SINAS Research Seminar: "Fun in Physics"

Abstract: Today, physicists often claim to do physics just for the fun of it. But this justification is only uncontroversial at a particular moment in time—our own. 50 years ago, many would have considered such claims to be frivolous, disrespectful, even nonsensical. While physicists have long reported enjoying their work, this focus on fun—a hedonic, childlike playfulness—as a primary motivation is quite new.

Fun in Physics tracks a clear shift in the emotional framing of science in the mid-twentieth century: from reverence to fun. By analyzing self-depictions by some of the most public scientists of all (with a special focus on Richard Feynman), along with archival sources in Sweden, Denmark, and the United States, it shows how fun became a legitimate form of meaningful engagement.

Examining both the geopolitical context that made fun palatable and the consequences of the shift, it demonstrates how a distinctly American perspective on cheerfulness affects global ideas about what science is and should be. Its results will contribute to vital discussions on public engagement in science, scientific internationalism, the relationship between science and politics, and the scientist as a public intellectual.

In a larger perspective, Fun in Physics is a critical account of conceptions about professional engagement. It historicizes the process through which passion became almost a prerequisite for scientific and intellectual work. This is the story of how fun, in regards to one’s working life, emerged as one of the most common tools for self-evaluation in contemporary neoliberal market societies, subtly shaping the way millions of people understand their own lives. During the SINAS seminar, this will be investigated primarily through the example of Richard Feynman's autobiographies.

The seminar will take place in person at the English Park campus and on Zoom. The text will be available one week before the seminar.