Friday, June 15, 2018
By:
When I first got started in physics, and committed in college, I had a master plan to become the best out there. What would it take? I figured it was all physics. All day. Every day. I thought to be the best would be, well , jack of all trades and master of something, to be determined as I walked further down the road. As I continue walking, I am learning more about the workforce and about myself. And upon reflection, I am appreciating the chance to round out myself, and spend more time rounding out my interests and working on other skills.
I feel more confident about my work by gaining a wide breadth of knowledge and interests, and it seems inevitable that one sphere of knowledge or skill comes in handy for some other seemingly unrelated task. This variety is one of the many reasons I am loving our interns, with our numerous interests and skills. It’s a big reason I am enjoying my particular position here at SPS so much. I’m still breathing physics, but I’ve delved into different project ideas for outreach, produced a couple rough drafts for new demos, helped Brad teach the US Physics Team about the art of approximation (fermi problems!), and I’ve learned a little bit more about using Adobe Illustrator (thanks Michael!).
Currently, the top priority is finalizing the content for this year’s SOCK. I have a “simple” vision: just one or two versatile demos, with solid physics that can be explained to a variety of people, and most importantly, something cool. My favorite idea so far? Chladni plates; I call them resonance plates. It never fails to disappoint a crowd. Someone always says “it’s like magic!” and I laugh. Because… magic is just a less scary sounding disguise for science. It reminds of raisin and chocolate chip cookies. Across the room you see a chocolate chip cookie and a moment of excitement rushes over you; then you get closer or take a bite and feel a little betrayed when raisin reality hits. But, raisin cookies are good for you. Don’t think too hard about this metaphor.
Anyway, all that to say there are a few obstacles to making this demo at an affordable price, but I am creatively determined to make it happen. I have been met with support by my mentors which makes all the difference. I am laughing at how I always manage to end up working on a small engineering project that involve sheets of metal and clamps. It’s like trying to create new mounts for the public observatory telescopes at Weber State all over again.
Here’s a fitting quote by amazing scientist Hope Jahren:
"I’m good at science because I’m not good at listening. I have been told that I am intelligent, and I have been told that I am simple-minded. I have been told that I am trying to do too much, and I have been told that what I have done amounts to very little. I have been told that I can’t do what I want to do because I am a woman, and I have been told that I have only been allowed to do what I have done because I am a woman. I have been told that I can have eternal life, and I have been told that I will burn myself out into an early death. I have been admonished for being too feminine and I have been distrusted for being too masculine. I have been warned that I am far too sensitive and I have been accused of being heartlessly callous. But I was told all of these things by people who can’t understand the present or see the future any better than I can. Such recurrent pronouncements have forced me to accept that because I am a female scientist, nobody knows what the hell I am, and it has given me the delicious freedom to make it up as I go along. I don’t take advice from my colleagues, and I try not to give it. When I am pressed, I resort to these two sentences: You shouldn’t take this job too seriously. Except for when you should."
Amanda Williams