Which barrel profile would act stiffer?

[garandman]

I could not disagree more.

Well, I disagree with you. Especially your training pilots example. *Also* knowing the why of aeronautics is FAR better than "Do this cuz I said so." That approach will get a pilot killed when things don't go as planned. Understanding the why of how planes fly will help the pilot improvise in emergencies. Yours is the argument from authority "Do this cuz I said so." That's a playbook to work out of. Yours tells ppl WHAT to think. And that's necesary. But mine is the argument from science, logic and technology. Lift, air density, up/down drafts, air pockets, prevailing winds, etc etc "Here's WHY planes fly, now think for your yourself when the fit hits the shan, and the playbook didn't work."

Same with guns. Knowing the "why" helps the individual figger out if the recommended action will work for his unique set of variables.

Meh. To each his own. I'm always gonna wanna know the why. I don't feel badly if you disgaree.

 

[darkangel_r2]

What works gives direction for areas of study, experimentation, and improvement. Figuring out why stuff works is how we get innovation in our industry.

If we only care about the what works best at the time we would all be using extremely well crafted atlatls.

If we only care why things work we would probably still be hungry in the cave arguing whether the atlatl or the shepherds sling is better.

We should appreciate each other on here for what we bring to the table.

As a way to get this back on topic I added a weight calculator to the excel file and will update the op in a bit with the new file.

OP too old to edit. I will start another in the future specifically about barrel design and include more relevant information on that one.

 

[INTJ]

Well, I disagree with you. Especially your training pilots example. *Also* knowing the why of aeronautics is FAR better than "Do this cuz I said so." That approach will get a pilot killed when things don't go as planned. Understanding the why of how planes fly will help the pilot improvise in emergencies. Yours is the argument from authority "Do this cuz I said so." That's a playbook to work out of. Yours tells ppl WHAT to think. And that's necesary. But mine is the argument from science, logic and technology. Lift, air density, up/down drafts, air pockets, prevailing winds, etc etc "Here's WHY planes fly, now think for your yourself when the fit hits the shan, and the playbook didn't work."

Same with guns. Knowing the "why" helps the individual figger out if the recommended action will work for his unique set of variables.

Meh. To each his own. I'm always gonna wanna know the why. I don't feel badly if you disgaree.

What gets a pilot killed is not knowing WHAT to do and when to do it. Good pilots will have some idea of the WHY and are always trying to lean more about the WHY, but the WHAT will always show the way.

I shut down engines 17 times over my USAF career. I also had many other malfunctions. I wasn't sure WHY I had dual runaway trim--which creates control forces to heavy to control, but instead of theorizing WHY I took action, disconnected the trim system, and safely brought the place back. I was never sure exactly WHY I got an engine fire light, but I knew WHAT to do to safely deal with it.

We never know the complete why. The problem is the WHY is an endless hole that is never fully resolved. The more we DO, the more data points we have to help better understand the WHY. But again, the key is in WHAT to do.

Trying to fully understand the WHY first is putting the cart before the horse and will greatly slow down our progress.

You might be an INTP. That is the personality type that focuses on theory over results. I am an INTJ and while I do value theory, the most important issue to me is this simple question "does it work?" To me the theory is just a starting point to start actual testing and doing. I suspect that for you a perfect theory is the goal.

This disagreement on WHY vs WHAT is almost a textbook example of the differences between INTPs and INTJs. So we will never agree.