
Physics as a Way of Thinking (1936) [pdf] - 7alman
https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/72567/OSLJ_V2N3_0241.pdf
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killjoywashere
Professor Smith was, at the time of the publication of this essay (in the Ohio
State University's law journal), midway through a 20-year span as chairman of
the Ohio State physics department.

He basically works his way through history to demonstrate the development of
the modern experimental method and extrapolates that society would be best
served by extending the scientific method to many more aspects of society
(social and cultural issues, etc).

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neutralid
Prof. Smith describes how social sciences could benefit from the modern,
coordinate-free approach in physics. He also wishes for a tighter coupling in
social sciences as we've seen historically with physics (theory) and
engineering (practice).

Interesting article.

~~~
theoh
I only skimmed the article but I didn't see the word "coordinate" mentioned.

When you say "coordinate-free" do you mean "independent of any fixed frame of
reference"?

Because AIUI coordinate-free actually means something else, it's really just a
mathematical detail: the choice to work with vectors as first-class objects
rather than arrays of coordinates. It's a question of elegance rather that
meaning.

Given the date of this article, the history of the Technocracy movement may be
relevant to those who find these ideas appealing.

~~~
neutralid
> When you say "coordinate-free" do you mean "independent of any fixed frame
> of reference"?

Yes. Einstein's field equation can be derived using differential geometry,
e.g. a coordinate-free approach. Prof. Smith discusses the evolution from
egocentric (early Greek) to absolute fixed-frame (Newtonian) to coordinate-
free (relativistic).

~~~
theoh
As thanatropism said, "coordinate-free" is not synonymous with (Einsteinian)
relativity. It's a general mathematical approach, and it doesn't have any
philosophical consequences that I'm aware of. Just because spacetime is a
curved manifold doesn't mean it can't be dealt with using coordinates in a
higher space in which it is embedded.

~~~
neutralid
Sometimes, symmetry reductions become easier using a coordinate-free approach.
This means that you could better determine invariances in the system without
having a bias towards a particular coordinate system. Philosophically, finding
commonality in systems is powerful and any bias (coordinates) distorts those
commonalities making them harder to perceive. From the article, I inferred
that finding coordinate-free approaches in social sciences could be fruitful.

~~~
theoh
I'm not a mathematician or physicist, but (after a bit of googling) I do find
some material that advances coordinate-free approaches as a kind of ethical
discipline. Relations, understood as ordered pairs, for example, don't have a
"natural order", we should mentally maintain the symmetry and absence of
priority between statements like "the cat sat on the mat" and "the mat was sat
on by the cat".

There's always, in discourse, an origin--a speaker. We can't escape that (see
e.g. the linguistic notion of deixis) I think the article risked patronizing
the non-hard sciences by assuming that they couldn't see that, being somehow
blind to objectivity. Pretty dangerous territory.

~~~
neutralid
The focus is on the subtle impact of using some framework for analysis rather
than the gross impact of individual bias (obviously that's an issue every
scientist should be and probably is aware of).

For example, statistical causal models are widely used in the social sciences.
After searching within the field, I looked for a problem associated with
explanation ambiguity due to how the models were framed (or could be
equivalently framed leading to alternate explanations) and found this paper:

MacCallum, R. C., Wegener, D. T., Uchino, B. N., & Fabrigar, L. R. (1993). The
problem of equivalent models in applications of covariance structure analysis.
Psychological Bulletin, 114(1), 185-199. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.114.1.185

I'm not sure if they could extend their approach using manifold theory and an
equivalence class for the set of models, but I wouldn't be surprised if
someone did something similar. It could then be an example of a coordinate-
free approach to data analysis in psychology.

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dest
a tldr would be welcome

~~~
f00_
c+p of 252-253:

"The world of physics is then," as Planck says, "a deliberate hypothesis put
forth by a finite mind in an attempt to reduce the facts of observation to a
system based on certain physical principles such that known phenomena are
necessary consequences of the system."

The basic principles are chosen on experimental grounds. Whether they are true
or false in the absolute sense is not a pertinent question. Their consequences
must agree with nature. They are working hypotheses which are to be discarded
whenever they cease to be effective or helpful.

Progress means bringing new sets of observations with the system in a way to
give a complete mathematical description of physical phenomena in terms of the
fewest principles or entities, that is to find in a variety of physical
phenomena essential relations from which future phenomena can be predicted.

Physics is thus a result of our quest for order and harmony among physical
phenomena. It is man's best attempt to think vigorously whatever permits of
vigorous thinking. It is not fixed but is subject to change and evolution.
Whatever comes out must go back to enrich the soil from which it came

I think it's worth the full read, 20 pages of pretty good physics history

~~~
dest
Thank you.

