Second Blog Entry, Seeking Feedback

[Boletus]

I started working on a blog post that defines some of the most basic aspects of DIY chemistry that I hope will be useful for people considering or starting DIY who have little or no chemistry training. And I have refined my first one, about DIY math. My goal is to explain things in terms most people can understand, although the math one requires some basic algebra skills and so will not be useful for everyone.

So if you have a bit of spare time, I would appreciate feedback; is it correct? Is it understandable? Does it look helpful? What else would you like to see? Click the "2" next to "Blog Entries" under my avatar and let me know what you think.

 

[dkettle]

Well... 1st off I read most forums on my cell and it is a b...ch to click on your avatar then find blogs etc. How about a direct link to it?

 

[Boletus]

Well... 1st off I read most forums on my cell and it is a b...ch to click on your avatar then find blogs etc. How about a direct link to it?

Here you go.
E-Cigarette Forum - Boletus - Blogs

And thanks for checking it out. I really do want feedback, even if it brutally castigates me for being a dimwit.

 

[Mr.Mann]

Going to read right now...

 

[MrsMac]

I feel like that was a nice informative read. Being that I don't know a lot of the lingo, that was actually capable of being processed without having to re-read.

 

[Mr.Mann]

No matter what you do further with that blog, as it is now, it is a generous gift to those of us that need the resource.

 

[Boletus]

I feel like that was a nice informative read. Being that I don't know a lot of the lingo, that was actually capable of being processed without having to re-read.

Thanks. I would really like to hear any questions you might have after reading it, or any suggestions.

 

[AndriaD]

Just looking at all that math made my eyes cross. I use this calculator; the only part I really have to figure out is what percentage of the final mix I want any given flavor ingredient to be. I use the same calculator whether I'm mixing "from scratch", mixing pre-made eliquids, or some combination of the two styles.

If I'd seen all that math before I got started with DIY, I'd never have started at all, I'd have been too terrified and intimidated.

Andria

 

[Boletus]

Just looking at all that math made my eyes cross. I use this calculator; the only part I really have to figure out is what percentage of the final mix I want any given flavor ingredient to be. I use the same calculator whether I'm mixing "from scratch", mixing pre-made eliquids, or some combination of the two styles.

If I'd seen all that math before I got started with DIY, I'd never have started at all, I'd have been too terrified and intimidated.

Andria

Yeah, the math one is kind of wonky for people that don't think in algebra (lucky them). Did you check out the chemistry one? I am hoping that is more useful for people without technical expertise.

And thanks for sharing the calculator that works for you, and why. I will add it to the list.

 

[AndriaD]

Yeah, the math one is kind of wonky for people that don't think in algebra (lucky them). Did you check out the chemistry one? I am hoping that is more useful for people without technical expertise.

And thanks for sharing the calculator that works for you, and why. I will add it to the list.

I did, and although I think I already knew all the terms -- I've been cooking for donkey's years, and gardening for about half that -- some folks without any exposure to any other chemical endeavors would probably find it extremely useful.

I do understand algebra, but I'm better at concepts than equations -- word problems, in other words -- when they're all set down in numerical fashion, I just can't follow it. I speak the "words" language, but the numbers language just flies right by me.

For instance -- my husband is very good at math, but when I first started mixing ejuices that were different nicotine levels -- to me it seemed perfectly obvious that they would average (given like quantities); he thought they would simply add. I suppose it's the cooking experience that helps me there.

Andria

 

[Boletus]

I did, and although I think I already knew all the terms -- I've been cooking for donkey's years, and gardening for about half that -- some folks without any exposure to any other chemical endeavors would probably find it extremely useful.

I do understand algebra, but I'm better at concepts than equations -- word problems, in other words -- when they're all set down in numerical fashion, I just can't follow it. I speak the "words" language, but the numbers language just flies right by me.

For instance -- my husband is very good at math, but when I first started mixing ejuices that were different nicotine levels -- to me it seemed perfectly obvious that they would average (given like quantities); he thought they would simply add. I suppose it's the cooking experience that helps me there.

Andria

Thanks. To some extent, chemistry is just like cooking, only with scarier ingredients and ridiculously complex rules (if you go into it deeply enough). And anyone that can make a decent soup can make good juice, as long as they understand the basics well, have some patience, and are willing to experiment and learn from the flops.

And everyone has their strong and weak points. My wife hates math, but she can listen to song a couple of times and then play some of it from memory on a guitar. I couldn't do that to save my life.

 

[AndriaD]

Thanks. To some extent, chemistry is just like cooking, only with scarier ingredients and ridiculously complex rules (if you go into it deeply enough). And anyone that can make a decent soup can make good juice, as long as they understand the basics well, have some patience, and are willing to experiment and learn from the flops.

