, San Diego and Perth are identical cities). I might have popped in to see Francis Crick, had I known.
Another missed opportunity.

Men who shaped America
Another Matt Ridley book. In which I read about Thomas Jefferson and his edict that the USA should be mapped. But where to choose the point of Origin? East Liverpool, as it turns out. Known as “The Point of Beginning” there is a small stone cairn that marks the absolute point of origin for the entire mapping of the United States of America and yes, I was there in June. Trouble is, I didn’t learn about it until last week.
Another missed opportunity.
Especially given my love of maps.

Ah me! Back to the books ...
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BobH
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Re: Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

Post by BobH »

Uh, Chris . . .

Although I appreciate the subject line reference to an ancestor of mine (actually there were three), I think your subject line meant to reference Thomas Jefferson. The latest Thomas in my family line was an American Revolutionary war veteran who fought at Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, and other battles in the Caroinas. He was the sixth generation of our family in the colonies and helped found the United States by opposing the British Crown (sorry, to all my friends in the UK).

There was also a Thomas Hutchins who was a governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th Century.

I cannot help with the correct term to describe your feelings. Sorry! Here is a pic of the East Liverpool obelisk marking the US point of origin:
640px-Beginning_Point_of_the_U.S._Public_Land_Survey_front.jpg
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John Gray
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Q

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Chris - I am available for visiting in my lifetime, if you wish!
John Gray

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

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BobH wrote:... I think your subject line meant to reference Thomas Jefferson.
Thanks Bob; originally I read about Thomas Jefferson deciding to have the survey made, so in my original article I used "Jefferson"; later on I learned that another Thomas was the actual/initial surveyor.
Sorry if I confused you.
P.S. If I didn't confuse you, then you have confused me! :grin:
Here is a pic of the East Liverpool obelisk marking the US point of origin:
Thanks a LOT pal! :grin: :grin:
About a week ago I went to street-view in Google Maps and "drove" past the marker, filled with memories of a (now) petty argument about whether we should hit the major highway and drop in on a big shopping mall, or just go back to the motel where I could have a cup of tea and finish off a few crosswords.
Kinda ended up with crosswords anyway ....
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BobH
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Re: Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

Post by BobH »

Sorry about the cross words, Chris. :innocent:

I had forgotten about Thomas Hutchins being the first and only official US Geographer. I'm going to have to look up his family history to see if we are descendants of the same Hutchins who came to America in 1634 into what was the Virginia Colony at the time. Descendants of that John Hutchins included one son name Thomas. Other sons also named their sons Thomas and John (and William, et al). My suspicion is that the geographer is a descendant of either the first generation born in America named Thomas or one of his brothers.

I am the 12th generation descendant of John Hutchins of Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, who emigrated aboard the Buenaventure to the Virginia Colony and was the first of the family in the Southern colonies. As I mentioned in the other post, there was a Thomas Hutchins who was one of the early governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Some suspect that the 2 men who were very early colonists were related in England, but I have no such evidence at hand.

Thanks for reminding me about the role that Thomas Hutchins played in surveying and mapping the US.
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Re: Q

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John Gray wrote:Chris - I am available for visiting in my lifetime, if you wish!
Well, John, I'll be in Europe the month after next ...
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AlanMiller
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Re: Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

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Dirac was a rather odd bloke, as I discovered reading "The Strangest Man".

"Why do you dance?" Dirac asked his companion. "When there are nice girls, it is a pleasure," Heisenberg replied. Dirac pondered this notion, then blurted out: "But, Heisenberg, how do you know beforehand that the girls are nice?"

After he presented a lecture at a conference, one colleague raised his hand and said "I don't understand the equation on the top-right-hand corner of the blackboard". After a long silence, the moderator asked Dirac if he wanted to answer the question, to which Dirac replied "That was not a question, it was a comment."

Alan

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

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AlanMiller wrote:..."Why do you dance?" ... "That was not a question, it was a comment."
Hi Alan. I remember both those quotes from the book I read (Matt Ridley?)
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AlanMiller
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Re: Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

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ChrisGreaves wrote:
AlanMiller wrote:..."Why do you dance?" ... "That was not a question, it was a comment."
Hi Alan. I remember both those quotes from the book I read (Matt Ridley?)
I think he also introduced his new wife to his cronies as one of his colleague's sister, rather than his new bride. When she asked him why he said that it was better information to which they could relate.

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

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AlanMiller wrote:I think he also introduced his new wife to his cronies as one of his colleague's sister, rather than his new bride. When she asked him why he said that it was better information to which they could relate.
Yup!
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AlanMiller
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Re: Paul Dirac, Francis Crick and Thomas Hutchins

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ChrisGreaves wrote:
AlanMiller wrote:I think he also introduced his new wife to his cronies as one of his colleague's sister, rather than his new bride. When she asked him why he said that it was better information to which they could relate.
Yup!
His mind was clearly wired "differently", which enabled him to think well outside the usual box. He seemed to be able to visualize, as entirely natural, things which others had to battle with as abstract in the extreme. Yet he struggled with the logic of dancing with a stranger.

Alan