Physics is irrelevant?!

[randomic]

I'll admit it, I'm a third year physics undergraduate studying in the UK [pause for mockery.. doesn't work like that, does it?] and I ended up getting into a heated discussion with a 'friend' [reaaaalll liberal use of the term there] who studies philosophy and politics [lol]. He stated that, to him, physics [that is, physics itself rather than the study of it] is irrelevant. Now, he was fairly drunk so putting him down at this point wasn't much of a challenge; his only argument seemed to be "you can't tell me my opinion is wrong".

So my question to you, fellow escapists, is:
Is it really possible to be ignorant of something which affects everything and then go on to claim you are so because you believe it is irrelevant?

EDIT: The question is probably badly put, the person in question was not saying simply that he should not be interested but almost that it was something which should cease to be studied, as if it was a waste of time.

EDIT 2: What he said ->

Perhaps he was thinking that it's not very applicable to life, although I still find that short-sighted.

EDIT 3: An expansion of my friend's justifications: He told me that physics was irrelevant because we don't know that the 'laws' we use today will hold tomorrow. To that extent, he is completely correct [albeit that he used an extreme example of dropping a ball and it going upwards] but Physics knows that things might change. Newton's theory of gravity was and still is a well known law of physics but Einstein postulated that it wasn't comprehensive and recent results show that Einstein's theory of general relativity is a better model than Newton's theory of gravity.

The laws given by Physics are by no means perfect [and are never claimed to be] but you can be sure that they are not far wrong.

 

[Seth Smith]

Um... yes? I mean, your friend did it just now.

 

[Czargent Sane]

of course its possible, and to me, what he says is true. personal understanding of science in general seems unimportant to my fate. understand that this is solely personal, and I can fathom that others have lives to which science is important. I do not see these peoples feelings as any less valid, I dont expect them to see as I do, nor do I want to feel as them.

 

[randomic]

of course its possible, and to me, what he says is true. personal understanding of science in general seems unimportant to my fate. understand that this is solely personal, and I can fathom that others have lives to which science is important. I do not see these peoples feelings as any less valid, I dont expect them to see as I do, nor do I want to feel as them.

but you cannot claim to have zero understanding of science surely? Do you actively avoid any explanation as to how reality works?

 

[randomic]

Um... yes? I mean, your friend did it just now.

Bad phrasing, I'm sure you know what I mean though.

 

[Demongeneral109]

To me, the laws of physics are naught but rules to eventually be broken, remember, we really don't know the 'why' of anything, and thats why science only answers the 'how,' if we don't know the 'why' who is to say it isn't possible? Sciences do tend to circular logic every now and then nyoro~ and your friend isn't ignorant, he just doesn't care about it; its your passion, not his! Don't judge nyoro~!!!

 

[Benefactor]

I can't say physics enters my mind on any consistent basis other than, "Woah, look at that ragdoll fly into the stratosphere after I put 10 explosive barrels near him and chucked a grenade at the pile!"

To say it's irrelevant though is not true whatsoever. I'm glad there's people out there who don't fail as hard at math and physics as I do, as it goes into everyday activities more than one might think.

Perhaps he was thinking that it's not very applicable to life, although I still find that short-sighted.

 

[Faulty Turmoil]

While it is possible to be ignorant (we're talking about Humans here) I don't think that Physics itself is irrelevant, I mean how can't it be relevant, Physics is how everything works.

 

[Czargent Sane]

of course its possible, and to me, what he says is true. personal understanding of science in general seems unimportant to my fate. understand that this is solely personal, and I can fathom that others have lives to which science is important. I do not see these peoples feelings as any less valid, I dont expect them to see as I do, nor do I want to feel as them.

but you cannot claim to have zero understanding of science surely? Do you actively avoid any explanation as to how reality works?

no, I know a great deal about science, but I am not affected by this knowledge; it is more trivial than the knowledge of games I like, or the names of songs I have heard. (ie, barely at all)

the explanation is not what I am here for.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Wait...what were you two talking about...in some topics physics are irrelevant.

 

[randomic]

Perhaps he was thinking that it's not very applicable to life, although I still find that short-sighted.

hehe you don't even know the guy and you've put it better than I have. Thank god for people who are better at english than me =]

 

[HT_Black]

I've always been under the impression that reality is in the eyes of the observer, and going by that logic I both invented the phenomenon and the study of physics; and because I took time out of my busy schedule to create the rules that my life would be governed by, we can deduce that physics is not only relevant, but an excellent way to spend the weekend, and able to boggle the mind of any down-to-earth person who tries to comprehend it.

Make of that what you will.

