- #1
AndreasC
Gold Member
- 547
- 310
I was thinking about pop physics lately and everything that is wrong with pop physics (and pop science in general). I think most people here understand that pop physics is generally not really informative at all. Most of pop physics regards highly theoretical, cutting edge physics that has absolutely no connection to the experience of people.
Usually, the only takeaway people get is "quantum mechanics is weird and I don't understand it" or "black holes are super big and I don't understand them". It's as if it makes people understand less, not more. Some programs that do this aren't as bad. For instance PBS Spacetime deals a lot with highly theoretical subjects, however my personal perception is that it's not badly done, and you can actually learn something from it. However, they're still very removed from experience and stuff that people can grasp.
I believe pop physics can do a lot better than that. And thankfully it does seem like some youtube content creators are doing better than that, but not so much the big popularizers. I feel like shifting focus away from these hard to grasp concepts that cause confusion, it should focus more on describing things that people are familiar with. Like, most people have no clue how magnets work. How does glue work? Why do some things conduct electricity and others don't?
These are very simple questions that most people have no clue what the answer to these questions is. And starting from these things, one can easily expand into other interesting subjects. Like what Coulomb explosions are, their uses in industry and the possible connection to jellyfish nematocytes. Or magnetotactic bacteria, which blew my mind when I learned about them. There's no shortage of interesting subjects to talk about which don't involve confusing people with string theory and Schrodinger's cats, and they can be every bit as or even more exciting than what is usually shown.
Besides, you can only hear about Schrodinger's cat so many times before it becomes boring. As an added benefit, the average person won't think physics has nothing to do with the "real" world any more, and we'll get a lot less cranks shoehorning physical concepts they misunderstood in places where they don't fit.
What are your opinions on the subject?
Usually, the only takeaway people get is "quantum mechanics is weird and I don't understand it" or "black holes are super big and I don't understand them". It's as if it makes people understand less, not more. Some programs that do this aren't as bad. For instance PBS Spacetime deals a lot with highly theoretical subjects, however my personal perception is that it's not badly done, and you can actually learn something from it. However, they're still very removed from experience and stuff that people can grasp.
I believe pop physics can do a lot better than that. And thankfully it does seem like some youtube content creators are doing better than that, but not so much the big popularizers. I feel like shifting focus away from these hard to grasp concepts that cause confusion, it should focus more on describing things that people are familiar with. Like, most people have no clue how magnets work. How does glue work? Why do some things conduct electricity and others don't?
These are very simple questions that most people have no clue what the answer to these questions is. And starting from these things, one can easily expand into other interesting subjects. Like what Coulomb explosions are, their uses in industry and the possible connection to jellyfish nematocytes. Or magnetotactic bacteria, which blew my mind when I learned about them. There's no shortage of interesting subjects to talk about which don't involve confusing people with string theory and Schrodinger's cats, and they can be every bit as or even more exciting than what is usually shown.
Besides, you can only hear about Schrodinger's cat so many times before it becomes boring. As an added benefit, the average person won't think physics has nothing to do with the "real" world any more, and we'll get a lot less cranks shoehorning physical concepts they misunderstood in places where they don't fit.
What are your opinions on the subject?