Professor and Math Problem

[indago]

From The Associated Press 7 May 2016:
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An Ivy League professor said his flight was delayed because a fellow passenger thought the math equations he was writing might be a sign he was a terrorist. American Airlines confirms that the woman expressed suspicions about University of Pennsylvania economics professor Guido Menzio. ...Menzio said he was flying from Philadelphia to Syracuse on Thursday night and was solving a differential equation related to a speech he was set to give at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. He said the woman sitting next to him passed a note to a flight attendant and the plane headed back to the gate.
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article

[Elessar]

Stupid knee-jerk reaction from an ignorant person!

[indago]

Stupid knee-jerk reaction from an ignorant person!

Yes, a real nosy BusyBody...

[aboutime]

Stupid knee-jerk reaction from an ignorant person!

Nobody told any of us here that GABBY would be writing notes to Flight Attendants!

[indago]

Nobody told any of us here that GABBY would be writing notes to Flight Attendants!

You should talk...

[sundaydriver]

Hey Guido. Next time drizzle some Marinara sauce on your tie before boarding so they know your Italian.

[fj1200]

Stupid knee-jerk reaction from an ignorant person!

And if this is different from various Muslim folks getting tossed?

[Elessar]

And if this is different from various Muslim folks getting tossed?

Whether people like it or not, profiling individuals is an essential
security and law enforcement tool.

"If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it might
just be a duck".

Why possibly compromise the welfare of everyone in a flight when
someone fits the image of what is known to be a terrorist that will
blow the damn plane up and kill everyone?

That's the world we live in now. Inconvenience a few to protect
the many.

[Gunny]

Whether people like it or not, profiling individuals is an essential
security and law enforcement tool.

"If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it might
just be a duck".

Why possibly compromise the welfare of everyone in a flight when
someone fits the image of what is known to be a terrorist that will
blow the damn plane up and kill everyone?

That's the world we live in now. Inconvenience a few to protect
the many.

Have to agree. I profile everyone to include looking for weapons and their reach. You can't un-train me from that. I watch every one and every thing.

I've said this before ... people should think about what they are doing as others are going to perceive it. The whole ID thing. Who you think you are, who others perceive you as, and who you really are.

However, in fairness, this says as much about the ignorance of the accuser as it does the accused. It'd take some serious engineering to take over a plane with a pencil. And, I can tell the difference between a mathematical equation and a chemistry one. I've also got enough common sense to know my enemy. What's he going to do? Drop his tray table and build an explosive device with the parts he got through security? Jedi Mind Trick? These are not the tools and components you are looking for.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY. These Arab terrorists are NOT dumb. Not so sure about our civilian population though. That doesn't mean I think they are right. I just know first hand they ain't dumb.

[fj1200]

Whether people like it or not, profiling individuals is an essential
security and law enforcement tool.

"If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it might
just be a duck".

Why possibly compromise the welfare of everyone in a flight when
someone fits the image of what is known to be a terrorist that will
blow the damn plane up and kill everyone?

That's the world we live in now. Inconvenience a few to protect
the many.

So the only difference in some cases between ignorance and vigilance is the religion of the person in question? Seems rather simplistic.

[Gunny]

So the only difference in some cases between ignorance and vigilance is the religion of the person in question? Seems rather simplistic.

The difference is 9/11 and not-9/11. Islamic extremists don't care about the consequences of their actions as long as they kill someone. This is a consequence of 9/11. It's ruined flying for ALL of us.

Muslims have brought this on themselves because THEY haven't done a thing about it.

[fj1200]

The difference is 9/11 and not-9/11. Islamic extremists don't care about the consequences of their actions as long as they kill someone. This is a consequence of 9/11. It's ruined flying for ALL of us.

Muslims have brought this on themselves because THEY haven't done a thing about it.

As I said, simplistic. The outcome of that thinking is banning any and all Muslims from flying just because. Though it also explains quite a few threads around here.

[Gunny]

As I said, simplistic. The outcome of that thinking is banning any and all Muslims from flying just because. Though it also explains quite a few threads around here.

Then perhaps you can tell the simple people. The majority is suffering for the actions of the minority. I'd ban all Arab Muslims from entering this country was it me.

What it explains is Pearl Harbor, 9/11 ... let's pretend it's not there.

[Elessar]

So the only difference in some cases between ignorance and vigilance is the religion of the person in question? Seems rather simplistic.

I neither said nor inferred that. Not one word about
religion was in my statement.

Trying to put words in people's mouths again FJ?

Not all proclaimed Muslims are of Middle East descent.
Not all Roman Catholics are Italian or from Europe.
See the pattern of your assumption? Baseless!

[gabosaurus]

I'm sorry, people, but if you can't discern the difference between a math problem and Arabic, you are probably too stupid to be walking around in public.

There was a time back in my college days when I was on a plane back to SF. I was doing some homework in differential equations. The man sitting next to me kept looking at what I was doing. Instead of being a creep, he was a high school math teacher. He ended up helping me with my homework.