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Re: [Phys-l] irresistible force v. immovable object



John, I agree, but I don't think your comment is particularly relevant. My
claim about putting things in context for introductory physics students
deals with accessibility. It was specifically aimed at Chuck who mentioned
that infinitesimals might not be allowed because space-time is discrete.
Ask yourself this: what is more important to an introductory physics
student, the concept that a small net force will accelerate even a massive
object, or the reconciliation between QM and GR in terms of quantized
space-time? We're getting WAY off track here, not to mention the stuff
we're getting into is only guesswork as to the true nature of the universe.
It's not simply stuff that's too hard for the student to understand, it's
stuff that we're not even sure about to begin with. Why not answer a
question we know? Let's practice a bit of constructivism.

I don't at all think that the unstoppable/immovable question is beyond the
scope of an introductory physics course. I think it gets at the very nature
of an introductory physics course. You mentioned in an earlier point that
we should answer the question that the student means to ask. I think it's a
bit presumptuous to assume we know what the student meant better than the
student did. Establishing the question is important, so work together on
that, and then answer appropriately. But I know that if I saw The Dark
Knight and came in to my physics class the next day and asked my teacher the
unstoppable/immovable question, I would appreciate my answer more than I'd
appreciate one that involves the Planck length scale and singularities.

On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 4:38 PM, John Denker <jsd@av8n.com> wrote:

On 02/23/2011 02:25 PM, Mike Viotti wrote:
but let's keep in
mind that we're dealing with introductory physics students here, and the
discussion is in that context.

Sometimes students ask a question that reaches beyond the
scope of the course.

It's OK to tell them it's beyond the scope of the course.

It's not OK to tell them "it's not physics" when in fact similar
questions -- and good answers -- have been at the core of physics
for 300+ years.
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