Sometimes you think you have a complete understanding of something and then BOOM—a simple problem throws everything out the window. Let's consider a very basic physics problem involving pushing a ...

These days, most people are aware of both the buzz and consternation that has accompanied any discussion of artificial intelligence (AI) within recent months. Like any technology, AI has a learning ...

There's a peculiar blind spot that develops as we climb the leadership ladder: We become experts at working around problems rather than solving them. That clunky approval process? We know exactly how ...

I learned to respect friction, as a phenomenon with many nuances, when I was a graduate student. One day, while teaching a problem session in elementary mechanics, I unwisely invented a new problem to ...

1.1 What is friction? Take this everyday example: when a coffee mug rests on a flat table, the kinetic frictional force is zero. There is no force trying to move the mug across the table, so there is ...

A lead instructor for MIT Professional Education’s course explains why the tribology field matters more today than ever ...