Several random questions about physics, biology, math

[madnak]

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Science majors just don't get laid. That may be because they spend their evenings playing D&D and computer games but it might also be because chicks think that being sensitive is cooler than being a nerd.

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Hey, we hang around on this forum so we don't have to be reminded of that.

By the way, I'm a bit puzzled by the varying responses here. But I suspect, based at least on vhawk's response to question 1, that the answers aren't as inconsistent as they appear.

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[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] Am I reading this wrong, or do you disagree with my answer?

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No. I said motor proteins and Brownian motion. You talked about the cytoskeleton. They seem like different answers, but they are not mutually exclusive.

[ChrisV]

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4) May be tough to answer given that I haven't studied anything beyond mechanics and electromagnetism. What "causes" gravity to act on one object? Like a hand pushes a cart and makes it move, is there something that interacts with the object to cause the force? Is it just something which we don't have a complete answer to? Is the space warpage a satisfactory answer? Please don't respond with the equation, I know it.

5) Similarly, what causes electric and magnetic forces/fields? I haven't completely finished the course, so perhaps it explains later. But in the first chapter on electric forces/fields, it explains it by saying "it SOMEHOW modifies the properties of space around it". Big lol. How does one electric point charge "know" the other is there?

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In quantum theory, all fields are caused by the exchange of particles.... sort of. This is where our power of analogy breaks down. Quantum particles aren't like billiard balls, so when we say that electromagnetism works by "exchanging particles", this is shorthand for a more complete mathematical description of what is going on, for which it would be hard to come up with a good macroscopic analogy.

Hypotheses of quantum gravity are in their infancy and largely unconfirmed by experiment. Reconciling quantum theories of gravity with relativity is one of the great challenges of modern physics.

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7) Philosophy is probably the most retarded field of study ever. T/F? No one can even agree on the meanings of important keywords. Also, I don't know why rationality is always assumed. "Emotion", feeling and instinct have done pretty damn well for humans and animals in general. It is basically ignored in philosophy, no? I'm rarely completely rational except when I'm sciencing and [censored].

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You're writing off a massive field of study when you talk about "philosophy". Something abstract like epistemology can't really be considered with practical branches like moral and political philosophy. Plenty of philosophy has real-world applications.

[theblackkeys]

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Alright, just trying to tie up a few loose ends that I encounter in my studies.

1) In a cell, what causes vesicles, vacuoles, and other "stuff" to move in the cytoplasm? I'm looking for the cause of the force that gives them movement. Is it osmotic pressure? Electromagnetic forces?

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Isn't this the will of God?

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ha ha.

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5) Similarly, what causes electric and magnetic forces/fields? I haven't completely finished the course, so perhaps it explains later. But in the first chapter on electric forces/fields, it explains it by saying "it SOMEHOW modifies the properties of space around it". Big lol. How does one electric point charge "know" the other is there?

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They exchange particles, don't they?

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How does one cause both an attractive and repulsive force? How does this "exchange" cause movement?

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8) How much of a joke are these majors in uni?
-communications
-sociology
-anthropology (wtf, it should just be lumped in with sociology already)
-women's studies
-whatever ethnic studies (asian, latino, black)

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Science majors just don't get laid. That may be because they spend their evenings playing D&D and computer games but it might also be because chicks think that being sensitive is cooler than being a nerd.

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Good answer.

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9) Guitar is rad.

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That sentence doesn't make sense in so many ways it hurts to read it.

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Horrible answer.

[theblackkeys]

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2) Is race a social construct? Does it have valid scientific usage?

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Ugh, strikes me as a red herring. If biological races exist in humans, there are a couple of points to keep in mind about them. First, things like skin color aren't very useful in distinguishing between them. Second, given that isolated populations are a thing of the past, so are races.


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No, honest question.

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3) I get the impression that some of you (borodog?) here have some sort of theory of abiogenesis in your brain. Explain your ideas to me. I've read the wiki.

4) May be tough to answer given that I haven't studied anything beyond mechanics and electromagnetism. What "causes" gravity to act on one object? Like a hand pushes a cart and makes it move, is there something that interacts with the object to cause the force? Is it just something which we don't have a complete answer to? Is the space warpage a satisfactory answer? Please don't respond with the equation, I know it.

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Based on what I know, fundamental forces are mediated by gauge bosons, and a lot of people think gravity must be similar and be mediated by "gravitons." But nobody has actually been able to "find" gravitons. I think there are different hypotheses about it. Boro and Metric should know.

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I'd like a book (textbook or otherwise) that would help me understand stuff beyond mechanics and electromagnetism. I don't mind stuff with equations, I'd actually prefer it because I'd know it's not just glossing over fundamental ideas. I like to have a solid base of understanding before I start whizzing through major concepts. Otherwise I lose it all. So any suggestions would be great.

