A colleague of Mrs V often comes out with "facts"
and refuses to accept reason and logic and evidence that they are false.

My favourite one was when he was insistent that ice won't melt if you microwave it. This rendered me speechless for a few seconds before I spewed forth a torrent of sweary gibberish.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Mar 2010, 16:59, 10 replies)

Practical
Why not just prove it to him with a practical demonstration?
(langers, Thu 18 Mar 2010, 17:04, closed)

because that would be stooping too low
if he can't grasp how wrong he is then I don't want anything to do with him.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Mar 2010, 17:06, closed)

Fair enough.
He'll prbably end up a Darwin award if he can't grasp basics like that.
(langers, Thu 18 Mar 2010, 17:08, closed)

Oi! Aristotle!
Aristotle thought you didn't need to conduct experiments, either. Look how long he was wrong for about what happens when you drop rocks over the sides of chariots.

Do you want to be like Aristotle?
(Honourable Member is upstanding, Fri 19 Mar 2010, 7:19, closed)

Aristotle
Is dead. Don't let the same happen to you by copying his mistakes.
(rich.cicatriz should be doing something more constructive on, Mon 22 Mar 2010, 19:27, closed)

That's actually not that far wrong, in its frozen state the water molecules will not resonate in the same way as loose water and heat up, if there is a little loose water in there with the ice that'll hasten the process quite a bit and that's usually how it works. It will melt, just not as well or nearly as quickly.
(Benzyl, Thu 18 Mar 2010, 21:18, closed)

^This^
Microwaves cannot melt ice. They can only heat any water on the ice, which goes on to melt the ice.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Fri 19 Mar 2010, 6:34, closed)

Nonetheless.....
the original statement is still wrong. If you put it into the microwave the ice would turn into a liquid, it's not relevant whether it's due to the action of radiation on the molecules in the ice or on any liquid water resulting in localised heating. The ice will still turn from a solid to a liquid. Old microwaves may even have a separate "defrost" setting. Yes indeed, bring out your pedants.
(tinypod will never learn. Ever., Fri 19 Mar 2010, 16:14, closed)

you've got it here
it's not easy to get the full detail. the guy was insistant that if you put it in a microwave and turned it that it would remain as ice. he didn't even seem to think that it would slowly melt of its own accord.

he very much wasn't saying that in the absence of liquid water that microwaves cannot melt ice.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Mon 22 Mar 2010, 13:59, closed)

This is dependant
on your reading of "microwave it", A fair reading would render it as heating it in a microwave oven, probably not exposing it to microwaves alone.

It could be that someone along the line conflated the two, thus leading to the comedy.
( Sextant goes to him is emotionally erect, on this day, Sun 21 Mar 2010, 2:48, closed)