Ramanujan Redux

Exhibit A: Raging drama queen.

AHHHHHHHHH!

Sometimes, I like to remind myself that I used to know how to do physics pretty well…

A person of mass mA is holding on to one end of a pole while another person of mass 2mA is holding onto the other end while both of them are standing on ice. The pole has mass 3mA. They begin pulling towards each other such that they both have a velocity u with respect to the pole. Anyway, they eventually pass each other and each reaches the other side of the pole. When they have switched places, how far has the pole’s center of mass moved?

We’re going to assume that these people are on opposite sides of the pole (one on the left side, the other on the right). Work on it and click after this to find out the answer! Provide any insight or suggest some more fun problems in the comments.

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As college students getting ready to enter the real world, we will most likely do one of two things in our life–we will accept or reject conformity. We will take the easy way into a well-paid job with insurance and security, and even though we might not like anything about the position we take, we accept it for what it is.

Then there are others who fly right into their passions, things they love doing and would do all the time–but the pathway is not so clear to making money, to making your way through the world. Without a rudder, you’re not sure where you’ll end up.

But an important question beckons–can’t we be doing both? Is it possible to live within the system to meet our salary needs while finding our passion outside of it? Can we make the compromises Tim Ferriss make, outsourcing our boring work to people better equipped to handle it?

How do you choose between risks and security?

In the movie King of California, Michael Douglas’s character pursues a bizarre ancient treasure buried under a Costco. This is a man who has spent much of his life failing in many things in his life (at being a jazz guitarist, at starting a farm, at being a good father and husband, etc.), yet he never stops exploring. He never stops looking for gold.

And he eventually finds it and does the best thing with it–pass it onto someone still finding their way, his daughter. Someone who has a life ahead of her rather than one that is passing her by.

Not all of us will find the treasure. It’s inevitable that a few of us will fail at many things before we discover what enriches us. So we must be prepared for that eventuality and make sure our children, our offspring, our younger peers. Thus they can inherit your desire to treasure hunt, so you can leave your mark on the world by passing down the adventurous spirit within.

“Never rat out on your friends…and always keep your mouth shut.”
~Jimmy Conway, GoodFellas