Nanotechnology & Computer - New World?

[BHX]

This point is also incorrect and shows a misunderstanding of what the theory is. You can use the equations without understanding the theory just fine. You just Google the formula and plug the numbers or get a program that does this for you.

Sorry, that quote should have been in a separate line as I was more referring the programming example you showed. A person can understand what programming is, but would only gain an understanding of how to program by actually doing it. Now you do have a valid point about Googling formula, but that plays to the person not caring and doesn't prove they don't understand it.

[Mats]

Sorry, that quote should have been in a separate line as I was more referring the programming example you showed. A person can understand what programming is, but would only gain an understanding of how to program by actually doing it. Now you do have a valid point about Googling formula, but that plays to the person not caring and doesn't prove they don't understand it.

Perhaps programming is too general a term. A better programming analogy would be something like this:

How do you make a doubly linked list? / What is general relativity

And the kind of equivalent answer would be:

Make a list , make it doubly linked. / Warping of 4 dimensional spacetime due to gravity

Yeah ok that does answer the question on some level, but do they really understand?

Obviously the doubly linked list is a lot easier, but I couldn't come up with something off the top of my head that is so advanced in programming that has a suitable equivalent answer.

[3hM2Nwbp]

I couldn't come up with something off the top of my head that is so advanced in programming that has a suitable equivalent answer.

https://xkcd.com/1168/

Serious conversations bring out the clown in me.

[BHX]

Well since we are talking science and programming, you could use science fiction to stress the complexity of understanding general relativity and superstring theory. It would be the equivalent to a single programmer attempting to write Skynet.

[Mats]

Well since we are talking science and programming, you could use science fiction to stress the complexity of understanding general relativity and superstring theory. It would be the equivalent to a single programmer attempting to write Skynet.

I don't think it's impossible! It's just certainly not easy. Anyone with a decent grounding in physics and calculus would be able to learn relativity with a few months hard work. I wouldn't call that easy. However, superstring theory seems to hard for anyone, so that's maybe worthy of a Skynet comparison.

LOL @ Luc Lieber.