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Simple Question on Big Bang

zhihau said:
little wonder many aspiring scientists tried their best in their pursuit for the "theory of everything"
then again, why is there this need to marry classical physics to quantum mechanics? :o:o:o

There are a lot of things you cannot prove but if you have a unified theory that can explain what is at the quantum mechanics level, the classical physics level that we encounter in our daily lives as well as the cosmic level, those things we know for sure, then we can have more confidence to predict or understand things that we cannot prove.
 
zhihau said:
it's 活到老,学到老。having a degree or not is not as important as having that inquisitive mind and the willingness to explore :):):)

Fishbuff, zhihau is right. Science was not really the core subject of my education but the interest to find out what there is, even if it is only for an occasional dip into the knowledge pool, is enough to keep the fire burning for many years.
 
Fishbuff, zhihau is right. Science was not really the core subject of my education but the interest to find out what there is, even if it is only for an occasional dip into the knowledge pool, is enough to keep the fire burning for many years.

it's 活到老,学到老。having a degree or not is not as important as having that inquisitive mind and the willingness to explore :):):)

i dont have a legit degree from NUS or reputable overseas uni, just an external one on part time basis which granted me jobs.

the current environment is best for learning now; having a keen curiosity about the world around us, ample free time, heaps of materials that are readily available at our finger tip (internet), the willingness to learn and enjoy the findings.

in sg, we always have clouded sky but here in australia on a clear night, i can see a vast stretch of stars across the sky, realizing how immense the universe is, every single stars out there is a sun that is equivalent to ours. The only thing that stop me from buying a reflective telescope is my wife. We are fortunate to be conscious at this brief moment of time to be aware of the existence of the universe.

now knowing abit more about the origin of the whole universe, the deception of religions, the lack of knowledge which cause the rise of superstitions and notion that most of us are intellectually lazy, it has brought forth a whole different perspective of reality to me.

all those religions from ancients times are lies, made by people living in dark ages with zero findings, and still they have a vast number of followers, some of which are willing to twist the facts to suit their superstitions. now i believe there are even curriculum in the MOE that enforce children to do religious studies in their pri and sec school?!!! fark. they should teach evolution and humanity as a academic subject!
 
fishbuff said:
i dont have a legit degree from NUS or reputable overseas uni, just an external one on part time basis which granted me jobs.

the current environment is best for learning now; having a keen curiosity about the world around us, ample free time, heaps of materials that are readily available at our finger tip (internet), the willingness to learn and enjoy the findings.

in sg, we always have clouded sky but here in australia on a clear night, i can see a vast stretch of stars across the sky, realizing how immense the universe is, every single stars out there is a sun that is equivalent to ours. The only thing that stop me from buying a reflective telescope is my wife. We are fortunate to be conscious at this brief moment of time to be aware of the existence of the universe.

You don't need a formal academic education to understand science. In fact, an academic education gives you a rounded overview of a broad subject but not in depth. It is through projects and theses that you are forced to go into some detail from self research.

If you are only interested in a narrow field, you don't need a formal education and you could very well do your own self research and study. A very good free source of information, very close to a formal university education, is iTunes if use Apple devices. Several world renowned universities have modules on iTunes and they are free of charge.

For really deeper treatment on subjects, you need to go into scientific journals if you really need the maths or some popular magazines like Discover, New Scientist, American Scientist etc which give layman-targeted overviews of the latest discoveries and ideas. I normally go for the latter whenever I spot an interesting topic. Now you also have the Internet but www does not break things down chronologically and you must know what to look for.

You are lucky to have Australian skies to gaze at stars without the city's light pollution. Women normally do not like bulky things lying in the house which they do not understand. Newtonian reflectors are the most economical choice for a telescope without sacrificing quality except the size of the field of view. But they are bulky even for a small diameter telescope. Since your wife objects, suggest you go for one of those catadioptric telescopes which are small and compact.

