s = ut + (0.5)at^2

I'm not sure whether I should take science, cuz I'm not exactly an original, hands-on, practical, imaginative person.

Anyways.

I was on the ground floor of Alor Star Mall, just about to get into an elevator. The other elevator beside me had just started moving up. The situation led me to ponder on whether the distance between the two elevators would remain (roughly) the same or would keep increasing with time. As the mall was just a 2-storey building, the change in the distance between the two elevators, if any, would not be noticeable. Therefore, in the spirit of Physics ala SPM, I simplified reduced the problem into a theoretical one, that is:

Given two objects at rest on the same point/level of reference. One begins to move with (constant) acceleration a, followed by the other at the same acceleration k seconds later. Does the distance between the two objects change with time?

The paths of the two objects can be modelled by two functions of time, t.
First object : f(t) = (0.5)at^2, t >0
Second object : g(t) = (0.5)a(t-k)^2, t >k

Then, the distance between the two objects at time t,
D(t) = f(t) - g(t)
= akt - (0.5)ak^2, t>k.

Hence, the distance increases linearly with time, i.e. the longer the time elapsed, the greater the distance.

The Point of This Whole Junk

Real-life Analogy
A sad implication of this physical model is that:

1. Even if you are just as good as another person, as long as he (yes i'm sexist!) starts earlier than you, he's going to lead forever, and the gap between you two is not going to stay the same, but will widen as time passes. ("good" analogous to acceleration)

2. To catch up with him, you really have to put in extra effort and work real hard. (Effort analogous to Force.)

3. If you happen to be not as bright/physically-appealing as the other guy, working as hard as him might not be enough, even if you start earlier. From F=ma, you need to put in the extra effort to offset your dumbness/ugliness/other negative load. (negative load analogous to mass.)

4. Even if you are leading in a game, chances are people will work hard and try to overtake you. You cannot be lazy and let inertia drive your course.


Life is tough.