• Question: Is there any think you don't understand about science. Is it really complicated.

    Asked by Imo to Josh, Rob, Chris, Rebecca, Susan on 15 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by reece, marsh, Aoife, Jazzay, Meera, ciel, Jane, Joanna.
    • Photo: Josh Meyers

      Josh Meyers answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      There are loads of things I don’t understand about science. Absolutely loads. And yes, it can be really complicated.

      1. If we knew everything, life would be boring. Discovering new things (whether it’s watching a new film, or finding a new piece of science) is where the fun comes from in life!

      2. Maths can be complicated. But ideas can always be simplified so that everyone can understand them.

      One of Einstein’s famous quotes is ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough’. So don’t be scared of complicated science. There should always be someone who can explain things. If they can’t, that’s their fault! Not yours!

    • Photo: Rob Temperton

      Rob Temperton answered on 19 Jun 2015:

      I agree with Josh. I probably don’t understand most of science! It is a vast subject spanning so many fields it is impossible to understand it all. Even in the area I specialise in, I don’t understand it all. If I did there would be no point in continuing to study it!

      And yes. It is complex. Very complex. To succeed as a experimental physicist I believe you need to take a very complex problem, break it down into small simpler chunks that you can design an experiment get to the bottom of.

    • Photo: Rebecca Dewey

      Rebecca Dewey answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      Loads of things! I only really know lots about my specific area of science: taking images of brains. Even then, I don’t know *everything* about that!

      There are lots of things in genetics that I find totally confusing, and lots of things in chemistry that I’ve never tried to learn, and lots of things in physics that are way to hard for me to even attempt! But I’ve got my little corner of science that I want to understand as well as I can – and that’s what I’ll stick with for now!

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