And everyone has their strong and weak points. My wife hates math, but she can listen to song a couple of times and then play some of it from memory on a guitar. I couldn't do that to save my life.

My son does that on the piano -- and I did, as a kid, but nowadays I'd rather play with this keyboard, than the musical kind.

I was trying to remember what it was I had done that helped me with mixing ejuice, and actually I think it was gardening -- I used to mix fertilizers that had different nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium levels, and I remember having to sit and very laboriously average the three figures, given like and differing quantities, to reach what I considered optimum levels of each, for whatever result I wanted from different plants -- flowers and roots like more phosphorus, leafy vegetation likes more nitrogen.

I don't think I "hate" math, so much as it gives me extreme anxiety to see a whole gobbledegook of equations, like your math blog; I keep the budget for our family, and it's always to-the-penny accurate, so clearly I'm capable at least of advanced arithmetic and basic algebra. But a whole glom of equations together just seems to have no possible relationship to the "real" world or "real" ANYTHING; people don't speak in equations, they speak in words; they express relationships and comparisons using subjects and verbs, not x and y and 84 million to the seventeenth power and whole strings of letters that don't seem to actually STAND for anything. That's probably the source of my anxiety and agitation with math; if the math can be applied to something I understand -- cooking, gardening, mixing ejuice -- then it's not difficult or anxiety-producing. When the math is divorced from everything else and just sits there in its multi-numeric and multi-alphabetic muddle, it doesn't pertain to anything real, it doesn't mean anything, it's just random letters and numbers someone created in order to confuse someone else.

I noticed you had both C and c; I and i -- but those letters don't seem to actually represent quantities that start with C or c, or I or i -- this is the whole problem I have with Ohm's law -- some of the letters in Ohm's law don't correspond to a word that starts with the same letter. People have told me that in French, they do correspond in that way, so that's great, for the French -- I speak English, not French, and trying to remember what a letter stands for, for a word that doesn't start with the same letter... *groan* Needlessly complex. So I just use the steam-engine calculator to make sure I'm not attempting something foolhardy with coils or batteries -- unlikely, since I always build coils in the 1.8-2 ohm range.

Andria

 

[Boletus]

I noticed you had both C and c; I and i -- but those letters don't seem to actually represent quantities that start with C or c, or I or i -- this is the whole problem I have with Ohm's law -- some of the letters in Ohm's law don't correspond to a word that starts with the same letter. People have told me that in French, they do correspond in that way, so that's great, for the French -- I speak English, not French, and trying to remember what a letter stands for, for a word that doesn't start with the same letter... *groan* Needlessly complex. So I just use the steam-engine calculator to make sure I'm not attempting something foolhardy with coils or batteries -- unlikely, since I always build coils in the 1.8-2 ohm range.

Andria

Thanks. I am not seeing where lowercase "c" is used as a variable, but it should not be, so if you can call out the location, I will fix it. At any rate, "C" stands for concentration, which is why I chose that letter. The lowercase "i" is not a straightforward initial, although it can be thought of as index. The "i" is used in a general sense to indicate a flexible number of juices (that is a convention in scientific notation); using that in the first (general) equation allows the same equation to be used whether one is mixing two liquids or a hundred (or whatever). When a specific number of liquids is determined, the "i" is replaced by a number for each liquid; for the first liquid, i=i, for the second it =2, etc. I also do not see uppercase "I" as a variable in there, perhaps that is the number "1"? Again, if you are seeing uppercase "I" and I am not (which is certainly likely, since my eyes are not so great anymore), I would really appreciate it if you could tell me where.

It does not matter which liquid you call first or second or whatever, as long as you remain consistent. So that is what the subscript numbers are for, to ensure the concentrations (C's) and volumes (V's) for each ingredient/liquid remain unique and distinct. They are not variables per se, they just make the variables specific to each liquid.

And again, thanks for taking the time to check it out and provide feedback, especially since, as you say, it causes you anxiety. Most people that feel that way about these things would not give me the time of day. And BTW, I did not mean to cast aspersions against you mathematical ability, so I am sorry if it came across that way. I should have said likes and dislikes, vs. strengths and weaknesses. That was a bit presumptuous on my part.

 

[AndriaD]

Thanks. I am not seeing where lowercase "c" is used as a variable, but it should not be, so if you can call out the location, I will fix it. At any rate, "C" stands for concentration, which is why I chose that letter. The lowercase "i" is not a straightforward initial, although it can be thought of as index. The "i" is used in a general sense to indicate a flexible number of juices (that is a convention in scientific notation); using that in the first (general) equation allows the same equation to be used whether one is mixing two liquids or a hundred (or whatever). When a specific number of liquids is determined, the "i" is replaced by a number for each liquid; for the first liquid, i=i, for the second it =2, etc. I also do not see uppercase "I" as a variable in there, perhaps that is the number "1"? Again, if you are seeing uppercase "I" and I am not (which is certainly likely, since my eyes are not so great anymore), I would really appreciate it if you could tell me where.

