OT Re: Math-embarrassment results in CS [was: Should non-security 2.7 bugs be fixed?]

[Chris Angelico]

On Fri, Jul 24, 2015 at 6:59 AM, Marko Rauhamaa <marko at pacujo.net> wrote:
> Ian Kelly <ian.g.kelly at gmail.com>:
>
>> Gravity existed before Newton, but the *theory* of gravity did not, so
>> he composed the theory?
>
> Ironically, gravity is maybe the least well understood phenomenon in
> modern physics.

Fortunately, we don't need to completely understand it. New Horizons
reached Pluto right on time after a decade of flight that involved
taking a left turn at Jupiter... we can predict exactly what angle to
fire the rockets at in order to get where we want to go, even without
knowing how that gravity yank works.

Practicality beats purity?

ChrisA