Not Mine *shrug*
An SEP field is a generated energy field which affects perception and is a cheaper and more practical alternative to an invisibility field [1].

Entities within the field are perceived by an outside observer as "Somebody Else's Problem", and will therefore be effectively invisible unless the observer
is specifically looking for the entity. This effect is greatly heightened if the entity within the field is already unexpected or out of place.

Yes, this is another masterpiece of scientific thought first published in the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy series (the famous trilogy in five parts).

A solved example is provided in the second part when a spaceship built to look like an upside down bistro utilizes an SEP field to land unobserved in the
middle of Lord's Cricket Ground.

A more practical application is to extend the field in stifling situations - e.g. if on the moon, the field can make you
fail to notice the fact that you cannot breathe; or if you are Bruce Willis in Armageddon, the field can ensure that you do not realise that the asteroid you
are standing on does not have enough gravitational force (thus you can successfully stand on it and plant the nuclear bomb and save planet earth (not before
delivering a sentimental speech to Liv Tyler via video conferencing facilities)).

I have been observing this in real life over the last few days. There is a large green plastic orb with a lid (that is locked) just outside my local tube
station. Since this orb looks like a large dustbin, every now and then enthusiastic neighbours carry their daily trash on their way to work only to realise
their folly. And not knowing what to do with the bag of trash (given that they are already running late and this blasted lid is locked), they end up dropping
the bag next to the "bin". And so the bag stays there all day. And the next few days, and in certain cases whole weeks go by - I suspect it stays their till
London is hit by one of those cold windy-galesy days that make Wimbledon and cricket here especially enjoyable, to be blown away and deposited in the next
non-windy location, say, Antarctica. And then it is time for another neighbour to drop a similar bag in the vicinity; through all of this a million
travellers walk by (including me) but this bag stays on. A classic SEP field problem.

In one particular instance a banana peel stayed outside the bin for such a long time that it ultimately became indistinguishable with a dried maple leaf
casually floating next to it, in search of a mate, perhaps.

But the unresolved mystery is this - why on earth is this green orb lying there and why is it
locked? I have seen contraptions like this all over - for instance at the railway station when you desperately need to drop your 3/4th empty cup of
hot-chocolate-gone-cold - and THERE ARE NO DUSTBINS but there are these large black boxes on wheels with enormous lids and, yes, giant locks. I also remember
a box next to my first house in London which said "GRIT" in a large embossed font - it was not a dustbin but something with a lot of cobwebs and a secret
opening in the bottom.

I wonder, therefore, why are there such few dustbins in the world? Well, maybe thats someone else's problem.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_Else%27s_Problem_field
- posted by Rallix @ 1:01 PM