Difference between revisions of "Blivet" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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[[Category:Psychology]]
 
[[Category:Psychology]]
  
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[[Image:blivet.svg|thumb|200px|right|This blivet is reminiscent of an [[M.C. Escher]] print—it portrays two irreconciliable [[Perspective (visual)|perspective]]s at once, creating a "lost" layer between the top two rods, and an impossible extra, vanishing rod in between the bottom two.]]
 
  
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A '''blivet''', also known as a '''poiuyt''', is an undecipherable figure, an [[optical illusion]] and an [[impossible object]]. It appears to have three cylindrical prongs at one end which then mysteriously transform into two rectangular prongs at the other end.
 
  
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The artist [[M.C. Escher]] was famous for utilizing this object in many of his drawings, [[Lithography|lithographs]], [[woodcut]]s and many such other media.
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A '''blivet''', also known as an "'impossible fork'", is an [[optical illusion]] and an [[impossible object]]. It appears to have three cylindrical prongs at one end which then mysteriously transform into two rectangular prongs at the other end. Often, upon first glance, the blivet looks entirely possible, but upon closer inspection quickly becomes undecipherable.
  
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Blivet has numerous other meanings, explained below.
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==Discovery==
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The blivet is often cited as having various origins. Many claim that it originated as an illustration on the cover of the March 1965 issue of [[Mad Magazine]], who had bought the illustration rights from a contributer who claimed the illustration was original. It was later discovered that the figure had been previously published in several aviation, engineering, and science-fiction periodicals during May and June of the previous year. Also in 1964, D.H. Schuster published the figure in an article for the ''American Journal of Psychology'', leading many to refer to the figure as a "Schuster Fork".<ref>[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/I/impossible_trident.html "Impossible Fork"] The Internet Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved September 20, 2007.</ref> Some erroneously refer to artist [[M.C. Escher]] when discussing the origins of the blivet; this is most likely due to the fact that Escher is famous for works that contain similar optical illusions.
  
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==Paradoxical graphic figure==
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==Description==
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[[Image:Blivet.jpg|thumb|left|200 px|The Blivet - an impossible object]]
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[[Image:blivet.svg|thumb|200px|right|The blivet portrays two irreconcilable [[Perspective (visual)|perspective]]s at once, creating a "lost" layer between the top two rods, and an impossible extra, vanishing rod in between the bottom two.]]
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In its most common usage, the blivet is an undecipherable figure. It appeared on the March 1965 cover of ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' magazine, where it was dubbed the "poiuyt" (the last six letters on the top row of the [[typewriter]] keyboard, right to left), and has appeared numerous times since then. An anonymously-contributed version described as a "hole location gauge" was printed in the June 1964 issue of ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact]]'', with the comment that "this outrageous piece of draftsmanship evidently escaped from the Finagle & Diddle Engineering Works."
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The blivet is a two-dimensional drawing of what looks, at first glance, to be a three-dimensional object. As one looks closer, one realized that there are problems with this apparent object. When looking at one side, the object appears to have two prongs, but at the opposite side there are three.  
  
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The object is commonly depicted with two similarly impossible objects - the [[Rectabular Excrusion Bracket]] and the [[Ambihelical Hexnut]]; in such a grouping, this object is usually labeled a "Trichotometric Indicator Support".{{fact|date=July 2007}}
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==Explanation==
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The blivet makes clever use of [[visual perspective]] to create the illusion. Lines that extend from one side are joined together at the opposite end to create the prongs. The longer the drawing of the fork is and the further away from each other the two sides are, the more convincing the illusion becomes.  
  
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==Military usage==
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==Applications==
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The blivet is one of the most popular and repeated [[impossible figures]]. Numerous variations and illustrations have been made using the figure; some have even manipulated actual images to create impossible forks in real life buildings. The blivet is often grouped with other impossible figures, such as the [[impossible cube]] or [[Penrose triangle]] to add to the sense of visual ambiguity. The blivet is often used to amuse, entertain, and fascinate the viewer.
  
