>Sociologists have long tried and failed to draw a line between science and pseudoscience. In physics, though, that ‘demarcation problem’ is a non-problem, solv

>Sociologists have long tried and failed to draw a line between science and pseudoscience. In physics, though, that ‘demarcation problem’ is a non-problem, solved by the pragmatic observation that we can reliably tell an outsider when we see one. During a decade of education, we physicists learn more than the tools of the trade; we also learn the walk and talk of the community, shared through countless seminars and conferences, meetings, lectures and papers. After exchanging a few sentences, we can tell if you’re one of us. You can’t fake our community slang any more than you can fake a local accent in a foreign country I wanted so badly to find this to be sarcasm or a bit of a joke. I hope it is there, I hope I missed it. If not the arrogance and hubris is monumental. Worthy of some oldschool strictly hieraracal priesthood. We have nice roboes, leather bound books and speak many languages. You will never understand. You cannot understand. Your thinking is of no interest or importance. We shall speak the truth and ye shall listen and obey. The earth is flat. It has always been flat. It shall always remain flat All else is hersay and yes blasphemy. We have spoken. Historically, good ideas have often come from somewhere outside the high priesthood, and for that sin are usually ridiclued and ostracized, sometimes punished in hideaous ways. Now historiclaly yes it happens. But history does not record the 1000000 gazillion times the idea was idiotic. We get a biased view of it when we think about pioneers. Yet it does happen. I know a lot of smart people. I know a couple that I wold rate as geniuses. All of them know far more than me in one or more diciplines. (which is not difficult I may add) I know a few things and a couple of specific things well. They have all suffered my pedestrian inquiries into their realm, and in general done so politely and I have learned so much from them "dumbing it down" for me. A few times I approach a topic from such an odd angle that the discourse turns quite interesitng for both parties. Cross pollination is a real and fascinating thing. A few times I have been on the other end of it. A dear friend who is a neurosurgon, which I still call brain surgery, She is in my opinion a genius and was in the periphery of a Nobel prize. She has called me at odd hours of the night when some technical IT disasters has occured and she needs it to work. If I can I try to diagnose it and talk her trought it. (Or I have to go over there) For her these weird spells and nonsense text strings I have her type have no meaning to her and its all quite mysterious. She is happy when it works again. Just as her «victims» as I like to call them “patients” are happy to have their brainbox doing its thing better Given that I am “neurodivergent” she is usually fascinated with the highly inaccurate theories I have as to how our brains work just because they are at times different. Sometimes she will prompt me for them. We will have lunch and she will tell me about an upcoming case and describe symptoms to me, curious as to what (an idiot) would come up with. One thing my smart friends have in common is the ability to decompose and leave much of the nomenclature out of it. The specific model of abstractions and metaphors that allow people within the know to communicate vastly faster and more accurate with each other is not a hard requirement. to explain how something works. .