John Colton's blog

The following is a summary I wrote of professional research into how experts go about solving physics problems, contrasted with how novices solve the same problems. I can dig out the reference for the original (quite lengthy) review paper, but don't have it handy. I thought the findings were quite interesting.

I gave this to my Intro Physics students, with a note saying, "Your goal as a student should be to move from the novice column to the expert column. Notice how expert problem-solvers stop to think about the problem, draw pictures to visualize the problem, plan out their strategy, before beginning, etc.--and still manage to solve problems much faster than novices. Short-cuts aren't always short!"

1. Novice: Studies worked examples rapidly, without bothering to understand the examples.
Expert: Studies worked examples until sure examples are understood.

2. Novice: Consults worked examples later in hopes of finding a plan.
Expert: Consults worked examples later to verify that chosen plan is correct.

3. Novice: Subject knowledge is lacking.
Expert: Has a thorough knowledge of subject matter.

4. Novice: Collection of knowledge is a random jumble of miscellaneous facts.
Expert: Collection of knowledge is well organized in person's head: centered around physical principles and hierarchical (topic trees).

5. Novice: Separates intuition/"real world" knowledge from theoretical/formal knowledge.
Expert: Has integrated real world with theoretical knowledge.

6. Novice: Not able to "translate" problem statements.
Expert: Able to correctly infer situation from the given information.

7. Novice: Little or no planning before trying to solve equations.
Expert: Develops a definite problem-solving strategy before starting to solve equations.

8. Novice: Not able to construct a physical picture of what's going on, or is unable to recognize when chosen picture is inappropriate.
Expert: Constructs a useful physical picture of the problem.

9. Novice: Does not stop to think of a qualitative answer before starting to solve the problem.
Expert: Uses qualitative physics principles/physical reasoning to have a reasonable answer to the problem in mind before beginning to solve numerically

10. Novice: Focuses on surface structure (physical items involved in problem).
Expert: Focuses on deeper structure (physical laws involved in problem).

11. Novice: Generates several physical models at start, and sometimes shifts models midstream because not certain of correct way to look at problem.
Expert: Develops one model at a time; additional models only are used to check solution of first model, or if first model doesn't seem to be working

12. Novice: Works backward (looks for equation that has the unknown in it).
Expert: Works forward (looks for equations that include the given quantities).

13. Novice: Does not stop to think about the answer that was obtained.
Expert: Stops to think if answer makes sense (checks against qualitative answer)

14. Novice: Spends a lot of time working on problem.
Expert: Solves problem quickly.

15. Novice: Unaware of understanding gaps.
Expert: Recognize when something is not understood.

A couple of news articles today on happiness. I thought they were interesting.

First article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061126/ap_on_he_me/be_happy

Some interesting points from that article:

For decades, a widely accepted view has been that people are stuck with a basic setting on their happiness thermostat. It says the effects of good or bad life events like marriage, a raise, divorce, or disability will simply fade with time.

We adapt to them just like we stop noticing a bad odor from behind the living room couch after a while, this theory says. So this adaptation would seem to doom any deliberate attempt to raise a person's basic happiness setting.

As two researchers put it in 1996, "It may be that trying to be happier is as futile as trying to be taller."

But recent long-term studies have revealed that the happiness thermostat is more malleable than the popular theory maintained, at least in its extreme form. "Set-point is not destiny," says psychologist Ed Diener of the University of Illinois.

While I think some people are much more naturally disposed towards happiness [*cough* John *cough*] than others [*cough* Pauline *cough*], I find it astounding that apparently until recently researchers did not believe that individual actions affect one's happiness. Glad they've caught up with scripture:

"Do not suppose...that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness."
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/41/10#10

Since people can repent of wickedness, of course they can improve their happiness level!

Another interesting section:

As a motivational speaker and executive coach, Caroline Adams Miller knows a few things about using mental exercises to achieve goals. But last year, one exercise she was asked to try took her by surprise.

Every night, she was to think of three good things that happened that day and analyze why they occurred. That was supposed to increase her overall happiness.

"I thought it was too simple to be effective," said Miller, 44, of Bethesda. Md. "I went to Harvard. I'm used to things being complicated."

Miller was assigned the task as homework in a master's degree program. But as a chronic worrier, she knew she could use the kind of boost the exercise was supposed to deliver.

