OT physics - sorry it is winter...

[Dekonick]

OK - for the few who have been following my mad pursuit of knowledge...

1) any of you notice that the more you learn about physics the fewer folks you have to discuss it with?

2) any of yall notice that the more you learn about physics the more you realize you don't know?

3) Any of yall notice the more you learn the more you want to know? Epiphany after epiphany... I honestly don't get why this isn't the most interesting topic for anyone and everyone! There is some wacko ???? in this universe and the more you see the more you want to know... but it seems that it isolates you to a select group to discuss the topic.

Wish I were 25... I would go back for a PhD...

On a cycling note... nothing allows clear thought like a nice solo ride... Einstein was right. Riding your bike is essential to letting your mind grow.

:)

[Dekonick]

I strongly suggest Zinfendel for quantum mechanics... :beer:

[thegunner]

OK - for the few who have been following my mad pursuit of knowledge...

1) any of you notice that the more you learn about physics the fewer folks you have to discuss it with?

2) any of yall notice that the more you learn about physics the more you realize you don't know?

3) Any of yall notice the more you learn the more you want to know? Epiphany after epiphany... I honestly don't get why this isn't the most interesting topic for anyone and everyone! There is some wacko ???? in this universe and the more you see the more you want to know... but it seems that it isolates you to a select group to discuss the topic.

Wish I were 25... I would go back for a PhD...

On a cycling note... nothing allows clear thought like a nice solo ride... Einstein was right. Riding your bike is essential to letting your mind grow.

:)

1. well people don't like talking about things they don't understand. same thing goes for discussions of cheese and :p
2. couldn't agree more
3. ditto number 2

don't let your age prevent you from going back for something you really want though, a fellow phd candidate in the same year as me returned at the ripe age of 41. the pursuit of knowledge is a powerful thing :beer:

[dave thompson]

My brother-in-law is a physicist and develops electromagnetic propulsion systems for the Navy. What I know about what he knows is terribly close to zero but we have some highly interesting conversations about it anyway. I come away from those feeling like I've really learned something but the next day my head just hurts.

[rice rocket]

Wait until you get into vehicle dynamics...

Probably the most brainhurt I've ever been with seemingly simple concepts.

E&M is just greek to me to begin with, I don't even try to carry on a conversation in that.

[dsb]

E&M is just greek to me to begin with, I don't even try to carry on a conversation in that.

E&M may in fact be Greek... Sadly I cannot confirm as my E&M Professor was Chinese...

[phcollard]

Wait until you get into vehicle dynamics...

For me it was thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. Headaches headaches!

[Birddog]

For me it was thermodynamics and fluid mechanics.
I don't know a whit about either of those subjects, but last weekend I ran smack dab into the real world effects of both on a cold 29* ride. I stopped to take a whizz and the thermodynamics had Mr Johnson about 1/10th normal size which greatly affected the fluid dynamics of the situation even with a zipper front bib. There, now this thread has some bicycle content.

[AngryScientist]

i heart science.

the thought of going back to school makes me shudder though, the actual learning would likely be fantastic, but the cost involved, both timewise and monetary can be staggering, with time being the big hitter. also the shear amount of BS and political that surrounds grad school is also a deterrent.

fortunately my job keeps me interested with some new age stuff. most of the time, the reading and learning i do about the subject matter is not at all required or encouraged, but i always delve deeper into what's going on, keeps things interesting.

[Mr. Squirrel]

http://whatdidyoubringme.homestead.com/files/Tshirts/Science/astronomy/EEqualsMCSquirrelART33622.jpg

i have been known to dabble a bit. nuts require tremendous friction and pressure to crack.

mr. squirrel

[znfdl]

I strongly suggest Zinfendel for quantum mechanics... :beer:

Zinfandel is good for anything :beer:

[phcollard]

I don't know a whit about either of those subjects, but last weekend I ran smack dab into the real world effects of both on a cold 29* ride. I stopped to take a whizz and the thermodynamics had Mr Johnson about 1/10th normal size which greatly affected the fluid dynamics of the situation even with a zipper front bib. There, now this thread has some bicycle content.

