For Tuesday’s Class we read chapters 10 and 11 of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I have attached pictures of notes for reading, and will briefly outline them here on the webpage. On thursday, March 21, we discussed friction and its role with both the clutch and the wheel. Rather than try and explain the equations and pictures, I have included a picture of my notes from the day that we covered friction.
Chapter 10 – Zen
– recall chapter 9 concerned the scientific method
– dissection of the concept of hypothesis: is the point of science to find an absolute truth? nihilism of the fact that any phenomenon can be explained by an infinite # of rational hypotheses
– the visibility of mechanical solutions to higher-level physics theses, is one “more” correct?
– the concept of simplest is best “Occam’s Razor”
Chapter 11 – Zen
Motorcycle References
“engine dragging in second gear” – engine back or misfiring, creating
“engine braking” – as a vehicle goes downhill, energy and PE is going into compressing cylinders, creating pressure in the engine, slowing the bike down
“dreseting” – explosions without the advantage of a spark, creates knocking, explosions on the way up without a spark
“change of gap between brake shoes and drums” – each braking wears brake pads
Discussion
The concept of Kant – a priori
– we cannot see the actual being of the motorcycle, we can only confirm its existence
– aspects are not coming directly from our sense, but are presupposed by experience: ties in with the idea of how the motorcycle changes over time, from disappearance of gas to wear on the frame