She got it.

"The quality of my dreams has changed, I never have trouble falling asleep and I do feel happier," she said.

[snip]

The think-of-three-good-things exercise that Miller, the motivational speaker, found so simplistic at first is among those being tested by Seligman's group at the University of Pennsylvania.

People keep doing it on their own because it's immediately rewarding, said Seligman colleague Acacia Parks. It makes people focus more on good things that happen, which might otherwise be forgotten because of daily disappointments, she said.

Miller said the exercise made her notice more good things in her day, and that now she routinely lists 10 or 20 of them rather than just three.

Reminds me of the hymn:

When upon life's billows
You are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged,
Thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings,
Name them one by one,
And it will surprise you
What the Lord hath done.


Second article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061126/ap_on_bi_ge/be_happy_money

"There is overwhelming evidence that money buys happiness," said economist Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in England. The main debate, he said, is how strong the effect is.

[snip]

Does money make you happier? Or does being happier in the first place allow you to earn more money later, maybe by way of greater creativity or energy? Or does some other factor produce both money and happiness? There's evidence for all three interpretations, Lucas says.

In any case, researchers say any effect of money on happiness is smaller than most daydreamers assume.

So money affects happiness, but it's not clear by how much. That's not too surprising to me, since a lack of money can produce stress (which I would assume is somewhat contrary to a feeling of happiness)--but my guess would be than after a certain minimum standard of living is met, then probably the effect of money would be minimal. Doesn't seem like they've tested out my own particular theory yet.

Here's another interesting section:

They noted that in one study, people with household incomes of $90,000 or more were only slightly more likely to call themselves "very happy" overall than were people from households making $50,000 to $89,999. The rates were 43 percent versus 42 percent, respectively. (Members of the high-income group were almost twice as likely to call themselves "very happy" as people from households with incomes below $20,000.)

But other studies, rather than asking for a summary estimate of happiness, follow people through the day and repeatedly record their feelings. These studies show less effect of income on happiness, Kahneman and colleagues said.

I thought that last point dovetailed nicely with the first article I read. It seems like the people *are* happy, but don't necessarily recognize it in their "summary estimate". That would explain nicely why "counting your blessings" before you go to sleep as mentioned in the first article seemed to have a positive effect--maybe it just helps recognize that they are indeed happy.

I close with Joseph Smith's quote:

"Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God."

Quick update: We had Thanksgiving dinner with our neighbors, Heidi and Scott Blanke. They had a few other families over as well. Pauline made rolls, some of the guests brought pies, and the Blankes made the rest. Pauline was happy not to have to make the Thanksgiving dinner, until she realized that it would mean no turkey leftovers! So she bought a turkey of her own, which we will presumably cook at some point in the not so distant future.

I got some movie watching in, a couple of house projects, and somewhat surprisingly managed to not do one iota of school work Thurs, Fri, or today. Hope I don't pay for that too badly next week.

A couple of months ago I was browsing through various wikipedia articles on the LDS church. After a couple of clicks to other websites, I found myself reading the story of a disgruntled former LDS church member who had been excommunicated in 1994. I soon realized that I had already read this lady's story several years ago, but something prompted me to read it again. To make a long story short, my synopsis is that she had been publishing LDS-related material that did not fit with LDS doctrine, so her bishop (possibly prompted by LDS church HQ) had asked her to stop. However, she had been presenting the material as her own ideas, not as official church doctrine, so she did not feel like she needed to stop. The bishop was perhaps too hard-headed, and she herself was probably too hard-headed, and sadly she ended up being excommunicated over the matter--even though she wanted to remain a member, and otherwise met the standards of the church.

When I had read this lady's account before, I had just thought "Oh, that's too bad. Too bad neither she nor her bishop would budge."

However, as I was reading it this time, I realized in a flash that I actually knew this lady's family! She referred to her husband and one of her sons by name, and as I was reading the account I realized that I was working with both the husband and the son at my job in Utah literally just weeks before the series of events that led to her excommunication took place. I don't think I ever met the lady, though. This was the summer before we moved to California; when we moved I never had a glimmer that anything like this was impending. (Since their last name is fairly common in LDS circles, the last time I had read the story, I hadn't even thought about the possibility that I might know her.)

