I'm an industrial physicist. I've noticed that physicists, and the general public, often have different ideas about what problems we should be versed in. And people are surprised when they learn that most physicists are not theoreticians. Were it up to the public, we'd all be working on warp drive, infinite energy, and explaining quantum mechanics. ;-)
We all learned about the problems in both undergraduate and graduate training, and in discussions and readings. I attended a lecture about it by John Bell. I was excited about it, but I also had an experiment to finish.
I think physics is utterly unique in having a theory with seemingly infallible predictive power and zero explanatory power. But if someone asks me about it in the lunch room, all I can do is shrug it off. The fact that this paradox hasn't stopped us dead in our tracks, in 100 years, that's the problem.
> I'm an industrial physicist. I've noticed that physicists, and the general public, often have different ideas about what problems we should be versed in.
Rather say: you have studied physics, but what you actually work on and are interested in is engineering. :-)
Addendum: Just to be very clear: there is nothing wrong with being exciting about engineering problems from industry.
Actually, I'm a scientist, not an engineer. I don't want to be an engineer. I realize we're outnumbered by engineers, and many people have never met a physicist. My parents were both industrial scientists too. We exist. There's a general sense that while there's some overlap, scientists and engineers are not the same, and may even think differently.
I'm an industrial physicist. I've noticed that physicists, and the general public, often have different ideas about what problems we should be versed in. And people are surprised when they learn that most physicists are not theoreticians. Were it up to the public, we'd all be working on warp drive, infinite energy, and explaining quantum mechanics. ;-)
We all learned about the problems in both undergraduate and graduate training, and in discussions and readings. I attended a lecture about it by John Bell. I was excited about it, but I also had an experiment to finish.
I think physics is utterly unique in having a theory with seemingly infallible predictive power and zero explanatory power. But if someone asks me about it in the lunch room, all I can do is shrug it off. The fact that this paradox hasn't stopped us dead in our tracks, in 100 years, that's the problem.