Steuard

42 ms·

361.
by Steuard 12y ago
Mind you, you might instead keep the voltage constant (rather than the charges), perhaps by keeping both plates plugged in to a battery the whole time. In that case, the story changes: * Voltage is (morally) equal to electric field times
362.
by Steuard 12y ago
Let's set aside equations and think about this conceptually. To be clear about the question here, I'm assuming that you have put a fixed charge onto each plate (equal and opposite) and then isolated them (so the charges remain con
363.
by Steuard 12y ago
As someone who regularly assigns the question you asked as homework (in an advanced physics course, mind you), let me put in a word of advice: don't think of what you're aiming for as "learn[ing] the formulas". In my exp
364.
by Steuard 12y ago
Ok, that's interesting: I hadn't recognized that you could use the pre-soaked pasta directly in fat (without further boiling in water/broth/whatever). I'm now more intrigued; thanks!
365.
by Steuard 12y ago
Honestly, I'm not sure that I get the value here. Is it just the ability to do some of the prep in advance? Why is (2hrs + 4min) better than (10min)? When I'm cooking a meal, getting the pasta done is rarely the limiting factor on
366.
by Steuard 12y ago
Russia hasn't been communist in that sense for decades. There are plenty of professions there that have become exceedingly wealthy in that time, but doctors have not. So to make your case, you'd need to demonstrate 1) that specifi
367.
by Steuard 12y ago
I have no idea what the right number is. But as the article points out, part of the issue is precisely that traditionally female jobs tend to pay less because they are traditionally female. Here's one apparent example of that in acti
368.
by Steuard 12y ago
"The Fine Article" (if you're in polite company): the original posted link.
369.
by Steuard 12y ago
I certainly didn't intend to suggest that an infinite number of theoretical layers might be necessary to explain nature (though I suppose I can't rule it out). Everything in my comment was meant to be compatible with (to take on
370.
by Steuard 12y ago
Exactly. That's pretty much what multiverse models suggest might be true for "fundamental constants": if you somehow knew the precise conditions of our part of the universe in the moments leading up to our big bang (and the p
371.
by Steuard 12y ago
I used to believe that the history of physics gave unwavering evidence that there is always a deep reason for the patterns and phenomena we observe: maybe not for the specifics of everyday life, but certainly for fundamental facts. (Think
372.
by Steuard 12y ago
This article on phys.org appears to be taken verbatim from a press release written by the paper's author, Robert Erlech. (Here's his website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~rehrlich/ ) From that site, here's a lin
373.
by Steuard 12y ago
History has shown that heuristics like this are a fantastically good idea. They've been part of science more or less since science started, and science has accomplished an enormous amount. The number of bold, exciting claims that are
374.
by Steuard 12y ago
Since I always seem to have a Terminal window or three open for one reason or another, I quite often find myself just typing (e.g.) "open ~/physics/books/" when I need that sort of thing. If you don't have Term
375.
by Steuard 12y ago
I'm roughly 50/50 using Finder or Terminal. You haven't said what about Finder you don't like, so I've got no suggestions for you. For me, it does the job just fine. (Is it possible that you're just more accust
376.
by Steuard 12y ago
In general, I agree that there's always some responsibility on the individual. But in a lot of cases, I really don't think it's helpful to look at it that way. I have a friend who was in great physical shape consistently for
377.
by Steuard 12y ago
You're doubling down on the "obesity is a moral disease" stance here ("gluttony" is explicitly a moral judgement). I've come to suspect that it really isn't as simple as "lack of self-control": t
378.
by Steuard 12y ago
How many individual comparisons were made throughout the article? A dozen? Two? You'd expect a p-value less than 0.05 by chance about one time in 20, and indeed this p-value is just marginally below that threshold. I wouldn't view
379.
by Steuard 12y ago
And on that, we agree.
380.
by Steuard 12y ago
Just for context, I'm a physics professor myself. And the thing that gets me seeing red, entirely too often, is watching my brilliant female students drift away from the field where they have the potential to contribute so much. Not fo
381.
by Steuard 12y ago
As you've said, "we don't have enough information to make that judgment." It is quite striking to see the sheer number of people here who nevertheless seem to think it's reasonably likely that the harassment wasn&#x
382.
by Steuard 12y ago
It sounds like you want them to add to his public humiliation and announce to the world the full details of why they're cutting ties. Is this your preferred policy for other firing offenses, too? Should companies always make public a
383.
by Steuard 12y ago
I continue to be amazed at the degree to which "no actual harassment happened" is the strong default belief for so many people here, despite the fact that a thorough investigation has already happened and decided otherwise. A
384.
by Steuard 12y ago
MIT is under no legal obligation to continue to endorse a professor who used his position there as a platform to harass others. I don't see where you're getting "illegal" or "criminal" out of this. (And "w
385.
by Steuard 12y ago
I've talked about this at greater length in another comment, but removing OCW content strikes me as a serious blow to any professor's legacy. For someone who invested years into that project, that's one heck of a punishment;
386.
by Steuard 12y ago
I agree that the loss of quality teaching materials to the public is an unfortunate result of this. But I can see at least three ways in which this may have been a very reasonable decision. First, as others have pointed out, the linked stat
387.
by Steuard 12y ago
The history of the human race is a long succession of people contributing for something that other people will benefit from. Sometimes just knowing that you're enabling the dream is enough.
388.
by Steuard 12y ago
I had the same thought: that part of their goal is to get a cheap location that can attract Hyde Park and Woodlawn folks ("Hi, Mr. President!") who'd otherwise go all the way to the north side or the suburbs. But I very much
389.
by Steuard 12y ago
Yep, speaking as a pretty staunch feminist (though by no means any sort of formal spokesperson), it is exciting to see a move toward greater justice on this front. I'm sure it's not universal, but just about every feminist site
390.
by Steuard 12y ago
Oh, man, I knew I was cruising for a "it's right there in the paper" response. Well-deserved, I'll admit it: I'm being lazy. But then, that's why I like error bars on my graphs. Thanks for the nicely presente

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