 

[randomic]

of course its possible, and to me, what he says is true. personal understanding of science in general seems unimportant to my fate. understand that this is solely personal, and I can fathom that others have lives to which science is important. I do not see these peoples feelings as any less valid, I dont expect them to see as I do, nor do I want to feel as them.

but you cannot claim to have zero understanding of science surely? Do you actively avoid any explanation as to how reality works?

no, I know a great deal about science, but I am not affected by this knowledge; it is more trivial than the knowledge of games I like, or the names of songs I have heard. (ie, barely at all)

the explanation is not what I am here for.

I get you. You don't wake up in the morning and think, (for example) "Fantastic! The strong nuclear force has survived another day and all matter hasn't been obliterated." and to that extent, neither do I.
However, the knowledge and study of science and particularly physics in general cannot be deemed irrelevant since almost every aspect of your life has benefited from some area of physics.

 

[Benefactor]

hehe you don't even know the guy and you've put it better than I have. Thank god for people who are better at english than me =]

Nice thing about being a journalism major, and proof that you don't need to be a physicist to appreciate physics.

Although maybe that just takes repeated playthroughs of Half Life 2.

 

[randomic]

I've always been under the impression that reality is in the eyes of the observer, and going by that logic I both invented the phenomenon and the study of physics; and because I took time out of my busy schedule to create the rules that my life would be governed by, we can deduce that physics is not only relevant, but an excellent way to spend the weekend, and able to boggle the mind of any down-to-earth person who tries to comprehend it.

Make of that what you will.

Then we have that in common.

You are in a room with no light in it [at all]. A chair is in the room with you. Is the chair actually there or did I just tell you it was there, therefore bringing it into existence? =]

Bring on third year theoretical physics!

 

[Czargent Sane]

of course its possible, and to me, what he says is true. personal understanding of science in general seems unimportant to my fate. understand that this is solely personal, and I can fathom that others have lives to which science is important. I do not see these peoples feelings as any less valid, I dont expect them to see as I do, nor do I want to feel as them.

but you cannot claim to have zero understanding of science surely? Do you actively avoid any explanation as to how reality works?

no, I know a great deal about science, but I am not affected by this knowledge; it is more trivial than the knowledge of games I like, or the names of songs I have heard. (ie, barely at all)

the explanation is not what I am here for.

I get you. You don't wake up in the morning and think, (for example) "Fantastic! The strong nuclear force has survived another day and all matter hasn't been obliterated." and to that extent, neither do I.
However, the knowledge and study of science and particularly physics in general cannot be deemed irrelevant since almost every aspect of your life has benefited from some area of physics.

to me, it is fully. I wake up, do what I feel I need to do, unless I dont know, then I do something unimportant. unlike some people with beliefs, mine are non transferable, I.E. I would not expect anyone to have the same feelings I do, but rather to follow their own feelings that lead them to their own path. I would never make the statement that "science does not matter" but I would definitely say "it does not matter to me" I could even foresee that science may play an important role in the path of my life, but my personal understanding probably will not.

also, I have drastically different values for words like "benefited" so, no, that does not really apply to me.

 

[4fromK]

the example of dropping an object and it falling to ceiling is actually one I've heard before in relation to Chaos theory; no matter how many times you repeat an experiment, there is nothing to say that the next time you do it you won't get a completely conflicting result.

 

[DMonkey]

He studies philosophy and politics, huh? Bingo.
Try explaining physics in a way he understands.
Through lots of whining, crying, and claiming his parties opponents are against, yano, gravity.
Then hug him, and tell him that science was all his idea.
They love being told that they are right.

 

[randomic]

the example of dropping an object and it falling to ceiling is actually one I've heard before in relation to Chaos theory; no matter how many times you repeat an experiment, there is nothing to say that the next time you do it you won't get a completely conflicting result.

Very true. Even better example, get ten friends to measure the length of a piece of paper with the same ruler. You'd be surprised by how much your measurements differ.

 

[Karlaxx]

Much as I wish to not offend your profession, this is a point that's crossed my mind. Do we -really- need to know WHY things have mass, or what all kinds of subatomic particles exist?

Stuff will still have mass even if we don't know why; the rules that govern everything will still work as they do even if we don't know how to put them down on paper (If that's even, in the end, possible).

And while some of our brightest midns look for the answers to these questions and others like them, I can't help but feel that they are and the resources they are using are being wasted when we have more pressing problems that needs the attention of an agile mind. Stuff that might kill us all- and surivival will always be more relevant and more valuable, both on the indivudual scale and the scale of our species, than aquisition of knowledge.

Just my two bits. It's all subject to change with sufficient evidence.