It’s hard to describe the relationship I have with physics.
One one hand, it’s a captivating glimpse into the inner workings of the universe. Within the lines of mathematical equations, there is no room for social subtlety or faux-pas. It doesn’t matter if you chew on your eraser while deriving expressions to approximate the densities of celestial objects. Deep understanding of concepts is required in order to use them, so spending your days fixated on newly-learnt ideas and theories puts you at an advantage. Have you ever asked how something worked, and the answer was beyond what you’d ever dreamed was possible? That’s physics.
On the other hand… My experience in undergraduate physics/astrophysics has been crushing. Physics is often called the most difficult science, but I don’t believe that’s true. I do, however, believe that to teach physics in a traditional Western format is to do the subject a profound disservice. When you are unraveling your students’ realities, asking them to question all basic assumptions, and teaching them rigorous physical theories, how conducive to their learning is it to tell them to have those theories mastered in time for next week’s assignment? Oh, and don’t forget to do the readings and hand in this week’s assignment. It’s as if the goal is to crush every last bit of passion out of the student, and replace them with a productivity robot that can spit out physics on demand.
I’ve had an immeasurable love for math and physics since I was about 15 years old. While other students complained about them, I was lost in thought, coming up with situation after situation I could apply my new understanding to. I was elated when I could explain things that I never really understood before; such as projectile motion. My curiosity flared up when I found a situation I still couldn’t fully describe, leaving me hungry for more knowledge and more tools to obtain that knowledge. There is nothing more exciting to me in physics than an unanswered question just waiting for me to solve it. There is nothing more exciting to me in math than learning a new concept, only to be told that there are entire subsets of that concept and that it would take years of dedicated study to catch up to the current understanding of it.
I firmly believe that being autistic is an advantage when studying physics. You need diverse thinkers to steer the way to new ideas. However, the current system is set up to eliminate any semblance of diversity. There are multitudes of barriers preventing disabled people, people of colour, women, poor people, and members of the LGBT community from accessing an education in physics. If you’re like me, and belong to all of the above groups? Let me know if you get your degree— and teach me your secrets.
Astro Autistic 