tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post381166902437149360..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: Mathematics, the language of nature. What are you sinking about?Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-88539144278663162472014-01-14T03:14:22.353-05:002014-01-14T03:14:22.353-05:00I loved the article! Especially because I understa...I loved the article! Especially because I understand what is like being "bad at math". In school it was an excruciating exercise mostly because I didn't understand it properly not to mention it had stressful consequences, like bad grades. Later on I started reading the science popularization books you talk about and wanted to see the equations because I felt I didn't exactly ai83https://www.blogger.com/profile/18412593235486209707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-85802592262139770442014-01-08T21:49:42.450-05:002014-01-08T21:49:42.450-05:00Interesting post.
I have the Feynman lectures on...Interesting post. <br /><br />I have the Feynman lectures on Physics. A most intersting observation about these is that there is very little maths involved - mostly it is presented as a logical argument. (If we know A is true, and we observe B then C most therefore be true, and so on.)<br /><br />There is merit in this approach, as well as maths. I've seen in many scientific and engineering ashleighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03109431499306884717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-20562497026467309212013-12-23T06:09:47.284-05:002013-12-23T06:09:47.284-05:00Invest in minds not maths to boost the economy<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029485.800-invest-in-minds-not-maths-to-boost-the-economy.html" rel="nofollow">Invest in minds not maths to boost the economy</a>Zephirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06010623752049244967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-33701626687990802013-12-21T13:14:52.282-05:002013-12-21T13:14:52.282-05:00Bee is moving on up and congratulations! Today a D...Bee is moving on up and congratulations! Today a D (Physical Review D), not the best grade, but tomorrow an A (Physical Review A)!Ashish Sirohihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059760270378351196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-90658880961012788792013-12-20T17:44:03.870-05:002013-12-20T17:44:03.870-05:00Bee - my belief is that schools, in particular her...Bee - my belief is that schools, in particular here in the USA, are hell bent on "fixing" and refuse to stop and assess whether anything they have attempted in the past 40 to 50 years has had a measurable benefit on studetns understanding in any of of the "3 R's". The average high school student back in days of yore had a pretty good grounding in the basics. And there Anonymous Snowboarderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13705929076819672791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-43010560862041560122013-12-18T10:00:39.801-05:002013-12-18T10:00:39.801-05:00Zephir, I see. In Dirac's he said as much an...Zephir, I see. In Dirac's he said as much and in a sort of multiplicity of functions generated by bfa ket notation. Why can we not accept more relaxed methods in view of probing experiments and issues of obserstion. So we for the standard research as physics can only imagine visible light and that broken into a corpuscular spectrum to view it<br />like we do holograms. The totality which L. Edgar Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00525169618204198073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-52619327442458030072013-12-18T08:28:32.381-05:002013-12-18T08:28:32.381-05:00If you're believing, that the formal math is t...If you're believing, that the formal math is the only reliable way for description of reality, I can have nothing against it - but such a philosophy will introduce a gnoseologic bias under situation, when the observable reality becomes fragmented into multiple deterministic solutions. I already explained it with water surface analogy. <br /><br />Recently Lee Smolin <a href="http://Zephirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06010623752049244967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-61637639948736933712013-12-18T08:14:06.731-05:002013-12-18T08:14:06.731-05:00/* from the expanding wave fronts of ever more co.../* from the expanding wave fronts of ever more complex reflections of sonar we CAN trace things backward to pinpoint the location of a submarine */<br /><br />Of course, I'm aware of it, as this is a typical emergent approach, which is using longitudinal waves. But the mainstream physicists don't use it, as they're focused to Lorentz symmetry of transverse wave spreading. They'Zephirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06010623752049244967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-17975770141199290682013-12-18T02:56:00.787-05:002013-12-18T02:56:00.787-05:00Zephir, have you heard that from the expanding wav...Zephir, have you heard that from the expanding wave fronts of ever more complex reflections of sonar we CAN trace things backward to pinpoint the location of a submarine? L. Edgar Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00525169618204198073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-43504017134915240362013-12-17T18:52:49.808-05:002013-12-17T18:52:49.808-05:00I enjoyed the post as usual and I also wish popula...I enjoyed the post as usual and I also wish popular science books (e.g., "Chaos" by James Glick) had more math in them. I vaguely recall that books I read by George Gamov in my youth had a bit of math in them, which made them more interesting.<br /><br />What I like to argue (perhaps simplistically) that math is just thinking, thinking math. That is when you have three errands to do in JimVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10198704789965278981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-81853866189290721152013-12-17T11:25:31.587-05:002013-12-17T11:25:31.587-05:00"My oldest daughter's fiancee"
That..."My oldest daughter's fiancee"<br /><br />That should be fiancé, or course. My Swedish is better than my French.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-27083959479103759552013-12-17T00:58:42.230-05:002013-12-17T00:58:42.230-05:00As a formal footnote after reading the posts so fa...As a formal footnote after reading the posts so far here including a useful doubling of alphabet symbols as mirroring or for individual letters such as "V", consider these questions as to how well our language as math depicts Nature:<br />*1. Given a sequence of integers K, how many numbers or pictures must a student memorize before they can add easily and without gaps in the results?<L. Edgar Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00525169618204198073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-42041202540777322332013-12-16T14:29:57.774-05:002013-12-16T14:29:57.774-05:00According to my youngest daughter, the status of W...According to my youngest daughter, the status of W as an independent letter is still unclear, at least from what they learn in school.<br /><br />How much Swedish people learn is probably a matter of personaliby. My oldest daughter's fiancee, who is English, has been staying with us for eight months and now speaks decent Swedish.<br /><br />Thomas Larssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15985129937633673870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-79778175383628028542013-12-16T11:56:11.853-05:002013-12-16T11:56:11.853-05:00In school I learned that "the alphabeth has 2...In school I learned that "the alphabeth has 28 letters, or 29 if you count W". Will check with my children if that is still what is taught.<br /><br />In Swedish Q is probably even more scarce than W. But obsolete characters are not uncommon in other languages. How often does a German use Y (not Ü), or an Italian use K (except in sms:ese).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-10811856739100856142013-12-16T08:44:22.199-05:002013-12-16T08:44:22.199-05:00"Tell me a Swedish word with W then!"
