Back to Life, Back to Reality by Bryan
Did you know that you can make an equation out of anything?
Name the song I stole the lyrics from and win a cookie.
So this week was pretty intense:
6.021J – Quantitative Physiology I – Cells and Tissues
– One 12 page lab report on the superposition of effects of chemoattractants in a microfluidic device
– 2 problem sets
2.005 – Thermal-Fluids Engineering I
– 1 Problem Set
– 1 Exam involving problems dealing with greenhouses and solar panel production
2.002 – Mechanics and Materials II
– 1 Problem Set
– 1 Exam involving problems on design optimization and NDE techniques
21F.703 – Spanish III
– 1 Exam
– 1 Paper on “El Espinazo del Diablo”
Needless to say with all those tests and psets, I’m having a math overload similar to my organic chemistry overload last year.
**FLASHBACK**
Last spring, I took 5.12 (Organic Chemistry I). The night before the exam, I stayed up until 3 am studying. The next morning, I woke up having had the strangest dream of my life. Many will argue it was a nightmare.
All of my friends were present in this dream. Except they weren’t normal. They were carbocations.
Their hairstyles could be described as reaction-coordinate diagrams.
Yes, that’s what is called an organic chemistry overdose.
**FAST FORWARD TO TIME PRESENT**
So this week, it wasn’t organic chemistry as much as just a lot of math, and not the friendly kind.
Interestingly enough, a lot of the problems I worked on this week had real life applications. Last week, I had an interview where my interviewer argued that MIT students are way too theoretical. Here’s my proof that we’re not.
A Mathematical Interpretation that even George Foreman would appreciate:
Also, in the world of math, while I was deriving the equations for the heat transfer into a greenhouse in my 2.005 exam, there was a lecture in New House by Professor John Bush on the math of sports balls.
I actually had Professor Bush as my 18.02A recitation instructor. (It’s a small world after all) Professor Bush has also been known to research the biolocomotion of water striders (translation: how insects walk on water).
And so this weekend, I’m going to have some fun.
With Halloween etc, this weekend, I’m sure to have a lot to blog about, but until then, I leave you with this question.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
I’ll guess “Back to Life, Back to Reality” by En Vogue, but that seems too easy.
and…
a woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood
Woodchuck…ehh
about 400 pounds.
Well, I think studies at Cornell have shown that a woodchuck can infact chuck wood…the question prompted me to do a bit of research. Google tells me that the average woodchuck burrow is around a cubic yard, and that said amount of dirt weighs between 2800 and 3600 pounds, and further research reveals that 1 cubic yard of bark is approximately 600 pounds, hence I would like to make the hypothesis that the average woodchuck could infact chuck at least five cubic yards of wood (being a rodent, I do not believe teeth are a big issue) if infact he was compelled to do as such. This brings about another important question, what are the ecological implications of a woodchuck chucking wood? If a woodchuck were so compelled to chuck five cubic meters of wood would said woodchuck reproduce less? it is also feasible that a woodchuck could damage his jaw chucking that amount of wood. What are the social implications? would the other woodchucks shun a woodchuck who chucked wood? I think further research is necessary before we begin to introduce the notion of woodchucks chucking wood to the woodchuck community.
Oops! If a woodchuck were so compelled to chuck five cubic yards* of wood would said woodchuck reproduce less?
Helpful Graphic: http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chuckingwood4vp.jpg