Checkered shirt survey

In Germany the popular believe pictures physicists and engineers (“Maschienenbau”) wearing checkered shirts. Most colleagues do not bother to have this image, some are in entire agreement with it, and some are desperate about. In some extrem cases, colleagues deny being a physicist on social occassions, where they may meet people from arts, advertisement or media and the checkered shirt prejudice contributed to makes them feel as belonging to a bunch of nerds (see Gordon's blog on the nerd issue). During the D0-France meeting in Grenoble this last two days, this point came back to my mind and I thought to investigate in some more detail: is this cliché based on some truth? Even in France?

Here the outcome of a quick survey on checkered shirts: at the meeting we were 43 participants, from which we have to subtract right away 8 women (hey, 18.6 %, and in popular believe women are anyhow not physicists), which gives a sample of 35 physicists. Among those, 12 did wear a shirt, and 7 a checkered shirt, which makes 20 %. Among all shirts, checkered shirts are the most popular ones (close to 60%).

If we look a little closer, 3 shirts fit to the popular picture of a physicist shirt:

1 shirt could also fit other socio-professional categories, such as management, social science or physicians  (there were 2 shirts with strips!):

3 shirts show an influence from grunge-culture of the early 90ties, worn by the younger members of D0-France:

1 among the them more sophisticated with a black application in the back:

One participant wearing a checkered shirt was not really from D0-France but working in Prague. Here is the shirt, which has a nice color, but it has not been counted.

A geographical analysis shows an accumulation in absolute numbers of checkered shirts in Saclay (3 checkered shirts): Saclay belongs to the CEA (commissariat à l’énergie atomique) and physicists are employed as engineers. Such a double identity may enhance the behavior pattern. A second accumulation in Strasbourg (2 checkered shirts) - Strasbourg is just on the other side of the German border. This may already indicate an influence of a more pronounced behavior in Germany.

Systematic uncertainties to be considered on these numbers: 2 members of D0-France participated by video-conferencing from Fermilab. Should they be considered in the count? None of them wore a checkered shirt. Another, non-negligible fraction wears polo shirts and should those be counted as shirts? Yet, polo shirts are never checkered.

On the second day of the meeting, a striped shirt changed into a checkered shirt, and a checkered shirt into a striped one. There the question has to be asked if the fact to measure does influence the result: For this reason, I will not consider the second day at all and statistics should only be increased during other unbiased meetings. Also because my nice explantations about Saclay and Strasbourg would not hold any longer.

It was pointed out to me, that this study should now be complete by some data taking in Germany, and compared to an unbiased control sample of random people in the street – but walking with my camera through Grenoble, would take it to far, don’t you think so? Despite this shortcomes, I think we can afirm that the majority of physicists do not wear checkered shirts. From quick glances around me on other occassions it looks like the 20% rate is rather constant.

I also wanted to point out, that my cousin Martina is married to an electrical engineer, and she never buys him anything else then checkered shirts: she is crazy about them - ok, she is German, but in the world there is a place for anyone, you just have to go to the right country!

NB: one woman did wear a checkered blouse, however she felt slightly frustrated by the subject and suggested to do another survey on more elaborated patterns.

A more serious description of the D0-France meeting is on Sophie's blog.

Comments

[Sandra]

I love chequered shirts!
Sandra

[Gordon Watts]

I was at Fermi last week and everyone was talking about this blog entry, Ursula! We'll have to do something like this when we are up in Vancouver for the big DZERO meeting in June!

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