As this realization dawned on me, I read the story in an entirely different light. Instead of just a casual, "that's too bad," I was filled with both love and grief for their family. I was deeply saddened by the bishop’s actions, and by her responses. I was also deeply saddened that many of the family's "friends" apparently started treating them like pariahs when the excommunication took place. I stayed up until at least 1:00 AM reading the lengthy account that this lady had written.

Since her published account ended a year or two after the initial events, I don't even know if/how things have been resolved since then; I guess it's not really my business, unless she chooses to put more of her story on the internet.

So instead of focusing on *her* story, I thought a little bit more about *my* reaction. When the characters in the story were strangers, I reacted with a “ho hum”. When the characters were people that I knew, I was captivated, entranced, and full of empathy. The story really hit home to me. I'm forced to wonder how I would feel if *all* news stories and the like, involved people that I knew personally. Obviously stories of war and famine would take on a new aspect--but so would stories of marriage and rescues. That would probably be a Good Thing.

As a final note, none of us are strangers to God. So perhaps the ability to consider all mankind our acquaintances is something that we should try to develop in our quest to become more godlike.

Do these ever get old?


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061116/od_nm/france_tv_dc

PARIS, Nov 15 (Reuters Life!) - What's a television without its remote control? Not much, decided a thief in southwestern France who returned to the home from which he had just stolen a TV to pick up the remote control -- and was arrested.

The man robbed a retiree's house in the village of Mussidan, taking the TV set and some hunting rifles, police said. While the owner was reporting the theft at the local police station, the thief returned.

Alert neighbors tipped off the police and they caught the man red-handed.

"He came back to take the remote control," a local police spokesman said. "I guess there's daring and there's stupid."

Today's Advanced Electrodynamics class was an "Intro to Relativity" lecture (the whole rest of the semester is about relativity). I talked about the speed of light, Einstein's Postulates, the Lorentz Transformations, space-time diagrams, the light cone, and worldlines.

After the class got out, one of the students blurted out, "Man, that was awesome! I wish I had that on videotape!"

:-)

I just finished reading A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, with Leslie and Emily. It was as enjoyable as when I was a kid! I was surprised at how overtly Christian the book was; I hadn't noticed that when I was a kid. That's kind of like Where the Red Fern Grows--when I re-read that a couple of years ago, I was amazed that the book includes a number of religious scenes, including one where the the boy (Billy) prays and receives an answer to his prayer. They don't really make children's books like that any more.

Anyway, here's a quote from Mrs. Who at the end, straight from the Bible (but unattributed).

"The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen."

1 Cor 1:25-28

I took Leslie and Emily on a date on Friday, to go see a local high school's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was well done! We hadn't seen the musical ourselves until maybe a year ago, when we borrowed the Donny Osmond version from some friends in the branch (Justin and Kalena Wyleski). We liked it so much we bought our own copy. Consequently the kids had seen it many times, and were very familiar with the songs. In fact, I had to warn them that it would not be appropriate for them to sing along!

It seemed like many in the audience were *not* familiar with the movie, though, and many of the abrupt style changes caught people completely off guard--and cracked them up. I do have to admit that the Pharoah as Elvis caught me a little off guard too, not because the style was unexpected, but because his moves were just a bit more risquee than I'd expect from a high schooler--it was a Catholic High School, too! But thankfully stuff like that still goes over the kids' heads. And it was all pretty much in good fun.

I've been busy reading more books, but haven't taken the time to review any for a while. So here's a review of a trilogy I read about a month ago: The Viscount of Adrilankha series, by Steven Brust.

This trilogy is comprised of: The Paths of the Dead, The Lord of Castle Black, and Sethra Lavode. They are sequels of The Phoenix Guards, and Five Hundred Years After, which I reviewed previously--see here:
http://johncolton.blogspot.com/2006/09/book-reviews-brust.html

They are written in the same "love it or hate it" style of the Dragaeran historian, Paarfi, that was used in Phoenix Guards and Five Hundred Years. Frankly, it cracked Pauline and me up, but I can see how it would be annoying to some. To quote one review I read on amazon.com:

...the narrative is delightfully infuriating. Paarfi thinks nothing of interrupting the story at a critical pound to expound - at length - on whatever has crossed his mind or his path. I caution that if you think "irony" describes rusty water, much of these tales will be lost on you.

