Re: "Simple pendulum"

["Inge H. A. Pettersen" <ingep@ONLINE.NO>]

> Are you opposing the idea of collecting misconceptions,
> Jack? I mean misconceptions some of us had, and also
> those we identify in minds of students. No, I am not
> referring to misconceptions such as "cows must drink
> a white fluid to produce white milk."

I think that your idea of collecting misconceptions is a great idea. I
think also it would be wise to distinguish between
misconceptions of central concepts (work, energy, heat, ..) and
principles compared to misconceptions in an analysis of specific
physical systems. Misconceptions in the first group are the most
dangerous ones. Let me also point out the recent article H. T. Williams
"Semantics in teaching introductory physics" AJP 67 (8) Aug 1999 pp
670-680 which has in my opinion many valid points. One of the principal
ones is that many terms in physics, maybe most of them, are from a
pedagogical point of view best defined ostensively (i.e. by examples).