How do you guys view other people

[motai]

And when I get a student in high school who argues with me over the Earth going around the Sun (and this is not the fault of the schools, I assure you), I think "Oh no, in two years this guy is going to be allowed to vote."

There are still people who don't know this?

Then again, the Flat-Earth society is still around... http://www.flat-earth.org/. BTW, they believe that Idaho or North Dakota does not exist.

 

[TALewis]

I also don't mind it if people have no interest in Physics, but what gets me are those who feel that it is some sort of democratic process where any cracked idea is just as valid as centuries of scientific development.

Exactly. The conversation usually begins with, "Oh, I have a theory..." No, you have a grossly uninformed hypothesis with no basis in reality whatsoever. The word "theory" is reserved for something that's well tested by experiment and can make useful predictions about natural phenomena.

"I have a theory" is best translated as, "I have made something up." It might be fun, but it's not science -- yet. It takes a lifetime's work to turn a funny idea (such as Newton's apple falling from a tree == the moon falling around the earth) into a scientific theory. Most of the cranks you see aren't interested in the scientific method.

 

[jimmy p]

I am the only person who takes Physics to full A-level in college. It gets very lonely. When I tell people fascinating facts they just have the "bunny in headlights" look on their face, but I'm used to that, I'm unfazed, because sometimes the knowledge does go through, and if I can interest one person, then that is good enough for me. However I'm not smart enough to be truly segregated from everyone else, so I don't feel that different. Sometimes it helps to be as dumb as toast.

 

[Chi Meson]

... When I tell people fascinating facts they just have the "bunny in headlights" look on their face...

Oh, I know that look. I learned my first year in college that one way to NOT get invited to parties is to try to actually answer people when they say things like "I've always wondered how flourescent lights work."

Turns out they don't care how they work, and they really don't want to know!

 

[zoobyshoe]

Oh, I know that look. I learned my first year in college that one way to NOT get invited to parties is to try to actually answer people when they say things like "I've always wondered how flourescent lights work."

Turns out they don't care how they work, and they really don't want to know!

Be fair, now! The glaze in their eyes is really their way of saying "Whoops! I didn't realize the minimum answer was book-length! What have I gotten myself into?"

 

[Math Is Hard]

I just explain how physicists collect the magic lightning gas from rays of starlight and then use it to fill up each tube and make it glow.
That's not so long is it?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Turns out they don't care how they work, and they really don't want to know!

Funny this comes as a big surprise isn't it?

During my senior hear I had the same Professor for the entire QM series. If we were starting into some really interesting material, he would sometimes start by saying that "if you want to ruin a party, bring up the subject of ..."

i.e. How effectively a topic might ruin a party is a measure of how interesting the subject is to us.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Be fair, now! The glaze in their eyes is really their way of saying "Whoops! I didn't realize the minimum answer was book-length! What have I gotten myself into?"

I don't agree Zooby. In some cases this is true I'm sure, but I find that the glaze reaction is mostly word, or even concept dependent. Depending on the person of course, I might spontaneously trigger the glaze by accidentally citing a specific unit of measure such as Newtons, ohms, or even amps. Cite a famous scientist like Einstein or Heisenberg, glaze. Cite a “scientific” study, theory, law, or other reference, glaze. Cite anything mathematical, glaze. You can’t carry on a conversation like that. It is like walking through a mine field. Let’s be safe: Let’s talk about the Trailblazers.

 

[TALewis]

Try explaining the difference between energy and power. Complete glaze.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I think my brother in law still thinks I made up Special Relativity. He simply did not believe me.

I got the same reaction when I forgot myself at a family reunion near St. Louis. I mentioned that trees come as male and female. Whoops. Should have never said that one.

Got the old elbow in the rib years ago when, before it was more generally konwn, I mentioned the connection between influenza, and chickens and pigs in China. Whoops. Should have never said that one.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I don't agree Zooby. In some cases this is true I'm sure, but I find that the glaze reaction is mostly word, or even concept dependent.

