5 ms·

Nice article discussing the importance of general knowledge (as opposed to detailed, technical knowledge). Implicit in the article is the idea that there is an

Nice article discussing the importance of general knowledge (as opposed to detailed, technical knowledge). Implicit in the article is the idea that there is an evergrowing gap between smart people and the professional, technical crowd. While universities and research institutions are rapidly advancing knowledge, there does not seem to the author to be a reliable source for understanding the classic insights from the past or taking a high level view on the latest technical advances. Interestingly, he doesn't mention wikipedia, talk about social networks, or consider the many online content such as blogging, hubpages, or knol.

Retric 17y ago
Almost, I suspect the idea is you can understand a lot about say engines by understanding say maximum thermal effecency = 1 - (cold / hot) in Kelvin (which is around 300 on the cold side.) There is also a lot of high end math, but a lot of the useful parts of the field can be understood based on that and say the temperature limits of steel. Add in Stefan–Boltzmann law; which states that amount of thermal radiations emitted per second per unit area of the surface of a black body is directly proportional to the fourth power of its absolute temperature (Kelven), and kelvin = Celsius - 273. Which let's you consider the limits of say a large solar thermal collector. PS: It's often not about precision as much as a sanity check.
- pieceofpeace 17y ago
  > and kelvin = Celsius - 273 kelvin = Celsius + ~273.15
  - Retric 17y ago
    lol, ops. I was thinking [kelvin = Celsius] - 273 as in they are on the same scale once you subtract 273 from kelvin, but that's not what I wrote.
- larryfreeman 17y ago
  I agree. That's his main point. He also touches on two points which I thought were worth calling out: (1) No source for a Simple Math of Everything exists (ie he'd like to write one) (2) If it did exist, there are many benefits to it even beyond gaining new knowledge (for example, reading Feynman's lectures greatly enriched his world view)

Retric 17y ago

Almost, I suspect the idea is you can understand a lot about say engines by understanding say maximum thermal effecency = 1 - (cold / hot) in Kelvin (which is around 300 on the cold side.) There is also a lot of high end math, but a lot of the useful parts of the field can be understood based on that and say the temperature limits of steel. Add in Stefan–Boltzmann law; which states that amount of thermal radiations emitted per second per unit area of the surface of a black body is directly proportional to the fourth power of its absolute temperature (Kelven), and kelvin = Celsius - 273. Which let's you consider the limits of say a large solar thermal collector. PS: It's often not about precision as much as a sanity check.

pieceofpeace 17y ago
> and kelvin = Celsius - 273 kelvin = Celsius + ~273.15
- Retric 17y ago
  lol, ops. I was thinking [kelvin = Celsius] - 273 as in they are on the same scale once you subtract 273 from kelvin, but that's not what I wrote.
larryfreeman 17y ago
I agree. That's his main point. He also touches on two points which I thought were worth calling out: (1) No source for a Simple Math of Everything exists (ie he'd like to write one) (2) If it did exist, there are many benefits to it even beyond gaining new knowledge (for example, reading Feynman's lectures greatly enriched his world view)