It does not matter which liquid you call first or second or whatever, as long as you remain consistent. So that is what the subscript numbers are for, to ensure the concentrations (C's) and volumes (V's) for each ingredient/liquid remain unique and distinct. They are not variables per se, they just make the variables specific to each liquid.

And again, thanks for taking the time to check it out and provide feedback, especially since, as you say, it causes you anxiety. Most people that feel that way about these things would not give me the time of day. And BTW, I did not mean to cast aspersions against you mathematical ability, so I am sorry if it came across that way. I should have said likes and dislikes, vs. strengths and weaknesses. That was a bit presumptuous on my part.

It's ok -- and I may not be remembering it correctly, since it really *is* hard to focus on stuff like that; I try to read and make sense of it, but it really does just seem to blur, scramble together -- I've heard that dyslexic people have this problem with words, but it only seems to affect me with advanced equations with a lot of variables -- dys-algebraic?

I'll try to look at it again, and take my time, and see if I can make more sense of it.

Andria

 

[Boletus]

It's ok -- and I may not be remembering it correctly, since it really *is* hard to focus on stuff like that; I try to read and make sense of it, but it really does just seem to blur, scramble together -- I've heard that dyslexic people have this problem with words, but it only seems to affect me with advanced equations with a lot of variables -- dys-algebraic?

I'll try to look at it again, and take my time, and see if I can make more sense of it.

Andria

I would like to make it easier to read, but the forum editing tools are somewhat limited. Perhaps I can create better looking equations with Libre Office, but it will take some time for me to learn how to use it. I was pretty good with the Microsoft equation editor, but I no longer have MS Office on my PC.

 

[dannyv45]

The math is a bit much for the novis but very useful to the more advanced. The terms are also useful but with no practical examples it kind of gets lost on the new mixer. May I suggest for your next blog to concentrate on mixing for the new DYI'er with some practical examples such as what I try to put into my own blogs. I try to advise by example in basic terms and try to keep the science to a minimum. A kind of do this and this happens and explain the "why it's done that way" in layman terms, a kinda paint by numbers approch.

 

[AndriaD]

The math is a bit much for the novis but very useful to the more advanced. The terms are also useful but with no practical examples it kind of gets lost on the new mixer. May I suggest for your next blog to concentrate on mixing for the new DYI'er with some practical examples such as what I try to put into my own blogs. I try to advise by example in basic terms and try to keep the science to a minimum. A kind of do this and this happens and explain the "why it's done that way" in layman terms, a kinda paint by numbers approch.

I agree! Knowing why you do a thing helps you remember it! It puts it into context, which most brains are a lot better at, than arbitrary rules. When my son was a kid and asked me, mom, what does {some word} mean? I'd be like... hmm, not sure I can really *define* it, but this is how it's used.. and give him a sentence with the word; it put the word in context for him, so he understood more than the simple meaning, but also how it was used.

Andria

 

[chopdoc]

I read both blogs and I can tell you put a lot of work and thought into it. I been thru trig and calc in high school 30 some years ago and honestly the math part you simply lost me but its been year since I used other than basic algebra occasionally. The chemistry bog is very good useful info for us newbies and I hope you expand on it as well as write more blogs in the future like it.

The only suggestion that I have is change the * to a X in your chemistry blog for most people dont know that a * is a symbol for multiply where X is universal for it.

 

[Boletus]

I read both blogs and I can tell you put a lot of work and thought into it. I been thru trig and calc in high school 30 some years ago and honestly the math part you simply lost me but its been year since I used other than basic algebra occasionally. The chemistry bog is very good useful info for us newbies and I hope you expand on it as well as write more blogs in the future like it.

The only suggestion that I have is change the * to a X in your chemistry blog for most people dont know that a * is a symbol for multiply where X is universal for it.

I have been debating that one with myself, because the x might be mistaken as a letter. But it is not used as a variable anywhere, so maybe that way would be better.

[edit] I went ahead and made that change in the chemistry post, since it does not use variables.

 

[dannyv45]

I'm in a highly technical field and often need to give presentations to fellow engineers. I then will need to give the same presentation to managers or support staff. I need to give consideration to the audience I'm presenting to and adjust my presentation accordingly. My fellow engineers will get a very technical presentation and managers or support staff will get a layman’s version with technical information omitted because I know they will not understand it. You need to take into consideration the audience you’re presenting to.