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Should I learn category theory? Sounds like it could be useful.

I understand that in group theory, a group consists of a set and a binary operation for the elements in the set, and of course all the group axioms. But if we move away from set theory into category theory, is a group defined on a category?

I'm trying to finish Robert Greene's The Art of Seduction. If you've never heard it, don't be deceived--it's not your average PUA self-help junk. Telling the stories of figures such as Cleopatra, Casanova, Ellington, Lenin and Warhol, Greene has an amazing breadth of historical knowledge and...

Too much money is invested in modern Hollywood sci-fi films for directors to have any real creative freedom. That doesn't mean the movies can't be good, but it stops directors from taking big risks and creative leaps. I miss the days of Kubrick and Lucas when films were art and directors were...

I'm waiting for asteroid mining to become a possibility. Once there's an economic incentive, there will be no shortage of firms scrambling to come up with new technology to get there on the cheap and mine more effectively. Hopefully, this will all be intertwined with colonization efforts on the...

I have the same problem. I start off each semester really strong and with a lot of enthusiasm, but as stress builds up I become more and more depressed until I burn out. I heard mindfulness meditation can help though.

I recently asked my abstract algebra professor about proof-based textbooks and he suggested a text called Introduction to Mathematical Structures and Proofs. It's aimed at ambitious undergraduates looking to prepare themselves for advanced proof-based courses. It's also designed for self-study...

To what extend can they contribute to the solution? What are the research areas?

Can mathematicians contribute to this problem?

Does quantum field theory try to unify relativity and quantum mechanics? If not, what it is supposed to do?

Have you already learned classical mechanics, electromagnetism or optics?

The limit of machine learning is that it is still too restricted to certain kinds of problems. For example, we know how to solve optimization problems and we know how to solve classification and clustering problems. But humans classify, cluster, optimize and utilize far more advanced tricks than...

Another question. Are you more interested in proving theorems or solving problems?

I have no prior experience in physics, but I am a math undergrad so I know calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and stuff like that. So I'm ready to move from the conceptual "bedtime story physics" to stuff with real mathematical rigor. So, what is classical mechanics all about...

It's in the year 2050 and private spacecraft are as cheap and plentiful as Cessna Skyhawks were 40 years ago. I'm a well-endowed spacefarer looking to get my own spacecraft and license; what physics am I going to need to know to operate my craft around celestial objects, e.g. the earth...

Get some math textbooks and do every practice problem at the end of each chapter.

Depends on what you want to do.

I had plans for constructing a time machine, but I think I was more interested in the design of the machine itself than whether I had enough physics skills to find a workable loophole allowing time travel in the first place. I eventually decided it was intractable and switched to human...

When I was a kid, I filled twenty pages of a notebook full of sketches for inventions I was going to patent when I was older. One of those inventions included a "hot knife" with a built-in heating element in the blade that "cooked" slices of meat as you cut them. I also had plans for single...

The Phoenicians.

Electrical or computer engineering. There are some programs that even combine the two. My university has a program called ECE, Electrical And Computer Engineering. Another option is mechatronics, which combines electrical and computer with mechanical.

When computer scientists study computation, they think of it in the abstract sense where the machines performing the computation are not actually constructed, just part of the theory. Computer engineers go out and actually build the stuff. A computer engineer is more likely to know about...

I used to survive on bananas, rice and eggs. A month's worth would cost me around $20. I'd spend another $40 to $50 on milk, fruits, vegetables and whatnot, in addition to whatever free food I could find around campus or get from friends.

... you drank too much caffeine and can't take a nap? Carry on regardless? Or sit around and wait it out? Go to the gym or listen to music? Take some melatonin?

When you put things like the fundamental limits of observation and Godel's Incompleteness Theorems into consideration, it seems like all we could ever know about the world just an infinitesimally small portion of all there is to know. There could be many things that exist in this universe and go...

I once went to a wedding where instead of one cake, there were exactly e cakes cut into pieces so that each piece was 1, 1, 1/2, 1/6, 1/24, and so on. A cake such as this possesses infinite surface area and is therefore infinitely delicious. The bride and groom were geniuses. All anyone had to...

