Is LaPlace's Skepticism on Knowledge and Progress Justified?

[siddharth]

If I'm only 'average' then what isn't? How high are the standards here? Seriously. You know I'd have to know Fourier series calculus or better yet something higher to be hailed better than 'average'. Quite ridiculous.

Have you tried any of the links I gave you?
As I said before, those exams were set for 17 year old students.

That is, Central Board of Secondary education in India expects all the 17 year old students to have a knowledge of physics which asked in the paper.

So if you actually try those papers, you will have some standard to compare yourself with.

 

[QuantumTheory]

I swear I made this point to you a few times: MOST TEENAGERS KNOW ALMOST NOTHING. You do know something about physics, but it is NOT a lot. A "LOT" is knowing calculus, doing enough to get past lower-division physics courses... stuff like that. You know a little more then the average 17 year old but you do not know a LOT more then your average 17 year old. I went to HS with 17 year olds who did know full blown calculus, nearly into upper division physics (not offiically, but they had enough konwledge). There are even 15 year olds who know that much. The point is you do NOT know a LOT for your age. You know a LITTLE more then the average 17 year old but no one here expects many MIT admissions officers to jump out of their seat to get you into their programs. It's not being rude, it's being honest.

Good for you, but in college i will study calculus and learn it in a year and will prove your bloody ass wrong. its your opinion, I respect that, but the majority of people in real life disagree. And they were honest, I asked them.

 

[___]

try those papers

Holy crap!
I don't think any 17 year old here in england knows that...
I have seen our GCSE question papers and tried them, i find them easy, not that easy though (Well, i get lvl 6 minimum in each and every test in my class, i guess that's good, is it not? ).

 

[Jelfish]

Like I said, I'm not smart. my IQ is 78. That's mildy retarded.
I just wanted you to acknowledge I know a lot for my age, I think this can be seem sa ego boosting, but this forum is ridiculous. Do you think being smart is only from studying math or physics? You can be emotionally smart, and there's many different ways to it.
And as you say, if so many teensa re interested in what I do and like to study calculus, prove it. Seriously. Prove it. Becauseit is complete and utter rubbish.
I honestly think asking quesitons what I do, and I believe I have a good rational view on philopshy, and good questions. Yes, you just answered your own quetsions. This fourm is a complete act.

Dear QuantumTheory

I genuinely believe that you are an intellegent person. Sure, you may have some self-esteem issues, but you are far from being unintellegent. I remember being a junior in high school that age and can attest to having peers who, for the most part, cared little of their subjects, nevermind taking an avid interest in physics.

That said, I also believe, to an obnoxious degree, that I am an intellegent person. Therefore, if you ever again need to ask or reconfirm your intellegence, I will automatically assume that you lack faith in my intellegence. Furthermore, if such infidelity is witnessed, I will have no choice but to promptly and irrevocably change my opinion of your intellegence.

If others brand you as unintellegent, your best course of action is to be humble, for the most intellegent person acknowledges that he lacks knowledge. As Einstein once said, "If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut." [emphasis mine] This (the emphasized) means that your success heavily relies on your ability to evade needless conflict (i.e. what is lacking in many of your threads), something that is perhaps more important than understanding physics. This means swallowing your pride when you are wrong.

I do not believe I can offer you any more practical advice. QuantumTheory, you are intellegent. Please don't prove me wrong.

 

[QuantumTheory]

QuantumTheory,

In India, there is a common final exam for all Class 12 students in the country who study in schools which are part of the Central Board of Secondary Education.

http://www.cbse.nic.in/curric~1/phy05o.htm"
In that link, you will find a set of Physics question papers of the common final exam for the year 2005. This paper was answered by students, the vast majority of whom were 17 years old.

Why don't you actually attempt these papers and post the solutions here? We can tell if your solutions are right or not. That way, you will have an approximate idea of your physics knowledge when compared to other students of your age.

One more thing, the time limit of the exam is 3 hours.

Thats ridiculous. Are you trying to pick the hardest country witht he highest standards? I'm talking abuot the US here.

That is NOT 17 year old math in the US.

And no, I can't do that. I think youa re expecting way too much for my age. It definitely looks harder than the physics taught here. And I do know some physics, I did tkae physics classes in high school.

This is what I know:
What distance equals.
What velocity equals

Distance equals something that is multiplyed by something else. Hell, I forgot it all. But it was simple. I looked at a 17 year olds physics paper he was in high school, his physics had no calculus in it,a nd were much easier than the link you gave me.

