Little-known fact: Buzz Lightyear was an ingenious physicist. You can tell because his name is also a unit of measurement. Think of all the other units we have in physics. The Webber. The Tesla. The Joule, Hertz, Ampere, Celsius, Coulomb, Henry, Newton, Pascal, Kelvin, Ohm, Watt, Gauss, Siemens... All these guys made breakthrough discoveries and did fancy science to such an extent that they needed an entirely new unit in order to to more science. Which is pretty incredible stuff.
And good old Buzz Lightyear is up there with them. You thought he was just an overzealous space ranger, but much of our modern-day astroscience is possible thanks to Mr. Lightyear, the scientist.
In following with my previous post, I've decided to share another mind-blossom with you. That's right, some people have mind palaces, I have mind-blossoms... Besides, it's nice to give flowers to people.
A couple weeks ago, I was going to classes (imagine that!) and in several of them, the teacher got somewhat distracted at some point in the lesson and diverged to some other topic that wasn't going to be on the next test.
This isn't an unusual occasion, especially for some of my classes, but it was unusual in the quality of the diversions. Instead of talking about a time that a colleague said something funny, or being coerced into doing a solo polka demonstration (true story. According to my physics professor, "the polka is the only dance that makes any sense," which is why you might make a polka analogy when explaining circuit analysis...) These diversions were more...well, I don't really have a word for them right now.
In choir, we stopped rehearsal (any performer knows that you do this at great cost) to hear and hopefully understand something about the 60's and 70's. How young people were being forced to fight in a war they didn't start, they didn't believe in, and they couldn't support. But their country and their parents and anything else they had put their trust in was suddenly betraying them, so they reacted in the only way a rising generation can: cultural revolution.
In graphics, we basically bagged the lesson and the quiz and listened to a lecture about the wonders of technology and engineering. We looked at picture after picture of cool ideas and models and projects, like this chair:
In physics, we stopped drawing diagrams on the board and forgot about all the theories and equations to hear stories about young scientists like Michael Faraday who had little education but eager, brilliant minds and the right opportunities to make discoveries that changed the world.
It seemed like I was experiencing a soap box day, where instructor after instructor decided it was a good day to forget about books and tests and just get on the soap box for a bit (or...the majority of the class) and teach us things about life and the world they've lived in and the experiences they've had.
And I found myself learning like never before. I was engaged and interested. Sleep didn't even tug at my eyelids. I didn't consider pulling out a book to read or a note to pass (see how well I normally pay attention?) I went to school and received so much more than I usually got. Here's the thing. I can learn physics on my own. I can read the book and look up experiments and diagrams. I can even learn skills on my own. I can teach myself music or how to use computer software. It's not always as easy, but I can do it on my own. What I can't get on my own is this life-wisdom that other people have accumulated. I can't understand what it's like to live in a time when people weren't regarded (for the most part) equally. I can't imagine living in a time of war and having that affect the lives of my friends and family. I can't create my own inspiration. I can't learn the value of respect without having someone show it to me. I can't learn to love without anyone to give it meaning. People seem to regard the activity of getting on one's soap box as a bad thing. I think it's one of the most worthwhile endeavors you can make. Have more soap box days.
Today, as I was spending another day at the ASCE Conference surrounded by fellow engineers, I found myself wondering why more people aren't engineers. I mean seriously. When I have that wonderful everyday conversation with other people where we ask each other what we're studying, and I tell my conversee that I'm an engineer, they always make some silly remark about "Oh, you must be really smart," or "That's cool, I'm not smart enough for that." I don't think this is the correct approach.
Many people seem to believe that engineers are born, not made. They have a "knack".
This may be true, but I feel like I could take any number of career paths by making myself whatever I want to become. A quantum physicist or a soccer player or a researching mathematicianor a dinosaur or a writer or a musician or a painter or a historian...
Some of those things, like a painter, would take a lot more effort for me to do. I have previously held little interest in painting and therefore have developed little talent with it. Maths and physics, however, I have already had great interest in and therefore I've developed quite a bit of experience in those fields. But I wasn't born with any of that...I learned it over time, because that's what I wanted.
I believe that it is the same for engineering. Sure, there are a few of those with "the knack", but there are natural pianists and doctors and lacrosse players and chemists, too. It's not like every single engineer was born with some supernatural gift and destiny. Most of them are just normal people with interests and science.
So if you're not sure what you want to do with your life yet, I suggest you consider being an engineer. See, here's the best thing about engineering: you can do whatever you want with it. The other day, my friend who is an engineering major asked me what it is that engineers actually do. This is a difficult question to pin down because there are a lot of different fields within engineering. At first I responded that engineers make life better. But really, people in general try to do that, via all sorts of careers. My next answer was this:
Engineers make the imagination tangible.
