Category Archives: Math

Q: Why are scientists looking for life in space by looking for water? How can they be sure that all life uses water?

Posted on November 13, 2012 by The Physicist

The original question was:  I’m reading more and more lately about the findings of the Kepler satellite and that some scientists are estimating that roughly 5% of newly discovered planets in our galaxy may have mass similar to Earth, which … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Biology, Logic | 7 Comments

Q: How accurately do we need to know π? Is there a reason to know it out to billions of digits?

Posted on October 29, 2012 by The Physicist

Physicist: For essentially every imaginable purpose, knowing that π ≈ 3.14159 is more than good enough.  After all, every additional digit you have yields ten times the accuracy.  So if you know π out to twenty digits, that’s not 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Math | 12 Comments

Q: Does opening a refrigerator cool down the room?

Posted on October 15, 2012 by The Physicist

Physicist: Briefly yes, or no, not at all.  If you think of the room as including the inside of the refrigerator, then opening the door does nothing.  Otherwise, it does almost nothing.  But ultimately, if you leave the door open … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Engineering, Entropy/Information, Physics | 32 Comments

Q: What is the probability of an outcome after it’s already happened?

Posted on October 10, 2012 by The Physicist

Physicist: There are a lot of subtleties to this.  Reading the question, your gut reaction should be “Duh, it’s 100%!  Wait, is this really a question?”. And yet, there are many times in which you may find yourself estimating probabilities … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Philosophical, Probability, Quantum Theory | 11 Comments

Q: How do you answer a question scientifically?

Posted on October 5, 2012 by The Mathematician

Mathematician: Suppose you’re interested in answering a simple question: how effective is aspirin at relieving headaches? If you want to have conviction in the answer, you’ll need to think surprisingly carefully about how you approach this question. A first idea … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Mathematician, Math, Philosophical, Probability | 4 Comments

Q: What is a Fourier transform? What is it used for?

Posted on September 24, 2012 by The Physicist

Physicist: Almost every imaginable signal can be broken down into a combination of simple waves.  This fact is the central philosophy behind Fourier transforms (Fourier was very French, so his name is pronounced a little wonky: “4 E yay”). Fourier … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Equations, Math | 40 Comments