The greek Letter "Lambda" (Yes this IS HL Related)

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good news everyone. you are all wrong. i asked gabe and he said .. er .. he said that emmm ... . damnit, i forgot it ! :(
 
Ghost Freeman said:
Anyone notice the relation of the 2 in the HL2 symbol? What would Lambda to the second power be?

I know...just speculating.
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HL2 was a pretty boring title, so they just did it square instead. More interesting, fits more with the theme....nothing more than that.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fender357
Who said it was the focal point of everything? Just because they have the symbol for HL2? That dosn't mean your going to be running through the game collecting Lambdas like rings in Sonic or something. Its just a freakn' symbol. And it can be just a referance to scientific stuff because Gordon is a scientists.
that is of course your opinion which you are entitled to. i however disagree.
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Ok......so you belive that in Half-Life 2......we will spend our time.....collecting little floating/spinning Lambdas........and....that Gordon isn't a scientist?

You make me sad..... :(
 
slinter said:
geez, that lambda thingy was clear to me when i was 12 or so :) (how embarrassing for DreamWraith :p )

lambda always means something different in all the sciences. its a variable, so i think its useless to make so. mind about that. :/ or ill just ask gabe
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i fail to see how that is 'embarrassing'. how old are you now? why is it so 'embarrasing for me to not have researched the greek alphabet before?

quit trying to insult me for no reason.
 
Fender357 said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fender357
Who said it was the focal point of everything? Just because they have the symbol for HL2? That dosn't mean your going to be running through the game collecting Lambdas like rings in Sonic or something. Its just a freakn' symbol. And it can be just a referance to scientific stuff because Gordon is a scientists.


Ok......so you belive that in Half-Life 2......we will spend our time.....collecting little floating/spinning Lambdas........and....that Gordon isn't a scientist?

You make me sad..... :(
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oh yes i beleive exactly that. exactly. quit being a ****ing jackass and twisting my words. Focal point doesn't mean that you have to run around collecting logo's. I'm talking about storyline, and the theology therein. Quit changing the subject. Quit detering from the 'focal point' of the thread. the focal point is that the greek letter lambda is in fact the same as the half-life symbol, and that the story of half-life is intertwined around that.
 
At first I personally thought that the use of the lambda letter was just a neat gimmicky thing.

Anyways, it has always bothered me that in the "Half-Life" loge, they replace the "a" with the greek letter lambda. That would make "Hllf-Life", since the greek letter lambda stands for the letter "l" in our alphabet.

Anyway, i'll ramble a bit just to make things clear from a physics point of view.

As someone said earlier, the half-life is the time necessary for the decay of half the matter of a radioactive isotope. This time value is in relation with the decay constant (lambda) in the following manner:
Half-life = t(1/2) = -ln(0.5)/(lambda) = ln(2)/(lambda) = 0.693/(lambda)

Of course, this greek letter is also usedfor many other fields of science. However, considering that the title of the game ("half-life") is so closely related with the lambda letter (as shown above), I sincerely believe that this use of the letter had to be foremost from Valve's point of view.
 
i would be tempted to beleive that, if the game even talked about the 'half-life' of radioactive elements... but it really doesnt.... i think (personally) that although it has that meaning, valve has another meaning for the term 'half-life'.
 
Hehe, funny thread. Thought it had to be a joke at first.
 
DreamWraith said:
erm why would it be a joke?
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No disrespect, but I had thought everyone already knew that Half-Life's symbol was the greek letter lamda. Sorry, just found it kind of funny.
 
pfff, did this need a topic :frown: This is common knowledge, it was taught to us in high school for all I know. There are also alpha, beta and numerous others used in both mathematics and science.
 
ScopeD said:
pfff, did this need a topic :frown: This is common knowledge, it was taught to us in high school for all I know. There are also alpha, beta and numerous others used in both mathematics and science.
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not only is that one of the most ignorant statements i have ever heard, but it completely disrespects half the planet. since when does every student take a greek language/ theology class in high school? few and far between. i also think your missing the point of the topic. its not about 'alpha beta' gaming dev stages, its about a games STORY and about a greek letters meaning being intertwined THEREIN. Not about science directly. Not about Mathmatics. others in the thread have commented on that, but again thats not my point.
 
lambda also means something in equations... (spelling :()
 