How cool is that job? Imagine whatever you want, and then make it real. Ahhhh, coolness just radiates from you. Impress all the ladies.
But seriously, engineering is an art. It requires a lot more than just math and science and graphs. It requires craft and creativity. And it produces beautiful things.
So. If you like things, you should be an engineer. Because no matter what you like, engineering has something to do with it. Just through my first year of my engineering studies, I've already used engineering in canoeing, music, soccer and other sports, home improvement, construction, legos... allll sorts of things. Engineering opens all the doors. If you're not sure what to do, be an engineer and eventually it will lead you to something incredible.
Aaaand...it's Pi day. :D Hopefully the majority of my readership is well acquainted with pi, though. So I thought it might be important to celebrate another event in conjunction with pi day. Don't worry, fellow nerds...pi is not being abandoned, nor is nerd-dom. It's time for a birthday party :D Today in 1879 in Germany, Alberto Einstein was born. Being German, his parents opted to call him "Albert" for short. Born on pi day. He was destined for greatness.
young Albert quickly outgrew the awkward baby stage
and became a dapper young lad.
Most people know the standard Einstein trivia: he was a theoretical physicist, he was a pioneer of the Manhattan project shortly after becoming a US citizen, is one of the more prominent geniuses of history...
I mean, you really cannot dispute the genius of a man whose brain has its own wikipedia article.
By the way, all of the silliness saying that Albert Einstein's brain was significantly smaller than the average man's is...partially true. We'll have to discuss this fascinating neuroscience later.
(Just don't believe everything you hear about brain sizes; you might begin to believe that women are stupider than men because their brains are smaller.)
So. Einstein was all about mathematics and physics and the universe and complex stuff like that, right? Well the funny thing about being human is that you must also dabble in things like religion and arts and other aspects of life. Man cannot exist on math alone. Albert Einstein did many things throughout his lifetime. He learned to play the violin as a child and continued his beloved hobby passionately, perhaps to get his mind off math once in a while. He went through three marriages and had three children and learned a thing or two about love in the process. He offered a fair amount of political and theological commentary, as well as physical theories. His ideas in physics were met with much higher regard, however, leading to a Nobel Prize in physics.
Einstein would often hang out with Niels Bohr (Sorry, that's not a creation of Bram Stoker...it's a scientist) and discuss quantum mechanics. You know, the way that buddies do.
Despite being so heavily involved in math and physics, Albert Einstein is quite quotable. Many people seem to think that people who are crazy with the hard sciences are difficult people to understand and are probably too smart to talk to, but I believe that a conversation with Einstein would be fulfilling, enlightening, and enjoyable no matter what your IQ was or where you were in life.
Here are a few quotes of his. He had many, and it's difficult to choose a favorite. (If you have a favorite, mention it in the commentary of this post!)
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it.
The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.
I'm often inclined to list Albert Einstein as a personal hero or inspiring example in my life, and I think the vibe that people get from that is "Oh, look who's the physics hotshot now" which is really not what I'm aiming for. He was a lot more than just a high-functioning brain somewhere in the universe. Some science, some philosophy, some music, some religion, some math, some politics, some love, some humor...
The weather is warming up. Grass can be seen. This means that the only thing I really want to think about at the moment is soccer. Mmm...soccer. Last semester I spent basically all my efforts in my English class writing about soccer. It was a great English class. Now if only my statics class could also revolve around soccer. Or even just sit still around soccer, since it's static...
Statics and dynamics tests should look like this:
← 1) Find the applied upward force needed to stall the .5 kg ball.
2) If there is a 2 N force pushing the .5 kg ball to the left, what is the coefficient of friction between the ball and the boot?
← 3) If the goalkeeper's forward force is equal to 250 lbs, find the amount of work done in stopping his momentum by the spikes of his cleats. The keeper weighs 180 lbs and the coefficient of friction between grass and the bottom of a normal shoe is 0.5. (Assume the keeper's boot acts like a normal shoe in between the spikes)
This is infinitely more interesting than bridges. Also, if you solve all three problems correctly, you get a hat trick. That's a well-deserved three points, whether you're at home or on the road. Ahhh...soccer puns. X) But seriously. Some people in engineering classes like statics aren't really interested in bridges and trusses and structures. They want to grow up and be a soccer engineer, not a civil engineer. (Could you imagine how terrible it would be to be a civil engineer? You'd have to behave yourself all the time!)
