Active Irresponsibility

As a aspiring Physicist, it must have been amazing to live in the 1920's. Theoretical Physics saw a barrage of new discoveries in one of the most ridiculously successful periods for the advancement of technology and the scientific community in general. Einstein's theories for relativity and the photo-electric effect were finally being accepted as scientific fact, and early quantum theory was significantly reformulated. During this time period Neils Bohr developed the Bohr model for the atom and Schrodinger created a basis of wave mechanics by formulating the wave equation. The discoveries of the 1920's gave us insight into a world we know very little about. It was a period driven by the obsessions of great individuals who used their limited intelligences in specific directions. They were focused on what they did not yet understand. 

Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Nicola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Sigmund Freud, Francis Crick, and Marie Curie. These individuals have one significant thing in common. Yes, they were all great innovators and scientists who have each influenced our world in unique ways. But as human beings they embodied one trait; they were decidedly passionate. Passionate about their craft. To these people, science was a means onto itself. The accomplishments of these great scientists illustrate that scientific breakthroughs have been achieved through passionate, unrestricted exploration, where short-term gain was not a prerequisite for advance. 

Here's some proof: 

In March 2013 we finally confirmed the existence of the now well known elementary particle, the Higgs boson. More importantly, by finding the Higgs boson we were able to confirm the existence of the Higgs field. This is because just as a photon is a vibration in the electromagnetic field, the Higgs boson is a vibration in the Higgs field. But why is this significant? Well it could be said that there are three fundamental ingredients to our reality: matter particles, forces and carrier particles, and the Higgs. The importance of this discovery was tremendous and it has opened new exciting territory for physicists to explore. When the LHC was created it was expected that the collider would either demonstrate or rule out the existence of the elusive Higgs boson, thereby allowing physicists to consider whether the Standard Model or its Higgsless alternatives were more likely to be correct. At the time, the U.S. was building a competitor to the LHC, the Superconducting Super Collider. American physicists were devastated when in 1993, its construction was cancelled. We could not see the practicality in it; the purpose of such a project. It was a huge loss for science, but it gives us insight into the unscientific mind that drives much of the world today.

There was a time when knowledge for the sake of knowledge was a central axiom in scientific inquiry. The quest for knowledge was driven by the obsessions of great minds who found discovery to be a worthwhile reward. Now, we require practicality. We expect our scientists to give us a spaceship to Mars, a better iPhone, or faster internet. We revere the names of Einstein, Tesla, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, yet we have no interest in their craft. We care more about their apparent success than the fascinating innovations which made them successful. And our worship of success and recognition has reduced research to a process which produces products that we can go buy at the mall. Curiosity isn't dead, but it's scarcely breathing.

Of course, we shouldn't define the scientific mind as void of practicality. Take, for example, Nicola Tesla. While Newton and Einstein focused heavily on the theoretical and abstract aspects of Physics, Tesla had a way of making his imagination tangible. Just as much as Tesla was an engineer, he was also a scientist. He was THE "mad scientist" and many of the tangible benefits of his ideas were realized immediately (although not publicly). The man was essentially Tony Stark. So yes, I would like us to question the notion that great science and innovation demands utility. However, I do not imply that practicality is inherently foolish or that a great mind cannot dream of tangible discoveries. Teleportation, warp drives, quantum computing, macroscopic quantum tunneling - these are the dreams of both the physicist and the layman. Instead, I propose that the mundane, auditing culture of today needs to completely redefine the word "useful" when we speak on scientific matters. 

"The way I think of what we are doing is, we are exploring, we are trying to find out as much as we can about the world...whatever way it comes out it’s nature, it’s there, and she’s going to come out the way she is. And therefore when we go to investigate we shouldn't pre-decide what it is we are trying to do except to find out more about it."  -Richard Feynman

The theorists who proposed the Higgs boson spent their entire lives creating a theory which the LHC may have found false. It's how science works and as a theorist you have to learn to deal with that.

"If you don't risk your life, you can't create a future. Right?" -Monkey D. Luffy

By definition, you cannot anticipate the results of potential innovations. We must mend the boundary between the acquisition of knowledge and the application of it. We need active irresponsibility. If history has shown us anything, it's that in order to truly change the world we must be obsessed with something other than ourselves.

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Why I Don't Quit Physics

Recently I watched a short video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK0Y9j_CGgM) from a talk with Michio Kaku, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York. He speaks about the decline of scientific minds within the United States. According to Kaku 50% of PHD candidates in the United States are foreign born. So why is this? If I were to show that statistic to every single person in America I would guess that the vast majority of people would agree with the statement that America is in fact getting stupider. And yes, the vast majority of America saying that the vast majority of America is stupid is obviously ironic. But I think, personally, that this statistic can be attributed to a much bigger problem. Or what seems to me to be a problem. During high-school I adopted the idea that the only real purpose of going to school is to get a job and make money. This is why I came to college. I believed that without college I was doomed to an unsuccessful and thus unhappy future. However, this was not my opinion in my early childhood. I enjoyed learning rather than thought of it as a necessary evil. I think this problem, which affects a large amount of the American population, stems from exactly what makes America, America. Capitalism. I'm not addressing capitalism as a economic system but instead as a mind-state. We have adopted the ideas of capitalism as a mindset and even a moral system. It should be obvious why thinking that school is only good for getting a job could be detrimental to science. Ridding ourselves of this capitalistic mindset however, is impossible. It is difficult to convey just how deeply it invades every part of our thought processes. Things which we fully consider to be simply human traits are rather only consequential ideas of a capitalistic mindset. When I came to college I originally decided on a career in Engineering. I chose this not because I enjoyed engineering but instead because I believed I had a talent for math and science and that engineering was the most sure way to take those talents and make them into a stable career. This may seem like a slightly valid reason. But you should be able to see how this could only be considered a valid reason if you have capitalistic bias'. I am now a Physics major. Not because I know that I have a sure and specific future career ahead of me. I am a Physics major because I have decided I want to know what I want to know. School is for gaining knowledge is it not? So yes. America is losing its ability to create scientific minds. It is disgusting that an inquisitive mind, like my own, would have difficulty in deciding to allow itself to be inquisitive simply because of a definition of success which only caters to a capitalistic mind-state. Even now I struggle. When I arrive at topics in my Physics textbook which confuse me I sometimes think, maybe this isn't for me. It would be so much easier to study a subject where the material you study doesn't takes longer to comprehend than to actually learn. And yet, one simple thought allows me to keep going. I imagine myself as a 40 year old, reading a popular science book on Physics. The book in this dream is a book regarding the formation of black holes. In speaking of how black holes form it makes one simple statement. "The math behind these ideas suggests that"...etc. I imagine myself reading this and not knowing what the math suggests and also knowing that if I were to find the math which suggests this proposition that I would not be able to comprehend it. That thought is terrifying to me. I would feel as if I have wasted my entire youth. I cannot stand the thought of being in my 40's and not knowing answers or at least theories to the questions which now keep me up at night. That thought is terrifying enough to allow me to keep doing what I am doing. I simply want to know more about the world. So when the statement is made that America is falling behind in Math and Science it doesn't surprise me one bit. I know from personal experience how little the majority of America caters to and respects the scientific mind. Too often I hear students say "Why do I need to learn this? This isn't going to be useful to me in life. I don't care about this subject. How is this going to useful in my career? Who really cares?" Genuine curiosity about the world and the desire for knowledge are very rare traits. What I can do is surround myself with the people who have developed their own scientific minds. Inquisitiveness can't possibly a bad thing.

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