 

[Gale]

Good for you, but in college i will study calculus and learn it in a year and will prove your bloody ass wrong. its your opinion, I respect that, but the majority of people in real life disagree. And they were honest, I asked them.

the people you ask in person are a select few who're close to you and don't want to hurt you and come from the same community as you. while you may seem above average there, there's a bigger world, and you don't compare the same any more. siddarth was very kind and posted an example test that is given to your peers. so obviously there are different standards in different parts of the world. understand and appreciate that, and just be glad that you're still average.

 

[Pengwuino]

Good for you, but in college i will study calculus and learn it in a year and will prove your bloody ass wrong. its your opinion, I respect that, but the majority of people in real life disagree. And they were honest, I asked them.

Well if you somehow stay 17 years old and learn calculus, i will surely tell you that you know a lot for your age.

Don't give me your crap about respecting opinions after threatening to "prove your bloody ass wrong". It's childish.

Infact, here.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/053439339X/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Boom, calculus. How many months until you're 18? This is how you learn, this is how people learn to respect you. Do this before you're 18 and come back here and tell us how you know a lot for your age and i bet you there won't be a member in sight who will disagree with you. Learn Calculus before you are 18 and I will personally make a website praising you about how you know a LOT for a 17 year old. I will put up your picture, tell the story about how you once knew little and now you know lots. Until then, no.

 

[QuantumTheory]

Dear QuantumTheory
I genuinely believe that you are an intellegent person. Sure, you may have some self-esteem issues, but you are far from being unintellegent. I remember being a junior in high school that age and can attest to having peers who, for the most part, cared little of their subjects, nevermind taking an avid interest in physics.
That said, I also believe, to an obnoxious degree, that I am an intellegent person. Therefore, if you ever again need to ask or reconfirm your intellegence, I will automatically assume that you lack faith in my intellegence. Furthermore, if such infidelity is witnessed, I will have no choice but to promptly and irrevocably change my opinion of your intellegence.
If others brand you as unintellegent, your best course of action is to be humble, for the most intellegent person acknowledges that he lacks knowledge. As Einstein once said, "If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut." [emphasis mine] This (the emphasized) means that your success heavily relies on your ability to evade needless conflict (i.e. what is lacking in many of your threads), something that is perhaps more important than understanding physics. This means swallowing your pride when you are wrong.
I do not believe I can offer you any more practical advice. QuantumTheory, you are intellegent. Please don't prove me wrong.

Thank you. Did you see my psychological debates on the skeptisim forum and on the philpshy forum? I have more questions than answers, because I am not a guru on philopshy.

I avoid all conflict on the playstation forums. If someone insults me, I ignore them. I am very mature there. I should act the same here, but when people say I'm 'average' and try to give me absurdly high standards on India tests, it angers me. People here expect too much. People there act more mature on the off topic forums, and we have useful debates. Here, whenever I make a thread, rational or not, there is no debates. No one appreciates it. Because it is not full of math equations that I don't know. That is what doesn't seem to fair to me, and unfortunately, pushes me over the edge here.

I do lack I'm intelligent. In fact, I don't even go that far. I just wanted an acknowledgment that if I know a lot for my age, and that is saying too much here. People won't even knowledge that! I'm glad you have common sense, cherish it, its something to cherish.

That is why, my friend, I'm going to bear with me, get a tutor, and learn calculus, pre calc, trig, everything. Then never come here again, knowing I don't want to be told I'm 'average' from other teens (BecauseI can't do high level physic) and insulted for no reason. Even then, I wont' come back. I feel so worthless here, and people take pride in harassing me, because it makes THEM feel intelligent.

I hope I find another physics forum, I just can't stand this place anymore.
Again, thank you. Not because you told me what I want to hear, but because, thank god, you have common sense.

 

[QuantumTheory]

Well if you somehow stay 17 years old and learn calculus, i will surely tell you that you know a lot for your age.

Don't give me your crap about respecting opinions after threatening to "prove your bloody ass wrong". It's childish.

Infact, here.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/053439339X/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Boom, calculus. How many months until you're 18? This is how you learn, this is how people learn to respect you. Do this before you're 18 and come back here and tell us how you know a lot for your age and i bet you there won't be a member in sight who will disagree with you. Learn Calculus before you are 18 and I will personally make a website praising you about how you know a LOT for a 17 year old. I will put up your picture, tell the story about how you once knew little and now you know lots. Until then, no.

That is where you are so wrong. What makes you think I need to know calculus in order to be 'smart' or know alot? Do you realize how many teenagers in high school know elementary calculus? It's really no big dela. And I'll be 18 on Feb.13, so I doubt I can learn:
1) Pre calc (all over again, I forgot it)
2) All of algebra again (I know some, but incomplete, for example factoring I can't seem to grasp)
3) Geometry (again, incomplete)
4) Trig
5) Pre calc
6) Calculus

Knowing calculus doesn't make you 'know a lot for your age', in fact, I know many students who know caluclus in high school but arent smart. In fact, I know many loathe calculus. At least I have an interestin it, you'll admit that, right?

