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Re: fitting in



At 02:58 PM 8/11/01 -0400, Fran Poodry wrote:

This list is actually called "Forum For Physics Teachers" so most list
members expect posting members to share a vocabulary that is based (at
minimum) on a major in one of the physical sciences at a 4-year
post-secondary institution of some sort.

That's narrowly true as stated, but I think it misses the point.

Yes, there is some vague "expectation" of a typical physics background, but
it is not a strong expectation, let alone a requirement. There have been
numerous exceptions, including a number of very young children, who have
participated and who seem to fit right in.

Specific suggestions for fitting in:
-- Do your best. Pull your weight. Start by consulting whatever sources
are available to you, and trying to work things out. Then, if/when you get
stuck, consult the list. You can elicit unlimited amounts of help this way.
-- On the other side of the same coin: Don't impose on 600 busy people
just because you can't be bothered to crack a book. This is not a support
group for helping those who won't help themselves.
-- Asking questions is better than making strong claims and daring
somebody to disagree with you.
-- Don't ask yes/no questions unless you are willing to take "no" for an
answer. More generally, don't ask questions unless you really want to know
the answer. Don't argue for the sake of arguing.
-- Don't respond with _ad hominem_ abuse of people who are trying to help
you. Criticize the calculation, not the person who made the calculation.
-- Don't be defensive about being wrong. People imagine that learning
consists of replacing "no idea" with "right ideas". In fact, after a
certain point most learning consists of replacing "wrong ideas" with
"better ideas". The trick is to see how quickly and gracefully you can
retreat from your wrong ideas.
-- Avoid filthy language.

> PS Physicists are pretty nit-picky people about things like using words
correctly in regards to a very precise definition of the word,

Nit-picking should be avoided. If you can't answer a question, don't think
you can make yourself look clever by nit-picking the question. The people
on this list can see right through tactics like that.

More generally: Ideas are more important than words. When it comes time
to express ideas _very precisely_, we use the language of mathematics, not
English.