Posted by finelinebob on August 15, 2006, at 2:46:48
In reply to Sustaining self esteem within depression, posted by ClearSkies on July 19, 2006, at 14:14:17
Close, but no cigar, CurtM
Energy is not really necessary to discuss inertia, but momentum is.
Inertia is the property of matter for it to maintain its state of motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Commonly, people tend to think of "inertia" as "stopped" or "sluggish", but scientifically that's not the full story.
In Newtonian mechanics, inertia is quantified in terms of momentum (p) which is equal to the mass of an object times its velocity or p = mv. So, to have a large value for p, you need to have a large mass, a high velocity, or both. In a frictionless environment, an object's momentum remains unchanged unless an opposing force is applied. Note that in this sense of momentum, velocity means the object has both a speed (rate of change of distance over a period of time) and a direction, making momentum itself a vector (something that has a direction and a size).
In a system with friction, friction always acts as a force in precisely the opposite direction of the motion of an object and, because of this, will eventually bring the object to a state of rest or 0 momentum. While it is possible that the physical consequences of the friction may result in the object losing mass, such a laying a patch of rubber on the road when you lock up your brakes (hard to do that these days), it is highly unlikely the mass of the object will drop to 0. It's more likely that the speed will drop to 0.
Mind you, there are several types of friction. In our case, we might consider sliding friction versus rolling friction. Sliding friction generates a larger opposing force than rolling friction, if the moving object is capable of rotating or not rotating.
So, to properly use the scientific concept of inertia in this case, "What keeps you going" implies that you are moving in the first place. Which is a Good Thing (tm). Introducing some sort of friction into the situation would be a Bad Thing (tm) since that could stop your motion and leave you in a state of 0 self-esteem.
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Oh, sorry, there was a question posed by CS:
"What keeps you going when you loathe yourself so completely?"My friends. I've tried to shoo them away, but they keep coming back. Even then, they let me know that I am valued (in specific terms and general terms) and loved.
Even if I'm at that complete loathing state (self-esteem = 0) my friends manage to apply a force (positive esteem) greater than any friction (negative esteem) I can mount to get me moving again.
Even if I have only one friend to depend on, the fact that that person sticks around means they have less loathing -- egahds! he or she might even actually LIKE you instead -- than you have for yourself means you're outgunned.
It's all just simple physics. If you have a single person who cares about you more than you care about yourself, then you're beat. You might as well just admit that they know more than you do and go with the flow.
poster:finelinebob
thread:668295
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/esteem/20060725/msgs/676575.html