Brian Greene: Put a Little Science in Your Life

Brian's article is one of the best I've read on this subject in a long time. We seem to have lost that sense of wonder and curiousity somewhere along the line. There's one reason that I became a scientist. I wanted to answer one question "why"? We can always blame the media for sensationalizing science, or highlighting just the alarmist aspects, but there's a huge gap between science today and public awareness.<p>Part of it is that things have become more complex, and difficult to relate to. But that can be overcome, and it must be. As Prof. Greene says<p>"Like a life without music, art or literature, a life without science is bereft of something that gives experience a rich and otherwise inaccessible dimension."

This trend is similar to the loss of creativity in education. My theory is that it's also a side effect of having teachers who aren't experts in their field; after all, how can you expect someone who doesn't understand physics to teach physics? They'll teach by rote from a textbook, which leads to exactly this. Do the same for the arts and math and every other subject, and you gradually wear the imagination, curiosity, and creativity out of students.<p>It doesn't help that the masses tend to resent the intellectuals... I remember well the looks my friend and I got when we got our AP physics test results back, and the average was 59%, the high was 96%... they knew who got the 96, and they blamed us for blowing the curve.

had a chance to go hear him talk one time, well worth the effort.