Thinking Definition and 383 Threads

Hello, Next Spring, I may be taking a couple of independent study / directed reading type courses in Computer Science / Software Engineering. If interesting graduate courses are being offered, that may be what I end up doing, but... What do you guys think would make a good independent...

I recently came across several apparently reputable sources (e.g., NASA, PBS) that describe a simple, elegant experiment intended to demonstrate carbon dioxide's role as a greenhouse gas. Each of them involves two sealed containers with thermometers - one containing air, the other containing...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29298315" He is one of the innocent Obama appointees. The idea here is that you put a gps in your car that records how many miles you've traveled. Then when you go to the gas station, they read the gsp and you pay based on the number of miles you have travelled...

Homework Statement A helicopter traveling 130 mph overtakes a speeding car traveling 80 mph. The car had a 0.5-hour head start. How far from the starting point does the helicopter overtake the car? The answer is 104 miles from the starting point. Homework Equations No equations were...

"Think of what you're saying, you can get it wrong and still think that it's all right." from some song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. anyway, this got me thinking about how many times I've though I've really understood something, or was absolutely sure that I was correct about...

CBS New, Los Angeles, 4:20 AM 1/7/09: "The Federal Reserve announces, the rate of inflation is uncomfortably low." What does this mean? Why was this announced--what is the intent? How does this relate to the last 14 years of economic changes? For those interested in future economic...

So I was just thinking about how our eyes can't see things too far and too near and how there is so many microscopic reactions and organisms that we can't not see. And I just got this mental image, of my single knuckle zooming in, and it looks like a mountain. Its very discolored and there is a...

Probablity & Statistics: I need some help, but not in the way you're thinking :) Homework Statement Well, I really should be getting on with my work. You see I do what's called Distance Education (I do my work from home via the internet) because I find it difficult to learn in a classroom...

Hey all, I'm a pretty good physics and maths student, I'm starting my physics BSc in February 2009. But one thing I've found is that I'm slow at thinking. I nearly always run out of time for exams, which is frustrating. Also, it takes me a few seconds to do questions like '153 minus 8'. So...

I am thinking of getting a Msc in geophysics.What are the job prospects?Is there a demand for geophysicist worldwide?

I just watched some pbs program about the universe, and the conclusion was that existence is no accident, its the universe working for billions of years... seriously? you just wasted 1hr of my time to tell me something a little kid couldve told me in 10secs..? Im no scientist... but i can...

I was just thinking and wondering to myself...How many of my fellow I was just thinking and wondering to myself...How many of my fellow PFers have had either one and how long did you have to wear them, or still wearing them? Or did you have perfect teeth or need them and can't get them? Just an...

Hi all. I had grade 11 physics so I know the basics on physics.. grade 12 comes later this year... Anyways I was thinking about the systems in a jump, and the motion involved and I know motion physics work and all so don't get me wrong :P I'm not trying to disporve something here... I just know...

hey guys im currently an applied math major, with a CS minor, about to enter my 4th year. I am thinking i'd like to work in robotics maybe, and might be considering getting masters-level education in EE, or systems engineering. is this an easy transition, from applied math, to engineering...

I know that there is argument over whether behavior developed in tandem with physique. But is there a known physiological basis or impetus for magical thinking? Where the mind fails to account for things it does not understand, there is a natural inclination to explain the mysteries of life with...

the general solution

.but there is a problem! I'll start with Engineering, I would probably chose aerospace or electrical engineering(concentration on robotics/AI)...Maybe robotic spacecraft . Engineering seems too applied for me. I like to be on the absolute cutting edge, and I am afraid if I go into...

here is an example for a typical question: there are three kings jan,luk,pikard each one of them has one crown a large or medium or small and each crown is one of gold,silver,copper the copper crown located closely to the right of a small crown. the golden crown is the large one and its...

Hi, I'm going into my sophomore year at Duquesne University, majoring in physics and math. I am thinking of transferring to another university, however. The reason is that I really want to be able to get into a top grad school to earn my PhD, because I want to go into research. Duquesne's...

"Define a * b, for a,b \in R by a * b = ab+a+b. What we just have done is defined a new operation *, in terms of the well known ones multiplication and addition." Is there a real number which is the identity under the operation * ? Lets call this number e. A number for which a * e = e * a...

Hi, this Thread is for posting what you think at the moment. It is a nice thing :smile: I start: I am thinking that I should go into my bed. It is two o'clock a.m. :eek: :zzz:

...called dontbeparishilton.com. I don't know if it is something that gets worse as you go further west (it is nothing like this in PA), but about every third girl here in Ft Collins, Colorado appears to be attempting to enter a Paris Hilton look-alike contest. I mean seriously - do they...

Why do humans fear thinking? From personal experience, I've seen people scuttle at the thought of homework or some mathematical calculation. It seems we are inherently lazy. Is this because the thinking process requires tremendous energy or what? If I asked you to simplify (a + b)^7 x (x +...

i was thinking about propagators, and I've got bit of a silly question. The amplitude for any given decay takes the form: f(q^{2})=\frac{g^{2}}{q^{2}+M_{X}^{2}c^{2}}. for EMAG decays, the Mx=0 (as we're dealing with photons), so the amplitude is just: f(q^{2})=\frac{g^{2}}{q^{2}}, Why do...