Anyway, here are reviews of the individual books:

The Paths of the Dead - 7.5/10. A little too much of a travelogue for my liking, but still well done. At the end of Five Hundred Years After (pardon the spoiler), the Emperor is assassinated, and the Imperial Orb--symbol and source of Dragaeran magic--is teleported out to the Paths of the Dead. That's basically the place where the Dragaeran gods and deceased individuals reside. So this book tackles the heroic task of retrieving the Orb. This task is assigned to Piro, son of Khaavren (star of the previous two books), and a few others, including Piro's friend Zerika--who is to become the new Empress. Many adventures occur along the way, of course.

The Lord of Castle Black - 9/10. One weird thing about this book is that it seemed like although the book is named for Morrolan, the Lord of Castle Black--and a major figure in the Vlad Taltos books--Morrolan actually doesn't play a huge role. I suppose that matches the overall title of the series, since Piro, who is the Viscount of Adrilankha, actually plays a fairly minor role after The Paths of the Dead. Anyway, this book was highly entertaining. There are a plethora of characters, and a lot of things happen--including some entertaining battle scenes (unless I'm misremember and those were in the next book). The plot revolves are Zerika returning from the Paths of the Dead with the Orb, and her struggle to be recognized as Empress. Piro and his friends are back, as well as Khaavren and his "famous friends" Tazendra, Pel and Aerich--mostly fighting for Zerika's side.

Sethra Lavode - 9/10. Again, the book is strangely titled since Sethra is not necessarily the major character. Actually, Khaaven probably is--although again, characters abound and the book is constantly hopping back and forth to and from various people's viewpoints. This continues the quest to re-establish Zerika on the throne as Empress. And not only do battles have to be fought among the various parties contending for the throne, with both swords and sorcery, but the gods themselves take an interest in the proceedings. There is a particularly memorable scene where Morrolan gets ticked off and decides to go hunt down one particularly irritating god. And, to quote another amazon.com review:

Everyone who has been a fan of Brust knows how this book will turn out, since it is the prequel to many of his novels, thus the voyage is more important than the conclusion. Unlike many writers, Burst focuses on the interaction of the players, rather than ad infinitum detail or excesses of action. Most of this takes place in a wry style of dialogue that is difficult to describe.

Overall the books were extremely entertaining. It would help to have read the previous two Khaavren books first, but I think he provides enough backstory that these three can stand on their own. But they are certainly one continuous narrative--you can't really read book 3 without having read book 2, in my opinion.

Here's another entry into the stupid criminals sweepstakes:

ALBUQUERQUE — Two police officers have sued Burger King Corp., claiming they were served hamburgers that had been sprinkled with marijuana.

The lawsuit says Mark Landavazo and Henry Gabaldon, officers for the Isleta Pueblo tribal police, were in uniform and riding in a marked patrol car when they bought meals at the drive-through lane Oct. 8 of a Burger King restaurant in Los Lunas, N.M.

The officers ate about half of their burgers before discovering marijuana on the meat, the lawsuit said. They used a field test kit to confirm the substance was pot, then went to a hospital for medical evaluations.

"It gives a whole new meaning to the word 'Whopper,"' the officers' attorney, Sam Bregman, said Monday. "The idea that these hoodlums would put marijuana into a hamburger and therefore attempt to impair law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs is outrageous."

Three Burger King employees were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and aggravated battery on an officer, a felony. They later were indicted.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Bernalillo County, alleges personal injury, negligence, battery and violation of fair practices. It seeks unspecified damages along with legal costs.

Officials at Miami-based Burger King declined to comment, citing a company policy against discussing pending litigation.

from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227858,00.html

Saturday and Sunday marked the first concerts of the new season of the La Crosse Chamber Chorale. We sang Saturday night in Onalaska (First Lutheran church) and Sunday afternoon in La Crosse (First Presbyterian church). Both concerts went well--I thought some songs were better on Sat, and others better on Sun.

The concert included five new pieces, "world premieres", written as part of our "Words to Music" program. Elementary and middle school kids submitted poems to us. The poems were anonymously distributed to five local composers who agreed to participate. The composers then each picked a poem and wrote a choral piece based on it.

