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I admit that I have made the crackpot mistake (well, I was in middle school, in my defense). I've never quite understood why you guys get so annoyed. Now I do.
I was scrolling across Instagram and I found this physics account, and I thought "oh, yay, physics!" Well, you can see for yourself: http://instagram.com/physicsoftheuniverse
I then politely told him that his information about the Higgs boson (and it turns out a lot of what he posts) was incorrect. The Higgs field does not interact with hadrons and quarks (a misconception I have fallen for, I admit). I was then given a speech about how there are no definite right or wrong answers in theoretical physics, and how the account posts all views/opinions (there's a nice theory about the Higgs boson somewhere in there). I then (politely) said that physics does have facts, and rarely opinions (or at least the "opinions" are backed up by experimental and/or mathematical evidence). I also directed him here to learn more but I don't think he's planning on doing that based on his response.
What confuses me, though is that he says he has a degree in physics. But it doesn't seem to me that someone with a physics degree would say what he said. Tell me if you think I'm wrong, but it seems a little odd to me.
So, long story short, I understand your issues about crackpots (although if they're willing to learn I still don't see the big deal).
I also thought you guys would enjoy looking at the material on that account.
I was scrolling across Instagram and I found this physics account, and I thought "oh, yay, physics!" Well, you can see for yourself: http://instagram.com/physicsoftheuniverse
I then politely told him that his information about the Higgs boson (and it turns out a lot of what he posts) was incorrect. The Higgs field does not interact with hadrons and quarks (a misconception I have fallen for, I admit). I was then given a speech about how there are no definite right or wrong answers in theoretical physics, and how the account posts all views/opinions (there's a nice theory about the Higgs boson somewhere in there). I then (politely) said that physics does have facts, and rarely opinions (or at least the "opinions" are backed up by experimental and/or mathematical evidence). I also directed him here to learn more but I don't think he's planning on doing that based on his response.
What confuses me, though is that he says he has a degree in physics. But it doesn't seem to me that someone with a physics degree would say what he said. Tell me if you think I'm wrong, but it seems a little odd to me.
So, long story short, I understand your issues about crackpots (although if they're willing to learn I still don't see the big deal).
I also thought you guys would enjoy looking at the material on that account.
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