11/27/2019 - Some thoughts on the teaching of physics in school and university

When I went to school and university, physics was taught as a bunch of formulae that more or less explained/predicted the behavior of physical phenomena. I could memorize the formulae but I had a hard time understanding them. It would have been helpful to have had it pointed out early on that science is a process of trial and error, largely advanced by people of genius. How are these formulae determined? A seemingly simple formula for the motion of a body such as F = ma was first figured out by none other than Isaac Newton himself, and it required that he first develop calculus. It should not be surprising that a child has some trouble understanding and accepting "simple" equations such as this. Also, it should be emphasized that theoretical physics provides a mathematical MODEL of real world phenomena, not an explanation. It is human nature to try to make sense of concepts but ultimately physics does not explain WHY things are the way they are. Underlying all of physics seems to be quantum mechanics, which eludes any sort of common sense interpretation.