Yes, I see what you're saying now. (However, being long of wind, myself, I get the glaze more often from that than anything else.)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yes, I see what you're saying now. (However, being long of wind, myself, I get the glaze more often from that than anything else.)

Well, okay. I also had to learn to shut up. Hopefully one day I will.

 

[DarkAnt]

wow, this is the exact opposite of what I experience. People ask me to tell them something interesting (doesn't have to be anything related to science, but almost always does) all the time, mostly when they are bored. Maybe you all just hang around the wrong crowd. Besides all you have to do is post something on the pf and lots of people will be interested in it, like me.

 

[DarkAnt]

Actually, now that I think about it I have recently had a run in like this. Remember when the Hubble took the deepest picture of space that has ever been seen? well my english teacher brought it up and for some reason he thought this meant that the galaxy was much larger than what was previously thought. So he concluded that the big bang and all that had just been proven to be untrue. I just sat there stunned, I didn't even try to tell the guy he was wrong.

 

[Janitor]

I just sat there stunned, I didn't even try to tell the guy he was wrong.- DarkAnt

In my churchgoing days as a kid, I remember that during a sermon, to illustrate some point he was making, the minister said (and this is an exact quote, I'm sure of that): "Did you know that sound and light are the same thing, just at different frequencies?"

Had he said, "Sound and light both have some wave properties," then I would not have had a problem. But I've got all sorts of problems with the thing he actually did say.

 

[Imparcticle]

Actually, now that I think about it I have recently had a run in like this. Remember when the Hubble took the deepest picture of space that has ever been seen? well my english teacher brought it up and for some reason he thought this meant that the galaxy was much larger than what was previously thought. So he concluded that the big bang and all that had just been proven to be untrue. I just sat there stunned, I didn't even try to tell the guy he was wrong.

Don't teachers generally get annoyed when you correct them or try to? Or when you challenge them?

 

[Imparcticle]

Well, okay. I also had to learn to shut up. Hopefully one day I will.

oh, please don't. You're very amusing and interesting to "listen" to.

 

[Njorl]

I find it surprising how rare a skill a good grasp of mathematics is. A friend of mine works as an economist at an energy trading company. He says they have a hard time finding people who are really qualified to do the math modelling they need. Keeping them is even harder. Part of the problem is, at the workplace, they are in competition with "people persons". The people-persons are more skilled at taking credit for work, and selling themselves. The math people see high ranking idiots getting paid for their work, and quit.

Njorl

 

[Njorl]

Don't teachers generally get annoyed when you correct them or try to? Or when you challenge them?

Most do, but the best consider being challenged by a student the ultimate success.

I remember my high-school American history teacher. He was generally hated. He didn't care. He would do the normal teaching chores, but once in a while he would wander off into terribly wrong territory. He was hoping for students to catch on and challenge him. He would then berate us for swallowing the garbage he was feeding us. Eventually, the class learned to think. We would engage in genuine debates, some of us even learned to take up "devil's advocate" positions and argue forcefully. By the end, some of were willing to challenge even well accepted views.

I think it only takes one teacher like this to teach someone to think. I was lucky enough to have more than one. I fear that many people never have one.

Njorl

 

[Chi Meson]

Well, okay. I also had to learn to shut up. Hopefully one day I will.

My wife has taken on the responsibility of letting me know when to stop. This has increased my popularity at parties tremendously! Nowadays, people come up to me and ask how things work: my wife will give me a visual or physical sign that says "that's enough." And everybody's happy!

I learned an important lesson a little late: let people find out how smart you are, but never tell them how smart you are.

 

[Tom McCurdy]

thats hilarious

There are still people who don't know this?

Then again, the Flat-Earth society is still around... http://www.flat-earth.org/. BTW, they believe that Idaho or North Dakota does not exist.

wow... went to the site

wow

 

[Gokul43201]

My advisor (who does low Temp, low noise measurements) has his wife introduce him at parties as a refrigerator repairman !