So here's the deal. Right now i am a high school student (age 17) and i am going off to uni in about a year and i really like physics. i want to take physics only in undergrad thou if i do end up taking it because i want to get to med school after 4 years. so here are my questions... How...

I have a very limited budget right now. How much do you think it would cost to build a small Tesla Coil? This would include buying the components of a Tesla coil.

Theres so many questions, why are we here, what's our purpose etc... Why does there have to be an answer, can't we just accept what is, and live life in ignorance? I'm sure many will argue that tryign to find the answer to the ultimate question is our purpose in life, but if there is no...

Here is the scenario. Picture three people standing at a playground watching the children play. The first is grouchy and sees all the busy activity as stressful noise. The second person is in a good mood and sees the child play as relaxing and fun. The third person is full of anxiety and sees...

...and I was wondering, Light travels at 670,616,629mph, which is rather fast. For light to travel that fast, it must carry a huge amount of energy, surely? So, if that's the case, why do we get so comparatively little from current solar energy mediums? Are there any ideas or theories...

Homework Statement Two equations here, I need to simplify both of them but I'm not too sure: (y^2+1)/(y^2+1) as well as (t^2-s^2)/(s+t)^2 Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution

A simple one, Schrödingers cat. A cat is placed in a box, together with a radioactive atom. If the atom decays, and the geiger-counter detects an alpha particle, the hammer hits a flask of prussic acid (HCN), killing the cat. Now why is the cat alive when the observer opens the box?

Hi all, I am 23 and currently working as a customer service rep. I have a two year old daughter who I have two days a week. I have been considering going to school to study engineering. The largest thing I am worrying about is whether I have time to pursue a degree which is so demanding. My...

There's nothing wrong with this clock. So what's wrong with this clock?

What is it that puts one persons thoughts above another's? please do not quote some thoughts from people that have not been tested beyond reasonable doubt.

This may seem a very strange poll but I honestly want to know what others think. I just spent 1 hour writing out a full, rigourous solution to a problem. I formulated the main idea in about 5 minutes and I knew that my proof (once written out) would be correct. After spending about 12 times...

Think twice. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2007/12/12/4721388-ap.html LOS ANGELES - A biochemist who killed her husband by knocking him out and pouring hydrochloric acid on him was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder. A Superior Court jury found Larissa Schuster, 47, of Clovis...

Is photon God? -fun thinking :) what we count for "God" could be photon(s) itself? It's beyond time( time has no meaning for a photon can go anywhere anytime as space is shrunk to zero for it), it has a limitless power (can be a gamma ray and destroy any matter it encounters just by changing...

Metaphorically thinking We commonly think of metaphor as something like analogy. We are trying to explain something to someone and we say this something new is very much like this other something you are familiar with. This is one form of metaphor but there is another metaphor that is...

I'm thinking about going into physics, but I was wondering what kind of careers will physics lead me to.

Hello, I am thinking about buying a new DESKTOP computer, but I would like some advice. First my OS has to be either Windows XP or Vista. I already have a disc for XP and I have no problem installing it from scratch if it were to save a significant amount of money. Second I should...

This is driving me nutty. Here's a theorem and its proof as appearing in my notes. It's short, go through it if you have the courage. :smile: Theorem. Let L=K\left(\alpha\right), and let \alpha_{1},...,\alpha_{n} be the n conjugates of \alpha . Then if f\left(x\right)\in K\left[x\right]...

Right I'm thinking of applying for a phD in some area of physics once I finished my 4 year Msc physics course, I'm going into my second year once this summer is over. Do you think I should be worrying about what topic area of physics I want to do a phD in already? (and I'm thinking of...

One interesting question, I believe to understand how questions can be asked and how they can be answered is "How does thinking work ?" Lets say I wanted to write a some some kind of computer program. For me that would normally be some program written under Linux. Let's say I log on to the...

My bro. told me that it feels good b/c it gives us a sense of accomplishment; legacy. But I saw an old video I havn't seen in a long time and it made my brain access a part of its mind which I don't experience very often. Thanks for the replies!

What is thinking, and why does people "think" ? How can it be that humans once started "thinking" ? What can "thinking" be used for ? How is thinking performed ? What can be thought of ? Is there different ways to perform "thinking" ? Is there any difference in quality in what way...

Relationships between thinking, logic and deductive reasoning .. I have to admit that philosophy is normally not "my thing" and that the reason that I found this wonderfull forum was that I was searching for something about physics and technology. My idea was/is to collect some central...

I don't understand one thing... the square of 1 = 1, the square of 2 = 4, the square of 3 = 9. Basically... a square is the number added to itself by the number of times it is. That is square of 2 is 2 added to itself 2 times.. so 4, and 3 added to itself 3 times makes it 9. Now take the...

Good day. I'm a 11th grade IB student and i need help thinking of a nice physics project. Could you guys recommend me any nice ones? Preferably ones that would take 2 weeks to a month since i need to complete a certain number of hours doing the project. I'd take into consideration any project...

In metal, fermi energy is the highest energy states that electron occupied at T=0. And so, fermi energy of a particular metal is an intrinsic value, and won't be changed. Then for a semiconductor, What is fermi energy, is there any concrete interpretation as of metal? Why is it just in the...

I'm doing this for extra credit for my teacher and I have NO IDEA where to get any problems. In the past, my friends did... something like a = b (long lines of equation) and we had to find what's wrong. It took a while, but the club got it. I want something like that. It can be at around...