I am, particularly, in love with the Matsutov-Cassegraine designs and many are available from Celestron and Meade. Orion carries a good range of both mades including some OEM under their own name and they also do online. You probably need at least a 6" diameter to start with but a 8" should be better to allow you to see more stars and galaxies. You need a range of eye-pieces to go with it. For stars, you do not need high magnification, just something that gives a good field of view. You need high magnification for viewing planets though but how high depends on your telescope diameter. Also get an auto-tracking drive and a sturdy stand. This will enhance your enjoyment.

I hope the above helps.
 
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sad to say i must be ashame of myself, mine is a science degree and my passion is not as great as you guys LOL. to me i just know enough to talk cock sing song if its outside my field
 
we can have more confidence to predict or understand things that we cannot prove.

heheh...
wouldn't a brand new theory that is independent of both classical physics & quantum mechanics work? me see the equations until me :*::*::*:
 
I hope the above helps.

for publications, me prefer New Scientist, Scientific American, Nature, Science, Nat Geo. IMHO, Nat Geo helps pique the interests, likewise for New Scientist & Scientific American, for the more hardcore: Nature & Science.

for online material: can try sciencedaily.com
 
for publications, me prefer New Scientist, Scientific American, Nature, Science, Nat Geo. IMHO, Nat Geo helps pique the interests, likewise for New Scientist & Scientific American, for the more hardcore: Nature & Science.

for online material: can try sciencedaily.com
my aim in this lifetime, 1 nature 1 science publication. LOL
 
all those religions from ancients times are lies, made by people living in dark ages with zero findings, and still they have a vast number of followers, some of which are willing to twist the facts to suit their superstitions.

bro,

me wouldn't call religions lies, misconception of the natural world at most. good to note there are certain degree of truth in religious writings. take the Mayan calendar for example: it predicts very accurately all the solar eclipse right till this age long after they are gone.

we are called Homo sapiens for a reason, bro. our civilisation had been asking question since the dawn of our birth. beliefs and superstitions helped our ancestors coped with unknown in their time, it helped them survive. believe or not, me had this notion that our civilisation would still be barbaric if there were no religion to govern human nature :o:o:o
 
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zhihau said:
heheh...
wouldn't a brand new theory that is independent of both classical physics & quantum mechanics work? me see the equations until me :*::*::*:

You are very creative. That is like re-inventing the wheel.
 
You don't need a formal academic education to understand sciencer. In fact, an academic education gives you a rounded overview of a broad subject but not in depth. It is through projects and theses that you are forced to go into some detail from self research.

If you are only interested in a narrow field, you don't need a formal education and you could very well do your own self research and study. A very good free source of information, very close to a formal university education, is iTunes if use Apple devices. Several world renowned universities have modules on iTunes and they are free of charge.

For really deeper treatment on subjects, you need to go into scientific journals if you really need the maths or some popular magazines like Discover, New Scientist, American Scientist etc which give layman-targeted overviews of the latest discoveries and ideas. I normally go for the latter whenever I spot an interesting topic. Now you also have the Internet but www does not break things down chronologically and you must know what to look for.

You are lucky to have Australian skies to gaze at stars without the city's light pollution. Women normally do not like bulky things lying in the house which they do not understand. Newtonian reflectors are the most economical choice for a telescope without sacrificing quality except the size of the field of view. But they are bulky even for a small diameter telescope. Since your wife objects, suggest you go for one of those catadioptric telescopes which are small and compact.

I am, particularly, in love with the Matsutov-Cassegraine designs and many are available from Celestron and Meade. Orion carries a good range of both mades including some OEM under their own name and they also do online. You probably need at least a 6" diameter to start with but a 8" should be better to allow you to see more stars and galaxies. You need a range of eye-pieces to go with it. For stars, you do not need high magnification, just something that gives a good field of view. You need high magnification for viewing planets though but how high depends on your telescope diameter. Also get an auto-tracking drive and a sturdy stand. This will enhance your enjoyment.

