A Lesson in Physics
Turns out there’s more an art to physics than I realized
During my school years, physics was undoubtedly the subject I was least motivated to pursue. In short, I hated it.
During your third year of secondary school, students are encouraged to choose at least one science and one language to study over the course of two years. I chose physics as my science to move forward with, for a few reasons:
I liked Biology but wasn’t too good at it
I liked the idea of chemistry. Wasn’t very good at it either
The physics teacher convinced me I needed to study the science of light if I wanted to become a professional photographer.
In retrospect, the latter is laughable.
For the next two years, I struggled in those classes. I picked up extra lessons and I would always pair myself with lab partners who were doing much better in the class than I was (my main motivator was the underlying belief that I needed this subject to succeed professionally).
Yet, what stuck the most was something the teacher would always say to us:
“You need to be able to think critically. Each lesson I am simply teaching you how to be a critical thinker.”
My 14-year-old brain couldn't wrap my head around it back then. What does any of this have to do with my creative pursuits? Little did I know, it had nothing to do with succeeding in one career, he was equipping us for life.
A time for thinking and a time for making
Contrary to popular belief, so much of creative work comes down to our thinking. So much of our lives comes down to our thoughts. Our thoughts inform our decisions, and those decisions affect the outcome.
In a creative context, this is a fundamental part of the process. It’s not enough for things to simply look good. It’s not enough to accept information at face value, your first option mustn’t be your only option.
That's essentially what critical thinking is: not just believing what you're told (like how studying physics would be a requirement for your career), but digging deeper to understand and form your own opinions. Sometimes even challenging your own thoughts and presumptions.
To do this, you’ve got to operate with some level of skepticism. Where did this come from? Why do I believe it? What would doing the opposite look like? Does it work as intended? What else am I missing? What is being communicated? There should be an even greater emphasis placed on asking the right questions to get your thoughts going in the right direction.
Critical and open-thinking lends itself to creative decisions that expand possibilities. Once those decisions are made they directly shape the outcome of your work, outcomes which are more likely to be more innovative and effective in solving the problem at hand. Design usually works well when the thinking is already done for the user, when the audience ‘gets it’.
Soon enough I learned that it was never enough to simply get the answer right during those physics classes, but more importantly what were the guiding thoughts? How was the evidence evaluated? Were informed decisions made?
There’s no way to say if I would have been better off deciding not to pursue physics (there were so many times I wanted to quit or switch to another subject). But I can’t ignore the impact it has made in all other areas of my life, so I’m glad I embraced it.
Maybe it was a career requirement after all.
Extras:
Rediscovered this album in all its glory this week
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P.S. I passed the class…marginally…but a pass nevertheless.