[Speed Gibson,
Tuesday September 6, 2005 at 10:41pm]
Changing the Laws of Physics
Does the "Liberal Arts Requirement" still work both ways? I had to take several quarters of history, literature, philosophy etc at the U as an IT (engineering) student. Conversely, the CLA (liberal arts) students had to take some math and science. I, in fact, graded tests and exams for their Physics classes, and by the way, they did just fine as a group.
But that was over 30 years ago. Does, say, a Journalism major have to study the physical sciences anymore? (Or statistics?)
Some of the reporting on New Orleans and Katrina I've seen leads me to wonder. What, for example, is the kinetic energy of a air-dropped sandwich? And how accurately can you drop them near the Superdome anyway?
Seriously, these reporters seem to have no concept of the scales of matter and energy at work in a hurricane. Do they understand that even if the levee that broke held, the tremendous mass and pressure of all that water very well might have breached another. Make it a Category five hurricane, and nothing works. If Lake Pontchartrain doesn't get you, the gulf surge will.
Further, these reporters seem to think that the military can function effectively in heavy rains and high winds. They have all that big stuff that supposedly can stand up to this and crawl over all the debris whenever they want.
And then there's round 37,203 of all undesirable weather is a consequence of air pollution during Republican administrations argument.
The physical forces involved are massive. As a responder, all you can do is watch and wait until it subsides. As a respondee, all you can do is get out of there before it hits.
But that was over 30 years ago. Does, say, a Journalism major have to study the physical sciences anymore? (Or statistics?)
Some of the reporting on New Orleans and Katrina I've seen leads me to wonder. What, for example, is the kinetic energy of a air-dropped sandwich? And how accurately can you drop them near the Superdome anyway?
Seriously, these reporters seem to have no concept of the scales of matter and energy at work in a hurricane. Do they understand that even if the levee that broke held, the tremendous mass and pressure of all that water very well might have breached another. Make it a Category five hurricane, and nothing works. If Lake Pontchartrain doesn't get you, the gulf surge will.
Further, these reporters seem to think that the military can function effectively in heavy rains and high winds. They have all that big stuff that supposedly can stand up to this and crawl over all the debris whenever they want.
And then there's round 37,203 of all undesirable weather is a consequence of air pollution during Republican administrations argument.
The physical forces involved are massive. As a responder, all you can do is watch and wait until it subsides. As a respondee, all you can do is get out of there before it hits.