Imagine a project that has “no predecessor,” because until now, the technology has not existed to study it. This is the case with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Prof. Jim Alexander, physics, is one of almost 2,000 physicists working to push scientific knowledge of the physical world and question the fundamental laws that govern it.

Cornell biology majors are required to fulfill many requirements outside of standard biology, from organic chemistry to physics. However, according to Prof. Randy Wayne, plant biology, that is not enough. Students of many majors do not understand the underlying processes that tie these subjects together, Wayne said.

That is why his book Plant Cell Biology — From Astronomy to Zoology aims to combine aspects of biology, chemistry and physics to the study without defining boundaries. His book is for, as he says, “People who want to understand who they are and their relationship to the world, and how to learn techniques to discover that without making divisions.”

For Phillip Krasicky, physics, science education is about one thing: demonstration.

In the basement of Rockefeller Hall, Krasicky’s office is filled with fascinating objects. A piece of metal foil floats in the air, while a holograph of a shark hovers in a frame.

A few weeks ago, I picked up The Sun to see yet another attack on Darwinian evolution. Fellow staff columnist Judah Bellin ’12 poo-pooed those of us who detract from evolution’s detractors. He pointed to massive atrocities committed by ruthless dictators in Darwin’s name. He claimed that biologists’ dogmatic support of a single theory is hypocritical. I rushed to a computer to e-mail Bellin my response.

A few weeks ago, I picked up The Sun to see yet another attack on Darwinian evolution. Fellow staff columnist Judah Bellin ’12 poo-pooed those of us who detract from evolution’s detractors. He pointed to massive atrocities committed by ruthless dictators in Darwin’s name. He claimed that biologists’ dogmatic support of a single theory is hypocritical. I rushed to a computer to e-mail Bellin my response.

In 1687 Sir Isaac Newton made a pretty compelling case for gravity — but it never hurts to get a second opinion.

Two weeks ago Cornell’s Prof. Hod Lipson, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Michael Schmidt grad did just that when they unveiled a supercomputer that discovered Newton’s natural laws on its own.

The computer’s algorithm is so sophisticated that it can literally teach itself some of the most influential principles in the history of science without any prior knowledge of them.

Now, it is no secret that newspapers and other print media have been waging what seems to be a losing war against technology (mostly against free, internet-based media), and so I can’t help but wonder: How long will it be before Lipson invents an algorithm for writing columns?

I’d like to talk about the poor emphasis higher education has placed on math and science. Before you write this off as another economics column a la mode Thomas Friedman, hear this: I’m leaving the economy out of this one, and instead I’m going to try and convince you merely that your classic liberal arts education has failed you intellectually. Sound good? No comparing paychecks, no “useful” versus “non-useful” or “hard” versus “easy.” We’re keeping this above the belt and speaking solely of intellectual merit. Alright let’s get started.

Note: The author of this column is not an economist, a financier, an expert on how universities spend money or even majoring in a field related to anything presented in the following work. Even worse, he’s a physics major, which means people like him caused the recent financial debacle and thus should be the VERY LAST person you should take advice from. To compensate for this lack of expertise, he has attempted to include academic footnotes to make him sound smarter1.

To the Editor:

Re: “A Eulogy to the Physical Sciences Library,” Opinion, March 26

The Physical Sciences Library in Clark Hall will close at the end of 2009. The current budget climate necessitated this decision, and although the physical facility is shutting its doors, the library’s presence will remain as a portal for scholarly resources, a virtual collection and a service staffed by research specialists.