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Hey, OP here. First off I want to thank everyone who gave me advice, it really means a lot. I'm in highschool still, so it's really difficult to get help without dragging my folks into this (which I really don't want to do) so honestly, every bit of advice helps! As for my friend, this was not a "looking for the positives to make you feel better" thing, it was definitely a "weight loss is always good no matter the method" thing. I am average weight, and honestly not really looking to lose any pounds right now, so the "compliment" wasn't taken by me in a good way, nor do I think it should have. I am constantly physically hungry, but the thought of eating often sickens me, and whenever I can stomach food, it's in small, unfulfilling amounts. It sucks, I have no energy, and my stomach is growling all the time. So yeah, this is is not a good weight loss method haha. However, I talked this through with my friend, and she now understands that what she said isn't helpful. In fact she now is one of the most caring people for me whenever I am having problems. I'm glad I chose to explain things to her a bit more:) Anyway, sorry this is so long winded! Thanks again for the advice and the kind words

Hi, I'm the OP. I realized I was reading my own FML and thus created this account. To elaborate the story, these estimations are called Fermi problems and they're designed to teach dimensional analysis and approximation. They're typical in physics and engineering education and mine is a mix of both. The gerbil-sun is actually an approximation presented by Dr. Larry Weinstein - a physics professor and co-author of 'Guesstimation: Solving the World's Problem's on the Back of a Cocktail Napkin'. I believe the title should speak for itself... *sigh*... and that is exactly how it felt to be on the lecture. It is not that I think that learning to approximate is something to be scoffed at, per se. Indeed, it is skill that all experimental scientists and other people alike do need and find useful - often in basic, everyday life. However this was the third lecture in the series and they all have gone more or less within the realm of vagueness, "hip" examples and little to grasp for the inevitable physics homework that doesn't solve itself. On a related note, my lecture-mates also eagerly discussed the approximate number of piano tuners in Finland (in the original problem the place is Chicago) and at which height Felix Baumgartner might have broken the sound barrier during his sky-dive from the altitude of 39 kilometers (estimate). As this endless drone went on and on, I sat there, bored out of my mind, desperately wondering if and when the tune of the lecture(s) would change and how the heck would I utilize this in the homework, most of which requires some actual and exact calculation, not just some half-baked estimates. Thus the FML. P.S. There's actually a short article in thepointnews.com about Weinstein and his gerbil-sun, and I must say it was way more interesting (not to mention less time-consuming) a read than listening my class drone on and on about it and the other Fermi problems for 90 minutes straight.