Remix.run Logo
matheusmoreira 8 days ago

https://v.cx/2010/04/feynman-brazil-education

> Then I held up the elementary physics textbook they were using.

> There are no experimental results mentioned anywhere in this book, except in one place where there is a ball, rolling down an inclined plane, in which it says how far the ball got after one second, two seconds, three seconds, and so on.

> The numbers have ‘errors’ in them – that is, if you look at them, you think you’re looking at experimental results, because the numbers are a little above, or a little below, the theoretical values. The book even talks about having to correct the experimental errors – very fine.

> The trouble is, when you calculate the value of the acceleration constant from these values, you get the right answer.

> But a ball rolling down an inclined plane, if it is actually done, has an inertia to get it to turn, and will, if you do the experiment, produce five-sevenths of the right answer, because of the extra energy needed to go into the rotation of the ball.

> Therefore this single example of experimental ‘results’ is obtained from a fake experiment.

> Nobody had rolled such a ball, or they would never have gotten those results!

Reading your post, I now realize education is dysfunctional in the entire world, not just in my country. Small comfort.

capitainenemo 8 days ago | parent [-]

Interesting. If that is correct and you take OPs value, 6.8 / 5 * 7 = 9.5 which is pretty damn close. So his failed grade was for the only non-cheated result?

capitainenemo 2 days ago | parent [-]

One ambiguity for anyone reading this in future would be... I would hope that both experiments already had worked in the impact of the angle of the board on the gravitational force, and the 6.8 the op turned in was with that taken into account. But without taking into account inertia and friction.

I feel like this is one I'm going to have to try at home.