The Big Bang Theory

The Zarnecki Incursion - S4-E19

Plot hole: If Howard can hack into Blizzard's database so deeply that he can get the name and address of game players, he could easily restore all of Sheldon's stolen 'items'. Hacking personal details - a player's real identity and their home address! - is hardcore, detailed work that only an expert could do, compared to which adding a few extra items to a player in the game would be child's play. Sheldon would not be concerned about a possible comeback from the administrators at Blizzard. First, Sheldon doesn't hack into the database, Howard does, and someone as pragmatic and self-centred as Sheldon would simply disclaim any responsibility. Second, hacking into another player's account to access highly sensitive personal information like their home address would risk incurring the same penalty from Blizzard anyway. Either Sheldon doesn't know that or he doesn't care. Third, his account has already been hacked when the virtual items were stolen. He could simply claim that Howard's hacking into his account was just more of the same - nothing to do with him. Fourth, Blizzard did not detect the hacker stealing Sheldon's virtual items, nor did they prevent it happening, and they did not detect Howard hacking into his account to obtain his name and address. Sheldon can rightly assume he has nothing to fear.

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Suggested correction: Hacking the database to return items to Sheldon's account would also be traceable to Sheldon's account as cheating. That would get him permabanned if discovered, not a risk Sheldon wants to take.

LorgSkyegon

First, Sheldon doesn't hack into the database, Howard does, and someone as pragmatic and self-centred as Sheldon would simply disclaim any responsibility. Second, hacking into another player's account to access highly sensitive personal information like their home address would risk incurring the same penalty from Blizzard anyway. Either Sheldon doesn't know that or he doesn't care. Besides, if Blizzard were aware that Howard had hacked into Sheldon's account, why weren't they aware that the person who stole the virtual items did?

Reading information from a server is easier than writing new data into it. You can steal a mass bulk of files and extract the information at a later time, whereas writing information in Sheldon's account would take much more precision.

The Pork Chop Indeterminacy - S1-E15

Character mistake: In his conversation with Missy Sheldon makes it clear that his superior intelligence is a result of a random, mutated gene. Since Missy isn't similarly intelligent she obviously isn't carrying this mutated gene (which would be a billion to one shot anyway) so her offspring wouldn't inherit it. Sheldon would know this - his offspring would carry the mutated gene for superior intelligence, Missy's would not. Anyone knowing enough about genetics to use the term 'randomly mutated gene' understands enough to know that the mutated gene would only be expressed in a direct line from the carrier - Sheldon. Also bear in mind he has a model of the DNA molecule in his living room - it is obviously an interest.

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Suggested correction: Genes can be dormant. Which allows them to skip generations. Therefor Missy's children could actually get the "mutated" gene. This is especially true since Sheldon and Missy are twins. Also, since the episode is about who out of Leonard, Howard or Raj, Sheldon would allow to "mate" with his sister, there is the added "insurance" of getting any smart genes from any of the 3 Lothario's mentioned above.

If you are going to try to argue with a geneticist about genetics, please use the correct terms. Sheldon is not referring to a recessive gene - there is no such thing as a dormant gene - he is speaking of a randomly mutated gene. Those are the words he used. If he had inherited a homozygous recessive karotype - one recessive gene from each of his parents - then somewhere in his family tree there would similarly gifted people, in which case he would use the correct term - a recessive gene. If Missy is a heterozygotic dominant karotype possessing the recessive gene for super-genius and the dominant for ordinary intelligence then mating her with Howard, Raj or Leonard would be a waste of time as their dominant genius gene would prevent the recessive super-genius gene from being expressed in the phenotype of the resulting child. The child would be highly intelligent but not on Sheldon's standards. It doesn't matter if Sheldon does not know any of this as he refers several times to a randomly mutated gene, not a recessive one. Missy does not carry the super-genius gene. The posting is correct.

Sheldon is prone to magical thinking when necessary to preserve his obsessive need to control his environment. He may have simply ignored the flaw in his reasoning, as even the most intelligent humans do when venturing outside their ares of expertise. He may be interested in the science of genetics, but his Ph.D. in physics doesn't qualify him as an expert in that field.

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Chosen answer: The song is called "Dark as a Dungeon" and was written and first performed by singer-songwriter Merle Travis in 1946. It has been performed by a wide array of artists, including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Harry Belafonte, Dolly Parton, Queens of the Stone Age, Kathy Mattea and Amy Grant. But it was made most famous when it was performed and recorded by Johnny Cash during his concert at Folsom Prison in 1968. According to Wikipedia: "It is a lament about the danger and drudgery of being a coal miner in an Appalachian shaft mine. It has become a rallying song among miners seeking improved working conditions."

Michael Albert

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