Whats my purpose?

When I went to Haverford college all students were required to fulfill community service requirements in order to graduate-simply graduating with a 4.0 wasn't enough. Gaining brownie points at Haverford did not stem from joining a frat (cause we didn't have any), or being a sport star (cause we were Div III) but from certain ideals like contributing to one's surrounding community. At age 18, these values were embedded in me and continue to live with me at age 33. Now, I know that people can always criticize the hypocrisy of 'flaming liberals'. But I've come to value the valuing of 'loving thy neighbor' ideals rather than the competive based ones that go unquestioned in most of our daily operations. And I can't judge others that did not have the opportunity I had in college to nurture these values-but we make our choices. In hindsight I realzie that Haverford's commitment (it was also the 1st Quaker institution in the U.S and they supported the Underground Railroad) to the community outside the college, was what attracted me away from the larger more well known universities.

Now that I'm 'all grown' up I realize that the world is not like this(whoa!!). Those bucolic days of hanging in your dorm room till the break of dawn with your dorm mates having discussion about world peace and the oppression of various groups, are over.

Somedays, I can't bear to look at the NYT.

The other night I had a vivid dream. It was a view of planet Earth in real time. Thats it. Whatever boundaries we've created doesn't change this fact. But the boundaries exist and I'm in this comfortable chair infront of this fancy computer typing away, while millions are suffering.

Sometimes I deal with the guilt by checking myself, sometimes I ask the question: why am I doing physics? Is it
for a self serving purpose?

The mighty sparrow the greatest calypsonian in Trinidad was asked what was the source of his success.
He answered, "People enjoyed watching me have a good time on stage"

I really hope that my enthusiasm for what I do will inspire young people from all backgrounds to see that "inquiry, curiosity is a common heritage of human beings" ( a paraphrase from the great Nobel Laureate
Abdus Salam-who also was my academic grandfather)

Here is a little part of his Nobel prize banquet speech in 1979.

"The creation of Physics is the shared heritage of all mankind. East and West, North and South have equally participated in it. In the Holy Book of Islam, Allah says:

Thou seest not, in the creation of the All-merciful any imperfection, Return thy gaze, seest thou any fissure. Then Return thy gaze, again and again. Thy gaze, Comes back to thee dazzled, aweary."

This in effect is, the faith of all physicists; the deeper we seek, the more is our wonder excited, the more is the dazzlement for our gaze.

I am saying this, not only to remind those here tonight of this, but also for those in the Third World, who feel they have lost out in the pursuit of scientific knowledge, for lack of opportunity and resource.

Alfred Nobel stipulated that no distinction of race or colour will determine who received of his generosity. On this occasion, let me say this to those, whom God has given His Bounty. Let us strive to provide equal opportunities to all so that they can engage in the creation of Physics and science for the benefit of all mankind. This would exactly be in the spirit of Alfred Nobel and the ideals which permeated his life. Bless You! "

Salam... he was Gangsta!

Oh all you blog lovas be sure to check out my homeboy Sean Carrolls blog site http://preposterousuniverse.blogspot.com/. He's definitely da dawg!

Comments

[Ben]

Stephon,
I don't think it's selfish to do physics even though there is a lot of suffering in the world. If physics and music are two of your talents, you are making the world a better place by contributing to them. And physics is only a part of your life--there are many ways that all of us can contribute to our communities and to the larger world in our non-work time.

[Armando]

Sometimes I also think I am being sellfish... For now I'm a physic's student and I dont know if it will be on my future. I want to study physics just for the pleasure of it. But sometimes I think... And I see myself just being sellfish...
But then again we never know how physical knowledge will afect the world in the future... I tend to be optimistic: There are so many discoveries that were made in pure physics and now are being used to provide better life conditions to us all...
Let's just wait we can contribue to this... or that we make somebody contribue to this.

[Robert Honore]

Very inspiring story, Stephon. I am a Trinidadian who happens to like to study Physics. Some of the people I meet ask me why do I study Physics, especially in a place like Trinidad. What am I going to do with it?

I usually give them an answer like this:
"What am I going to do with Physics? Everything."

I wish physicists like yourself would visit Trinidad and Tobago more often, though.