If you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it

Re:If you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t... by azag0 on Thursday June 15, 2017 @05:35PM (#14564586)

Some parts of physics might stretch the ELI5 to its limits. I like to explain science to my non-science friends, but I'm always hitting the issue that parts of the specialized knowledge become intuitive, and then it's difficult to go back. Say, my understanding of how electrons behave in matter is a category on its own (let's call it quantum), and it's difficult to translate to common terms.

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Re:If you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t... by bdamm on Thursday June 15, 2017 @05:46PM (#14564670)

The more I try to learn physics, the more I need to see the mathematics to understand the ideas. Without the math, I don't believe it is possible to break beyond the surface 'armchair' level of understanding.

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Re:If you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t... by CuriouslyC on Friday June 16, 2017 @09:36AM (#14568772)

I started by building an intuitive understanding of advanced physics before I really dug into the math. It is absolutely possible. That being said, I did have a very good understanding of advanced mathematical concepts to start with, so I could think intuitively about things like high-dimensional spaces and eigenfunctions.

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