Yesterday I broke a tooth.
Yes. Ouch!
Not that that is an event limited to engineers, certainly. Nor is the piercing pain I experienced as a result.
But then I found myself trying to describe (to myself) the pain as resonating, and I found myself particularly intolerant to the whines and buzzes of the various pieces of machinery around the lab, and so I postulated a theory and constructed a small DOE to test its validity.
And so I found myself wandering around various parts of the lab, lingering at individual spots, and estimating the position on the pain scale. I exited the lab, separated by a double set of doors from the noise, and noted the response. I pressed hands and objects against the cheek and jaw, and again noted the response.
And came to the conclusion that my theory was valid; that in fact one of the frequencies (possibly the 18KHz) was resonating through the bone and the exposed nerve endings, and aggravating the pain.
::
For those who just need to know: Yes, the dentist said it would need to come out. However, I need to go back for the extraction - this visit after all was only an evaluation, you know.
Comments (6)
You do realize that now I am starting to doubt the sanity of becoming an engineer!
I attempt to IGNORE pain, if at all possible, not that I am good at it, but I do try.
Unfortunately, with your amazing powers over words and imagery - I now not only FEEL your pain, I can also SEE your pain! Thanks, I needed that!!
Posted by nini | April 12, 2005 4:19 PM
Posted on April 12, 2005 16:19
Oh, ouch. Hope the offending tooth is banished soon and you are sanspain.
Posted by Mary | April 13, 2005 5:19 AM
Posted on April 13, 2005 05:19
you'll need to select your dentists more carefully. ask them if they are also qualified sound engineers next time.
Posted by briggy | April 13, 2005 9:27 AM
Posted on April 13, 2005 09:27
Wow - that has got to be one of The Nerdiest stories ever. I love it! Now stay away from those 18KHz frequencies. ;-)
Posted by Mush | April 14, 2005 9:23 AM
Posted on April 14, 2005 09:23
Hope you get feeling better soon Teeth can be a pain in the ass sometimes (especially when you get bitten in the ass badum pum ching)
Posted by blueskelton | April 14, 2005 5:25 PM
Posted on April 14, 2005 17:25
Yes, you are certainly an engineer. Nice work identifying the resonant frequency. Now that you have an opportunity to go home and work on this before reappearing for the next step, you need to devise a counterweight or other addition to clamp onto the device which damps out that particular harmonic.
Posted by Chrysalis | April 15, 2005 9:02 AM
Posted on April 15, 2005 09:02