Wednesday Wisdom

Daniel Bernoulli was a Swiss mathematician and physicist. He was born on February 8, 1700, in Groningen, Netherlands, into the distinguished Bernoulli family of mathematicians, and died on March 17, 1782, in Basel, Switzerland. He is renowned for his foundational work in fluid dynamics as well as in math and probability theory including the St. Petersburg Paradox. The formulation of Bernoulli’s principle, which describes the relationship between fluid velocity and pressure, states that in a flowing fluid (liquid or gas), an increase in the fluid's speed is accompanied by a decrease in pressure. The principle can be mathematically expressed using the Bernoulli equation P+21​ρv2+ρgh=constant. This equation demonstrates that the sum of pressure energy or kinetic energy, and potential energy remains constant along a streamline of fluid flow. The Bernoulli Principle states that as the speed of a fluid increases, its pressure decreases, helping explain how airplane wings generate lift and how fluids move in pipes or in the atmosphere. As air flows faster over the curved upper surface of the wing compared to the flat lower surface, according to Bernoulli's principle, the pressure on the upper surface decreases, creating a pressure difference that lifts the airplane. In simpler terms the lift provided by the wings must be greater or equal to the mass of the body. Given the mathematical formula, a hummingbird’s wings to its body weight aren’t sufficient to create lift and fly, so are hummingbirds real? are birds real?

The Family

The Bernoulli family was a famous Swiss dynasty of mathematicians and scientists, with several members making major contributions to mathematics, physics, and probability theory during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Bernoulli’s made Basel, Switzerland, a world center of mathematics in the 17th–18th centuries. The family was a remarkable dynasty of mathematicians and scientists who made foundational contributions to mathematics, physics, and probability theory. The prodigious family produced at least eight prominent mathematicians and scientists over three generations. They were originally merchants, but several generations of the family turned to academia, creating one of the most prolific scientific lineages in history.

Jacob Bernoulli was a Swiss mathematician who pioneered the field of probability and made significant contributions to calculus and infinite series and Daniel’s uncle. His most famous work, Ars Conjectandi, introduced the Law of Large Numbers and laid the groundwork for modern probability theory. Johann Bernoulli was Daniels father and was the younger brother of Jacob Bernoulli and often competed with him, leading to a famous sibling rivalry in mathematics. Johann played a key role in spreading and advancing Leibniz’s version of calculus throughout Europe. He contributed significantly to differential equations, the calculus of variations, and the theory of exponential functions. Johann was also a renowned teacher, influencing important figures like Leonhard Euler and helping shape the mathematical future of the 18th century.

Birds Aren’t real

“Birds aren’t real” is a satirical play on conspiracy theories that surmises birds are government drones that are spying on the general population. The "Birds Aren't Real" movement theory that claims all birds have been exterminated by the U.S. government and replaced with government-operated drones used to spy on citizens. This tongue-in-cheek movement was created by Peter McIndoe in 2017 as an improvised joke during a protest and quickly went viral on social media. The lore includes claims that birds sit on power lines to recharge and that bird droppings are actually liquid tracking devices. The group uses catchy slogans such as "If it flies, it spies" and "Bird watching goes both ways," and its supporters knowingly propagate these absurd ideas as a parody of real conspiracy theories.

Yes!!! hummingbirds are extremely adept birds that fly- it wasn’t until technology and slow captioned cameras showed that hummingbirds wings are unique. Moving in both directions it’s able to create double lift to fly and adheres to “Bernoulli’s Principle”. Once again, the logic of mathematics helps explain our diverse world, but who am I to stand in the way of a great conspiracy theory.

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And now you know...

Thanks, Dad, for the gift of curiosity!

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science.

METAPHYSICS: Literally, the term metaphysics means ‘beyond the physical.’ Typically, this is the branch that most people think of when they picture philosophy. In metaphysics, the goal is to answer the what and how questions in life. Who are we, and what are time and space?

LOGIC: The study of reasoning. Much like metaphysics, understanding logic helps to understand and appreciate how we perceive the rest of our world. More than that, it provides a foundation for which to build and interpret arguments and analyses.

ETHICS: The study of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Ethics tackles difficult conversations by adding weight to actions and decisions. Politics takes ethics to a larger scale, applying it to a group (or groups) of people. Political philosophers study political governments, laws, justice, authority, rights, liberty, ethics, and much more.

AESTHETICS: What is beautiful? Philosophers try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art what it is. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both art as a whole and art on an individual level. A question an aesthetics philosopher would seek to address is whether or not beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

EPISTEMOLOGY: This is the study and understanding of knowledge. The main question is how do we know? We can question the limitations of logic, how comprehension works, and the ability (or perception) to be certain.