This week, we read Part One, which encompassed the chapters Calculating the Weather and The Forecast Factories. Next week, we’ll read the first two chapters of part two, The Weather on Earth and Looking Down.
This was about the early history of global weather understanding, and how it wasn’t until the telegraph was launched that it became even feasible to know what the weather was at any two places at one time. We also met Vilhelm Bjerknes, a guy well ahead of his time whose efforts are still felt today.
What did you make of these early times of weather? I for one loved the part about the forecast factories, where people made a penny per math problem. What connections do you make to how things work today?
I found the parts around bumping against historic understandings of physics and mathematics really interesting. I'm always fascinated by those things that we are trying to grapple with but just aren't far enough into the future to figure out. I'm certain there are so many technological advances today that we sit in a similar place (whether it's due to computer processing power, not enough data, still waiting for information, etc.).
I've been thinking about the weather factory in the context of the current COVID-19 outbreak (sorry to let it permeate even further into everything). The described factory would be susceptible to physical distancing and so weather forecasts would be seriously hurt.
Of course, weather forecasts are being hurt by the pandemic anyway because of all the plane groundings.
"See? We have excellent short-term forecasting here in Norway" Really enjoyed the 1st chapter about calculating the weather and reading about Lewis Fry Richardson & his mathematical hammer in Chapter 2. Also, Vilhelm Bjerknes is rock star!
With the forecast factories bit, I was struck by the comparison to sites like Mechanical Turk now, with pennies-per-calculation done by hundreds of humans, before the technology that can do it better (then, partial differential equations; today, ostensibly AI, but we'll see how that goes) is ready for market.
I found the parts around bumping against historic understandings of physics and mathematics really interesting. I'm always fascinated by those things that we are trying to grapple with but just aren't far enough into the future to figure out. I'm certain there are so many technological advances today that we sit in a similar place (whether it's due to computer processing power, not enough data, still waiting for information, etc.).
I've been thinking about the weather factory in the context of the current COVID-19 outbreak (sorry to let it permeate even further into everything). The described factory would be susceptible to physical distancing and so weather forecasts would be seriously hurt.
Of course, weather forecasts are being hurt by the pandemic anyway because of all the plane groundings.
"See? We have excellent short-term forecasting here in Norway" Really enjoyed the 1st chapter about calculating the weather and reading about Lewis Fry Richardson & his mathematical hammer in Chapter 2. Also, Vilhelm Bjerknes is rock star!
I am really really enjoying this book!
With the forecast factories bit, I was struck by the comparison to sites like Mechanical Turk now, with pennies-per-calculation done by hundreds of humans, before the technology that can do it better (then, partial differential equations; today, ostensibly AI, but we'll see how that goes) is ready for market.