Off My Chest

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Learning scientific nomenclature must be what it's like to process a foreign language into your native language... (lemm.ee)

submitted 9 months ago by Jeredin@lemm.ee to c/goodoffmychest@lemmy.world

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Language of any kind has always been hard for me, as most languages aren't intuitive and require your brain to be forced into learning often odd and unnecessary rules. My brain hates math, the only language I actually respect and a lot of science is built on complex math and non-intuitive nomenclature. I've been increasingly frustrated by it lately and just need to get this off my chest.

I'm a non-professional and have been studying physics for a long time - Quantum Color Dynamics of late - and almost everything I read and listen to requires my brain to constantly process almost every bit of information from non-intuitive nomenclature to personal made ones. It's frustrating that the most challenging aspect of science (besides the complex math) isn't the concepts (I honestly don't find quantum mechanics to be weird) but rather the scientific community's self-imposed nomenclature made of scientist names or hodgepodge of words.

Worst of all, I've only been able to process science like this as an adult because as a younger student, the subject matter seemed too hard because it was weighed down by both non-intuitive nomenclature and often teachers who barely understood the concepts they were teaching to the extent that they could translate that nomenclature beyond a book's presentation (obviously my own learning experience).

Since I could remember I've loved science and wonder if I might have sought a career in physics, if not for frustrating hurdles like nomenclature, thrown on top of truly beautiful but complex subjects. At least I can enjoy it non-professionally - if only slowly, as I have to process its nomenclature.

Thank you. And with that, back to my particle zoo...

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[–] Jeredin@lemm.ee 2 points 9 months ago

When I get frustrated with all the terms I always get reminded of imperial system of measurement Vs the metric and then wish physics would do something similar, not for the math in science obviously (though some of that needs attention too), but for the names of atomic, quantum and even cosmological objects/phenomena. I also realize how difficult that would be, given how much there's still to discover and thus there's still a lot of uncertainty - pun intended. Maybe some day it will all get standardized in a more intuitive way. Thanks for responding to my venting.