STATICS! That was it!
Thank you steve. N Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, Clark University ([email protected]) http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > [Original Message] > From: Stephen Guerin <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]>; The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]> > Date: 6/7/2009 10:14:22 AM > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] quick question > > > > > In what field, I wonder, do they discuss the greater strength of > > some configurations of members vis -a vis others. SOMEBODY offered > > me the answer to that question, but I have forgotten what the answer > > was. Some sort of mechanics .... elementary? Can anybody remember > > or provide the information again? Why are triangles strong? > > I wasn't in the conversation that FRIAM, but I suspect someone > mentioned the study of Statics and Dynamics in Mechanics. Or where the > statics bit is sometimes called solid mechanics. Here's an MIT > opencourseware: > http://mit.sustech.edu/OcwWeb/Civil-and-Environmental-Engineering/1-050Fall- 2004/CourseHome/index.htm > Course description: 1.050 is a sophomore-level engineering > mechanics course, commonly labelled "Statics and Strength of > Materials" or "Solid Mechanics I." This course introduces students to > the fundamental principles and methods of structural mechanics. Topics > covered include: static equilibrium, force resultants, support > conditions, analysis of determinate planar structures (beams, trusses, > frames), stresses and strains in structural elements, states of stress > (shear, bending, torsion), statically indeterminate systems, > displacements and deformations, introduction to matrix methods, > elastic stability, and approximate methods. Design exercises are used > to encourage creative student initiative and systems thinking. > > --- -. . ..-. .. ... .... - .-- --- ..-. .. ... .... > [email protected] > (m) 505.577.5828 (o) 505.995.0206 > redfish.com _ sfcomplex.org _ simtable.com _ lava3d.com > > > > > > > > > On Jun 7, 2009, at 9:56 AM, Nicholas Thompson wrote: > > > John > > > > Forgive what is going to seem like an odd response. I keep wanting > > people to give me an account in terms of FORCES. So, it is not for > > me, who is seeking advice on an explanation, to dictate what SORT of > > an explanation is satisfactory. However, explanations like the the > > one you kindly offered seem to my warped mind to be almost > > circular: a triangle is strong because it has no choice but to be > > strong. > > > > The reason I am pondering this is because, remember, of its > > connection to emergence. What is the relationship between teh > > strength of a triangle and the strength of its parts. Well, on our > > example, a triangle made out of weak wood and weak bolts is a weak > > triangle. Thus, the strength of a triangle supervenes upon the > > strength of its components. > > > > But surely we cannot reduce the strength of a triangle to the > > strength of its parts because the strength of a triangle depends on > > the ARRANGEMENT of those parts. And arrangement is not a property > > of any of the parts. > > > > [sigh] > > > > Nick > > > > Nicholas S. Thompson > > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, > > Clark University ([email protected]) > > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: John Sadd > > To: [email protected];The Friday Morning Applied Complexity > > Coffee Group > > Sent: 6/7/2009 5:37:06 AM > > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] quick question > > > > I would think they would use the language of mathematics, and I'm > > not sure how it would contribute to an understanding of emergence. > > Others whose knowledge of geometry is fresher than mine could > > explain it better, but basically, once the length of the sides of a > > triangle is fixed, by driving a nail or a bolt through the corners, > > for instance, then there is only one set of internal angles that are > > possible for those lengths, so the shape of the triangle can't be > > changed without breaking the connections at the corners. For a > > quadrilateral, though, the size of pairs of internal angles can be > > changed so that as one angle grows larger, the adjacent one grows > > smaller, preserving the total of 360 degrees; therefore a > > quadrilateral can be smushed (technical term) as long as the > > connections at the corners can be made to flex, without having to > > change the lengths of the sides. > > > > js > > > > On Jun 6, 2009, at 11:57 PM, Nicholas Thompson wrote: > > > >> > >> On a recent friday, as part of my worrying about emergence, I was > >> trying to find out what sort of language wise people use when they > >> explain the greater resistance of triangles to compression. it > >> seemed to me that that example provided all the complexity we > >> needed for a thorough-going discussion of emergence. So if I could > >> learn how wise people talked about it, perhaps I could learn how > >> to talk about emergence in general. > >> > >> In what field, I wonder, do they discuss the greater strength of > >> some configurations of members vis -a vis others. SOMEBODY offered > >> me the answer to that question, but I have forgotten what the > >> answer was. Some sort of mechanics .... elementary? Can anybody > >> remember or provide the information again? Why are triangles strong? > >> > >> > >> Nick > >> > >> Nicholas S. Thompson > >> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, > >> Clark University ([email protected]) > >> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> ============================================================ > >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > >> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > > > > ============================================================ > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
