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US Army applying new areas of math

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Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#91

Post by rangerpolitic »

mattigames wrote: post #71
noobermin wrote: post #44

To be very honest, count me in as one of these. I am someone who works for a gov't lab, but I do "very pure" scientific research. It's not that our research doesn't have "defense applications," it might eventually, but we are definitely a few steps removed from say CFD modeling of airplane wings. The thing is traditional sources of funding suck, and gov't labs give researchers a much better environment than the endle…

Yeah, traditional sources suck, in America; universities should be way more tightly controlled, in a decent society taking 56% of grant money should put some people in jail. In the year 2019 working for the US military should feel embarrassing, after the Iraq fiasco, support to journalist-killer Saudi crown prince; support to genociders that use child soldiers such as Idriss Déby (Chad), plus many other mistakes make…

We should all feel ashamed for being human. After all, some human, somewhere is doing something horrible at this very moment. Shame on you humans. Shame on you.

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#92

Post by sdenton4 »

bshipp wrote: post #47
geoka9 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just am embarrassed when I tell people I work for the military because they think I make bombs or something. Personally, I don't understand this, but I'm from an ex-Eastern Bloc country which I was all too happy to escape. I'd rather the US (and the rest of the Western world) made bombs than only Russia and China did. Vacuums of power in the world will always be filled and a Western invasion/expeditionary force i…

Having a military is kind of like having house insurance. you wish you didn't have to spend the money on it, you hope you never have to actually use it, but it would be very irresponsible not to have it.

Sometimes my kids act up, so I smash a hole in the fence and call in my home insurance, which kills all the neighbors (and some of the kids).

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#93

Post by romwell »

wenc wrote: post #38
romwell wrote: post #8

For anyone interested in applying traditionally pure fields, Applied Topology has been slowly gaining steam lately (as reflected in the article: "topological" is now a hot word). Robert Ghrist of UPenn has been at the forefront of bringing topology into applied fields; and has written a good text on the subject.

Topological Data Analysis was the next big thing a couple of years ago, and it certainly has its applications [1], but the breadth of its applicability may have been overhyped and the energy has fizzled somewhat. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topological_data_analysis#Appl...

I have a book on the subject on my desk (several, in fact), and I'm still not sold I'll get to use any of that.

Really hope to, though.

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#94

Post by romwell »

2dollars27cents wrote: post #37
romwell wrote: post #8

For anyone interested in applying traditionally pure fields, Applied Topology has been slowly gaining steam lately (as reflected in the article: "topological" is now a hot word). Robert Ghrist of UPenn has been at the forefront of bringing topology into applied fields; and has written a good text on the subject.

Dr. Ghrist is awesome. He is also doing a lot of great work opening up learning materials to his undergrad students. https://www.math.upenn.edu/~ghrist/calculus.html

I recommended that book as a source when I was teaching calculus, and still do :)

It's a very opinionated book, but that's no a bad thing. And, unlike the Stewart doorstop, it's compact, as a text should be.

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#95

Post by someotherperson »

joejerryronnie wrote: post #76
stevenjohns wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Vacuums of power in the world will always be filled and a Western invasion/expeditionary force is a much nicer alternative to a Russian one. In this case you're only speaking for yourself. Most Asians, from the Middle East through to the South East, would kindly disagree.

Good to know you speak for “most asians”.

I think the political situation in many of those countries speaks volumes. There are very few countries or peoples which have a genuinely positive view of Western occupation. Most countries that have a positive view of "Western" nations above Russia are the ones that are bribed (weapon contracts, free defense, release of political pressure) or bullied (application of political pressure) to have it.

If you spend some time looking at the divisive, genocidal campaigns of the Americans, British and French across Western, Southern and South-Eastern Asia it's not hard to see why.

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#96

Post by jfoutz »

reificator wrote: post #77
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better that they go where they should, than that they go where they shouldn't. The more accurate the mapping, the smaller the bomb can be, and the less collateral damage (presuming that the targeting information is correct).

> Better that they go where they should, than that they go where they shouldn't True, at least when you're not the one being bombed.

This is a clever point. I think, even if I am being bombed, I don’t want my neighbors to die[1]. I would care very much about why. But if the hammer is coming down on me, it’s better for everyone if it’s only me.

[1] except maybe that one across the alley that starts loud parties at 3:00 am. If I’m going down you can too guy.

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#97

Post by gweinberg »

leetcrew wrote: post #89
asdffdsa wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ie we spend a third of all our tax revenue on housing insurance

where is this "third" figure coming from?

Right here: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-bud... except it's actually 1/6.

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#98

Post by wallace_f »

throwaaaway1231 wrote: post #66
geoka9 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just am embarrassed when I tell people I work for the military because they think I make bombs or something. Personally, I don't understand this, but I'm from an ex-Eastern Bloc country which I was all too happy to escape. I'd rather the US (and the rest of the Western world) made bombs than only Russia and China did. Vacuums of power in the world will always be filled and a Western invasion/expeditionary force i…

As someone who also is a military researcher, I may be able to help. I have worked on things that if the USA went to war, I know that I have directly contributed to that war. I truly hate that my research will contribute to killing. I wish that it wasn't necessary. But as events like Crimea annexation and the South China Sea shows, if the USA is not there, then other nations are very happy to use their might to boss…

I agree with you, but it's not so black and white.

The atomic bomb is a notable example, and consider Eisenhower and many other military leaders said "there was no reason to use that awful thing." I realize my high school education, and most othet's, led me to believe this wasn't the case.

I'm not trying to say it's wrong, but it deserves a lot of skepticism.

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#99

Post by RhysU »

someotherperson wrote: post #95
joejerryronnie wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good to know you speak for “most asians”.

I think the political situation in many of those countries speaks volumes. There are very few countries or peoples which have a genuinely positive view of Western occupation. Most countries that have a positive view of "Western" nations above Russia are the ones that are bribed (weapon contracts, free defense, release of political pressure) or bullied (application of political pressure) to have it. If you spend some…

> There are very few countries or peoples which have a genuinely positive view of Western occupation.

On the other hand, let's consider how popular inter-Asian occupation was.

Re: US Army applying new areas of math

#100

Post by [deleted] »

throwaaaway1231 wrote: post #79
whatshisface wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are varying degrees of "military lab," my favorite example being the National Ignition Facility.

Heh, can you say more about it? That is true. I am military and I work in a true military lab, so I probably have a different perspective

[deleted]
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