ratio of word probabilities predicted from brain for desk and chisel

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desk

chisel

top 10 words in brain distribution (in article):
wood build wall design structure size surface frame type form
top 10 words in brain distribution (in article):
type design form allow term time common require hold material
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article):
material paint construction window floor tree door roof plastic concrete
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article):
wear horse woman clothe century saddle dress fashion key lock
times more probable under desk 30 20 10 6 4 2.5 1.25 1 1.25 2.5 4 6 10 20 30 times more probable under chisel
(words not in the model)
A desk'" is a furniture form and a class of table often used in a work or office setting for reading or writing on or using a computer. Desks often have one or more drawers to store office supplies and papers. Unlike a regular table, usually only one side of a desk is suitable to sit on (though there are some unusual exceptions, such as a partners desk). Not all desks have the form of a table. For instance, an Armoire desk is a desk built within a large wardrobe-like cabinet, and a portable desk is light enough to be placed on a person's lap. Early desks. Desk-style furniture appears not to have been used in classical antiquity or in other ancient centers of civilization in the Middle East or Far East, but there is no specific proof. Medieval illustrations show the first pieces of furniture which seem to have been designed and constructed for reading and writing. Before the invention of the movable type printing press in the 15th century, any reader was potentially a writer or publisher or both, since any book or other document had to be copied by hand. The desks were designed with slots and hooks for bookmarks and for writing implements. Since manuscript volumes were sometimes large, and heavy, desks of the period usually had massive structures. Desks of the Renaissance and later eras had relatively slimmer structures, and more and more drawers as woodworking became more precise and cabinet-making became a distinct trade. It is often possible to find out if a table or other piece of furniture of those times was designed to be used as a desk by looking for a drawer with three small separations (one each for the ink pot, the blotter and the powder tray) and room for the pens. The desk forms we are familiar with in this beginning of the millennium were born mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. The ergonomic desk of the last decades is the newest addition to a long list of desk forms, but in a way it is only a refinement of the mechanically complex drawing table or drafting table of the end of the 18th century. Industrial era. Refinements to those first desk forms were considerable through the 19th century, as steam-driven machinery made cheap wood-based paper possible in the last periods of the first phase of the industrial revolution. This produced a boom in the number of, or some might say the birth of, the white-collar worker. As these office workers grew in number, desks were mass-produced for them in large quantities, using newer, steam-driven woodworking machinery. This was the first sharp division in desk manufacturing. From then on, limited quantities of finely crafted desks have been constructed by master cabinetmakers for the homes and offices of the rich while the vast majority of desks were assembled rapidly by unskilled labor, from components turned out in batches by machine tools. Thus, age alone does not guarantee that an antique desk is a masterpiece, since this shift took place more than a hundred years ago. More paper and more correspondence drove the need for more complex desks and more specialized desks, such as the rolltop desk which was a mass produced, slatted variant of the classical cylinder desk. It provided a relatively fast and cheap way to lock up the ever increasing flow of paper without having to file everything by the end of the day. Paper documents started leaving the desk as a "home," with the general introduction of filing cabinets. Correspondence and other documents were now too numerous to get enough attention to be rolled up or folded again, then summarized and tagged before being pigeonholed in a small compartment over or under the work surface of the desk. The famous Wooton desk and others were the last manifestations of the "pigeonhole" style. The newer desks could be transformed into many different shapes and angles and were ideal for artists. Steel desks. A smaller boom in office work and desk production occurred at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th with the introduction of smaller and cheaper electrical presses and efficient carbon papers coupled with the general acceptance of the typewriter. Steel desks were introduced to take heavier loads of paper and withstand the pounding meted out on the typewriters. The L-shaped desk became popular, with the "leg" being used as an annex for the typewriter. Another big boom occurred after the Second World War with the spread of photocopying. Paperwork drove even higher the number of desk workers, whose work surface diminished in size as office rents rose, and the paper itself was moved more and more directly to filing cabinets or sent to records management centers, or transformed into microfilm, or both. Modular desks seating several co-workers close by became common. Even executive or management desks became mass-produced, built of cheap plywood or fiberboard covered with wood veneer, as the number of persons managing the white collar workers became even greater. Student desks. A "'student desk'" can