Einstein "fingers" and relativity
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From: Albretch Mueller on 15 Nov 2009 07:27 Well, you apparently don't get my point, which was related to qualia and the hard problem of consciousness. We all quale things in homely ways and I was amazed that even Einstein was honestly telling was about some of his own craze in relation to the physical theories he authored lbrtchx {sci.physics.relativity, sci.psychology.misc, alt.philosophy}
From: physics_inquiry on 15 Nov 2009 13:17 On Nov 15, 8:07 am, Albretch Mueller <lbrt...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I remember once I read some comments from Einstein himself in which > he somehow said that he could imagine what happen with space/time > through some weird play with his own fingers. Seriously. I am a > theoretical physicist myself and to me that was a very weird, > confusing and unpedagogical thing to hear, but I found it interesting > nevertheless. It is virtually impossible to search for: Einstein > fingers and get what you need > > Do you know what I am talking about? Could you help get to the source > of it? > > Thank you > lbrtchx I don't know about Einstein, but I know Isaac Newton. Isaac Newton's greatness could have been the sensitivity of his "feelings" as well as his clarity of thoughts. He could translate what he feels into quantitative mechanics. 1) friction - he moves his palms (fingers ?) over his study table and understands the notion of friction. 2) inertial - he imagines sliding over ice over a pond in winter and understands how without friction, of idealized "smoothness", things would travel on without change in velocity. 3) force = mass x acceleration - others could have been caught with force proportional to speed, but Newton ( from 2) above) jumped to d2x/ dt2 and not just dx/dt. 4) action=reaction - Newton's sensitivity would now have missed that from playing with a rope or bumping his head against a pillar, etc 5) so what he needed was the mathematics of changes (in distance, speed, space, time). So he invented calculus to put his ideas into mathematical forms. So Isaac Newton's greatness may not be just the brain as everyone imagines, but might as well be his exceptional ability to feel about everyday phenomena.
From: Androcles on 15 Nov 2009 14:41 "physics_inquiry" <physics_inquiry(a)yahoo.com.sg> wrote in message news:7e70fc10-b3e8-459c-8948-3c1e9441c169(a)a39g2000pre.googlegroups.com... On Nov 15, 8:07 am, Albretch Mueller <lbrt...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I remember once I read some comments from Einstein himself in which > he somehow said that he could imagine what happen with space/time > through some weird play with his own fingers. Seriously. I am a > theoretical physicist myself and to me that was a very weird, > confusing and unpedagogical thing to hear, but I found it interesting > nevertheless. It is virtually impossible to search for: Einstein > fingers and get what you need > > Do you know what I am talking about? Could you help get to the source > of it? > > Thank you > lbrtchx I don't know about Einstein, but I know Isaac Newton. Isaac Newton's greatness could have been the sensitivity of his "feelings" as well as his clarity of thoughts. He could translate what he feels into quantitative mechanics. 1) friction - he moves his palms (fingers ?) over his study table and understands the notion of friction. 2) inertial - he imagines sliding over ice over a pond in winter and understands how without friction, of idealized "smoothness", things would travel on without change in velocity. 3) force = mass x acceleration - others could have been caught with force proportional to speed, but Newton ( from 2) above) jumped to d2x/ dt2 and not just dx/dt. 4) action=reaction - Newton's sensitivity would now have missed that from playing with a rope or bumping his head against a pillar, etc 5) so what he needed was the mathematics of changes (in distance, speed, space, time). So he invented calculus to put his ideas into mathematical forms. So Isaac Newton's greatness may not be just the brain as everyone imagines, but might as well be his exceptional ability to feel about everyday phenomena. =============================================== Well said.
From: myspacetime on 15 Nov 2009 12:20 Albretch Mueller;1454626 Wrote: > I remember once I read some comments from Einstein himself in which > he somehow said that he could imagine what happen with space/time > through some weird play with his own fingers. Seriously. I am a > theoretical physicist myself and to me that was a very weird, > confusing and unpedagogical thing to hear, but I found it interesting > nevertheless. It is virtually impossible to search for: Einstein > fingers and get what you need > > Do you know what I am talking about? Could you help get to the source > of it? > > Thank you > lbrtchx I don't know about Einstein, but I know Isaac Newton. Isaac Newton's greatness could have been the sensitivity of his "feelings" as well as his clarity of thoughts. He could translate what he feels into quantitative mechanics. 1) friction - he moves his palms (fingers ?) over his study table and understands the notion of friction. 2) inertial - he imagines sliding over ice over a pond in winter and understands how without friction, of idealized "smoothness", things would travel on without change in velocity. 3) force = mass x acceleration - others could have been caught with force proportional to speed, but Newton ( from 2) above) jumped to d2x/dt2 and not just dx/dt. 4) action=reaction - Newton's sensitivity would now have missed that from playing with a rope or bumping his head against a pillar, etc 5) so what he needed was the mathematics of changes (in distance, speed, space, time). So he invented calculus to put his ideas into mathematical forms. So Isaac Newton's greatness may not be just the brain as everyone imagines, but might as well be his exceptional ability to feel about everyday phenomena. -- myspacetime
From: BURT on 15 Nov 2009 19:21
On Nov 15, 9:20 am, myspacetime <myspacetime. 5461...(a)physicsbanter.com> wrote: > Albretch Mueller;1454626 Wrote:> I remember once I read some comments from Einstein himself in which > > he somehow said that he could imagine what happen with space/time > > through some weird play with his own fingers. Seriously. I am a > > theoretical physicist myself and to me that was a very weird, > > confusing and unpedagogical thing to hear, but I found it interesting > > nevertheless. It is virtually impossible to search for: Einstein > > fingers and get what you need > > > Do you know what I am talking about? Could you help get to the source > > of it? > > > Thank you > > lbrtchx > > I don't know about Einstein, but I know Isaac Newton. > > Isaac Newton's greatness could have been the sensitivity of his > "feelings" as well as his clarity of thoughts. He could translate what > he feels into quantitative mechanics. > 1) friction - he moves his palms (fingers ?) over his study table and > understands the notion of friction. > 2) inertial - he imagines sliding over ice over a pond in winter and > understands how without friction, of idealized "smoothness", things > would travel on without change in velocity. > 3) force = mass x acceleration - others could have been caught with > force proportional to speed, but Newton ( from 2) above) jumped to > d2x/dt2 and not just dx/dt. > 4) action=reaction - Newton's sensitivity would now have missed that > from playing with a rope or bumping his head against a pillar, etc > 5) so what he needed was the mathematics of changes (in distance, > speed, space, time). So he invented calculus to put his ideas into > mathematical forms. > > So Isaac Newton's greatness may not be just the brain as everyone > imagines, but might as well be his exceptional ability to feel about > everyday phenomena. > > -- > myspacetime His fingers moved away from each other. |