Reply to post: Re: re: Welcome to the information age!

A floppy filled with software worth thousands of francs: Techie can't take it, customs won't keep it. What to do?

Potty Professor
Boffin

Re: re: Welcome to the information age!

I was put on the watch list at school when I was 11 as well. Just before I was due to take my 11+ exam, our teacher, Mr. Isbester, turned up in class with a brightly painted coffee can, the type where the lid slides snugly over the outside of the body of the can. He proceeded to empty a similarly brightly coloured ball of string out onto the desk, and picked it up by one end so that it unravelled to touch the floor. It was coloured with alternate red, white, and blue sections, 22 of them in all, and it was about the same length as he was tall (about 5'6") He carefully selected one of the white segments and showed us that it was exactly the same length as the diameter of the can, and so were all the others. He then wrapped two turns of the string around the can and held the can up horizontally, so that the string dangled down on either side. He then asked the class how many times we thought that the string would wrap around the can, guesses ranged from "about 10" to "about 15". I stuck my hand up and said "Exactly seven". Izzy gave me a hard stare (a la Paddington) and said "What makes you say that?" I explained that, as there were 22 segments on the string, and using the approximate value of Pi, that meant it would fit around the can 7 times. "Who told you about Pi?" I replied that my father had explained it to me, to which Izzy said "We can't have dads teaching you lot stuff like that, I expect he'll be after my job next". I said I didn't think so, he is perfectly happy where he is. "And where is that?" "University College, London" I replied. Izzy shrugged and said "Well, I suppose I'd better finish the experiment", and counted the turns as he wound them on. "There you are, Professor Purvis, you are absolutely right, but don't let that go to your head." From then on, I was known as "Prof.", a nickname I carried right through my school years and on through College and Polytechnic, until I finished with an MSc.

Izzy adopted a catchphrase from the then new Sooty and Sweep show on the television. Whenever he showed us something interesting, he would dress it up as a magic trick by waving his hands over it and saying "Izzy, Whizzy, Let's get Busy". We soon modified that catchphrase to be "Izzy Whizzy keeps us busy".

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon