Physics for Future Presidents (mirrored)

Much thanks to the University of California for releasing this video, along with many others featured on uctelevision channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/uctelevision

Under the following Creative Commons license:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

UC Berkeley physics professor and author Richard Muller gives an entertaining interview on why politicians and other opinion leaders should understand the basics of physics to create smart public policy. [3/2009] [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 16054]

Get webcasts of Prof. Muller's "Physics for Future Presidents", and literally HUNDREDS of other classes, at:
http://webcast.berkeley.edu

Category:

Education

Tags:

• physics
• 10
• science
• education
• webcast
• uc
• berkeley
• cal
• course
• class

[B1ackHayabusa]

Generic comment that will be completely ignored!

I give up.

[RabidApe]

WAT

...

[zgonard]

I enjoyed this video very much. Obviously an excellent teacher. His students are very fortunate.

[GlueSniffer4Life]

Now that argument would make sense if it weren't for the fact that SI system is an evil commie socialist liberal plot devised to destroy the moral fabric of this great nation. WSWJU (what system would Jesus use)? Of course The ONE AND ONLY God Approved Imperial System!

[5amGordon]

Is the music at the start from Beverly Hills Ninja?

[leorklier]

and the ease of the metric and SI system is something which makes it very useful.

[leorklier]

maybe, but if he wants to introduce physics to them, i dont think it would put to much of a strain on the brain of potential presidents to be able to think in the same way that physicists think.

everything becomes considerably easier mathematically when you adopt SI units. e.g. how many pounds does a gallon of water weigh? (i dont have a fucking clue). alternatively, how many kilos does 3.141592635 litres of water weigh? answer - 3.14192635 kilos!

[RabidApe]

"fahrenheit may have been useful 250 years ago when the scale was invented, but today, it isnt."

.... I fail to see the problem when he is doing an interview for a presumably non-physicist, largely American audience.

Pull the fucking stick out of your ass.

And don't construe this comment as an "endorsement" of the fahrenheit scale.

(I can't help but giggle at the inevitable shitstorm from the likes of Limbaugh and Bachmann if we were "forced" to use that "socialist" SI system...)

/rant

[leorklier]

because the fahrenheit scale is an arbitrary scale which is useless in SI calculations. physicists should use kelvins - for instance if you want to calculate the volume that a gas will occupy at a particular temperature you must use kelvins. if you want to calculate the energy of a particle you must use kelvin. every single scientific formula used today involving temperature uses kelvin.

fahrenheit may have been useful 250 years ago when the scale was invented, but today, it isnt.

[theinquisitor]

"physicists should NOT use the word fahrenheit!!!!!"

Why?

[leorklier]

physicists should NOT use the word fahrenheit!!!!!, otherwise, a pretty good video.

[AbdultheImpailler]

Hey Mr. Ape, thanks for mirroring this interview, it was a great listen, very interesting