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5) Similarly, what causes electric and magnetic forces/fields? I haven't completely finished the course, so perhaps it explains later. But in the first chapter on electric forces/fields, it explains it by saying "it SOMEHOW modifies the properties of space around it". Big lol. How does one electric point charge "know" the other is there?

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I've been asking my professors about this, and they've only made things more confusing for me. Apparently the hugely oversimplified model is that electrons "shoot out" photons, which "move" things. That's cutting some corners even from the brief explanation I was given, but those "corners" are pretty wacky so I'll leave those in the know to talk about them if they want.

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I've been asking this too. They basically just give me the equations and I have to ask several times more before they get it. Still confused.

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6) Remember the giant ridiculous OOT thread about jason_t and John Nash, where callmeishmael called everyone idiots for choosing $100 +/- $1, instead of $3 (link someone?)? Well I was wondering WHY game theory gives an absolutely horrible answer to a basic problem.

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Game theoretical "rational" opponents are defined according to certain strict criteria. It can be mathematically established that two opponents who fit those criteria will choose the $2 answer when facing one another. That's the heart of it.

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So basically the assumptions made are bad.

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7) Philosophy is probably the most retarded field of study ever. T/F? No one can even agree on the meanings of important keywords. Also, I don't know why rationality is always assumed. "Emotion", feeling and instinct have done pretty damn well for humans and animals in general. It is basically ignored in philosophy, no? I'm rarely completely rational except when I'm sciencing and [censored].

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Philosophy is at the heart of almost all other fields of study, including math and science (not just sociology and anthropology). It's impossible to understand our scientific and mathematical heritage without understanding our philosophical heritage. Your assumptions are also invalid - emotion is definitely not ignored in philosophy, in fact one of the main challenges of philosophy is to explain how emotions work and what they are.

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Okay, how about this. Philosophical discussions in this forum are ridiculous.


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9) Guitar is rad.

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I wouldn't know.

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Dude!

[theblackkeys]

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4) May be tough to answer given that I haven't studied anything beyond mechanics and electromagnetism. What "causes" gravity to act on one object? Like a hand pushes a cart and makes it move, is there something that interacts with the object to cause the force? Is it just something which we don't have a complete answer to? Is the space warpage a satisfactory answer? Please don't respond with the equation, I know it.

5) Similarly, what causes electric and magnetic forces/fields? I haven't completely finished the course, so perhaps it explains later. But in the first chapter on electric forces/fields, it explains it by saying "it SOMEHOW modifies the properties of space around it". Big lol. How does one electric point charge "know" the other is there?

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In a very real sense this is not a meaningful question. We define mathematical abstractions like fields to describe observed phenomena. To then ask what "causes" them is outside the realm of science; it's metaphysics.

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What is happening when one charge moves due to the presence of another charge? I guess that's what I want to know. Why is it moving?

Similarly, what is happening when one mass moves due to the presence of another mass?

[tabako]

Can somebody link or recreate the game theory question?

[theblackkeys]

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Can somebody link or recreate the game theory question?

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jason_t's flight home

[arahant]

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Can somebody link or recreate the game theory question?

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jason_t's flight home

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I don't get it. Of course, there's no way I'm reading that thread, but I read to callmeishmael's 'solution', and he changed the rules. 'A picks 98...if B picks 97, both get 95...'. Not to mention that the solution has a fundamental error in that he uses inductive reasoning where it's not allowed...99 dominates 100 AND 98 dominates 99 !=> 98 dominates 100. You can't just make '99 the new 100' . That's the biggest problem...i don't know if they ever got there...

[madnak]

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No, honest question.

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I mean a red herring in general. Like "when does life begin?" It doesn't mean anything.

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I'd like a book (textbook or otherwise) that would help me understand stuff beyond mechanics and electromagnetism. I don't mind stuff with equations, I'd actually prefer it because I'd know it's not just glossing over fundamental ideas. I like to have a solid base of understanding before I start whizzing through major concepts. Otherwise I lose it all. So any suggestions would be great.

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Mainly random conversations and wikipedia. Sorry. I do feel a random impulse to recommend Borges, though, despite his irrelevance. So go read Borges.

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I've been asking this too. They basically just give me the equations and I have to ask several times more before they get it. Still confused.

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Yeah, I'm running into the same problems. My conceptual understanding involves what seem to be contradictions. I'm taking quantum mechanics junior year, and I'm okay waiting until then.

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So basically the assumptions made are bad.

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The assumptions made are game theory assumptions, even though the situation described (airport, vases, etc) was clearly not a game theory situation. Obviously CMI meant to imply that and was just using the example as a clever way to express it, but since the game theory people already knew the answer, and everyone else was just confused, it turned into a mess.

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Okay, how about this. Philosophical discussions in this forum are ridiculous.

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Ridiculous? Well, they don't resolve anything, if that's what you mean. In a way they're just thought exercises.

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9) Guitar is rad.

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I wouldn't know.

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Dude!

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Dude! Really though.