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E.g., if the atoms in my arm are moving, I can explain the trajectory in terms of intermolecular forces, etc. Or I can explain it in terms of a friend is messaging, I'm picking up my phone, etc.
Both explanations are extremely useful and in some sense correct, while being very different types of explanation.
What I like about the car simulations is that (a) I can see the low-level physics; and (b) I can almost-but-not-quite see some higher-level principles at work, too.
I suspect it'd be possible to find a visualization that showed the two levels of abstraction simultaneously. The current graphic isn't it, but it seems tantalizingly close.
One of my pet peeves about introductory physics is students are told "objects in motion continue in that state of motion [unless an external force, usually friction in intro accounts, is applied]."
In fact, lots of objects - notably, human beings - don't behave that way, & it's very informative to figure out why. The puzzle is to figure out how higher-order theories (human intent) can appear to override lower-level ones (Newton's laws).
Hofstadter’s domino computer takes n input dominos, and the output domino falls if n is prime. Given 741 as input, why doesn’t the output domino fall? “The preceding domino didn’t fall.” True, but too low-level to be useful. “741 is not prime.” True, and a good explanation.
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