A...<i>"Tell me a Swedish word with W then!"</i><br /><br />Almost all are proper names and/or foreign words, but there are many names with W (usually as the initial letter).<br /><br />By the way, here's announcement of the official promotion of W to a fully fledged letter: <a href="http://sprak.ifokus.se/articles/4d713f2ab9cb46223905609c-alfabetets-yngsta-bokstav" rel="nofollow">W</a>Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-18551115773082673822013-12-16T08:28:16.714-05:002013-12-16T08:28:16.714-05:00Really? Tell me a Swedish word with W then! Yes, w...Really? Tell me a Swedish word with W then! Yes, well, as I said I did learn the basics and if I find the time, I'll also read the rest of the book. Maybe. After I've written this referee report and that grant proposal and submitted these proceedings... Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-30167478428408408042013-12-16T07:05:29.970-05:002013-12-16T07:05:29.970-05:00"Swedish alphabet. Note lack of W"
Whil...<i>"Swedish alphabet. Note lack of W"</i><br /><br />While rare, W has been in the Swedish alphabet for a while, though until recently alphabetized along with V (the way that, for example, ä is sometimes alphabetized with a (though never in Swedish)). Recently, however, W was promoted to an actual Swedish letter.<br /><br />As someone who has learned Swedish without ever having lived Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-62104990391497471502013-12-16T05:54:54.832-05:002013-12-16T05:54:54.832-05:00/* It's just hard work, every day, and still r.../* It's just hard work, every day, and still rewarding */<br /><br />IMO for ability for math learning exist the same difference as for whatever else ability (like the music). While the hard training can wipe out much of differences, the difference in learning abilities still persist.<br /><br />BTW The math is not the language of nature - this is just an ideology of people, who are payed forZephirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06010623752049244967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-2522971106891620722013-12-16T04:33:38.012-05:002013-12-16T04:33:38.012-05:00Rab,
Thanks for the reference which I had missed....Rab,<br /><br />Thanks for the reference which I had missed. This is interesting. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-47731438933604232722013-12-16T04:32:24.766-05:002013-12-16T04:32:24.766-05:00Arun,
Yes, I agree. Except that embedding equatio...Arun,<br /><br />Yes, I agree. Except that embedding equations is still cumbersome. Alas, the issue with blogs is that the audience is strongly self-selecting. If you write about math, you're most likely to attract people who are already fond of math anyway. That's why I think it would make much more of a difference if 'normal' news that most people get to see every know and then Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-18432277620021773132013-12-16T01:24:13.433-05:002013-12-16T01:24:13.433-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.My Half Ofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02535428140881202204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-9240379869044329702013-12-16T01:23:39.397-05:002013-12-16T01:23:39.397-05:00If you want to enjoy math, subscribe to Vihart on ...If you want to enjoy math, subscribe to Vihart on youtube. What she does there will make math interesting and fun for almost any age or passing interest...My Half Ofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02535428140881202204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-6589288673123625302013-12-15T22:52:38.673-05:002013-12-15T22:52:38.673-05:00I agree with you, Sabine. Moreover, recent researc...I agree with you, Sabine. Moreover, <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-12/nuos-nmg121313.php" rel="nofollow">recent research</a> supports you. <br />In my youth, I found learning to be hard but rewarding work. Math was the hardest work of all. Now and for the 50 years subsequent to elementary school, I am considered by those around me to be somewhat of a math whiz. Nope. It'rabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075982588165305088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-78461887702150685262013-12-15T16:43:13.255-05:002013-12-15T16:43:13.255-05:00A very good post about an observation and inferenc...A very good post about an observation and inference that is quite consistent with many other observations, which does not have the inconsistencies of the ole talk models that get the attention. Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11295313166014927435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-66694861608146254702013-12-15T15:14:23.491-05:002013-12-15T15:14:23.491-05:00I think part of the problem is that just about eve...I think part of the problem is that just about everyone can truthfully say 'I'm not very good at maths' even highly skilled people although maybe not theoretical physicists.The reason being that there is so much maths to master that sooner or later almost everybody finds an area they don't 'get' and can say it.I strongly believe (with no evidence) that it would be useful Mik Atkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15285983229506672564noreply@blogger.com