Week 8 - Classical Physics

Newtons Three Laws and Me...

Thewtos three law can be used to decribe me at any moment of any day, as long as I exsist in a gravitational field, that is. All three of his laws have mass as a variable. Since mass is a function of gravity andy event or situation in a gravitational field can be defined as one or more of Newton laws. As a massage therapist Newton's laws affect me like this.

First: Objects at rest stay at rest, or momentum = mass x velocity. My clients make an appointment with sets up potential momentum. When the day comes for them to see me they activate that impulse and move their body (mass) in the direction of my office and (hopefully) arrive on time. Because their velocity has them moving in the right direction and the right speed (velocity).

In the course of their trip they will be described by Newton's second law: The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force acting on it. They will exert force to vary tieir speed and direction from moment to moment on their way. Once they arrive and get settled on my table they will settle into "an object at rest". In this state I will use the mass of my own body to apply a force.

Newton's third law describes why I don't work too hard. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As hard as I may push, they push back just as hard. This can be very hard on my body so it is essential that My body mechanics are set up in such a way that the force I exert is efficient and the force that comes back at me travels easily though my own body.

Energy Efficiency...

All I can say on this subject is: Thank God we, as a culture, are becoming more conscious about how INefficient we are concerning our energy uses. The amount of energy that gets wasted everyday is dispicable. Ther are some of us that have been hip to this dilemma for awhile. It is a relief that our society is starting to catch up. I just hope its not a case of too little too late.

Decartes Has A Lot To Answer For...

I think it really interesting how critics of Decartes and reductionism step into an either/or argument about which theory is "right". That is reductionistic thinking at its best. Cartesian perspective allows us to peek into the working of our world from a particular point of view. I has value, not just in how we have learned the ins and outs of how we are put together from a biological, chemical and physical perspective, but in how we continue to understand our existence. I thnk that "new science" can be as arrogant as cartesian thinking. In referring to "The Rise and Fall of Reductionism" I find the "differences in mindest" could be addressed more completely if we took the time to "define our terms" better. What is "thought"? What is "life"? Some scientific descriptions ARE independent of the observers. I do have a hard time with Decartes' position that we are separate from nature though.