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} Ahh, yes -- the perennial question of rice. You are indeed priveleged,
} for the Oracle has decided to put a stop to such questions by imparting
} upon a mortal some as-yet undiscovered physics. And that mortal is you!
} This is a rare occurence -- it has happened only a few times this
} century (Einstein's question about being late for work, and Hawking's
} question about disappearing biros spring to mind) -- and thus it is
} your moral and spiritual obligation to investigate and publish these
} revelations for the benefit of all mankind.
}
} 1 Conservation of rice
} ----------------------------
} Rice exists in two distinct forms: Measured Rice (M-rice), and
} Estimated Rice (E-rice). Classically, these two satisfy a simple
} conservation equation -- at all times the total mass of M-rice and
} E-rice combined is a constant. The physical process of "cooking" (in
} all its forms -- at this level of discussion there is no distinction to
} be made between the effects of boiling, steaming and frying, although a
} relativistic formulation may require this) allows the transfer of rice
} between states.
}
} Thus M-rice obeys the law that the process of cooking will result in
} NO MORE THAN THE EXPECTED QUANTITY OF RICE BEING PRODUCED. E-rice obeys
} the converse law: NO LESS THAN THE EXPECTED QUANTITY OF RICE WILL
} RESULT. Therefor, people who go to the trouble of measuring rice
} exactly may end up with too little, and those who estimate the quantity
} required may end up with too much.
}
} Fortunately, both types of people (and, consequently, both types of
} rice) exist in abundance. This facilitates the free transfer between
} M-rice and E-rice through preparation, and the transfer of M-rice to
} E-rice through cooking.
}
} 2 Quantum Rice Transfer
} -----------------------------
} The sharp reader may have noticed a small problem above, vis. what
} happens if someone cooks some M-rice whilst no E-rice is being cooked?
} A quantum mechanical approach reveals the solution to this problem by
} allowing for "virtual rice" (V-rice) to exist in accordance with the
} uncertainty principle. For limited periods of time, the cooking of
} E-rice may result in rice increase without a corresponding rice
} decrease through the cooking of M-rice. The "rice deficit" thus
} produced must be made up through a subsequent M-rice cooking operation,
} within a time period governed by a corollory of Heisenberg's
} uncertainty principle.
}
} 3 Relativistic Rice Transfer
} ----------------------------------
} An astute analysis of the above may lead one to the conclusion that the
} transfer of M-rice in one location to E-rice in another through the
} cooking operation is instantaneous, and might thus be employed as
} a communications medium. This, of course, cannot be the case as such
} a process defies relativity. The propagation rate is finite, and is,
} of course, lower than the speed of light. Special relativity may be
} employed to draw some conclusions about rice transfer rate between
} similar cooking processes, however general relativity is required in
} order to obtain meaningful results for transfer between dissimilar
} processes (e.g. boiling and steaming).
}
} Well, that's a start for you -- there is plenty there to go on, and
} plenty more to provide material for further research. Best of luck with
} obtaining your grant!
}
} Oh, yes -- as for your original question, the answer is "it depends".
} Clearly, a cup of M-rice will easily fit into your regular-size bowl,
} however an estimated "cup" of E-rice, no matter how fine your
} judgement, will not.
}
} You owe the Oracle an autographed copy of your PhD thesis upon
} completion.
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