DreamWraith said:
not only is that one of the most ignorant statements i have ever heard, but it completely disrespects half the planet. since when does every student take a greek language/ theology class in high school? few and far between. i also think your missing the point of the topic. its not about 'alpha beta' gaming dev stages, its about a games STORY and about a greek letters meaning being intertwined THEREIN. Not about science directly. Not about Mathmatics. others in the thread have commented on that, but again thats not my point.
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He wasn't talking about Greek language or theology classes:rolleyes:. He was talking about basic physics classes. The letter Lamda is used rather frequently in physics and higher mathematics. Also, you're a bit out of line calling his statement ignorant when you totally misintrepret what he was saying (ever hear of the psychological term "projection"?;)). He wasn't talking about alpha and beta stages of a games development either. He was saying that the letters alpha and beta are also used in physics and mathematics. Specifically they are use to denote different types of radiation. There's alpha particles, beta particles,and gamma particles. Here's a good website that will explain all the greek letters and their meanings: http://www.wghs.org.uk/~science/physics/jones/general_pages/alphabet.html

And I think you're reading way to much into it. The letter lamda is the decay constant in equations relating to radiation. This is why it was used for the game Half-Life. Mystery solved. :)
 
Let's clear up the mess, shall we...

Okay. This is starting to really irritate me now. Cool thread, good idea - would have been nice if more people had tried to expand on it rather than taking the high ground after misunderstanding the point. Those who've been talking about the scientific and mathematical connotations of the Lambda symbol are fine, it's the gits who slate the thread starter because they have the wrong end of the stick that get to me. Look, the guy clearly understands the scientific connotations that so many of you have arrogantly and patronisingly stated. What he is interested in is the theological connotations of the symbol in it's original form - as in the letter 'lambda', but before it was adopted by the scientific community. Does it have any relevance to the Half-Life storyline? Believe it or not, he is insinuating that the story might perhaps have more than one layer that relates to Lambda - one, obviously, being the scientific and the other being slightly more philosophical. Well done those who've taken this seriously, and shame on those who are, essentially, just twats. Now, I'm gonna go do some research and find out myself! :)
 
Olisteac, yes I understand what he was trying to say.

But actually from his last post it is clear he still didn't understand what we were talking about as he was still talking about theology and language classes and alpha and beta game devopment stages. Thus I tried to clear things up for him.

About the theology aspect. Interesting idea, but I think it's pretty obvious that Valve used the symbol for its scientific meanings.
 
Hehe

hehe, I know - there's just a lot of confusion here, but I guess there's going to be if several strands of thought are intertwined. I suppose, in all fairness, the majority here have been constructive and perhaps misinterpreted due to the arrangement of posts. It's only the vicious posts, which are clearly misinformed, that provoked me to write my response - apologies to those who are also trying to keep order and sense, and doing it a whole lot more subtly than I am :laugh:
 
u know whats funny, this greek letter "Lambda" looks like the third letter in the Hebrew alphabet :P
 
DreamWraith said:
I was recently doing some research about the Greek alphabet and i stumbled accross something.

The greek Letter Lambda, pictured below.

lambda.jpg


The thought came to mind, that the half life logo (pictured above), looks extremely similar to the lower case greek letter lambda. Or to put it more ideally, the half-life logo looks simply like a modernized, 'hard-edged' version of the lower case greek letter lambda.

I also seem to remember the term "Lambada" from half-life. I can't remember exactly it has been ages since i played, but i know I've heard that in reference to half-life before. One letter different.

Lambda
Lambada

For those who don't know, (probably most) the meaning of the greek letter Lambda is as follows:



Anyways, this might not seem like much, but i found it really interesting. Not shure what to think of it. But I'm betting that it plays some kind of important part in the story. Maybe I'm just nuts. But I personally don't think they would just pick a greek letter and turn it into the logo for their game for no reason.

It has to have something to do with the story.
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This is pretty old news.
 
Apparently it (Gimel) is meant to look like a camel's head! Interesting.
 
Perhaps it was the concept of decay which spawned the title, and the symbol followed on from that. A 'hard-edged, modernised' version to be sure. Thw question is, if 'lambda' meant decay, just how bad do things get when we have 'lambda^2'? Fun though it would be to do an English Lit stylee exploration of the theological connotations, it'l be coincidence at best. Then again, with that 1,000 page source (pun unintended), anything could be the case.
 
Probably been said (too lazy to read), but the lambda complex was where you went to launch the rocket, and the lambda team was the group of scientists that work there.
 
Neutrino said:
Olisteac, yes I understand what he was trying to say.

But actually from his last post it is clear he still didn't understand what we were talking about as he was still talking about theology and language classes and alpha and beta game devopment stages. Thus I tried to clear things up for him.

About the theology aspect. Interesting idea, but I think it's pretty obvious that Valve used the symbol for its scientific meanings.
Click to expand...

I think that's obvious to everyone, it's just some people are wondering if one of it's other meanings didn't also contribute to Valve's choice.
 
