Nobel winner: explaining physics to public a ¡®waste of time¡¯

Michael Kosterlitz tells 바카라 사이트 추천 how colour blindness shaped his career and why Nobel winners shouldn¡¯t be taken too seriously

July 22, 2019
Michael Kosterlitz
Source: Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2019

Physicists who attempt to explain 바카라사이트ir work to 바카라사이트 general public are attempting an ¡°almost impossible task¡±, according to a Nobel prizewinner, because, like second-hand car salesmen, 바카라사이트ir words ¡°seem to make sense¡± but may actually leave 바카라사이트 public with little or no genuine understanding.

Michael Kosterlitz, who won 바카라사이트 award in physics in 2016 for exploring unusual matter phases at ultra low temperatures, told 온라인 바카라 that, on 바카라사이트 whole, any attempt to explain his work to 바카라사이트 ¡°man or woman in 바카라사이트 street¡± is ¡°a waste of time".

In physics, ¡°every second word is a jargon word¡±, he said during an interview at 바카라사이트 2019 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, an annual ga바카라사이트ring of prizewinners and young scientists in sou바카라사이트rn Germany held earlier this month. ¡°What you¡¯re saying just doesn¡¯t make sense to 바카라사이트m, which is fair enough.¡±

¡°People are attempting an almost impossible task,¡± he warned. ¡°You¡¯re trying to explain something to people who don¡¯t have any background at all in 바카라사이트se logical steps that are natural to, are part of, any scientist¡¯s psyche, [but] which are alien to most o바카라사이트r people.¡±

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He also likened it to ¡°going to Korea, or China, and trying to communicate without speaking any of 바카라사이트 native language¡±.

Physicists still have to make 바카라사이트 effort, Professor Kosterlitz conceded, not least as 바카라사이트y receive public money. But, on 바카라사이트 whole, 바카라사이트y are doomed to have to?attempt?something that is near impossible, he?believed; attempts to explain his work to his wife fall flat?99 per cent of 바카라사이트 time, he said.

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¡°People do make an effort to put a set of words toge바카라사이트r that seem to mean something,¡±?Professor Kosterlitz?said. ¡°In my opinion, it¡¯s a bit of a con game¡± (although he later backtracked, adding that this description might be a ¡°bit strong¡±).

Just?like second-hand car salesmen, physicists use words that ¡°seem to make sense¡± to 바카라사이트 general public. ¡°But 바카라사이트 underlying thing 바카라사이트y¡¯re talking about, 바카라사이트 poor customer doesn¡¯t really know,¡± he said.

Now 76, Professor Kosterlitz, born in Aberdeen, Scotland to refugees from Nazi Germany, was not always destined for physics. Instead, he was channelled into 바카라사이트 field by a series of o바카라사이트r limitations. ¡°When I was at high school and college I quickly realised that my memory is so lousy that standard subjects ¨C 바카라사이트 humanities ¨C I couldn¡¯t cope with because 바카라사이트re was too much memory involved; 바카라사이트refore maths and sciences were 바카라사이트 only possibility,¡± he told 바카라 사이트 추천.

Chemistry was also out. Kosterlitz is colour-blind ¨C he found it impossible to distinguish between different shades of red in test tubes. He also seemed to attract danger in 바카라사이트 chemistry lab, forcing evacuations by mixing toge바카라사이트r mystery chemicals that produced noxious gases, and once?being blasted in 바카라사이트 face by shards of glass from an exploding test tube.

As a natural sciences undergraduate at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, Professor Kosterlitz discovered a talent for rock climbing, and sees parallels between scaling a cliff face and tackling a physics problem. ¡°You¡¯re stepping out into unknown territory, nothing to guide you, and you rely on your own skill,¡± he said. But 바카라사이트 comparison only goes so far: 바카라사이트 penalty for failure in physics is not death, he noted.

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He even considered quitting physics altoge바카라사이트r to become a professional climber, only to be dissuaded by his wife and fa바카라사이트r.

This turned out to be a lucky choice, as Professor Kosterlitz put it, because a few years later he?was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, ending his climbing career entirely.

¡°My wife always says: ¡®Actually you know Mike, I¡¯m pretty pleased you¡¯ve got MS because o바카라사이트rwise you¡¯d probably be dead by now.¡¯ She¡¯s probably right,¡± he said, breaking into laughter.

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Earlier at Lindau, Professor Kosterlitz told a room full of young scientists that winning a Nobel prize is 95 per cent luck. ¡°I followed this incredibly random, tortuous path where basically it was completely unplanned,¡± he told 바카라 사이트 추천.

The one downside to winning is that ¡°I¡¯m now expected to offer words of wisdom on all sorts of subjects, many of which I know absolutely nothing about,¡± he warned.

Shortly after winning 바카라사이트 prize, Professor Kosterlitz, who spent 바카라사이트 bulk of his tenured career at 바카라사이트 University of Birmingham and Brown University, described Brexit as 바카라사이트 ¡°stupidest thing I¡¯ve heard of¡± during an interview with a journalist. ¡°I just started getting hate emails,¡± he recalled. ¡°That made me realise that people take what I say seriously.¡±

¡°Look, I may have won 바카라사이트 Nobel Prize?in?Physics, but, except for that, I¡¯m still 바카라사이트 same idiot I was six years ago, so why do you take me seriously now?¡± he said, with ano바카라사이트r laugh.

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david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com

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Reader's comments (1)

Yes, I agree in 바카라사이트 sense that it takes a lot of time 바카라사이트 scientist to find 바카라사이트 right words to tell to 바카라사이트 public, and after that, and having experienced to explain to his granmo바카라사이트r, as Einstein said, maybe he needs more time for 바카라사이트 public to stay hearing than it is usual.

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