Sunday, February 18, 2007

Why I Am A Physicist

Once in a while you get the chance to bare your physicist's soul in the harsh light of the physioblogophere, and today is my chance. Sabine Hossenfelder co-writes a great, funny blog called Backreaction (which I've posted to several times, and which I've seen mentioned in various realms of said ogosphere), and as part of an email thread starting with me asking her to put in a good word for me at the Perimeter Institute (where I'm still interested to give a RHIC seminar someday), she ended up asking me to contribute a few words on "Why I became a physicist". I have to admit that I didn't expect to get into high memoir mode, but I did (and in a bit more than a few words, I now notice), partially inspired by a very moving piece about Ron Mallett I heard on This American Life a few weeks ago. So here it is, bigger hair and all (and thanks to K for taking the photo at Storm King Art Center back in October)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peter,

What a beautiful story! I always thought that you were kind of "born" a physicist, because you seem so of this field. What a surprise to hear that it was a bit of an odyssey . . . I love how physics was something you arrived at after intricate questioning from your heart. It was destiny! :)

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