It's pretty amazing people are actually reading this blog so I want to thank all of you!
So after debating a topic for a little while, I want to try to stick with the theme of the last post asking some interesting questions. So let's try this.
Leave a comment on this, or any post about a really outlandish yet somewhat serious question and I will attempt to answer it with my infinitely limited wisdom in a separate post. If that doesn't pan out, then fuck it, I'll stick to my random thoughts of the week.
This week, somewhat following last weeks idea, I'm going to talk about How..ie Mandel! Ha.. I know, bad joke. I'm actually really good at bad jokes, to the point that they become funny. Sometimes, my friends don't think so.
Moving on. Growing up I always wanted to know and understand how things work. Not only why they work but how. For example, how do glasses actually improve vision? And how does our eye see in the first place? I think the how is an equally valid and important condition. This has definetly led me down the path I am on and being at a university in an engineering program, I'm among like minded people. Being here has opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of people don't actually care how things do or work like they do. This is mind boggling to me. Let me explain.
I know most people have a general idea how things work. I mean if they didn't, society would be in slightly more trouble than it currently is. For example, if I were to ask a random Joe, or Jill (I'm not sexist) on the street how an airplane works, I'd expect something along the lines of the wings lift the plane and engines push it through the air. Well yes, that's right. But how do wings create lift and how does a turbine propel the plane forward? Well, welcome to the world of physics. Oh no! Not Physics! I never knew why physics scared away so many people. For those of you who haven't quarantined high school physics away in your memory, everyone learns this concept in high school. Bernoulli's principle causes lift on a wing shaped object due to the difference of pressure above and below the wing. Yeah, there's your free physics lesson for a friday night. But what if we go further? Since I asked how Bernoulli's principle works in the application of an airplane, is it applied elsewhere? If not, should, or can it be? Does it work on stationary systems? What about under water? So without getting into too much technical detail, one simple question of how a plane gets off the ground has led to all these questions about a simple grade 9 physics concept. Maybe you didn't know, but that same principle is applied to wind turbine blades, submarines, fans, and many more real world applications.
The point of that (overly technical for this setting) paragraph is along the same lines discussed last time, ask more questions. It doesn't have to be a why, it doesn't have to be a how, but one simple thought can lead to new discoveries each day which can lead to a better world. These types of processes get us thinking. The mind is powerful and watching Big Brother 3 times a week isn't using its potential. Don't get me wrong I am known to enjoy too much television, and there is nothing wrong with that. BUT YOU CAN STILL BE CURIOUS!
For me, it's automatic. I look at the microphone on my desk and think about how it translates my voice's acoustic sound through my computer's processor and back through my speakers for me to hear. Speakers, hmm, how do my speakers make that sound? Actually pretty similarly to how the microphone works, believe it or not. But how does my computer translate my voice in the first place? And how does it know what program to use once it's been transcoded?
Maybe these are useless questions in day to day life. Maybe I should just accept that someone else has already thought about it and built the system for me to use and enjoy. Maybe it will never impact me or my life and I shouldn't waste my time.
Or maybe I should.
Thanks for reading!
J
So after debating a topic for a little while, I want to try to stick with the theme of the last post asking some interesting questions. So let's try this.
Leave a comment on this, or any post about a really outlandish yet somewhat serious question and I will attempt to answer it with my infinitely limited wisdom in a separate post. If that doesn't pan out, then fuck it, I'll stick to my random thoughts of the week.
This week, somewhat following last weeks idea, I'm going to talk about How..ie Mandel! Ha.. I know, bad joke. I'm actually really good at bad jokes, to the point that they become funny. Sometimes, my friends don't think so.
Moving on. Growing up I always wanted to know and understand how things work. Not only why they work but how. For example, how do glasses actually improve vision? And how does our eye see in the first place? I think the how is an equally valid and important condition. This has definetly led me down the path I am on and being at a university in an engineering program, I'm among like minded people. Being here has opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of people don't actually care how things do or work like they do. This is mind boggling to me. Let me explain.
I know most people have a general idea how things work. I mean if they didn't, society would be in slightly more trouble than it currently is. For example, if I were to ask a random Joe, or Jill (I'm not sexist) on the street how an airplane works, I'd expect something along the lines of the wings lift the plane and engines push it through the air. Well yes, that's right. But how do wings create lift and how does a turbine propel the plane forward? Well, welcome to the world of physics. Oh no! Not Physics! I never knew why physics scared away so many people. For those of you who haven't quarantined high school physics away in your memory, everyone learns this concept in high school. Bernoulli's principle causes lift on a wing shaped object due to the difference of pressure above and below the wing. Yeah, there's your free physics lesson for a friday night. But what if we go further? Since I asked how Bernoulli's principle works in the application of an airplane, is it applied elsewhere? If not, should, or can it be? Does it work on stationary systems? What about under water? So without getting into too much technical detail, one simple question of how a plane gets off the ground has led to all these questions about a simple grade 9 physics concept. Maybe you didn't know, but that same principle is applied to wind turbine blades, submarines, fans, and many more real world applications.
The point of that (overly technical for this setting) paragraph is along the same lines discussed last time, ask more questions. It doesn't have to be a why, it doesn't have to be a how, but one simple thought can lead to new discoveries each day which can lead to a better world. These types of processes get us thinking. The mind is powerful and watching Big Brother 3 times a week isn't using its potential. Don't get me wrong I am known to enjoy too much television, and there is nothing wrong with that. BUT YOU CAN STILL BE CURIOUS!
For me, it's automatic. I look at the microphone on my desk and think about how it translates my voice's acoustic sound through my computer's processor and back through my speakers for me to hear. Speakers, hmm, how do my speakers make that sound? Actually pretty similarly to how the microphone works, believe it or not. But how does my computer translate my voice in the first place? And how does it know what program to use once it's been transcoded?
Maybe these are useless questions in day to day life. Maybe I should just accept that someone else has already thought about it and built the system for me to use and enjoy. Maybe it will never impact me or my life and I shouldn't waste my time.
Or maybe I should.
Thanks for reading!
J
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