The Science of Ordinary Things

You know, the stuff we take for granted and use in our daily lives. Doesn't necessarily have to be an object, just something you rarely stop to think about. Sitting here typing this and I'm looking at a ball point pen that's laying on a sheet of paper atop my desk. Yet I have no idea how the pen works, how paper is made or anything about the design of furniture. When I finish here I'm going to look them up. My ignorance of the science is glaring but I'm certainly not alone. Seems people know more about deities, ghosts and ufo's than they do about the  things that get them through a normal day. Cell phones and computers definitely fall into this category. 

Seems like learning how to use is easier than learning how it's done or how it works. I remember reading once that if you could go back in time and return with one of the first of our species that we could teach our prehistoric ancestor how to drive a car. I wonder if that's actually true and if it is, does it mean that generally speaking we as a species are better at acquiring skill than actually having to know the technology (science)involved. Does one feed off the other? It certainly raises the stature of those who push for an understanding of science IMHO. 

Where would we be if everyone knew exactly how everything worked? I think we would be known as a highly advanced civilization. Maybe that's what it takes to earn that classification but is it even possible, can evolution take us there if given enough time? I wish I was there so I could figure out why after a couple of years the grains in my sand art glass frame won't fall to the bottom when I flip it over.

(Dec 24, 2016 05:18 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: Seems like learning how to use is easier than learning how it's done or how it works.

And building it. An integrated circuit designer or engineer stranded back in the distant past would be as helpless as the locals in fabricating such, despite having much of the knowledge. We've reached the point where even aspects of older inventions updated to "smart" would be impossible to complete without a world-spanning chain of (occasionally rare) raw material sources and distributed industrial complexes of sophisticated facilities and incredibly specialized technologies.

I think the grains of sand are damp.  An option is to place it in the car with the windows up while the sunshine has it very hot inside.  Alternately, place it in the oven set to about 150°F.  Either way, let it stay at that temperature for several hours to force the moisture out.

(Dec 24, 2016 06:12 PM)C C Wrote:

(Dec 24, 2016 05:18 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: Seems like learning how to use is easier than learning how it's done or how it works.

And building it. An integrated circuit designer or engineer stranded back in the distant past would be as helpless as the locals in fabricating such, despite having much of the knowledge. We've reached the point where even aspects of older inventions updated to "smart" would be impossible to complete without a world-spanning chain of (occasionally rare) raw material sources and distributed industrial complexes of sophisticated facilities and incredibly specialized technologies.

Specialized..... as in not for everyone? 

Does a ballerina need to know quantum physics, and if not then do the Arts deserve as much credit for the advancement of civilization? For the survival of the species I will put my faith in science over the Arts at this point in time. Although I also know science could end civilization tomorrow, something the Arts might have trouble doing.

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(Dec 24, 2016 06:17 PM)elte Wrote: I think the grains of sand are damp.  An option is to place it in the car with the windows up while the sunshine has it very hot inside.  Alternately, place it in the oven set to about 150°F.  Either way, let it stay at that temperature for several hours to force the moisture out.

My sand lies between two panes of glass and is immersed in some kind of liquid, like a clear light oil. When I first bought it the grains fell freely whenever I flipped it over. However after a while the sand starts to stick and no amount of shaking or flipping will return it to the original effect.

(Dec 24, 2016 06:46 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote:

(Dec 24, 2016 06:12 PM)C C Wrote:

(Dec 24, 2016 05:18 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: Seems like learning how to use is easier than learning how it's done or how it works.

And building it. An integrated circuit designer or engineer stranded back in the distant past would be as helpless as the locals in fabricating such, despite having much of the knowledge. We've reached the point where even aspects of older inventions updated to "smart" would be impossible to complete without a world-spanning chain of (occasionally rare) raw material sources and distributed industrial complexes of sophisticated facilities and incredibly specialized technologies.

Specialized..... as in not for everyone? 

As in differentiating into narrower areas requiring yet more specific expertise and informed attention. Just managing quality control and the strict environment that wafers and IC chips are produced in could be a distinct career in itself. Aside from housing vacuum chambers, the surrounding space has to be ultra-clean, devoid of foreign matter in the air. Optimum temperatures have to be maintained. Workers wear suits as if they were a CDC team handling a disease outbreak. The masking process of transferring microscopic details to a wafer involves multiple layers. The doping is also highly sensitive to various conditions and either the gas approach or the ion beam method entails avoiding mistakes at absurdly tiny scales.

Thus much of Scotty's futuristic prowess would become inutile if stuck with Captain Kirk and crew in the primitive manufacturing limitations and lack of resources of Tombstone, Arizona in the 19th century (or a far worse era / region). Scotty: "Aye, no problem, Captain. I'll scrap a microprocessor together from wee bits of telegraph wire and a couple of whiskey bottles."

Quote:Does a ballerina need to know quantum physics,

Or to what degree should she be familiar with _X_? While additionally being able to name all the individual trees and chart their relationships is the vaster power, being confined to just seeing the forest is still useful in its own right.

To return to the case of people who just drive cars, rather than knowing about them in a narrower sense like an automotive engineer or even an everyday mechanic would... Their general knowledge still imparts to them what the capacities and limitations of the vehicles are (if not how to fix or construct one). Learning more isn't going to reveal radical new facts like the machine resting in the garage can dance, swim, recite poetry or fly after going off a cliff. The mere "driver / owner" of the car still groks what the entity or system of components is at the basic level -- its function, how to operate it, maintenance requirements, and most especially the range of its feats and possibilities.