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In traditional [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] slang dating back to the [[World War II|Second World War]], a blivet was defined as "ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag" (a proverbial description of anything egregiously ugly or unmanageable); it was applied to an unmanageable situation, a crucial but substandard or damaged tool, or a self-important person. In [[Cormac McCarthy]]'s ''[[All the Pretty Horses]]'', Rawlins defines a blivet as "10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag." During the [[Vietnam War|Vietnam conflict]], a heavy rubber bladder in which [[aviation fuel]] or POL (petroleum, oil, and lubricants) was transported was known as a blivet, as was anything which, once unpacked, could not be replaced in its container. The usage of blivet for a fuel container is still current. A recent request for quotation for materials for a "fuel point" in Afghanistan includes a line item for "10 50,000 gal. blivets".{{fact|date=September 2007}}
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==Additional Meanings of the Term==
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In addition to describing the impossible trident, the term "blivet" has a number of alternate meanings. During World War II, it allegedly became used to mean "ten pounds of manure in a five-pound bag" (a proverbial description of anything egregiously ugly or unmanageable); it was applied to an unmanageable situation, a crucial but substandard or damaged tool, or a self-important person. . The term also has a number of meanings within the field of computer engineering, such as "a crucial piece of hardware that can't be fixed or replaced if it breaks", and "an embarrassing software bug that pops up during a customer demo", among others. The term is also used by experimental physicists and hardware engineers to refer to any random object of unknown purpose.<ref>[http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/B/blivet.html "Blivet"] Retrieved September 20, 2007.</ref>
  
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In various [[United States Air Force]] communities (e.g. [[Strategic Air Command]]), blivet may have referred to what are euphemistically called "[[nuclear weapons|Special Weapons]]" whose presence are officially neither confirmed nor denied. Usage apparently derived from the original [[cavalry]] definition.
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"Blivet" is also defined to mean a collapsible rubberized bladder that is used to carry fuel or water in battle. It can also be used to refer to something pointless or annoying, a difficult problem, or something whose name is difficult to remember.<ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861728507/blivet.html "Blivet"] 2007. Encarta World English Dictionary. Microsoft. Retrieved September 29, 2007.</ref>
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In some areas of the U.S., it refers to a juvenile prank, clearly connected with the original military usage: a sack full of excrement is ignited on the victim's porch, while the pranksters ring the doorbell and run. The victim attempts to put the flames out by stamping on the bag. This may also be related to the term's claimed use as military slang for a [[land mine]], not well-documented.
 
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==Technological usage==
 
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Among [[Programmer|computer programmers]], a blivet refers to any embarrassing glitch that pops up during a customer demonstration. Among computer security specialists, it can refer to a [[denial-of-service attack]] performed by monopolizing limited resources that have no access controls (for example, shared [[Spooling|spool]] space on a multi-user system). There are other meanings in other technical cultures; among experimental physicists and hardware engineers it may designate any random object of unknown purpose (similar to hackers' use of [[frob]]).
 
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Early versions of [[Adobe Photoshop]] used a blivet on the [[plugin]] [[icon (computing)|icon]].
 
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=="Placeholder" usage==
 
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The word blivet is sometimes used as a [[Placeholder name|cadigan]]. In [[economics]], the term may be used (like "[[widget]]") for some hypothetical product. Butler Manufacturing Services Ltd, in [[Longford]], [[Ireland]], has used the trade name "BMS Blivet" for over 15 years for their compact "all in one" sewage treatment plant.
 
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==Common Southern usage==
 
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"Blivet" is often used in the Southern United States as a self-descriptor when one has failed to adhere to a healthy and reasonably nutritious eating plan (e.g., "I feel like a stuffed blivet."). The origin of this usage cannot be determined, but dates back certainly to the 1940s in the northern Alabama hill country{{fact|date=May 2007}}.
 
  
 
==Alternative names==
 
==Alternative names==
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*Devil's tuning fork
 
*Devil's tuning fork
 
*Hole location gauge
 
*Hole location gauge
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*Mark III blivet
 
 
*Poiuyt
 
*Poiuyt
 
*Three-legged widget
 
*Three-legged widget
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*Trichotometric indicator support
 
*Trichotometric indicator support
 
*Two-pronged trident
 
*Two-pronged trident
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*The Impossible Magnet{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
 
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*[[Widget]]
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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* [http://www.petester.com/html/VNPICS056.html Photograph of fuel blivets]
 
* [http://www.petester.com/html/VNPICS056.html Photograph of fuel blivets]
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*[http://www.geocities.com/omegaman_uk/percept.html Blueprint of a blivet labelled "Trichotometric Indicator Support"]
  
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==Notes==
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<references/>
  
