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Sunday, March 22, 2009
I was just reading a particular coursemate's blog and it just got me thinking.
Basically, I believe this person made a post (which I didn't manage to read because it was taken down) claiming that physics is the superior science and that only bright people get into physics or something along those lines and drew quite a bit of flak for it....
Though I didn't read the original post, I guess I can understand his frustration. Plus, I pretty much share the view that Physics generally attracts smarter people. Well, perhaps the other subject that draws attracts smart people is Mathematics.
Plus, I believe and know that PHYSICS IS THE MOTHER OF ALL (natural) SCIENCES.
(picture from XKCD)
I believe it's like the people who decide to study law or medicine. People who do decide to go into those fields are usually of a certain "kuan" (hokkien for attitude). I guess it's the same for physics. The kind of people we get are usually of a certain "kuan". Basically, I feel that we're people who want to know more about the world around us. We're people who can't stop asking "Why?" (A la Tay Ping Hui!)and seek to achieve a deeper level of understanding, which requires a certain amount of intelligence to comprehend. This is perhaps why a good number of physics people tend to be damn arrogant and/or irreverant.
Still, this doesn't mean that the physicist is any more important in society and in history than any other profession. Even engineers (who I believe are the oompa loompas of not just science but the economy) have had a key role to play throughout history (the industrial rev, post-WWII modernization, Oliver Heaviside, etc).
But acknowledging this fact doesn't mean that I don't feel frustrated about the way physics is perceived by others (esp in Singapore). I'm pretty sick of seeing people cringe whenever I tell them that I'm a physics major. I vividly remember the face this particular secondary school classmate of mine gave me when I told her that I was going to be a physics major. To this day I feel like punching her. There seems to be this stereotype running amongst people that physics is dry and scary... If I tell people I'm a literature major, I guess people are likely to smile and say, even though it's not practical, you're doing something you're interested in. If I tell people I'm a physics major, they'll first say," Physics!?!? EURGH! Why!?" and this would be followed by," So, you intend to be a teacher is it?".
And this brings me to the next stereotype that certain "arts" majors have about science majors.That science people can't stand literature and poetry and whatnot.... Sure, not all science people have a feeling for the arts. Not all science people can appreciate a poem, catch subtleties in a play and critique a writer's prose. But there are some who can. However, I find that it is the arts majors who are even more intolerant of math and science than science majors are intolerant of arts. The study of Literature is at the end of the day, what I believe is essentially, the "science" of written art. People who are good at both science and art, would choose one. While the science major can still keep track of the arts, the one who chooses the arts quicly falls behind in the sciences.
My point is, it's sad. Sad that, even though physics is so essential to our daily lives, it still remains the most under appreciated of the three sciences. Maybe it's just the Singaporean Businessman mentality which draws more people to the more applied sciences like chem and biology. Perhaps physics just seemed like a scary subject in secondary school and JC (a mindset that I intend to change, at least amongst my students).
From Wiki
Physics (Greek: physis – φύσις meaning "nature") is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its motion. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the world and universe behave.
Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millennia, physics had been considered synonymous with philosophy, chemistry, and certain branches of mathematics and biology, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 16th century, it emerged to become a unique modern science in its own right. However, in some subject areas such as in mathematical physics and quantum chemistry, the boundaries of physics remain difficult to distinguish.
Physics is both significant and influential, in part because advances in its understanding have often translated into new technologies, but also because new ideas in physics often resonate with the other sciences, mathematics and philosophy. For example, advances in the understanding ofelectromagnetism led directly to the development of new products which have dramatically transformed modern-day society (e.g., television, computers, and domestic appliances); advances in thermodynamics led to the development of motorized transport; and advances in mechanics inspired the development of calculus
Physics is about nature. Physics is about discovery. Physics is about philosophy. And it does not deserve to be treated the way it is currently.
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