Re: Teaching science on the edge of knowledge

[John Denker <jsd@AV8N.COM>]

Way back at the beginning of this thread, Pamela Gay asked
a two-part question:

> How do we handle alternative theories and gaps in our understanding
> of the universe?

And mostly "alternative theories" is a codeword for crackpot
theories ... but I would like to nudge the discussion toward
the second part of the question:  IMHO there ought to be more
discussion of non-crackpot unanswered questions.

Lists of important open questions in physics are easy to find.
One of my favorites is John Baez's list
  http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/open_questions.html
Another is David Mermin's list of "alternate" questions
to ask a visitor from the future:
  http://www.qub.ac.uk/mp/questions/alternate.html

Naturally you can find lots of other lists:
  http://www.google.com/search?q=important+open-problems+physics
and it is also interesting to look at the open problems
in allied fields (math, computing, fluid dynamics, ......)

Also in this context I suppose one is obliged to mention
"Physics in a New Era" ... the view from the National Academy:
  http://www.nap.edu/openbook/0309073421/html/
but I find it to have more detail than imagination.

====

Tangential remark:  There is a whole lot of good physics and math
stuff on Baez's site:
  http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/
Well worth exploring.