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> But let us not make the mistake of closing the scientific doors on the so-called 'mathematically illiterate.' Fair enough, but it can lead to a very serious
by lutusp 11y ago
> But let us not make the mistake of closing the scientific doors on the so-called 'mathematically illiterate.'
Fair enough, but it can lead to a very serious problem -- how do we compare the results of different studies? Day-to-day experimental results can be collected with only a little math, but any theories that might be shaped on the basis of those results, that might end up defining new fields, usually have a mathematical form that summarizes the experimental work and creates new principles and paradigms. Those theories that last the longest and have the largest effect on science, tend to be more mathematical than anecdotal.
> Faraday's insights were not (directly) dependent on advanced knowledge of mathematics, but Maxwell's were. We needed the genius of both these men, but mathematics was only required of the second.
This example supports the role of mathematics in science. Faraday described some results that arose in laboratory experiments, then Maxwell explained those results using mathematics. Faraday's results were fascinating, but Maxwell's results were portable and later served as a foundation for relativity -- which was also very mathematical.
- forgetsusername 11y ago>Faraday described some results that arose in laboratory experiments, then Maxwell explained those results using mathematics. The issue is with expecting a single person to be able to do both; people with incredible insight who are also great at mathematics are inherently rare. If you require the latter you're going to miss out on much of the world's stock of the former. I think the future of science rests on the coordination of both.
- lutusp 11y agoI agree completely, but by 1915, Einstein had reshaped himself into exactly the multidisciplinary person required to write the general theory. The real tragedy in science are those with only physical intuition and little mathematical foundation, like Nicola Tesla, who wasted much time on notions that flatly contradicted the mathematical underpinnings of physical theory.