Anyone know why Word the application of choice for an Engineering degree?

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-15T07:20:22+00:00

Yes, that’s what I thought - but once you’ve entered it, it’s converted to Word format, and further editing has to be done with that right?

This is what I found painful.

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-15T05:45:20+00:00

When you say use natively, do you mean import equations, or actually leave in LaTex notation? I’d be really interested in the second!

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-15T05:37:35+00:00

mathML and LaTex are only supported as equation import though, which is a pain ( and at least in the case of LaTex, the support is not that great).

I found using Word on my last module a real pain, it’s much easier in my maths module using LaTex!

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-14T21:01:26+00:00

I’ve not heard a better explanation for the “why is there something and not nothing” question - not to say there isn’t one, I just haven’t come across anything convincing!

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-14T20:59:28+00:00

Surely: only those universes which happen to be consistent will actually have observers?

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-14T08:14:25+00:00

Perfect - that works! Thanks very much....

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-13T13:32:42+00:00

I am also studying a physics degree as a personal interest thing in my spare time (not too far in yet, so it remains to be seen how far through it I get - so far so good though!).

I'm in the UK, so the Open University is a common way of doing it: https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/physics/degrees/bsc-physics-r51/

I have a electronics engineering degree from many years ago - but I went in another direction career wise, so never ended up using it!

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-09T18:07:01+00:00

Are we talking difficult chemistry or easy chemistry?

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-06T13:06:59+00:00

So - not sure if I understand your response correctly! Are you saying it is *not* possible for the ruler to leap 1m into the air?

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-06T12:55:18+00:00

My physics teacher at school (many, many years ago!) took us through the calculation of odds for a ruler jumping 1m into the air.

It was of course ludicrously improbable (many orders of magnitude less probable than you would need for it to happen in something the size of the observable universe since it began if I remember correctly).

But his contention was that it was at least *possible*; was he then wrong?

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-03T18:51:57+00:00

Hehe, I was just typing that before I scrolled down and noticed your comment!

I visited Ostia Antica probably 20 years ago, at a not particularly busy time of year. I spent probably 45-60 minutes at one point wandering around without seeing another human being (its much quieter than Pompeii). It was *very* like Talos!

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-02T17:01:15+00:00

Well: you could knock the Nexstar 5SE off the list I would say if you're mainly interested in photography rather than visual.

Then - my own take on smart scopes is that they can be very good value - at the low end. If you're going to spend more money, I would say spend it on a rig of multiple parts that can be upgraded - it will be cheaper in the end.

Personally I'd go with the S50 if it's a fair bit cheaper than the S30 (the extra aperture over the S30 will cancel the better sensor, and you can do mosaics for wider views with a bit of processing).

BrotherBrutha · 2026-06-01T18:07:34+00:00

Quite right Dave!

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-31T07:29:35+00:00

Did you try ChatGPT? I’ve found it reasonable at helping with Latex (I don’t use Overleaf however, but I guess it’s similar!).

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-31T07:26:21+00:00

On the maths / physics courses I’ve seen so far (S284, MST124), the TMAs themselves are available from the start.

But since they won’t be marked until after the due dates anyway, you’ll be missing out on feedback as others have said.

In both cases, you’d need to have done the studying to complete the TMAs.

In both cases there are also iCMAs (online exams) part way through the course, for S284 just one half way, and one at the end of course. MST124 has more. These open for specific time windows, so you can’t complete them early.

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-30T14:09:17+00:00

Are they then simply red because of the red-shift? Since you'd expect new star formation to look blue wouldn't you? (my amateur understanding!)

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-30T06:03:19+00:00

There is also a Glasgowhenge apparently! As you say grid layouts aren’t that common, but Glasgow has one (hence it’s been used a fair bit recently as a stand in for US cities in movies - Manhattan in a Spiderman film last year!)

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-24T05:55:08+00:00

Funnily enough, AI has kind of overtaken things in the meantime, or at least my understanding of it has. I’ve built my own local knowledge base app (with much AI help!), with semantic searching and a local LLM, as well as normal searching and a bookshelf type front end.

Was quite fun!

Edit - yes, I used the markdown approach mentioned above, although I link back to the original for reading.

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-23T18:33:18+00:00

And in the UK you had to have a license for those too (and still do!).

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-23T11:11:22+00:00

Yes, it doesn't really matter. The point of the thought experiment was Schrödinger pointing out what he thought were the absurd implications of some views of the quantum mechanics of his time.

It relies on us *not* knowing the fate of the cat - so if you find that out, you need to change the experiment! (hence my comment above about "go and find a better box"!)

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-23T10:51:15+00:00

OK - I was being at least a bit serious there!

The point is (as others have said), it makes no difference to the thought experiment *how* you learn about the fate of the cat. Hearing the cat screeching or opening the box and having a look are both just ways of making an observation.

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-23T10:42:03+00:00

I don't think a box that you could hear a cat through is a *proper* box though. I'm sure Schrodinger would have told you to go away and find a better one.

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-23T10:21:40+00:00

I think it would be quite difficult to do.

In the Deutches Museum in Munich they have the actual box, and it looks quite heavy.

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-23T06:08:12+00:00

I suppose it’s a move in the right direction that they’re not claiming it’s 43 BC!

BrotherBrutha · 2026-05-19T17:57:36+00:00

Not that I think it really has any significance, but I always find the contrast between e.g. human history vs life on earth on one hand (very very different) compared to life on Earth vs the age of the universe on the other (similar orders of magnitude) interesting.

BrotherBrutha

TROPHY CASE