Eventually, though, the people he is talking to figure out he's a physicist, and amble away.

 

[zoobyshoe]

My advisor (who does low Temp, low noise measurements)...

Low frequency noise or just low volume?

 

[Gokul43201]

Our typical signals strengths are in the picovolts...so yes, low noise-amplitude - of course, the frequency of the noise is important too. You don't really care as much, if there's loads of noise far from your measurement frequency.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My wife has taken on the responsibility of letting me know when to stop. This has increased my popularity at parties tremendously! Nowadays, people come up to me and ask how things work: my wife will give me a visual or physical sign that says "that's enough." And everybody's happy!

Tsunami and I do the same thing only she prefers to hit me over the head with a heavy, blunt object. This keeps me quiet until I regain consciousness.

 

[Imparcticle]

Originally Posted by motai
There are still people who don't know this?

Then again, the Flat-Earth society is still around... http://www.flat-earth.org/. BTW, they believe that Idaho or North Dakota does not exist.

That is really wierd. This is wierder: .

2) What is the "middle corner"?
If one was to draw a line from each corner to the centre of the opposing side of the Earth, the line would intersect in the middle of the Flat Earth. This place is known as the Middle Corner.

3). Does the "middle corner" prove that 5=6?
Yes.

 

[mooberrymarz]

I showed the flat-earth website to my astronomy professor... he laughed for like a full 5 minutes before asking me " who made this bull$%^# up?". yeah. 5=6

 

[Imparcticle]

hey do you think it's just a joke or something? Seriously, they think that tv producers are enforcing some sort of mind control. You have to see this if you haven't:

http://www.cca.org/woc/felfat/
and
http://www.cca.org/woc/felfat/felfat2.html

and to finish it off (their first expidition; this link comes with photos):
http://www.cca.org/woc/felfat/exp1.html

I seriously think this whole thing is a joke.

 

[Dissident Dan]

Did anyone notice that this douche's name is supposedly "Lee Harvey Oswald Smith"?

 

[The_Professional]

I believe the flat Earth society is a spoof. Similar to that website where they put live kittens in a bottle and supposedly sell them.

It's all just a joke

 

[Chi Meson]

I believe the flat Earth society is a spoof. Similar to that website where they put live kittens in a bottle and supposedly sell them.

It's all just a joke

I have a friend from long ago who was a "flat-earther." He was indeed a joker, and his strength was that he would keep a joke going, straight-faced, for ever. As long as I knew him he claimed belief in various absurd things including: Scotland was a 3rd-world country full of savages; a t-shirt that he wore which read "Bombay Bicycle Club" actually said "Indiana Motorcycle Corporation (as well as the flat-earth). He was a joker who took his jokes seriously and never, ever cracked by saying he was jopking.

I'm pretty sure that many member so the flat-earth society are actual crackpots, but some are just absurdists. I have no idea in what mode it was begun.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Coincidentally, I noticed recently that musician Thomas Dolby is a "Flat Earth-er".
http://www.tdolby.com

 

[wasteofo2]

To some of you people who just can't understand why people aren't engrossed in Math and Physics, did you think that other people who are engrossed in literature, music, sports, cinema, politics, dance, drugs, carpentry, etc. look at you in the same light?

Some of you demonstrated a pretty arrogant attitude, implying that people who didn't know as much Physics or Math as you were somehow stupid, inferior, etc. For most of you however, Physics and Math are just hobbies or professions, right? I mean, are any of you interested in Physics and Math for any other reasons than satisfying your curiosity or to make money? Perhaps if you use your knowledge of Physics of Math to create something you could feel superior (Newton certainly had bragging rights), but if it's just a hobby or a profession, how would it make you superior to someone who goes to concerts and plays piano in their free time, or someone who likes to modify their car or something?

