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fermi_estimates [2025/05/18 12:31] ethanminotfermi_estimates [2025/05/18 12:35] (current) ethanminot
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 The TED talk by Sanjoy Mahajan summarizes the philosophy "striving for too much rigor can stop progress in science and technology". Perfect is the enemy of good enough. When we recognize that we don't need an exact solution, we can do The TED talk by Sanjoy Mahajan summarizes the philosophy "striving for too much rigor can stop progress in science and technology". Perfect is the enemy of good enough. When we recognize that we don't need an exact solution, we can do
   * a Fermi problem,   * a Fermi problem,
-  * a back-of-the-envelope estimate, +  * or coarse-grained model, 
-  * and/or a coarse-grained model.+  * which are both examples of back-of-the-envelope estimates.
  
 A great video explaining Fermi problems: A great video explaining Fermi problems:
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   *etc.   *etc.
  
-It is unfortunate that the United State has not adopted SI units. Physical laws are usually expressed in SI units. To apply these laws to everyday quantities, you need familiarity with mass in kilograms, length in meters, volume in liters (10^-3 cubic metersetc.+It is unfortunate that the United State has not adopted SI units. Physical laws are usually expressed in SI units. To apply these laws to everyday quantities, you need familiarity with mass in kilograms, length in meters, volume in cubic meters etc.
  
 ===No physics required=== ===No physics required===
fermi_estimates.1747596681.txt.gz · Last modified: 2025/05/18 12:31 by ethanminot