What if, whenever you look in the mirror, the person looking at you actually is you, and you are just a reflection of him? And that you will vanish the moment he turns away from the mirror?

Sort of. I play video games sometimes.

I've tried all of these things. I work out at least once a week, eat healthy, etc. I also do undergraduate research, so I don't spend all my time studying for classes. I think my problems are psychological rather than physiological. Depression runs in my family, but in my case I get more of a...

I began to study mathematics in college because I was fascinated by the subject and have a naturally high degree of curiosity for it along with the rest of the sciences--but stress, depression and other factors take away that curiosity as I progress through each semester, leaving me bored...

I have two questions: I have often heard physicists such as Victor J. Stenger argue that life could evolve and thrive in universes with physical constants vastly different than our own. I am curious to know what kind of universes these physicists propose. Can physical constants counterbalance...

"Mathematics is the gate and key to the sciences", Robert Bacon said. That statement is as relevant today as it was 800 years ago. Human culture changes but mathematics is forever. Mathematical beauty will be as relevant to mathematicians and poets today as it was thousands of years ago. Surely...

I don't garden but I do grow bacteria and algae cultures in my room.

So, to clarify things. On the subject of bullying, I think it's a subtle prodding but also inherently a way of trying to make me join their "group". I think that whatever they do will not be beyond trying to get me to like them or do something for them, or simply ignore me. I'm very sure the...

Thanks for the input, everyone. I haven't made a decision to what I'm going to do yet but I will use the advice here as a guideline.

I put this thread here because I thought it had more to do with general social issues than actual "relationships". Recently, a bunch of idiot athletes at my school have found out my interests in science, computers and programming. They don't know anything about computer programming but are...

I am nerdy in the way that I could spend hours researching theoretical physics and advanced mathematics with no apparent aim or reason other than to learn.

My computer has an adequate CPU and very good memory as well. I have also run complex GoL simulations without any problem. I am actually not new to programming, seeing as I've written a lot of C# programs before. Python still seems like a good idea however, and I am planning on learning the...

I want to create a programming project that involves creation of a discrete autonomous system. It is very similar to cellular automaton as the simulation environment is composed of 2D cells on an unbounded grid. Cells have attributes assigned to them which makes them behave and function together...

The fact that galaxies move faster than the speed of light is the reason why we could potentially use hypothetical Alcubierre drives to accelerate objects faster than light speed.

Wow, that sucks.

The benefits of pure logic outweigh the benefits of emotion. It is the only way I can avoid the emotional mistakes I've made in my past.

I believe that emotions are confusing, illogical and unnecessary. I want to rid myself of all of them, fear, hate, love, happiness. How do I do so? I want to become a completely logical being. Note that I am not asking to remove myself of intuition for intuition is a valuable tool.

Knowledge doesn't just "convert" into power. Francis Bacon was speaking metaphorically when he said that. Time, money and knowledge are abstract concepts while power and work are physics concepts.

The act of searching through all the people's garbage would take more effort than training people to create significant equations logically. Also, computer algorithms are far more efficient at creating formulas than humans.

I have used Intel's technology (particularly processors) a lot over the years, and have grown accustomed to it. I'm a natural supporter. Of course, like you said, there are plenty of IC companies to choose from, so I'm not particularly attached to any particular one.

If I bought a bunch of custom pressed T-shirts that had the Wikipedia logo, Intel logo, Star Trek Klingon insignia, and OpenGL logo on them? All of the shirts base color would be white except for the Klingon shirt which would probably be brown or grey. Just curious...

Most general purpose programming languages like C++ and Java won't have those graphical features integrated into them. You'll need to download libraries such as OpenGL to work with graphs and complex visuals. As for Matlab, and other scientific programming languages, it's designed specifically...

I've decided to call the beings the Replicators. They have no predators so they only die after their parts wear out and become unusable. It takes about one lifetime to create a new Replicator so the ratio is an accurate 1:1 ratio. By the way, I falsely stated that they had no natural...