Postby Technomancer » Mon Feb 27, 2006 8:49 pm
It sometimes helps to think in terms of the slope and the intercepts for this type of equation. For example, if your equation is:
ax+by=c
then y=(c-ax)/b
y=-(a/b)x+c/b
the slope (or steepness) of the plot is -(a/b), and the y-intercept (the point where the equation intersects the y-axis) is equal to c/b. The x-intercept can be solved for in a similar manner.
The scientific method," Thomas Henry Huxley once wrote, "is nothing but the normal working of the human mind." That is to say, when the mind is working; that is to say further, when it is engaged in corrrecting its mistakes. Taking this point of view, we may conclude that science is not physics, biology, or chemistry—is not even a "subject"—but a moral imperative drawn from a larger narrative whose purpose is to give perspective, balance, and humility to learning.
Neil Postman
(The End of Education)
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge
Isaac Aasimov