Re: dumb as a rock

[Marc F Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 12:24:06 GMT, nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston) wrote in
message  <432eac86.80762291@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

>It looks like technology is making a perfectly good insult obsolete.
>
>From an Article in The Christian Science Monitor...
>
><quote>
>Another modification to the built environment is the carbon fiber-reinforced
>concrete of Deborah Chung, a materials scientist at the State University of
>New York at Buffalo. By running an electrical current through concrete, Dr.
>Chung says, tiny deformations caused by minute pressures can be detected.
>"You can monitor room occupancy in real-time, controlling lighting,
>ventilation, and cooling in relation to how many people are there," says
>Chung.
></quote>
>
>     http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0915/p16s01-stss.html
>
>Other things she suggests elsewhere (Google using "Deborah Chung concrete")
>are weighing trucks as they pass by at highway speeds, monitoring
>roads/bridge surfaces, de-icing, etc. .
>

"Dumb as a rock"

Concrete is not a rock in a geologic sense so this doesn't pertain
_sensu_stricto_.

"Rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids"
           ^^^^^^^^
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_(geology)

or any basic geology or high school natural sciences text.

When a geology student picks up a piece of weirdly weathered concrete and asks
the prof what kind of rock it is with the hope of tripping her/him up, a good
answer is " A piece of insubordination".

FWIW, the electrical properties of concrete have been recognized as important
since at least the 1950's

...Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org