I hope the above helps.

i remember those days when carl sagan presented cosmos on the tv back in the late 80s and i was so hooked onto cosmology since then. Im not sure if you can get such bbc documentaries like wonders of the universe, life of chaos, etc in SG (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/ and http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/categories/factual/science_and_nature) but we get them all the time here on SBS and ABC channels.

Matsutov-Cassegraine type, (http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm) this is one of the site my colleague has recommended. 8"? i will certainly look into that. no need auto tracking,... im just a noob in star gazing...
 
for publications, me prefer New Scientist, Scientific American, Nature, Science, Nat Geo. IMHO, Nat Geo helps pique the interests, likewise for New Scientist & Scientific American, for the more hardcore: Nature & Science.

for online material: can try sciencedaily.com


there are heaps of good science documentaries in YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/user/UppruniTegundanna?feature=watch
http://www.youtube.com/user/SpaceRip?feature=g-all-bul

and you can order free DVDs from howard hughes medical institute that cover all sort of science topics. (www.hhmi.org).

bro,

me wouldn't call religions lies, misconception of the natural world at most. good to note there are certain degree of truth in religious writings. take the Mayan calendar for example: it predicts very accurately all the solar eclipse right till this age long after they are gone.

we are called Homo sapiens for a reason, bro. our civilisation had been asking question since the dawn of our birth. beliefs and superstitions helped our ancestors coped with unknown in their time, it helped them survive. believe or not, me had this notion that our civilisation would still be barbaric if there were no religion to govern human nature :o:o:o

mayan calendars is a construct just like Pythagora's and Archimedes' works. not a set of religious belief that talk about superstitions.
it worked well but only in the past and its importance/influence on the society must scale down to make ways for science and rational reasoning. Some science had scaled or phased out, like human anatomy. Claudius Galen's work was good during rome time but it form as a ground for future scientist to investigate like william harvey and versalius.
 
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fishbuff said:
i remember those days when carl sagan presented cosmos on the tv back in the late 80s and i was so hooked onto cosmology since then. Im not sure if you can get such bbc documentaries like wonders of the universe, life of chaos, etc in SG but we get them all the time here on SBS and ABC channels.

Matsutov-Cassegraine type, (http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm) this is one of the site my colleague has recommended. 8"? i will certainly look into that. no need auto tracking,... im just a noob in star gazing...

We do have Carl Sagan many, many years ago - the Living Planet I believe and there are other documentaries now and then or you can subscribe to Discovery Channel, National Geography and History Channel from cable here.
Auto tracking drive is useful especially for a novice. With that you just punch in the name of the object and the telescope automatically points you to the object. And as you watch, the telescope follows the object or star group across the sky. Interesting objects are binaries, star clusters and nebulae. The interest is often killed when randomly scanning the sky for interesting objects you can't find any.
 
mayan calendars is a construct just like Pythagora's and Archimedes' works. not a set of religious belief that talk about superstitions.

thanks for the lead, bro

anyways, always thought the Mayans used their calendar to show how their civilization came into being and their God demanding blood sacrifice at every other solar eclipse... :o:o:o
 
vamjok said:
sad to say i must be ashame of myself, mine is a science degree and my passion is not as great as you guys LOL. to me i just know enough to talk cock sing song if its outside my field

Although science was not my core subject, I had a good grounding in science in my school days.
 
thanks for the lead, bro

anyways, always thought the Mayans used their calendar to show how their civilization came into being and their God demanding blood sacrifice at every other solar eclipse... :o:o:o

this may sound ridiculous but i watched ancient aliens series and there are evidences of superior method of constructions, some of which solid rocks were carved and joined together so seamlessly that a thin slice of papers cant slot in, plus these granite blocks were carved at perfect right angle with very sharp edge. impossible for an ancient civilisation.

another point of curiosity is the sunken buildings that are currently residing in the sea just off the coast of okinawa. it was estimated that the civilisation that built these stone structure must be at least 11,000 years old. far beyond our current knowledge of historical civilization.
 
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