Why I Love Physics

As humans, we can fall in love with ideas.

Physics is one collection of ideas that I love passionately. Here are just a few of the reasons why.

1. Physics tells us something important about the world around us. It helps us to understand how the world actually works. It shines a light on objective reality, which I believe exists.
2. Physics depends on experimentation. Physicists may come up with extraordinary ideas, but if they can’t predict the results of actual experiments, they’re not doing physics.
3. Physics involves creating conceptual models that help us understand our world and testing these models to see how effective they are in predicting how the real world behaves. When an experiment doesn’t work as expected, it’s not a failure — it’s an indication of something new that deserves further investigation.
4. Physics inspires us to be curious, to ask deep questions, and to explore things we may not fully understand.
5. Physics drives technological progress. I like being able to use computers and to fly on airplanes to distant places. Physics is what makes this possible.
6. Physics is challenging. Most truly worthwhile experiences are.
7. Physics is vast. It provides insights into the behavior of the smallest subatomic particles, the largest groups of galaxies in our universe, and almost everything in between.
8. Physics is subtle. It requires us to pay attention to rare events and small differences. For example, Newton’s laws do a pretty good job of predicting the motion of the planet Mercury. It turns out that Einstein’s general theory of relativity does an even better job!
9. Physics is impressive. Like the works of Shakespeare, Michaelangelo, and others, the great ideas in physics can be appreciated for their beauty, their power, and their longevity. A conceptual understanding of physics can enrich our experience of being human in this world.
10. Physics is fun! If this isn’t self-evident, then you just might be missing out on something special.