Today is one of most hated days of the year. Which is ironic, seeing as the day is dedicated to love. Well done, society. I must admit that I have joined in on the Valentine's Day hating too. Why do we hate it so much though? It's really not different from any other day of the year--there are single people on February 15th and there are overly passionate couples on February 13th...so there's really nothing special about the 14th to love or hate. But we've still constructed this silly notion that the 14th of February has to be some magnanimous lovers' event, whether we participate in it or not.
What this results in, more than anything, is people getting their hopes up unreasonably. I'm not saying that we should avoid hoping, because that would lead to avoiding living, but that we should be reasonable about it all. For example, if you are single and not currently dating anybody, and not really making much of an effort in the dating scene in general...don't get your hopes up that some fairy tale is going to come along and just happen to you.
If you want to hope for something, you have a degree of obligation, then, to work to make it happen. Wishing on stars is nice, but it just sets you up for disappointment when you don't do anything about it, and then your wishes never come true. Funny how that works. So, we hate Valentine's Day, but it's a little bit of our own faults. Which sucks. What I suggest we do about this is start loving Valentine's Day. I mean, it's a day dedicated to love...but nobody said that had to be the lustful kind of love. Basically I'm saying use the day as an excuse to do something special for your friends and family and other loved ones. Bake cookies, make a card, eat ice cream, watch horror films... And if you've been caught down in the woes of "she doesn't know I exist" lately...DO something. If you're waiting for a Valentine's Day surprise, sitting around is not going to make it happen. Use the silly holiday you're so fond of as an excuse to do something nice for someone that normally you would have to think up a reason for to avoid looking stupid.
"Hi, I just wanted to stop by and say hi, and....I have no reason to do this other than I want to be with you" versus "Hi, i just wanted to say hi and Happy Valentine's Day, and I was wondering if you'd eaten lunch yet? I was just heading to the café...wannna go together?"
One of them sounds so much more reasonable...and promising. And if you want to get in on the real love, send them a nice nerdy card. :D
So don't hate the day, and don't be so bitter about the situation. Find a way to love today that fits the love you have. Happy Valentine's Day, my blog readers. :) I appreciate you guys!
So it's now the third day of the semester, and an interesting pattern developed over the past two days as I went through syllabus after syllabus. They all included the word "master". And it wasn't even in the context of "In order to pass the final, you will have to pray to your Master" or "I am the ENGR2210 Master, I will decide who will pass and who will fail."
No, it was always along the lines of mastering the subject material. And really, that's nothing unusual to be said, but I guess after being beaten over the head with in first in Statics, then in Calculus and Electronics and Physics and Graphics (Yes yes...you're all jealous of my kick-butt schedule) it made me think about the phrase a little more...than anyone really should, I guess. Master. Mastery. Mastering... In terms of education and syllabi, it's really not that strange. It means that you have gained an understanding of the subject and you can use it and not look silly in front of the nerds. But then I started thinking about it in different terms. I like to do this with words, really...and sometimes it's enlightening, and sometimes it's confusing, and sometimes it really doesn't get anywhere at all. I guess we can decide where this one ended up after I describe it to you. Master, as in "Master and slave" Initial reaction: "slavery is bad!" Then: "waiiiiit a minute. I could enslave physics? It could do my bidding? Ooooh." NOW this syllabus is getting somewhere.
"Physics! Solve this paltry homework conundrum!" "Yes, Master..."
Suddenly, the world is becoming mine, and I'm realizing just how important education is, if it allows you to enslave Physics. Calculus and Electronics, too. Pretty soon I could be the master of lots of things! Master, as in "Master's Program" Yes...but this isn't a master's program...this is a sophomore-level engineering class... But I suppose getting a good grip on this stuff is not a bad idea either way. To get accepted to a master's program. So far off, but so much to think about... Master, as in "Master, the Tempest is Raging" Initial reaction: "RAAAAAAGING." This tempest, Lord. 'Tis furious. Then: Well, I suppose He mastered physics, too. And calculus and electronics and graphics and statics... I mean, to take a raging tempest:
I have labelled some stuff here (e.g. propagating waves :D), but it's very minimal. I have not yet mastered all the physics...
And make it pleasant. Peachy, even:
Net Force: 0 Net Torque: 0 Net Celestial Fruit: Peach.
You kindof have to be a master of Physics and Statics to do that. And in order to Master those, you have to master Caculus. And when there's lightning, knowing a thing or two about Electronics probably wouldn't hurt, either. As far as graphics, though...I'm pretty sure the Big Guy has a supercomputer. And one heck of a laboratory. And a huge white board in the sky for math...
But we can talk about Heaven and science later. Anyway. This semester is a promising one, if any of those three 'Masterings' comes true... Most likely that of a Masters' Program. ...but I really wouldn't be disappointed if my mastery of science resulted in weather control or enslaving physics...
