Mathematics, Physics +...

[Illgresi]

Apologies if this has been done before, but I did a search (first page only, admittedly), and found nothing. I'm going into my masters year of a Mechanical Engineering degree, and quite honestly the only part I have really enjoyed is the Maths and Physics (Ethical Management gets a 'hell no').

I thought it'd be a nice idea to start a thread where people who are interested can share ideas, information, and new discoveries. Especially in a computing/technology oriented society, I think this could be beneficial!

Further, this could be a place where anyone with questions can come and have knowledgeable answers provided to them.

I'll start with a question to you all.

I'm a former chef and still work as such to support myself, thus I work with a lot of people who have no eduction beyond secondary school. I'm often asked, why is Maths important to everyday life. With a fairly adept understanding of maths and physics I could explain the importance of both in great detail. A kitchen is prime material for explaining physics. The problem is, I often lose people at the first word. I'm sure that's mostly down to the modern lack of concentration span, and nothing to do with my delivery. Regardless, how would you lovely people suggest I go about explaining the deep beauty of Maths and Physics to the lay person?

 

[Illgresi]

Try explaining it on here and we'll tell you how your delivery is?

Haha, it depends on the question and the context.

"Why does the pan have to be smoking hot before you put the steak in", results in a far more complex answer than...

"I hate the lights in the girls bathroom, they always show up my flaws"... etc

 

[Illgresi]

One point mentioned was 'why is maths important for everyday life?'
After all, where will you use trigonometry or circle theorem or factorisation. Eventhough most people may not use these tools in life, its about improving one's thinking skills and knowledge.

Here is a famous quote from a remarkable Physicist.

I have a friend who's an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don't agree with very well. He'll hold up a flower and say "look how beautiful it is," and I'll agree. Then he says "I as an artist can see how beautiful this is but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing," and I think that he's kind of nutty. First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me too, I believe. Although I may not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is ... I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. At the same time, I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it's not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there's also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. The fact that the colors in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting; it means that insects can see the color. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don't understand how it subtracts.

Richard Feynman.

Watching a documentary on Feynman was what brought about this thread!