Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > sci.physics > #680865 > unrolled thread

Not Einstein's quote

Back to article view | Back to sci.physics

Contents

  Not Einstein's quote john <johnsefton288@gmail.com> - 2018-04-12 13:01 -0700
    Re: Not Einstein's quote Odd Bodkin <bodkinodd@gmail.com> - 2018-04-12 23:16 +0000
    Re: Not Einstein's quote moroney@world.std.spaamtrap.com (Michael Moroney) - 2018-04-13 06:30 +0000
      Re: Not Einstein's quote Helmut Wabnig <hwabnig@.- --- -.dotat> - 2018-04-13 12:09 +0200
    Re: Not Einstein's quote Edward Prochak <edprochak@gmail.com> - 2018-04-13 07:30 -0700

#680865 — Not Einstein's quote

"Feynman was a truly great teacher. He prided himself on being able to devise ways to explain even the most profound ideas to beginning students. Once, I said to him, “Dick, explain to me, so that I can understand it, why spin one-half particles obey Fermi-Dirac statistics.” Sizing up his audience perfectly, Feynman said, “I’ll prepare a freshman lecture on it.” But he came back a few days later to say, “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t reduce it to the freshman level. That means we don’t really understand it.”"
From David Goodsteins book "Feynmann's Lost Lecture", which I'm sure Odd has read.

There you go, Odd- WE DONT REALLY UNDERSTAND IT.
You don't have a model.

[toc] | [next] | [standalone]

#680883

john <johnsefton288@gmail.com> wrote:
> "Feynman was a truly great teacher. He prided himself on being able to
> devise ways to explain even the most profound ideas to beginning
> students. Once, I said to him, “Dick, explain to me, so that I can
> understand it, why spin one-half particles obey Fermi-Dirac statistics.”
> Sizing up his audience perfectly, Feynman said, “I’ll prepare a freshman
> lecture on it.” But he came back a few days later to say, “I couldn’t do
> it. I couldn’t reduce it to the freshman level. That means we don’t really understand it.”"
> From David Goodsteins book "Feynmann's Lost Lecture", which I'm sure Odd has read.
> 
> There you go, Odd- WE DONT REALLY UNDERSTAND IT.
> You don't have a model.
> 

Which is a pithy and oft-quoted remark that if you can’t explain it to a
freshman, then you don’t understand it. He said this to be amusing and
pithy. Note that the VERY SAME Feynman also said, “Hell, if I could explain
it to the average person, it wouldn't have been worth the Nobel prize.” 

Now, which pithy comment are you hanging your estimation of science on, and
WHY?

-- 
Odd Bodkin -- maker of fine toys, tools, tables

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#680919

Not everything in science is going to be easy to understand. Calculate the
atomic spectrum of uranium, for example, by accounting for all the
individual charge interactions between 92 electrons and a nucleus with a
+92 charge.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#680920

On Fri, 13 Apr 2018 06:30:37 +0000 (UTC),
moroney@world.std.spaamtrap.com (Michael Moroney) wrote:

>Not everything in science is going to be easy to understand. Calculate the
>atomic spectrum of uranium, for example, by accounting for all the
>individual charge interactions between 92 electrons and a nucleus with a
>+92 charge.

Go back to the roots of thinking:
define the meaning of words.

What does "understand" mean and in what context.

"My dog understands me".


w.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#680926

On Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 4:01:40 PM UTC-4, john wrote:
> "Feynman was a truly great teacher. He prided himself on being able to devise ways to explain even the most profound ideas to beginning students. Once, I said to him, “Dick, explain to me, so that I can understand it, why spin one-half particles obey Fermi-Dirac statistics.” Sizing up his audience perfectly, Feynman said, “I’ll prepare a freshman lecture on it.” But he came back a few days later to say, “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t reduce it to the freshman level. That means we don’t really understand it.”"
> From David Goodsteins book "Feynmann's Lost Lecture", which I'm sure Odd has read.
> 
> There you go, Odd- WE DONT REALLY UNDERSTAND IT.

And that's OKAY in science. We are still looking for better answers.

> You don't have a model.
False conclusion. At worst the model is incomplete.
That is what Feynman said.

Show to put your theory in context, please 
"prepare a freshman lecture on it."

We'll wait.
   Ed

[toc] | [prev] | [standalone]

Back to top | Article view | sci.physics

csiph-web