Surfing Theory

I spent the weekend surfing. After a few days of work, I hope to spend the rest of this week surfing.

Ok, so I attempted to surf. My normally consistent ability to stand up was foiled by the combination of gravity and rushing water. And typical grace took a back seat to awkward collapse followed by pummeling by wave and board.

When I decided to learn to play golf, I read. I read about swing mechanics, club speed, shaft flex, etc. I did the same with surfing, and reading acomplished about as much in this instance as it did with golf — little to nothing. The concept is simple. A wave pushes a board. You stand up on the board while this is happening. That’s it. There is some physics in there, too. Balance is important. But the concept is simple.

The same is true with concepts in physics. They are simple. We see them in action everyday. But just like my surfing experience, and golf before that, understanding the idea doesn’t necessarily mean I can solve the problem right away.

I spent a few years playing golf before I got to the point where I considered myself adequate. By the end of this week I hope to stand up on the board at least once, even if it’s for only a few seconds. I get better with practice.

I’ve been working with physics for almost 10 years in school and in my profession. I have not yet and will never master the subject. But I get better each time I try. Once you understand the concepts, you just have to continually practice standing up.

Theorist vs. Experimentalist

I was reminded yesterday of how my former advisor as an undergraduate used to distinguish between experimentalists and theorists:

“An experimentalist can fix your car. A theorist can read the manual and tell you why it doesn’t work.”

I was reminded of that yesterday when in the beginning of the day I was asked about some problem in Quantum Mechanics to which I had no idea. Later in the day I was beating the underside of my truck with a hammer trying to replace an oxygen sensor. I work on half-million dollar German vacuum systems every day, so I was pretty sure I could figure out a two thousand dollar American truck.

I got the truck running without ever looking at the manual. I still don’t know how to begin the QM problem after reading at least four books on the subject.