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==References==
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*Ernst, Bruno. "Impossible Worlds: Adventures With Impossible Objects / Optical Illusions" September 2006. Evergreen. ISBN 3822854107
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*Marraffa, Massimo, Mario De Caro, and Francesco Ferretti. "Cartographies of the Mind: Philosophy and Psychology in Intersection (Studies in Brain and Mind)" February 2007. Springer. ISBN 1402054432
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*Salomon, David. "Transformations and Projections in Computer Graphics" August, 2006. Springer. ISBN 1846283922
  
  
 
{{Credits|Blivet|155869786|}}
 
{{Credits|Blivet|155869786|}}

Revision as of 14:57, 21 September 2007



A blivet, also known as an "'impossible fork'", is an optical illusion and an impossible object. It appears to have three cylindrical prongs at one end which then mysteriously transform into two rectangular prongs at the other end. Often, upon first glance, the blivet looks entirely possible, but upon closer inspection quickly becomes undecipherable.

Discovery

The blivet is often cited as having various origins. Many claim that it originated as an illustration on the cover of the March 1965 issue of Mad Magazine, who had bought the illustration rights from a contributer who claimed the illustration was original. It was later discovered that the figure had been previously published in several aviation, engineering, and science-fiction periodicals during May and June of the previous year. Also in 1964, D.H. Schuster published the figure in an article for the American Journal of Psychology, leading many to refer to the figure as a "Schuster Fork".[1] Some erroneously refer to artist M.C. Escher when discussing the origins of the blivet; this is most likely due to the fact that Escher is famous for works that contain similar optical illusions.

Description

The blivet portrays two irreconcilable perspectives at once, creating a "lost" layer between the top two rods, and an impossible extra, vanishing rod in between the bottom two.

The blivet is a two-dimensional drawing of what looks, at first glance, to be a three-dimensional object. As one looks closer, one realized that there are problems with this apparent object. When looking at one side, the object appears to have two prongs, but at the opposite side there are three.

Explanation

The blivet makes clever use of visual perspective to create the illusion. Lines that extend from one side are joined together at the opposite end to create the prongs. The longer the drawing of the fork is and the further away from each other the two sides are, the more convincing the illusion becomes.

Applications

The blivet is one of the most popular and repeated impossible figures. Numerous variations and illustrations have been made using the figure; some have even manipulated actual images to create impossible forks in real life buildings. The blivet is often grouped with other impossible figures, such as the impossible cube or Penrose triangle to add to the sense of visual ambiguity. The blivet is often used to amuse, entertain, and fascinate the viewer.

Additional Meanings of the Term

In addition to describing the impossible trident, the term "blivet" has a number of alternate meanings. During World War II, it allegedly became used to mean "ten pounds of manure in a five-pound bag" (a proverbial description of anything egregiously ugly or unmanageable); it was applied to an unmanageable situation, a crucial but substandard or damaged tool, or a self-important person. . The term also has a number of meanings within the field of computer engineering, such as "a crucial piece of hardware that can't be fixed or replaced if it breaks", and "an embarrassing software bug that pops up during a customer demo", among others. The term is also used by experimental physicists and hardware engineers to refer to any random object of unknown purpose.[2]

"Blivet" is also defined to mean a collapsible rubberized bladder that is used to carry fuel or water in battle. It can also be used to refer to something pointless or annoying, a difficult problem, or something whose name is difficult to remember.[3]

Alternative names

  • Ambiguous trident
  • Devil's pitchfork
  • Devil's tuning fork
  • Hole location gauge
  • Poiuyt
  • Three-legged widget
  • Three pronged blivet
  • Trichotometric indicator support
  • Two-pronged trident

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ "Impossible Fork" The Internet Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Blivet" Retrieved September 20, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Blivet" 2007. Encarta World English Dictionary. Microsoft. Retrieved September 29, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Ernst, Bruno. "Impossible Worlds: Adventures With Impossible Objects / Optical Illusions" September 2006. Evergreen. ISBN 3822854107
  • Marraffa, Massimo, Mario De Caro, and Francesco Ferretti. "Cartographies of the Mind: Philosophy and Psychology in Intersection (Studies in Brain and Mind)" February 2007. Springer. ISBN 1402054432
  • Salomon, David. "Transformations and Projections in Computer Graphics" August, 2006. Springer. ISBN 1846283922


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