He's amazing calculations with the Ritz method

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the Ritz variational method's effectiveness for strongly nonlinear problems, demonstrating that results from simple cases do not indicate its practical utility.

Contribution

It provides a critical analysis showing the limitations of the Ritz method for complex nonlinear problems, challenging previous assumptions.

Findings

Simple problem results do not generalize to complex cases

The Ritz method's utility is questionable for nonlinear problems

Previous applications may be misleading

Abstract

We discuss an earlier application of the Ritz variational method for strongly nonlinear problems. We clearly prove that the results derived for several extremely simple problems of supposedly physical and mathematical interest do not provide any clue on the utility of the approach.