Re: Physics Question
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That's an interesting derivation, I especially like the second line (I didn't notice that). But I don't understand how this is easier, or how we're "leaping off a bridge." I thought we were solving them algebraically. I suspect that your familiarity with math and symbols makes this more intuitive to you.
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If you make a mistake with numbers already plugged in, good luck finding out what the error was. If you make the mistake with abstract symbols plugged in, it can be very easy to identify. (EDIT: It also allows you to make common sense checks. A distance should be a speed times a time; do we end up with that? If the speed difference between air and concrete is very small, then a small time difference should correspond to a big distance difference; is this true? Etc.)
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