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Is this a problem peculiar to women? Or would men who wouldtake time out
from their academic career to start a family also have great deal ofthey would, and
difficulty getting back into the field? My guess is that
perhaps would even have larger difficulties.
I don't have any direct evidence, but I have heard some stories that
indicate that they have less trouble. I know several men who, after
military careers move directly from military service to academic
appointments, many of them in physics. Although this isn't quite the
same thing, it seems to me to be similar and I know of no women who
have had the same experience, although I'm sure there are some.
Its the subtle stuff that is still around and just as effective as thelouts used to be.
Have you read David Goodstein's Richtmeyer Lecture in a recent AJP?
He asserts that we need to start thinking of physics as the "liberal
education for the 21st century." He argues that a good grounding in
physics is an excellent basis for a huge number of activities,
including many in the humanities. I won't try to reproduce his
arguments. Read his article. It's much more eloquent than I could
ever be.
It may well be that society has decided that we don't need physics
any more. There seems to be some evidence that you are correct. But
that would be a great tragedy if it should come to pass, and I think
that it is in humanity's best interest, even if humanity doesn't
understand that, for physicists to do their utmost to convince
society otherwise.
The rules governing such arrangements vary from school to school, but moreand
more schools are realizing that they get a good bargain because for
slightly more than one salary (benefits often can't be split) they
often get considerably more than one person's work.