Brewster's Factor - was :Trouble running programs

[Bernard Yue]

Laura Creighton wrote:

> > Bernard Yue's sig is:
> >
> > There are three schools of magic.  One:  State a tautology, then ring
> > the changes on its corollaries; that's philosophy.  Two:  Record many
> > facts.  Try to find a pattern.  Then make a wrong guess at the next
> > fact; that's science.  Three:  Be aware that you live in a malevolent
> > Universe controlled by Murphy's Law, sometimes offset by Brewster's
> > Factor; that's engineering.
> >
> > So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in
> > praise of intelligence.
> >                 -- Bertrand Russell
>
> I wanted to know what Brewster's Factor was.  I found out that the first
> part of the quote -- the bit that ends with Engineering should be
> attributed to Robert A. Heinlein (from The Number of the Beast).

Number of the Beast!!!  Read the book but don't remember the quote <sigh>!!
Thanks for the correction.

> But the only Brewster Factors I can find have to do with polarised light,
> or English Chrisitian Revivalist Victorian political parties, neither
> of which I suspect is what I am looking for.  Any ideas?

Laura, I believe you found what you have looking for.  I think in the quote
Brewster Factor is refering to Brewster Law.  Which states that
non-polarized light will be reflected as polarized light (a special case in
reflection) and reflected and refracted light will be in right angle.  I see
this as an analogy to Engineering, in which a system only works under
certain conditions (Brewster Angle) and failed to function otherwise
(Murphy's Law).  Robert A. Heinlein should be able to another the question,
but we are nearly 14 years too late.

>
> Laura Creighton

I love this newsgroup.


Bernie
--
There are three schools of magic.  One:  State a tautology, then ring
the changes on its corollaries; that's philosophy.  Two:  Record many
facts.  Try to find a pattern.  Then make a wrong guess at the next
fact; that's science.  Three:  Be aware that you live in a malevolent
Universe controlled by Murphy's Law, sometimes offset by Brewster's
Factor; that's engineering.
                                -- Robert A. Heinlein