In addition to those five pieces, we also sang:
* Orpheus with his lute, by MacFerran
* Ave Maria, by Josquin Des Pres
* Lord, Lettest Thou, by Rachmaninoff (part of his "All night vigil")
* You are the new day, made famous by the King's Singers
* Three Gilbert and Sullivan pieces: The Pirate King, A More Humane Mikado, and A British Tar.
* Set me as a seal, I can't recall the composer just now
* Five dances from Gloriana, by Britton

There may be another piece or two I'm forgetting, but that's about it. In a week or two I should be able to post some of the songs from the concert on my website.

Last Saturday I decided that the kitchen floor needed to get swept. Taking a cue from what I've discovered motivates college students, I said to the kids, "Who wants to earn some bonus points?" Emily promptly said, "Oh, I do! I do!" I told her to go sweep the kitchen floor and I would give her some bonus points. Off she went! Pretty funny.

Leslie turned down the bonus points, so I assigned her to help as part of her Saturday chores. She accepted that gracefully.

Anyway, I decided Emily might be more ready to start college than Leslie. ;-)

Last night was the first game of the basketball season for "my team", the Utah Jazz. I've signed up for "NBA League Pass" with DirecTV, so I should be able to watch nearly all of the games this season! (Much rejoicing!) If I have time, that is...

Anyway, here are my reactions from game 1, which the Jazz won fairly handily over the Houston Rockets.

Players, from best to worst:

1. Boozer - wow, he was utterly amazing. Just dominated the Rockets through 3.5 quarters. I just couldn't figure out why Sloan didn't run more plays for him during the last 5 mins of the game.

2. Williams - Deron was great. Very solid play. Good shooting. Great penetration. Great decision making. In most other games a game like this would make him my easy choice of player of the game. Deron and Boozer seem to have a great connection going.

3. Okur - Very solid. Didn't do anything spectacularly, but played consistently. Made good decisions for the most part (except the time he took three steps driving to the hoop). Hit some nice shots.

4. Fisher - I was impressed. Played better than I had hoped. I had forgotten how fast he is--looked like the quickest player on either team. Great penetration. Did an excellent job in the 4th Q when he was subbed in for Harpring--for those of you who didn't see the game, for the last ~ 5 minutes Fisher played PG and Deron played SG. It flat-out worked.

5. Kirilenko - Mediocre. I was disappointed. Had a couple of nice rebounds. Had a couple of nice "blocks" after fouls by team members. (Blocks in quotes since they don't count officially as blocks.) But didn't seem his usual energetic self. Got beat several times by TMac. Pretty quiet, all told. Didn't even make any really good passes or anything like that.

6. Miles - C.J. had a truly outstanding first quarter. Came to play! Made a whole bunch of nice shots--smart, good quality shots too, not just random shots that went in. Really impressed me with his passing ability. Would have rated ahead of AK on my list except he came out flat in the second half--just stood around and didn't do much.

7. Brewer - Had a nice game in limited minutes. Showed a lot of quickness. Had some nice steals, just as the Arkansas fans advertised.

8. Collins - Meh.

9. Millsap - Didn't do much. Very limited minutes. Got beat pretty badly by Yao a couple of times.

10. Harpring - Brutal. Absolutely brutal. Nearly cost us the game. I seriously think we would have lost if Sloan hadn't pulled him at about 5 minutes left. I was yelling at Sloan (internally) to pull Harp much sooner. He mangled catches, mangled throws, mangled shots, made some bad fouls, etc. Had a nice rebound, and maybe one nice 3 pointer. I hereby officially apologize to all the posters that severely criticized the 4 year $16 mill contract. Maybe he's still injured or something, but he had no business being out there on the floor tonight.

(all others were "DNP")

Stellar Plays

* Boozer's block in the 3rd quarter (I think that's when it was)
* Deron's coast-to-coast drive for a layup with just a minute or two remaining
* Brewer's alley-oop dunk off of a Deron feed (3rd quarter?)
* Fisher's amazing pass from the double-team to an open D Will under the basket, at the end of the game

I wore my pirate costume to work yesterday... made the students crack up! I also wore it to choir practice, since we're singing "The Pirate King".

Kids had a fun time trick-or-treating. We stayed out for about an hour and a half, with no complaining. I think that's a new record!