 

[QuantumTheory]

the people you ask in person are a select few who're close to you and don't want to hurt you and come from the same community as you. while you may seem above average there, there's a bigger world, and you don't compare the same any more. siddarth was very kind and posted an example test that is given to your peers. so obviously there are different standards in different parts of the world. understand and appreciate that, and just be glad that you're still average.

A stranger(several, at least) at taco bell who is a major at nursing is close to me? Did you even read what I said? I asked her, after doubting it, if she was honest. She said absolutely.

 

[siddharth]

Thats ridiculous. Are you trying to pick the hardest country witht he highest standards? I'm talking abuot the US here.
That is NOT 17 year old math in the US.
And no, I can't do that. I think youa re expecting way too much for my age. It definitely looks harder than the physics taught here. And I do know some physics, I did tkae physics classes in high school.
This is what I know:
What distance equals.
What velocity equals
Distance equals something that is multiplyed by something else. Hell, I forgot it all. But it was simple. I looked at a 17 year olds physics paper he was in high school, his physics had no calculus in it,a nd were much easier than the link you gave me.

This is a great opportunity for you then!

Now you now that the vast majority of students who are your age in India are able to answer these papers, you have some standard to compare yourself with and which you can try to achieve.

So, since you are interested in physics, you could pick up a book which covers most of the topics (Like Resnick and Halliday), and start reading up the physics and learning the concepts which you have not understood.

 

[Jelfish]

I just wanted an acknowledgment that if I know a lot for my age, and that is saying too much here. People won't even knowledge that!

Never again expect people to comment on your intellegence. NEVER. Just know that you have it. That is all you'll ever need.

 

[Pengwuino]

of course you have an interest. What does that mean? Just because you are interested in something does not mean you know a lot. And what the hell do you know anyways? If you just demand someone tell you that you know a lot... you better tell us exactly what we are saying you know a lot about. Physics? "Emotions"? What? I think a lot of us are getting sick of you saying you know nothing but insisting someone agree that you know a lot for your age. Make up your mind.

 

[QuantumTheory]

Well if you somehow stay 17 years old and learn calculus, i will surely tell you that you know a lot for your age.

Don't give me your crap about respecting opinions after threatening to "prove your bloody ass wrong". It's childish.

Infact, here.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/053439339X/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Boom, calculus. How many months until you're 18? This is how you learn, this is how people learn to respect you. Do this before you're 18 and come back here and tell us how you know a lot for your age and i bet you there won't be a member in sight who will disagree with you. Learn Calculus before you are 18 and I will personally make a website praising you about how you know a LOT for a 17 year old. I will put up your picture, tell the story about how you once knew little and now you know lots. Until then, no.

Because you have a very immature mind that knowing calculus instantly makes you intelligent. Hah. Wow. you really think math is everything don't you?

Oh yeah, and the website deal. SURE you will. Good luck with that.

And knowing you, you'll probably make me do high calculus equations to 'prove' it to you, and when I fail one, youl'l say that as proof . In fact, you'd never believe me anyway. And there's no way I CAN prove it to you. I also realize due to the fundmental theorum of calculus how close derivtives and anti derivatives are. But guess what? You'll prove me wrong, because, I am always wrong. Heh.

The fact is, I understand the concepts of calculus. Ir ealize an anti derivative is the oppsote if derivaties and that an indefinite integral does area, and has a limit (a to b). while a definite one has no limit, and there needs + C (a constant).

I also realize a derivtive is small amount of change, and an integral is a sequences of these changes. I know this is technically wrong, its been awhile since I've studied it. The fact is, I don't know factoring yet. Or enough trig. That's what is holding me back here!

Also, you'll say since I don't KNOW calculus and understand the concepts (beinga ble to do the math for example) it doesn't count. Which everyone else says. So yeah.. ok.

But I know nothing. The reason I can't do calculus? Simple. Factoring is hard for me. I don't have a tutor for it, and was never taught it. Self studying is VERY hard for me.

 

[QuantumTheory]

Never again expect people to comment on your intellegence. NEVER. Just know that you have it. That is all you'll ever need.

Thank you. I didn't even ask the stranger at taco bell if I was smart, i just said "Do I know a lot for my age?" they said yes, and when I asked them if they were doing it to be kind, they said no,a nd they were honest. Many other people did this.