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Introduction to String Theory
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:33 pm
by Thomas An.
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:37 pm
by jdp
thanks thomas. I would need some free time to have a look at this. really appreciated.
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:48 am
by Mihai
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:52 am
by dutch_designer
Here's a transcript of a 2001 episode of BBC Horizon, dealing with parallel universes. It deals with the string / membrane theory:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/20 ... luni.shtml (link to transcript at the bottom of the page). It's really a nice read.
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:49 pm
by ludenhud
Wow, I've seen them all now and I'm overwhelmed by all information. As an atheist this for me is like going to church. Thanks so much for this heads up
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:50 pm
by ricardo
I have a book here called "The end of time", by Julian Barbour. I must confess that I've gone until half it and gave up. It made me feel dizzy! These things can get quite complicated...
Ricardo
Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:12 am
by ludenhud
ricardo wrote:These things can get quite complicated...
Haha no shit, it's not like you meet a girl at the bar one loud night out and ask her if she knows the basics of the String theory or if she’d like to be briefly introduced
It's more like something you'll save for the second time out
Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 9:44 am
by tom
ludenhud wrote:...meet a girl at the bar one loud night out and ask her if she knows the basics of the String theory...
May cause dangerous results
Years ago with a big mistake when I've attempted to talk similar things with my wife ended up with her blaming me that I am trying to say our love is just about chemical reactions. You know....
Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:40 pm
by ludenhud
tom wrote:ludenhud wrote:...meet a girl at the bar one loud night out and ask her if she knows the basics of the String theory...
May cause dangerous results
Years ago with a big mistake when I've attempted to talk similar things with my wife ended up with her blaming me that I am trying to say our love is just about chemical reactions. You know....
hahah I love that
Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:08 pm
by Frances
Humans are like chocolate cake. The whole is far greater than the mere sum of it's parts. Breaking down either into it's elements doesn't make it more palatable, at least not in very large amounts. And if they're not put together properly, the whole is not very palatable either. I can understand why those who prefer to think of human emotion as a series of chemical reactions (and I'm not saying it isn't) might have trouble relating to others socially.
Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:28 pm
by Mihai
For that matter why extend it only to humans? In recent years we have begun to understand that qualities before attributed only to humans are very much present in animals, but on an inferior level. To me it's a matter of complexity, not about humans being in a special place, above nature. To explore the processes, decompose them, doesn't make us any less amazing, it's the complexity of it you have to admire I think. Say for example an average internet user who doesn't have any idea what happens when they click a hyperlink, to them it's "magic", but an engineer who knows exactly what is going on doesn't think of it as magic, yet can very well appreciate it even more than an average user. I strongly disagree with the idea that science tries to make everything heartless, when in fact with more knowledge your amazement and respect grows.
Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 4:14 pm
by Cyberfish_Fred
I ordered the DVD 6 months ago, wicked!!
Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 4:39 pm
by Frances
Mihai wrote:For that matter why extend it only to humans? In recent years we have begun to understand that qualities before attributed only to humans are very much present in animals, but on an inferior level. To me it's a matter of complexity, not about humans being in a special place, above nature. To explore the processes, decompose them, doesn't make us any less amazing, it's the complexity of it you have to admire I think. Say for example an average internet user who doesn't have any idea what happens when they click a hyperlink, to them it's "magic", but an engineer who knows exactly what is going on doesn't think of it as magic, yet can very well appreciate it even more than an average user. I strongly disagree with the idea that science tries to make everything heartless, when in fact with more knowledge your amazement and respect grows.
We get into trouble when we place ourselves above Nature. I also strongly disagree with the idea that science tries to make everything heartless. Someone who knows exactly what is going on when they click a hyperlink is just less likely to get a computer virus. If you apply your analogy to CGI, the average person has no idea what it takes to produce a render. They are likely to appreciate it for what it is, yet take it for granted that another render can be produced with the click of a button. Someone who does know the process and can appreciate it's complexity still may appreciate the end product on an esoteric level, but is more likely to be hypercritical of the results.
Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:02 am
by ricardo
Let philosophy apart, this thing has jump started my poor brain cells... I was lost about a week trying to code some VB & Direct3D and it just came out as coding while the stream failed!
Thanks Thomas!
I'm half way there with the videos...
Ricardo