be any desk form meant for use by a student. Usually the term designates a small pedestal desk or writing table constructed for use by a teenager or a pre-teen in his or her room at home. More often than not it is a pedestal desk, with only one of the two pedestals and about two thirds of the desk surface. Such desks are sometimes called left pedestal desks or right pedestal desks depending on the position of the single pedestal. The height of the desk is usually a bit lower than is the case for normal adult desks. In some cases, the desk is connected from the seat to the table. The table is also used for sitting before classes. The desks are usually mass-produced in steel or wood and sold on the consumer market. In addition there is a wide variety of plans available for woodworking enthusiasts. There are many novel forms of student desks made to maximize the relatively restricted area available in a child's room. One of the most common is the bunk bed desk, also known as a loft bed. Impact of computers. Until the late 1980s desks remained a place for paperwork and business negotiation. At the end of this decade though the personal computer was taking hold in large and medium sized businesses. New office suites included a "knee hole" credenza which was a place for a terminal or personal computer and keyboard tray. Soon new office designs also included "U-shape" suites which added a bridge worksurface between the back credenza and front desk. During the North American recession of the early 1990s, many manager and executive workers had to do word processing and other functions previously completed by typing pools and secretaries. This necessitated a more central placement of the computer on these "U-shape" suite desk systems. With computers abounding, "computer paper" became an office staple. The beginning of this paper boom gave birth to the dream of the "paperless office", in which all information would appear on computer monitors. However, the ease of printing personal documents and the lack of comfort with reading text on computer monitors led to a great deal of document printing. The need for paperwork space vied with the rising desk space taken up by computer monitors, CPUs, printers, scanners, and other peripherals. As well, the need for more space led some desk companies to attach some items to the modesty panel at the back of the desk, such as multi-outlets and cabling. Through the "tech boom" of the 1990s, office worker numbers skyrocketed along with the cost of office space rent. The cubicle desk became widely accepted in North America as an economical way of putting more desk workers in the same space without actually shrinking the size of their working surfaces. The cubicle walls have become new place for workers to affix papers and other items once left on the horizontal desktop surface. Even computer monitor frames themselves are used to attach reminder notes and business cards. Early in the 2000s, private office workers found that their side and back computer-placing furniture made it hard to show the contents of a computer screen to guests or co-workers. Manufacturers have responded to this issue by creating "Forward Facing" desks where computer monitors are placed on the front of the "U-shape" workstation. This forward computer monitor placement promotes a clearer sight-line to greet colleagues, increases computer screen privacy and allows for common viewing of information displayed on a screen. References. Articles and books on real and virtual desks and things in between: A chisel'" is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal. The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it. In use, the chisel is forced into the material to cut the material. The driving force may be manually applied or applied using a mallet or hammer. In industrial use, a hydraulic ram or falling weight ('trip hammer') drives the chisel into the material to be cut. A "gouge", one type of chisel, is used, particularly in woodworking, woodturning and sculpture, to carve small pieces from the material. Gouges are most often used in creating concave surfaces. A gouge typically has a 'U'-shaped cross-section. Types of Chisels. Chisels have a wide variety of uses. Many types of chisels have been devised, each specially suited to its intended use. Different types of chisels may be constructed quite differently, in terms of blade width or length, as well as shape and hardness of blade. They may have wooden handles attached or may be made entirely of one piece of metal. Woodworking chisels. Woodworking chisels range from quite small hand tools for tiny details, to large chisels used remove big sections of wood, in 'roughing out' the shape of a pattern or design. Typically, in woodcarving, one starts with a larger tool, and gradually progresses to smaller tools to finish the detail. One of the largest types of chisel is the slick, used in timber frame construction and wooden shipbuilding. According to their function there are many names given to woodworking chisels, such as: Japanese woodworking chisels. The better quality Japanese wood chisels are made from laminated steel. There are different types of metals used in each chisel. The better ones are laminated by hand, over a charcoal fire. The combination of the metals makes a chisel that takes a very sharp edge, and is hard enough to maintain the edge for a long time. This technique produces a tools that have a harder edge, usually a hardness rating of Rockwell 64, compared to their western counterparts of around 62 on the Rockwell scale. There are two basic metals used in these chisels, white steel and blue steel. The names come from the color of the paper the steels are wrapped in. White and blue steel