DreamWraith said:
oh yes i beleive exactly that. exactly. quit being a ****ing jackass and twisting my words. Focal point doesn't mean that you have to run around collecting logo's. I'm talking about storyline, and the theology therein. Quit changing the subject. Quit detering from the 'focal point' of the thread. the focal point is that the greek letter lambda is in fact the same as the half-life symbol, and that the story of half-life is intertwined around that.
Click to expand...
TAKE IT EASY CHIEF
 
olistead said:
Okay. This is starting to really irritate me now. Cool thread, good idea - would have been nice if more people had tried to expand on it rather than taking the high ground after misunderstanding the point. Those who've been talking about the scientific and mathematical connotations of the Lambda symbol are fine, it's the gits who slate the thread starter because they have the wrong end of the stick that get to me. Look, the guy clearly understands the scientific connotations that so many of you have arrogantly and patronisingly stated. What he is interested in is the theological connotations of the symbol in it's original form - as in the letter 'lambda', but before it was adopted by the scientific community. Does it have any relevance to the Half-Life storyline? Believe it or not, he is insinuating that the story might perhaps have more than one layer that relates to Lambda - one, obviously, being the scientific and the other being slightly more philosophical. Well done those who've taken this seriously, and shame on those who are, essentially, just twats. Now, I'm gonna go do some research and find out myself! :)
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thank you.
 
Neutrino said:
Olisteac, yes I understand what he was trying to say.

But actually from his last post it is clear he still didn't understand what we were talking about as he was still talking about theology and language classes and alpha and beta game devopment stages. Thus I tried to clear things up for him.

About the theology aspect. Interesting idea, but I think it's pretty obvious that Valve used the symbol for its scientific meanings.
Click to expand...
no. i do understand. i am merely getting aggravated at people pounding on me abotu something im not even making a point about, completely unrealted to my first post.
 
Cybernoid said:
This is pretty old news.
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wow you are what the twelfth person to say this? knock it off. Just because this is so called old news to you, doesnt mean it is to everyone. And i didn't exactly see another thread on these here forums talking about the greek letter lambda and its relation to half-life. :rolleyes:
 
phantomdesign said:
Probably been said (too lazy to read), but the lambda complex was where you went to launch the rocket, and the lambda team was the group of scientists that work there.
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man not at all, that place is only an old cold war missile launcher that they converted into a satellite launcher and refurbished the control room with new stuff. when you launch the satellite, and when the two decay chicks turn on the satellite dish, the lambda team who are largely in the process of dying at the lambda complex then can do i dont remember what with it, probably send a distress call to worldwide authorities.
 
Old freaking stuff.. This has been discussed ALOT already, and we seem to have it all settled out by now.
 
I think the term "half-life" and the Greek letter lambda could have multiple meanings in the game:

1. The time it takes for the radioactivity in a radioactive isotope to change by a factor of 1/2 (referring to the radioactive sample in the test chamber)(as mentioned before).

2. Some speculation: the function (the exponential function, to be exact) that can be used to determine the half life of a radioactive isotope is the same function that can be used to determine the rate of growth or decay of a population. I thought "half-life" may be a (far-off) reference to the rate at which the population (of people) at BM was decreasing. In other words, people are getting killed/eaten pretty damn fast.

3. Entirely speculation: the Xenites are actually "half-living." Remember how Nihilanth had a large metallic object sticking out of his/her/its arss?
Maybe this is where the Combine comes onto the scene? Combine: part machine, part Xenish?
Maybe now we've come full circle?

4. A bit of speculation: Xenites, being aliens, could be considered a "half life," in other words, a lesser form of life.
 
sheesh dreamwraith you get pissed at anyone who has a different opinion than you, you mean you don't have to point out all the people who think this is a useless thread (which is a quit an abondence) and if there are that many people kinda gets you thinking that.....
 
Sai said:
sheesh dreamwraith you get pissed at anyone who has a different opinion than you, you mean you don't have to point out all the people who think this is a useless thread (which is a quit an abondence) and if there are that many people kinda gets you thinking that.....
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no. i get pissed at people that keep changing the subject to one of science and mathematics. for the hundredth time, if i didnt know about those aspects, and i wanted to start a discussion on them the thread would have been called "HALF LIFE and how teh greek letter LAMBDA is used in SCIENCE AND MATH OGM"
if people think this is such a useless thread, they can kindly 'step out, and let us who dont find it useless continue discussion.'

that has become a real problem with these forums. people arent interested in something or they feel they already know all there is to know about it, or they feel its old news, and instead of leaving it the flying fock alone they continue to spam, or otherwise 'chew out' he who starts the thread. its getting rediculous.
 
Im so glad that some people post more about quarrelling then about what the thread was supposed to be about.
 
I think it was used because everyone in and sent to the Black Mesa Complex were like lambdas to the slaughter...

sorry...
 
Worst revelation ...ever.

That symbol, in physics, means a lot of things, and one of them is "decay constant" used to calculate the half life of a radioactive material.

Most 15 year olds know this.

And the valve hard edged logo...IS simply exactly this, the symbol (in physics) most related to the concept of "half life."
 
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