Re: Sig Figures

[Jim Green <JMGreen@SISNA.COM>]

>         Even without Bill Nye, Paul Hewwitt and any number of other
> infidels who make science interesting to young folk, NO instructor
> will EVER be able to successfully assume that the young minds are
> coming to them as a clean slate, ready to absorb the distilled wisdom
> of the ages.

I see your point, but it is not a "clean slate" that a college instructor
hopes for any that no cartoon physics is lodged in the minds of the young
folk.  But it is worse than this: The quasi-physics perhaps slips by and it
is not successfully removed by the college prof -- after all it is
sometimes like extracting teeth -- and this poor soul ends up as a HS
teacher and the cycle is repeated -- unless this poor soul finds
him/herself in phys-l and is finally educated here -- some of us are trying
to stem this cycling.

Doesn't anybody see the value of teaching it correctly so that our
grandchildren -- nay great grandchildren will learn good stuff -- finally?


> Even some ADULTS remain convinced of such evil notions as the tidal
> action being driven by the 'motion' of the moon and to a lesser
> extent the sun.

Oops, the sun and mood DO drive the motion of the tides and so does Jupiter
(at least minimally) .  What I think may be intended here is that there are
no Newtonian Tidal Bulges the way most texts teach.  Another point we
should start teaching correctly.

Jim Green
mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen