Thursday, July 5, 2012

Perspective

So, with the announcement about the (possible) discovery of the Higgs Boson particle, I was reminded just how little physics means to the average person.

I wonder if the announcement had been phrased "science makes leap forward for answers about why you weigh so much and changes standard models," people might want to hear more.

With all the radiation people are absolutely bombarded with daily, and there's a lot of it, I'd think physics would be of more interest to the average consumer.  Your smart phones are absolutely fascinating on a lot of small-scale levels, but people generally are just content with them working.

But you can't really appreciate it until and unless you understand why it works, and how.  No one asks questions about that.  It might as well be magic to them.  Look, I fixed your phone, I must be a wizard.

Ask questions.  Learn.

1 comment:

  1. It just not physics. It's the same reason people pay more for the same I-IV-V-I progression in pop music that you could teach a man in an hour than they'll pay to hear a symphony. They're so uneducated on the subject they simply don't appreciate it to the degree that they should.

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