wrote in message
ups.com...
Part of the problem is the way math and science is taught as if they
were obscure theoretical subjects with little application to real life
and this is because most teachers do not understand the subjects. This
is even the case in college where the profs are great at theory but
have no understanding of how it all applies in real life. I have a
turn-of-the-century (1912) college physics text written by Millikan
(yes, that Millikan, you know, the electron charge measurement) and
it's tone is entirely different from the texts I learned from. My
texts were very strong on abstract theory and short on explaining the
real world. Millikans text is a great read explaining in detail how
steam engines work and the detailed thermodynamics behind them. He
explains EM waves and even explains how the spark-gap radio
transmitters of the time worked in great detail.


Millikan dry labbed the oil drop experiment. :

http://www.fofweb.com/Subscription/S...Pin=ffests0352

"Nobel Laureate physicist Robert Millikan (1868-1953) ignored some
observations in determining the charge on the electron because they violated
his expectations."

That's good lawyering if you ask me. Have the evidence thrown out!


Today, Math and Physics are taught as if they are entirely theory
neglecting everyday real world problems.

Modern physics is based upon ignorance of the real world. Invent a new
particle for every effect or invent dark matter that one can see or measure,
but it comes out in the math!

How many people have ever
gone around looking at their home appliances looking at the power
rating and figuring out how much it costs to run each one.

Unless they can measure/know power factor, not VARS, they can't!

This
excercise teaches the relation between power and energy and some
practical economics. How many kids have ever figured out how many
calories they burn by running up some stairs?

Science has brought them games boys. No need to exercise!

Why doesnt this compare
correctly to the caloric content of food (one of the calorie units is
1000x the other is why).



Last year, I took my 15 yr old son on a long sailing trip during the
school year and had him plotting position, figuring out how leeway
would change our DR position, and doing coastal navigation. These real
world examples give a "feel" for trig relationships that you cannot get
just from books.


You get the same feel from navigating or a text book. The text does give
real world examples. Navigation gives the immediacy, applicability and
practice of trigonometry. It is a more entertaining way to learn.

Did you know entertainers make more than lawyers!

A person who know science, math and engineering can read a
psuedo-techie article in the paper and realize when the writer is full
of crap.


The science crap in the newspaper is not the crap that one should be
worrying about.

Read the front of today's Wall Street Journal. They make a mockery of Bush's
State of the Union initiatives. Then go back and read my original post.

It's the crap that men of power espouse that one should be worried about.

Amen!