Dimensions

I was taught in university science classes that the dimensions on the left side of an equation should match the dimensions on the right.  I had trouble applying this to Einsteins equation because energy is expressed in so many ways (joules, foot-pounds, kilowatt hours).  I finally figured out that the right way to look at it is energy = force times distance and force = mass times acceleration and acceleration = distance divided by time squared.  Combining these gives energy = mass times distance squared divided by time squared, which, of course, matches the dimensions on the right side of the equation.

My next blog will give an example.

Where the time goes

Monday, March 22, 2010     11:41am     McDonald's     Wt.:  175

A dillar a doller, a ten o'clock scholar, what brings me here so soon.
I used to come at ten o'clock, but now I'm here at [almost] noon.

After coffee, browsing, and walking, I may get home at three.

No matter what I choose to do then, I will be putting off six other things.  Plus everything takes longer than expected.  As Phyllis says, "There are no five minute jobs."

Weekly stuff:  laundry, shopping, bills.

Part of the problem is that I sleep more than I used to, and I move slower.

At night I watch Wheel of Fortune and often more.

And I read.

Yesterday, I tossed some more clutter and printed a few pictures for the photo club.

Conciousness

Conciousness is not understood nor, in my opinion, understandable. What physical process could possibly create awareness? Could a robot (or a computer) be concious? If it were how would we know? Conciousness is not the same as intelligence. Machines can be intelligent. People speculate on whether dogs or other animals are concious. I believe they are but have no way of knowing. The only conciousness I can be sure of is my own. It is unique to me and to my lifetime. We have an enormous amount of memory stored in our brains. We may not be able to describe in detail our drive to work but we notice if something changes. The amount of memory we are aware of at one time is very limited. I have no awareness of anything that happened before I was born and don't expect any after I die. Suppose I hadn't been born. After all, the chances of my having been must be infintessimal. And even more improbable is my being alive today. My lifetime is not even a blink in the age of the earth. Suppose time could be reset. I wish I were 19 again. If I were I wouldn't know anything about the future. Time is the only one of Einstein's four dimensions that is unidirectional. That is supposedly guaranteed by the law of increasing entropy.