LOL! You made my day there!!! :)

[97CSI]

1) any of you notice that the more you learn about physics the fewer folks you have to discuss it with?

2) any of yall notice that the more you learn about physics the more you realize you don't know? 1) Pauli discussed this at some length.

2) And, this was Heisenberg. ;)

Don't get all spin-flipped. Happy bosons.

.................zinfandel is good. Transcends classical and modern physics very well.

[Climb01742]

the heisenberg uncertainty principle is actually a useful thing is everyday life, IMO. so physics isn't so off-topic.

[djg]

1. well people don't like talking about things they don't understand.

And yet this Internet thing has become wildly popular.

Kidding. Just kidding. It's not my field, but it seems to me that it can be cool and beautiful stuff. Not a darn thing wrong with the OP or anybody else going back to school -- it's a great thing, IMO, if one can manage the various costs. Not a darn thing wrong either, with an amateur's appreciation, especially if one has or can still acquire the necessary mathematical tools.

[thegunner]

And yet this Internet thing has become wildly popular.

Kidding. Just kidding. It's not my field, but it seems to me that it can be cool and beautiful stuff. Not a darn thing wrong with the OP or anybody else going back to school -- it's a great thing, IMO, if one can manage the various costs. Not a darn thing wrong either, with an amateur's appreciation, especially if one has or can still acquire the necessary mathematical tools.
:D thanks for that haha

there's an easy solution to this whole cost thing... do a phd ;) get paid (meagerly) to do your studies. everyone wins. especially your slave driver PIs.

[dsb]

I strongly suggest Zinfendel for quantum mechanics... :beer:
One of my Quantum professors believed that QM was discovered drinking beer (think Schrodinger...) and should be studied drinking beer. He used to hold court in the pub across from the university, it was hilarious. He would work out all sorts of problems on plain copier paper and have them strewn all over the tables, everyone would holler at the waitresses if they tried to clean them up. After a sufficient intake o' the hops he would proceed into Feynman diagrams. To this day, I find Feynman diagrams easier after a couple of beers...

Dave

[old_fat_and_slow]

I think all three points essentially hold for all scientific/engineering/mathematical subject areas. The more you specialize, the more ignorant you realize we are, the fewer peers/experts you find to discuss topics of interest.

When you get General Relativity figured out come back and give us a report. Also see if you can work on that grand unification theory to satify Newtonian physics, General Relativity, and quantum mechanics.


.... String theory/ schmeery.... black holes/black schmoles

[William]

One of my Quantum professors believed that QM was discovered drinking beer (think Schrodinger...) and should be studied drinking beer. He used to hold court in the pub across from the university, it was hilarious. He would work out all sorts of problems on plain copier paper and have them strewn all over the tables, everyone would holler at the waitresses if they tried to clean them up. After a sufficient intake o' the hops he would proceed into Feynman diagrams. To this day, I find Feynman diagrams easier after a couple of beers...

Dave

Smart Beer.... :beer:

[rugbysecondrow]

I think all three points essentially hold for all scientific/engineering/mathmatical subject areas. The more you specialize, the more ignorant you realize we are, the fewer peers/experts you find to discuss topics of interest.



I think most subjects are like this. Once a person moves past a conversational understanding or interest in any subject (ever talk to a Civil War buff?) they will cease to have as many people to speak with. I have an interest in bikes that surpasses my wife and buddies, they don't share my zeal and are uninterested in discussing them. People are like this with religious studies, combat strategies, the stock market and finances....pretty much every subject.


I think physics is neat, but I really just don't care that much. I cared enough to read a book about the physics of baseball, but I think it is my interest in baseball and not physics that took me there.


As an aside, don't you find that the more you know about something, the less you want to engage in conversation with lay people about that subject? I have lied or misled people about what I do for a living because people would then want to jump into a long, uninformed conversation.

[rwsaunders]

An old college professor use to make physics very easy to understand with his humor and practical applications. I still remember his little quips on the chalkboard such as:

"Physics is Phundamental"

"By the process of illumination, you engineers will see the light."

[gasman]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
I love reading about QM, astrophysics, relativity , etc but the more I read the less I know. I also know how few people really understand the subject and that oneneeds tounderstand the math-which ain't gonnahappen for this guy. Too little time and brain power.
Shoot 95% of our universe is dark matter and dark energy and eventhe experts don't know what either is.

