Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Proof That Physics Is Hard!

Oh, I didn't think such a "proof" exists, but it seems that it does!

Students and researchers alike have long understood that physics is challenging. But only now have scientists managed to prove it. It turns out that one of the most common goals in physics—finding an equation that describes how a system changes over time—is defined as "hard" by computer theory. That's bad news for physics students who hope that a machine can solve all their homework problems, but at least their future jobs in the field are safe from automation.
So there you are! :)

I'll update this when I have the exact reference to the PRL paper.

Edit (3/22/2012) Here is a link to a review of this paper and the exact reference to it in PRL:

http://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.120503

Zz.
at

2 comments:

  1. Douglas NatelsonFebruary 23, 2012 at 7:27 PM

    That reminds me of this:
    http://www.theonion.com/articles/national-science-foundation-science-hard,1405/

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2012 at 11:14 AM

    physics is indeed hard.but it is the most wonderful and amazing branch of science.But I think that students would be more happy if computers could solve their homework problems.

    ReplyDelete

The comments posted to this blog are MODERATED. All comments will require MY APPROVAL to be released, so please do NOT post multiple comments just because you do not see it appearing immediately!

All SPAM will never be approved for release in this blog, no matter how much you try to disguise it. CRACKPOTTERY and attempts at advertising your personal theory and website/blog will be treated in the same manner as unwanted SPAM.