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Numerology 1A
Decided it wasnt nice to say "nurseryschool" numerology and would try calling it beginning or introductory or numerology "one-A"
numerology, that hated word. a magnet for crackpots.
a pitfall that even good people stumble into
something at the historical root of science: "All is Number" said Pythagoras.
To be remembered at all times: Numerology is Not Physics.
in recent times maybe the worst examples of numerology are the people who give formulas for 1/137.036...
--------------------
but Beginner's Numerology is actually a casual backdoor into science.
we should consider doing some.
People come to PF who will turn and run if they see a differential equation but are willing to be curious about the fundamental numbers in nature.
the fundamental universal numbers are, in a way, nicknames for some of the physical laws
a beginner may not remember that a spheres volume or area is
V=(4/3)pi R3
or
A=4pi R2
but may be willing to consider the idea that pi is a pervasive ratio in nature, at least approximately, and fascinating.
----------------
So likewise with this number alph which is a deep proportion in nature operating in all sorts of contexts thruout the universe---this number 1/137.036...----for which there is no formula, so that it can only be found experimentally, unlike pi.
---------------
the deep proportions, these pervasive numbers, are features of our beloved universe and they are in a way Sexy.
that is the point about Numerology.
It is a pedagogical opportunity.
-------------------
because it is easier for a beginner to entertain the vague notion that pi (or alpha) is interesting and in everything around us
than it is for him or her to comprehend and know about all the
separate formulas and phenomena
---------------------
alpha is in the size of atoms and the light they glow with and in the fusion at the core of the sun, but if you begin by talking about these things you might lose listeners who think it is too hard to understand
so suppose you start telling the story differently: Once upon a time there were Seven Numbers that made all nature...and...
(what do you suppose those seven numbers were?)
or if not seven then some bunch
---------------------
and then there are universal quantities like the speed of light which are not numbers
that also belongs in Nurseryschool Numerology. Basic quantities like the speed of light are not numbers.
they are generalized Things. and you can compare other things to them---the speed the Earth travels in orbit can be compared to light (and is one tenthousandth)
---the speed sound travels in the stratosphere can be compared to light (and is one millionth)
the speed of light is a basic quantity the same for people in Andromeda as for people in Milkyway---the quantity is universal but has no universal number attached to it.
--------------------
I am proposing something pedagogical to think about.
Not necessarily advocating it.
In the suggested line of discussion you would learn about a few universal quantities (like the speed of light) and a few universal numbers (like pi but not pi)-----without too much emphasis on the pride-and-joy crown-jewell formulas called Laws of Physics that are the venue where they make their famed appearances and perform their daredevil feats.
"How does that strike you Tyson?"
"If I may say so, with a dull thud..."
which numbers and quantities would you personally nominate for
inclusion
Decided it wasnt nice to say "nurseryschool" numerology and would try calling it beginning or introductory or numerology "one-A"
numerology, that hated word. a magnet for crackpots.
a pitfall that even good people stumble into
something at the historical root of science: "All is Number" said Pythagoras.
To be remembered at all times: Numerology is Not Physics.
in recent times maybe the worst examples of numerology are the people who give formulas for 1/137.036...
--------------------
but Beginner's Numerology is actually a casual backdoor into science.
we should consider doing some.
People come to PF who will turn and run if they see a differential equation but are willing to be curious about the fundamental numbers in nature.
the fundamental universal numbers are, in a way, nicknames for some of the physical laws
a beginner may not remember that a spheres volume or area is
V=(4/3)pi R3
or
A=4pi R2
but may be willing to consider the idea that pi is a pervasive ratio in nature, at least approximately, and fascinating.
----------------
So likewise with this number alph which is a deep proportion in nature operating in all sorts of contexts thruout the universe---this number 1/137.036...----for which there is no formula, so that it can only be found experimentally, unlike pi.
---------------
the deep proportions, these pervasive numbers, are features of our beloved universe and they are in a way Sexy.
that is the point about Numerology.
It is a pedagogical opportunity.
-------------------
because it is easier for a beginner to entertain the vague notion that pi (or alpha) is interesting and in everything around us
than it is for him or her to comprehend and know about all the
separate formulas and phenomena
---------------------
alpha is in the size of atoms and the light they glow with and in the fusion at the core of the sun, but if you begin by talking about these things you might lose listeners who think it is too hard to understand
so suppose you start telling the story differently: Once upon a time there were Seven Numbers that made all nature...and...
(what do you suppose those seven numbers were?)
or if not seven then some bunch
---------------------
and then there are universal quantities like the speed of light which are not numbers
that also belongs in Nurseryschool Numerology. Basic quantities like the speed of light are not numbers.
they are generalized Things. and you can compare other things to them---the speed the Earth travels in orbit can be compared to light (and is one tenthousandth)
---the speed sound travels in the stratosphere can be compared to light (and is one millionth)
the speed of light is a basic quantity the same for people in Andromeda as for people in Milkyway---the quantity is universal but has no universal number attached to it.
--------------------
I am proposing something pedagogical to think about.
Not necessarily advocating it.
In the suggested line of discussion you would learn about a few universal quantities (like the speed of light) and a few universal numbers (like pi but not pi)-----without too much emphasis on the pride-and-joy crown-jewell formulas called Laws of Physics that are the venue where they make their famed appearances and perform their daredevil feats.
"How does that strike you Tyson?"
"If I may say so, with a dull thud..."
which numbers and quantities would you personally nominate for
inclusion
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