Who Reigns Supreme: Engineer, Physicist, Mathematician, or Philosopher?

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The discussion centers around determining who is the most capable and useful for society among engineers, physicists, mathematicians, and philosophers. Participants express skepticism about the value of such comparisons, labeling the poll as largely meaningless. There are humorous exchanges regarding stereotypes associated with each profession, such as the arrogance of engineers and the absent-mindedness of philosophers. One user humorously suggests Archimedes as a standout figure due to his contributions to mathematics and physics, particularly in practical applications. The conversation also includes a playful mathematical formula attempting to quantify the difficulty of various disciplines, emphasizing the interplay between student effort, innate understanding, workload, faculty competency, and social dynamics in education. Overall, the thread combines light-hearted banter with a serious inquiry into the value of different academic fields.

Which Academic persuit is the most demanding to master?

  • Engineering

    Votes: 2 66.7%
  • Mathematics

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Physics

    Votes: 2 66.7%
  • Philosophy

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Phrenology

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Philately

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Astrology

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Biology

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Spelling (it is pursuit, not persuit, isn't it?)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    3
Nikitin
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Who is the most capable of them all?

It is time to break the taboos, abandon all courtesy and let loose all forms of restraint. The winner must be decided, so let it begin.

Who is all-round better, cooler and most useful for society?

The engineer?
The physicists?
The mathematician?
Or the philosopher?
 
Last edited:
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Wow. I've seen some meaningless and pointless polls on this forum before. This one has got to be near the top of that list.

Ooops.. did I just say that one out loud?

Zz.
 
I voted.
 
ZapperZ said:
Wow. I've seen some meaningless and pointless polls on this forum before. This one has got to be near the top of that list.

+1 on that !
 
Nikitin said:
Who is all-round better and most useful for society?

The arrogant engineer?
The solitary physicists?
The obsessed mathematician?
Or the absent-minded philosopher?

Easy, Archimedes. A mathematical philosopher of physics and its real world application in war.

attachment.php?attachmentid=61436&d=1378265553.jpg

attachment.php?attachmentid=61437&d=1378265553.jpg
 
:smile:
 
ZapperZ said:
Wow. I've seen some meaningless and pointless polls on this forum before. This one has got to be near the top of that list.

Ooops.. did I just say that one out loud?

Zz.

You took that bait.
 
Akaisora said:
You took that bait.

Why not? I love baits, especially if they use sardines! Those are yummy!

Zz.
 
FeDeX_LaTeX said:
I voted.
Just to spite you, I just voted for all the options for which you did not vote.
 
  • #10
The difficulty, D, of any particular discipline is:

D = \frac{\ln(R)\coth(\frac{C-P}{G})}{(.9P + .1I)}

where
P is the student's propensity to work (persperation)
I is the student's innate understanding of the subject (inspiration)
R is the work load generated by the class
C is the instantaneous competency of the department's faculty
G is the social congruence of the pedagogical negotiation between student and faculty.
 
  • #11
Closed.
 
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