Anyway, I'm preparing to be flamed by physicists *Erects shield of ice and stone*

Peace,
Jacob

 

[Imparcticle]

To some of you people who just can't understand why people aren't engrossed in Math and Physics, did you think that other people who are engrossed in literature, music, sports, cinema, politics, dance, drugs, carpentry, etc. look at you in the same light?

That is obvious. Everyone looks at other people in different perspectives. While other people passionately dedicate their lives to better their understanding of this wonderful, intericate, elegant universe we live in, others indulge themselves in the beauty of music, sports and politics.
The misunderstanding (on the behalf of science oriented people) arises from the realization of how the incomprehensible complexity of the universe gives light to a certain elegance, one that I have insufficient words to describe. I have loved the study of the universe since I can remember; at the same time, I have liked literature and music...but my liking for those subjects in general (science can be applied to all the aformentioned subjects so to exclude that I say "in general") are limited. I can't see how anyone can't see how wonderful the universe is. For example, the symmetry, the relationships of things that seem opposite to one another are in fact related in some way. The universe is in perfect balance, and to study just how is my passion.
Just because that is my passion does not mean I disdain other fields besides science. I play 2 instruments, enjoy sports, love dancing, and reading (yes, fiction books).

A suggestion: you should give science a try! You'll like it.

For most of you however, Physics and Math are just hobbies or professions, right? I mean, are any of you interested in Physics and Math for any other reasons than satisfying your curiosity or to make money? Perhaps if you use your knowledge of Physics of Math to create something you could feel superior (Newton certainly had bragging rights), but if it's just a hobby or a profession, how would it make you superior to someone who goes to concerts and plays piano in their free time, or someone who likes to modify their car or something?

No one said it would make themselves superior to anyone. If I am mistaken, please show me were someone did (on this thread).


Have you read the whole thread? Note zoobyshoe's wise posts:

I think that most people have an intuitive grasp of as much physics as they'll ever need to get through life. Some people, like successful atheletes, have a superior intuitive grasp. In a similar vein, a good chef is really a good intuitive chemist. Understanding the rate at which an iron ball floating in space aborbs and releases energy, is really of no use to most people. I don't think there's anything at all wrong with being disinterested in physics.

I know enough people whose disinterest in physics is completely unrelated to religious beliefs to know that if you subtracted all religion from the world the percentage of people interested in physics would be about the same.

The truth is, physics takes a lot of concentration and effort to learn. A body at rest, stays at rest...

I don't think it would necessarily be a good idea to strip fervently religious people of their religion and give them physics. The translation of religious impulses to physics is what causes crackpots and cranks, inventors of free-energy machines, and the strange guy I ran into once who began to lecture me about the ethics of electrons.

Apparently, there are some who do not think their love of physics and mathematics makes them superior:

originally posted by mooberrymarz
Unity in diversity. I love maths and that freaks out some of my friends, but it doesn't really make me look at them differently. One of my friends does drama and she is as nutty as you get and is wicked funny.. she's the one on campus who walks around beating a drum and chanting stuff, ...the world would be a boring place if just had mathematicians, so I embrace people like that. being with people with diffrent interests broadens your own view of the world.

originally posted by Dissident Dan

It annoys me when people tell me of their disdain for math. "But math 'runs' everything!" I tell them. I cannot understand their viewpoints, but I accept them.

Acceptance is not a way of making oneself supirior to others. Just because someone doesn't understand other people's view points doesn't neccesarily make the people dislike each other.

originally posted by zoobyshoe

Neither science nor scientists can be considered benevolent as a matter of course. Science has contributed heavily to the persuit of war. Einstein was the one who was asked by Leo Slizzard to use his fame to get to President Roosevelt and tell him it was very possible the Germans were working on a terrible weapon based on radioactive elements, and that it might be a good idea for him to take counter measures. And, of course, all the teams that worked on the bomb were physicists.

Though there may be some posts that support your conception of all science oriented people, it is a matter of opinion.

PEACE

 

[Imparcticle]

Did anyone notice that this douche's name is supposedly "Lee Harvey Oswald Smith"?

That's creepy! :surprise: