In hmolscience, worthless application is a view that that the application of the physics, chemistry, and or thermodynamics to the study of questions of human existence is worthless endeavor, useless application, or waste of time.
Overview
To put the subject of the question of the application of three main physical sciences to human existence in context, of the eleven known people to have had IQs estimated in the 225+ range, this is the only intellectual puzzle worked on, independently, by four or more of this group. The same question was worked by Goethe, Sidis, Einstein, and Hirata (and Newton previous to them) and generally serves as the litmus test to true genius.
German polymath Johann Goethe (IQ=180-225) considered his solution to this problem (which he spent over 50 years on) to be his "best publication"; and American mathematical physicist William Sidis (IQ=250-300) who wrote his solution while in an insane asylum, was the only publication he was confident enough to use his own name (compared to pen names used in all his other publications); while Isaac Newton (IQ=190-200) commented he only "wished he could find the solution"; and Christopher Hirata (IQ=225) considered it to be a "worthless application", but nevertheless, worked out part of the solution; while the great Albert Einstein (IQ=160-225) could only comment "how on earth are you ever going to be able to explain this in terms of chemistry and physics?". To put the matter frankly, in 1910, Harvard historian Henry Adams gave his opinion that solution to the problem would "require the aid of another Newton." Or as commented in 1971 by Romanian mathematician Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen (who spent several decades on the problem) “manifold avenues open up almost as soon as one begins to work on the problem.”
In more detail, in introducing his 2000 article “The Physics of Relationships”, American astrophysicist Christopher Hirata commented that his entire article was a fun, but, in a general meaning, a:
“Compilation of worthless applications of physics and mathematics to relationships.”
In 2005, a retired geologist and high school science teacher, going by the Wikipedia user name of VSmith, commented to American electrochemical engineer Libb Thims that the idea of modelling humans as human molecules and relationships and interactions as pure chemical reactions, was in his view:
“Good for a laugh, but not much else.”
This last seed comment, to note was one of the driving forces that irritatively pushed out the writing of the first-ever textbook on human chemistry (2007) and followup historical booklet on the subject of the human molecule (2008). [2]
References
1. (a) Hirata, Christopher M. (c. 2000). “The Physics of Relationships” (section: Fun), Tapir.Caltech.edu.
(b) Hirata, Christopher M. (2010). "The Physics of Relationships", Journal of Human Thermodynamics, 6(5): 62-76.
2. (a) Thims, Libb. (2007). Human Chemistry (Volume One). Morrisville, NC: LuLu.
(b) Thims, Libb. (2007). Human Chemistry (Volume Two). Morrisville, NC: LuLu.
(c) Thims, Libb. (2008). The Human Molecule (issuu) (preview) (Google Books) (docstoc). LuLu.
