JUSTIN

[Rick Tarara <rbtarara@SPRYNET.COM>]

Justin,

Hang in there.  It takes a fairly thick skin to participate on just about
any internet list.  There ARE people here who will try and help you--they
already have--including even the old curmudgeons that have 'attacked' you.
Their criticisms are actually valid, but their bed-side manners leaves a
little to be desired.  Some here forget that not everyone on the list is a
battle-hardened Ph.D. with decades of experience.  Do as my colleague, Dr.
Bellina, suggests.  Read Feynman and perhaps also Assimov's science
writings.  Then come back with questions that we can more effectively answer
in this medium.

Rick Tarara

*************************************************
Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
219-284-4664
rtarara@saintmarys.edu

FREE PHYSICS INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html
NEW:  Photo Realistic Laboratory Simulations
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Meredith, Justin" <JUMeredith@IKON.COM>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2001 5:08 PM


> i understand where you are coming from. it is faster to learn when you ask
a
> PERSON for their knowledge and A LOT more interactive, than reading books
> that may not even answer the questions that you have.
>
> also, a lot of really technical books, i have noticed, use very archaic
> language, mostly terms that only other people that have been in their
field
> a while would know what they mean (when i studied Unix administration i
> encountered this). some people, like me, learn better/faster by
interacting
> with other people - because you can ask the person to "clarify" or " break
> it down".
>
> if you don't have the time, or just don't care to answer questions from
> someone else, that is fine. i didn't realize how much it would irratate
> people that really know physics questions about physics. it must be a
burden
> to SHARE knowledge for some folks. i didn't realize that i already have to
> know physics as much as everyone else on this list to ask questions about
it
> - but that is how i am led to believe. i guess it is easier to call a
> person's ideas and thoughts "clueless" or "meaningless" rather than just
> clarifying WHY they are wrong.
>
> no negative input, please - there is nothing to learn from it. some people
> haven't learned that yet.
>
> Justin
>
> ps- i came on this list to learn just a little more and to SHARE ideas,
and
> to my dissapointment i have wasted my time. it seems that this list is
> stagnate (by no means a personal attack on anyone) when it comes to
SHARING
> *NEW* ideas. later...
>
>
>
>
> Hi Justin,
> Here is my suggestion for finding out what energy is.  Go to the nearest
> Barnes and Noble or other large bookstore and go to the physics
> section.  Then find the Lectures on Physics by Richard Feynman.  Turn to
> the first part of chapter 4 and read "What is Energy"  perhaps this will
> help you.  If you find the reading interesting you might look at other
> sections of the book.