4 ms·

As an ex-physicist, these were the golden years of physics. Studying and then doing your PhD at that time must have been fascinating. Today's physics really bl

As an ex-physicist, these were the golden years of physics. Studying and then doing your PhD at that time must have been fascinating. Today's physics really bland. Either we look into some fantasy worlds we will never test (quantum foam & co), or extremely niche ones. My sons are fascinated by science and I am lightly driving them towards biology (biophysics, bioinformatics, ...) because I feel this is where the revolutionary changes happen and will happen.

domnomnom 6y ago
Why not computer science?
- Dudeman112 6y ago
  Why computer science?
- BrandoElFollito 6y ago
  They are not sufficiently interested in the theory of computation for this to work out. They are more into applied science (applied to everyday life). Theory of computation is certainly interesting, though.
- leephillips 6y ago
  Computer science is not science, it is mathematics. Great stuff, but quite different stuff.
  - ur-whale 6y ago
    > Computer science is not science Disagree profoundly. And if perchance you got to that conclusion because you believe you can't apply the scientific method to CS (as in: formulate a theory about how the world "is", design an experiment to test the theory, run the experiment, rinse, repeat), you are mistaken: when dealing with systems of exploding complexity (which is, btw and imo, what physics is all about as well), this is a very fruitful attack strategy.
    - BrandoElFollito 6y ago
      I think that the theoretical aspects of CS are interesting, this is lots of math (especially crypto) and lots of formal proofs (algorithms). Being able to predict how complex and long simulations will be is great as well. BTW I think that "Computer Science" is interpreted differently in different countries. In France for instance we have _informatique_ which means "things with computers" and usually is understood as "development" or "system/network administration". _
      - sudosysgen 6y ago
        As a francophone, is informatique not supposed to be lexically close to other sciences in -ique to denote it being closer to Computer Science in meaning? As the académie put it: "science du traitement de l'information"
        BrandoElFollito 6y ago
        Yes, this is true. But when you say "je travaille dans l'informatique" (I work in <informatique>), what comes to mind is a developer or a sysadmin. Not someone who does "computer science" (algorithms etc.). "Je fais de la recherche en informatique" (I do research in <informatique>) would mean doing "computer science". I am not sure what comes to mind to a native speaker of English when he heard "I work in computer science". Maye the same thing, actaully. In which case "computer science" would be one "science" where you actually need to add "science" (as opposed to physics, biology, ...) On the other hand, we have in French "Science de la Vie et de la Terre" - a school subject loosely grouping biology and geology.
    - leephillips 6y ago
      I think you only think that you disagree. But I could be completely wrong. The method that you describe is used in exploring mathematical landscapes, including CS. But, still, some people (like me) find it useful to distinguish between mathematics (including CS) and science, by which we mean empirical science. But I would agree strongly that the boundary is very fuzzy.
    - 6y ago
  - zoolily 6y ago
    Computer science is a combination of fields, including mathematics (theory of computation, cryptography), empirical science (empirical software engineering, HCI, etc.), and engineering.
leephillips 6y ago
As a physicist, I would say that physics is still and will always be beautiful and fascinating, but I also believe that biology is where it is happening now.
- BrandoElFollito 6y ago
  Physics IS beautiful and fascinating. I am so glad that I studied that and went though a PhD. It is especially fascinating during the first 3 years, when you slowly discover some unexpected links between the disciplines. When I discovered Noether's theorem I was in awe. Then it gest more and more abstract, drifting away from the reality (I do not have QM here in mind but rather its evolution). Thanks to the confinement we have in France due to COVID, I had the opportunity to take over a part of the duties of the National Education services :) Telling my children about mechanics and all basic topics was awesome. I got over excited several times and they had to cool me down. Physics will always be my first love, but the future is elsewhere.
  - leephillips 6y ago
    “When I discovered Noether's theorem I was in awe.” The same thing happened to me. Many years later, I thought that it should be more popularly known, so I wrote this: http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/05/the-female-mathematician-who-changed-the-course-of-physics-but-couldnt-get-a-job/ http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/05/the-female-mathematic... And now I am writing a book about it.
    - BrandoElFollito 6y ago
      This is really an interesting article. I will be watching for the book as I also find that her works is really unappreciated despite blowing student's minds when learning about the theorem.

domnomnom 6y ago

Why not computer science?

