Re: Teaching science on the edge of knowledge

[John Denker <jsd@AV8N.COM>]

Pamela L. Gay wrote:
> .... Astronomy is full
> of instances where there is a main theory and three or four
> alternative theories, and we're still waiting for the final word.
> Recently, supernova research and WMAP proved the main theory was
> wrong and the alternative theories (dark energy and modern inflation)
> were right. Is physics such a mature field that it lacks these places
> where the main theory is simply the most popular, but the data fits 3
> or 4 theories equally well?

That's an interesting question.

The short answer is no.  Physics has just as many easy-to-ask
open questions as astronomy does.  You can ask "what are quarks
made of" at least as easily as you can ask "what happened
before the big bang".

Perhaps the difference is that in high-school physics (and
intro-level college physics) the discussion of open questions
is typically diluted or obscured by a large collection of
well-established cut-and-dried application-related results.
Astronomy, in contrast, has relatively few immediate practical
applications.  The pressures that cause the high-school physics
syllabus to be loaded up with cut-and-dried application-related
topics don't affect the astronomy course in the same way ...
instead they cause the astronomy course to be cancelled entirely!


For a typical HS syllabus (NY Regents), see
  http://www.crimsonbird.com/physics/syllabus.htm
I doubt this syllabus leads to much discussion of open
questions.

This is a problem that deserves attention, as I opined in
my previous note and on other occasions.  Real life is full
of decisions that must be made using less-than-complete
information.  There are all kinds of cultists out there,
each selling their own brand of all-encompassing absolute
truth, and we need to get out the message that science is
not just one more cult.  Science by definition must consider
alternative approaches.  Ironically because of (!!not!!
in spite of) not claiming to have all the answers, science
does a much better job of finding the answers.