What are your thoughts about physics forums compared to other forums???

Dynamis

I'd just like to state that compared to other forums, the level of discussion and intelligence presented here on these forums by its members is really extraordinary (granted, this is a science forum). Whenever I check these forums, I find that everyones posts are very well contructed, have a good sense of humour and are actually intelligent compared to some of the other forums I visit. I wonder if you guys even know what the term "flame-war" means ....everyone here is so mature!

What are everyone elses thoughts about these forums compared to other ones they visit and what other types of forums do you visit? I think it would be interesting to know!

oldunion

you already said it. what group of self-respecting 15 year olds would hang out on a physics board. someone else has the privalege of dealing with their angst. an unintelligent flamer would get lost in the endless verse of intelligence, and subsequently never return.

FredGarvin

I think this forum is great. I will never go to an unmoderated forum ever again. I belong to another professional forum that can be, at times, a bit stfling because of it's rules on postings. Then again, it is a bunch of engineers.

hypatia

There is no comparison, I've never found anything even remotely as good as this forum.

chroot

Thank you for the compliments, Dynamis -- this forum is what it is thanks to the hard work of our two dozen mentors, many dozens of recognized homework helpers and science experts, and of course our excellent, diverse membership.

- Warren

ShawnD

The members are summed up with 2 pictures


Other Forums





Physics Forum






Then there are the moderators

Other Forums





Physics Forum





I would say the weirdest thing of all is how good looking the members are around here. Just look in the member photo thread.

Danger

This is the only one I've ever been to, since I just got internet. Now, because of being stuck in the damned thing, I'll never have a chance to check out any others (they couldn't possibly match this, though).
I have no idea what a 'flame-war' is, but I assume that it has something to do with Artman's diet.

Pengwuino

Hey dynamis, are you from my home forum too ;) lol.

The Rev

This IS a very intelligent online community. However, I've found that alot of people here just jump at the chance to tell you where you're wrong. Does anyone get the feeling that there's a little competition over intellect here?

Other than that, I really like it. I've gotten alot of help on my questions and there are quite a few very knowledgable people. For a person who's not in school, and doesn't have access to professors, PF is really a boon

[tex]\hbar[/tex]

The Rev

Pengwuino

Well i just think a lot of people like us hate when people are following misconecptions or believe something thats false. We also hate when people say there right with no facts to back them up with. If everyone believes whatever they want... well... got a bunch of people thinken we faked the moon launching running around the world. Its a virus that must be stopped :D

chroot

I don't think this is specific to this forum; I've seen the same behavior among physicists, engineers, biologists, and indeed every group of educated or trained people I've ever met.

Usually, the road to becoming a scientist is paved with episodes of being forcefully put in your place, so scientists tend develop a rather thick skin. Most eventually seem to separate objective fact from self-esteem, and no longer feel bad for getting something wrong. I, for one, tend to appreciate being corrected, and rarely feel personally insulted by the experience.

Everyone's different, however, and the mob mentality certainly does turn many people away from the sciences, both in real life and on the internet.

- Warren

Huckleberry

I see this as a positive thing. People are just jumping to help you learn new things here. As long as the comments are not too personally subjective then one can benefit from competition.

Overall, this is the best forum I have seen.

Nereid

OTOH, if you ask (well constructed) questions, and are polite (but dogged) in insisting that replies be clear, appropriate to the audience (don't be shy to admit that tensors are beyond you!), etc, etc, you may avoid being 'jumped on when you're wrong' ... if you find you're still getting 'in your face' responses, don't be shy about reporting them!

Moonbear

This forum is WAY better than any others I visit. Even when I don't agree with people here, I usually can see the logic in their arguments and understand the point they are making.

As for people jumping to say you're wrong, I don't see too much of that, and certainly less than I see on other forums. Usually, when I see it here, it's more that someone is jumping in with a correction to help you out. As with anyplace you go, sometimes you run into people who aren't as tactful about how they approach correcting other people's errors.

Though, Chroot is correct when he says scientists learn to have thick skin. Criticism is something professional scientists welcome because it helps us do our jobs better to have someone else catch something we missed. But, anyone who dishes it out has to know how to take it, so if someone tells you you're wrong, they should also be held accountable to explain why they think you are wrong. I think that's pretty much the norm here. Rarely do you just see someone say, "You're wrong!" without a follow-up of the reasons. The reasons are what's important for the learning and/or discussion to progress.

ShawnD

It's more common the "higher up" a profession or level of education is.
The worst I've ever seen are engineers. They're always eager to crap on somebody else's design, and they love to talk about things they can or will do, but never about the things they actually have done (which is of course nothing). I was an engineering student last year, and every other engineering type person around me was a jerk in that respect. That goes for all of the students, and the majority of the professors.

Now I'm all upset

Evo

Welcome to PF Dynamis!!

When I first found PF I was impressed by the emphasis on accurate information in the science forums. That really set PF apart from the others.

PF members are indeed a cut above what you normally run across in other forums. I believe you will enjoy it here.

Artman

You don't want that end of a flame war.

This is a great forum. The people are very smart, but not stuck up about it. Yeah, they do tend to be competitive in their answers, but in many areas of science and engineering there are many different ways to achieve the same result.

I came here from a computer forum, one of the members here challenged me to come and check it out. Now I just keep coming here. Much higher level discussion, humor, and friendliness.

The moderators are fair in their judgements, but don't put up with stuff that doesn't belong here.

So welcome aboard, oh, and watch out for danger.