Dudeman112 6y ago
Why computer science?
BrandoElFollito 6y ago
They are not sufficiently interested in the theory of computation for this to work out. They are more into applied science (applied to everyday life). Theory of computation is certainly interesting, though.
leephillips 6y ago
Computer science is not science, it is mathematics. Great stuff, but quite different stuff.
- ur-whale 6y ago
  > Computer science is not science Disagree profoundly. And if perchance you got to that conclusion because you believe you can't apply the scientific method to CS (as in: formulate a theory about how the world "is", design an experiment to test the theory, run the experiment, rinse, repeat), you are mistaken: when dealing with systems of exploding complexity (which is, btw and imo, what physics is all about as well), this is a very fruitful attack strategy.
  - BrandoElFollito 6y ago
    I think that the theoretical aspects of CS are interesting, this is lots of math (especially crypto) and lots of formal proofs (algorithms). Being able to predict how complex and long simulations will be is great as well. BTW I think that "Computer Science" is interpreted differently in different countries. In France for instance we have _informatique_ which means "things with computers" and usually is understood as "development" or "system/network administration". _
    - sudosysgen 6y ago
      As a francophone, is informatique not supposed to be lexically close to other sciences in -ique to denote it being closer to Computer Science in meaning? As the académie put it: "science du traitement de l'information"
      - BrandoElFollito 6y ago
        Yes, this is true. But when you say "je travaille dans l'informatique" (I work in <informatique>), what comes to mind is a developer or a sysadmin. Not someone who does "computer science" (algorithms etc.). "Je fais de la recherche en informatique" (I do research in <informatique>) would mean doing "computer science". I am not sure what comes to mind to a native speaker of English when he heard "I work in computer science". Maye the same thing, actaully. In which case "computer science" would be one "science" where you actually need to add "science" (as opposed to physics, biology, ...) On the other hand, we have in French "Science de la Vie et de la Terre" - a school subject loosely grouping biology and geology.
  - leephillips 6y ago
    I think you only think that you disagree. But I could be completely wrong. The method that you describe is used in exploring mathematical landscapes, including CS. But, still, some people (like me) find it useful to distinguish between mathematics (including CS) and science, by which we mean empirical science. But I would agree strongly that the boundary is very fuzzy.
  - 6y ago
- zoolily 6y ago
  Computer science is a combination of fields, including mathematics (theory of computation, cryptography), empirical science (empirical software engineering, HCI, etc.), and engineering.

leephillips 6y ago

As a physicist, I would say that physics is still and will always be beautiful and fascinating, but I also believe that biology is where it is happening now.

BrandoElFollito 6y ago
Physics IS beautiful and fascinating. I am so glad that I studied that and went though a PhD. It is especially fascinating during the first 3 years, when you slowly discover some unexpected links between the disciplines. When I discovered Noether's theorem I was in awe. Then it gest more and more abstract, drifting away from the reality (I do not have QM here in mind but rather its evolution). Thanks to the confinement we have in France due to COVID, I had the opportunity to take over a part of the duties of the National Education services :) Telling my children about mechanics and all basic topics was awesome. I got over excited several times and they had to cool me down. Physics will always be my first love, but the future is elsewhere.
- leephillips 6y ago
  “When I discovered Noether's theorem I was in awe.” The same thing happened to me. Many years later, I thought that it should be more popularly known, so I wrote this: http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/05/the-female-mathematician-who-changed-the-course-of-physics-but-couldnt-get-a-job/ http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/05/the-female-mathematic... And now I am writing a book about it.
  - BrandoElFollito 6y ago
    This is really an interesting article. I will be watching for the book as I also find that her works is really unappreciated despite blowing student's minds when learning about the theorem.