[Dekonick]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
I love reading about QM, astrophysics, relativity , etc but the more I read the less I know. I also know how few people really understand the subject and that oneneeds tounderstand the math-which ain't gonnahappen for this guy. Too little time and brain power.
Shoot 95% of our universe is dark matter and dark energy and eventhe experts don't know what either is.

Kindred spirit! :beer:

check your PM... I may have something that might interest you...

[dsb]

An old college professor use to make physics very easy to understand with his humor and practical applications. I still remember his little quips on the chalkboard such as:

"Physics is Phundamental"

"By the process of illumination, you engineers will see the light."

I have used: "Physics is your Phriend"

And have been known to engage in long highly theoretical discussions on the errors of one Wile E. Coyote...

[Johny]

Wish I were 25... I would go back for a PhD...



W. L. Bragg won the Nobel prize in Physics at 25. :)

[97CSI]

Just finished listening to Brian Greene, mathematician and theoretical physicist at Columbia Univ (where I attended grad school, oh those many years ago), discuss the possibility of parallel universes. He believes the math supports and has written a book about same. Should be a fun read. His non-mathematical presentation of string theory was excellent.

[thegunner]

Just finished listening to Brian Greene, mathematician and theoretical physicist at Columbia Univ (where I attended grad school, oh those many years ago), discuss the possibility of parallel universes. He believes the math supports and has written a book about same. Should be a fun read. His non-mathematical presentation of string theory was excellent.

eh, columbia alum huh? :beer: he was a fantastic lecturer. i continued going to his quantum mech class even after i dropped it, just because he made the material interesting/accessible.

[tuxbailey]

Just finished listening to Brian Greene, mathematician and theoretical physicist at Columbia Univ (where I attended grad school, oh those many years ago), discuss the possibility of parallel universes. He believes the math supports and has written a book about same. Should be a fun read. His non-mathematical presentation of string theory was excellent.

The Elegant Universe? (http://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Universe-Superstrings-Dimensions-Ultimate/dp/0375708111/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295893430&sr=8-1)

It was a fun, interesting, and educational read... at the beginning. But in the later chapters he starts to put some real math to explain, and that hurt.

[avalonracing]

1. well people don't like talking about things they don't understand.


Not true...
See: Fox "News"

[Dekonick]

The Elegant Universe? (http://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Universe-Superstrings-Dimensions-Ultimate/dp/0375708111/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295893430&sr=8-1)

It was a fun, interesting, and educational read... at the beginning. But in the later chapters he starts to put some real math to explain, and that hurt.

He also has a new(er) book that covers much of the same material. Good read.

http://www.amazon.com/Fabric-Cosmos-Space-Texture-Reality/dp/0375727205/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_a

I have found that the more of these 'physics for the masses' books I read, the easier 'real' physics texts are to digest. I can say that (as a neophyte) I actually 'get' quantum mechanics... at least enough to know it is wacko, neat, and real. I doubt I will ever have the knowledge of Feynman. But then again, he is my hero. I DO owe Hawking a tribute as his first book "A Brief History of Time" introduced me to physics beyond the typical crap we all have to take in school. Seems to me that classical physics and the way it is presented just ruins the magic until you go beyond the 101 level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman

[rugbysecondrow]

I am reading" Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman".

Good book so far. Not a physics book, but it is a people book.

[97CSI]

The Elegant Universe? (http://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Universe-Superstrings-Dimensions-Ultimate/dp/0375708111/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295893430&sr=8-1)

It was a fun, interesting, and educational read... at the beginning. But in the later chapters he starts to put some real math to explain, and that hurt.Yeah, when they do that it sure slows down the reading and forces me to go through it and think. :crap: Something I try to avoid since retirement. ;)

BGreene's new book is 'The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos'.
http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Reality-Parallel-Universes-Cosmos/dp/0307265633/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295908880&sr=1-2

Lucky me, all I have to do to get a new book is request it out our county library. Guess my highest taxes in the country go to some worthwhile efforts (other than paying for the multitude of double-dipping pols).