fun scientist
People I know in Astronomy or Theoretical Physics are not nerds, but fun fun geeks to hang out with.
For example, Nino. I love Nino. Perhaps because he is a terrific salsa/merengue/bachata dancer who happens to be an Italian learning how to tango. Also because he is so sincere when talking about his life and work with a flavor of humor.
Another friend F, who I believe is doing his third postdoc somewhere in North America, was a theoretical physicist sometimes thinking about the universe of an atom under a maple tree. I stopped by the tree once with an apple. The apple was just a random after-lunch choice on that particular day. F and I talked about visuospatial attention because he was open-minded to think about anything. Certainly we kept on talking about information processing and whatever attractions between particles. I don't think we understood each other's study better but our brains worked during that chat. Thinking makes me happy.
I don't remember when and where I first met F, probably in the Euro Club, not on a dance floor. F was a salsa maniac, like tango maniacs, traveling everywhere for salsa festivals.
A nice companion to have decent witty conversations and also an enthusiastic dancer. I don't find many of this human kind in hard-core Social Science.
At my early age looking for what I like to do, I liked to study astronomy when everyone was crazy about astrology. I prefered physics than chemistry.
I am glad that I didn't pick astronomy or astrophysics as my thing. It is fascinating to see the results of this research, but being a researcher in the hard science field would have definitely killed me. How many years of postdocs? If a neuro-cognitive psychologists have to do 2 to 3 terms of postdocs (meaning 3 to 6 years), how many do a scientist in hard science do? Not everyone can find something new and exciting in the sky. Not everyone can be a successful theorist in physics.
Does it really matter to me if the sun is going to die in billions of years?
Does it really affect my understanding of my universe if Pluto is not a planet?
Does it really impact my philosophy of life if any form of living creatures is found in other solar systems?
No, my mind is pretty narrowed. Unlike astronomers who see deep and wide, I do not extend my cognitive system beyond the zones where animals breathe effortlessly. Judge my shallowness? Go ahead.
Last night I watched the following clip. I was like... Good job, Doctor! Keep it going! Keep it exciting! oh I wanted to meet this guy. I hope he could dance too.
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Speaking of hard-science, I was looking for a recipe for Kettle Corn last night on google. I found this one (read closely to the last line, and especially what's in the parenthesis):
Kettle Corn
Ingredients:
* 1 tbsp peanut oil
* quality popcorn (I use Orville Redenbacher's because its popping time seems to have the smallest standard deviation)
* salt
* 1/6 cup sugar
* hot mits, safety goggles
Scientists... Sigh.
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