Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

[Phys-l] Falling Bullets--What is the question??



Please pardon the brief intrusion of a philosopher with only a minor in physics and an interest in philosophy of science education, who has long lurked here appreciatively and silently.

It seems to me that the original interesting question* has been lost in a muddle of quibbles about formulations of the problem and ad hominen carping.

Here is a proposed reformulation of the original very interesting problem:

Consider a bullet fired from a (revolver/rifle--I will return to this) with zero horizontal velocity from the surface of the earth with no restriction at the muzzle and no interfering ceilings, etc.

If this bullet* , when it returns to the surface of the earth strikes a human being (in the skull, in the shoulder--I will return to this) what is the result?

The answer may depend on the initial muzzle velocity of the revolver/rifle, the size of the bullet, and it may depend on where in the body (see above) the missile strikes on its return. Relevant answers should address these parameters.

MetaComments:

Of the twenty plus responses to this initial query, very few addressed the basic question(s). Most focussed myopically on defects in the formulation of the question, but did not contribute toward a more precise formulation of the initial question to contribute to better understanding nor contributed to answers.

If you think that a question is not well formulated, your best professional response should also include either what you think is a better formulation, or an explanation of why the question is ill-conceived. Responses that criticize but don't contribue to progress on these issues are less than optimally productive. I believe that our profesional obligation is not only to criticize but also to attempt to move the field forward.

One view of the field is that our sole obligation is to drag our feet when someone seems to be moving toward falsehood; but another, more optimistic, view is that we should try to contribute to moving toward (approximate) truth.

I certainly don't have the expertise to answer your specific questions, but I am convinced that if your community does not work better collectively you neither will nor should have ANY leverage on science education.


Richard Grandy
Philosophy & Cognitive Sciences
Rice University
Houston TX USA*

*Where many holidays lead to many firearms being fired skyward.