The make-believe world of real-world physics

Presentation Date: 

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Location: 

AAPT 2008 Summer Meeting (Millikan Award lecture), University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB, Canada)

Presentation Slides: 

That physics describes the real world is a given for physicists. In spite of tireless efforts by instructors to connect physics to the real world, students walk away from physics courses believing physicists live in a world of their own. Are students clueless about the real world? Or are we perhaps deluding ourselves and misleading our students about the real world?