come in vary grades, that vary in carbon content. Both have low levels of impurities. White steel is a simple carbon steel. Blue steel contains alloying elements, and sacrifices some sharpness for edge retention, toughness, and corrosion resistance, although it is not stainless. Many makers are descendants of the samurai sword makers, once highly respected members of their country, until these swords were outlawed. The chisel makers often turned their attention to chisel and plane makers. Expensive sets have a decorative wood grain look to them which is actually the thin layers of steel being hammered together. The neck of the chisel can be twisted to add to the decorative look of the tool. The handles are often made from an exotic hardwood, such as ebony. The sets usually come in a wooden box, signed by the maker. Japanese chisels have hollows in the back side, the wider ones having as many as four hollows. These are intended to help in the flattening of the back of the chisels, which is the first step in sharpening a chisel. Once the back side is perfectly flat, and polished to the required degree, the front and side edges need to be addressed. A general rule is any chisel with a hoop, or metal ring at the end of the handle, is it's designed to be struck with mallet. If it does not have a hoop, it is a paring tool, designed not to be struck with another tool. Lathe tools. A lathe tool is a woodworking chisel designed to cut wood as it is spun on a lathe. These tools have longer handles for more leverage, needed to counteract the tendency of the tool to react to the downward force of the spinning wood being cut or carved. In addition, the angle and method of sharpening is different, a secondary bevel would not be ground on the tool. Woodworking chisels range from quite small hand tools for tiny details, to large chisels used remove big sections of wood, in 'roughing out' the shape of a pattern or design. Typically, in woodcarving, one starts with a larger tool, and gradually progresses to smaller tools to finish the detail. One of the largest types of chisel is the slick, used in timber frame construction and wooden shipbuilding. Metalworking chisels. Chisels used in metal work can be divided into two main categories, "hot" chisels, and "cold" chisels. A hot chisel is used to cut metal that has been heated in a forge to soften the metal. Cold chisel. A cold chisel'" is a tool made of tempered steel used for cutting 'cold' metals, meaning that they are not used in conjunction with heating torches, forges, etc. Cold chisels are used to remove waste metal when a very smooth finish is not required or when the work cannot be done easily with other tools, such as a hacksaw, file, bench shears or power tools. The name cold chisel comes from its use by blacksmiths to cut metal while it was cold as compared to other tools they used to cut hot metal. This tool is also commonly referred to by the misnomer 'coal chisel'. Because cold chisels are used to form metal, they have a less-acute angle to the sharp portion of the blade than a woodworking chisel. This gives the cutting edge greater strength at the expense of sharpness. Cold chisels come in a variety of sizes, from fine engraving tools that are tapped with very light hammers, to massive tools that are driven with sledgehammers. Cold chisels are forged to shape and hardened and tempered (to a brown colour) at the cutting edge. The head of the chisel is chamfered to slow down the formation of the mushroom shape caused by hammering and is left soft to withstand hammer blows. The are four common types of cold chisel. These are the flat chisel, the most widely known type, which is used to cut bars and rods to reduce surfaces and to cut sheet metal which is too thick or difficult to cut with snips. The cross cut chisel is used for cutting grooves and slots. The blade narrows behind the cutting edge to provide clearance. The round nose chisel is used for cutting semi-circular grooves for oil ways in bearings. The diamond point chisel is used for cleaning out corners or difficult places and pulling over centre punch marks wrongly placed for drilling. Although the vast majority of cold chisels are made of steel, a few are manufactured from beryllium copper, for use in special situations where non-sparking tools are required. Hardy chisel. A toothed stone chisel, used by stone sculptors and stonemasons A "'hardy chisel'" is a type of hot chisel with a square shank, which is held in place with the cutting edge facing upwards by placing it in an anvil's Hardy hole. The hot workpiece cut is then placed over the hardy, and struck with a hammer. The hammer drives the chisel into the hot metal, allowing it to be snapped off with a pair of tongs. Stone chisels. Stone chisels are used to carve or cut stone, bricks or concrete slabs. To cut, as opposed to carve, a brick bolster is used; this has a wide, flat blade that is tapped along the cut line to produce a groove, then hit hard in the centre to crack the stone. Sculptors use a "spoon chisel", which is bent, with the bezel (cutting edge) on both sides. To increase the force, stone chisels are often hit with club hammers, a heavier type of hammer. Masonry chisels. Masonry chisels are typically heavy, with a relatively dull head that wedges and breaks, rather than cuts. Normally used as a demolition tool, they may be mounted on a hammer drill, jack hammer, or hammered manually, usually with a heavy hammer of three pounds or more. Plugging chisel. A Plugging chisel has a tapered edge for cleaning out hardened mortar. The chisel is held with one hand and struck with a hammer. The direction of the taper in the blade determines if the chisel cuts deep or runs shallow along the joint.