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Re: Cause and Effect



On Mon, 23 Oct 2000, Leigh Palmer wrote:

Let me be a little clearer. Might our use of the word "cause" be
inadvertently reinforcing this misconception by implying a
non-simultaneity between force and acceleration?

Do you believe that a cause must precede an effect in time? I would
offer force and acceleration as a Gegenbeispiel. What I find
difficult to understand is why anyone would doubt the causal relation
between force and acceleration. Does anyone here seriously doubt it?

Leigh,

This has nothing to do with what I believe regarding the meaning of the
word "cause". For what it is worth, I repeat what I have written before:
I personally use the word "cause" in the same way you do (although I think
it is only for interpretation). My point is that my students are more
naive than you and may mistakenly interpret "cause" to support their
belief that accelerations come after the force is applied.

This is a misconception, after all. It is not correct. However, a large
number of our students think this way. At least it seems to me (does the
physics education research have anything to say on this?).

I am just wondering if we may be inadvertently reinforcing this
misconception. Maybe I should use a different header?

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| Robert Cohen Department of Physics |
| East Stroudsburg University |
| bbq@esu.edu East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 |
| http://www.esu.edu/~bbq/ (570) 422-3428 |
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