Tommaso Dorigo of CMS is an experimental particle physicist together with inward his ii recent spider web log posts, he shares ii problems that students at their institutions are tortured with. The daily problema numero uno wants them to calculate a probability from an inelastic cross department which is dull but to a greater extent than or less comprehensible together with well-defined.
Dorigo just returned from a trip to Malta.
The problema numero due is less clear. I won't alter anything most the spirit if I simplify the occupation similar this:
A collider produces ii high-energy electrons, higher upwards \(50\GeV\). Think inward all possible ways together with tell us all possible explanations related to accelerators, detectors, equally good equally physical theories what's going on.Cool. I conduct highly mixed feelings most such a vague, overarching task. On 1 hand, I do mean value that a real goodness experimenter such equally Enrico Fermi is capable of producing answers of this wide type – together with real goodness answers. And the occupation isn't "too dramatically" dissimilar from the rather practical, "know everything" problems I was solving inward the PhD qualifying exams at Rutgers – together with I am also minor to shroud that I got neat results inward the oral modern exam, goodness (A) results inward the oral classical exam, together with the best historical score inward the written exam. ;-)
On the other hand, I don't mean value that at that spot are also many Enrico Fermis inward Italy these days – together with fifty-fifty exterior Italy – together with the thought that a large portion of the Italian HEP students are Enrico Fermis facial expression fifty-fifty to a greater extent than implausible to me. The occupation described yesteryear Dorigo is just to a greater extent than vague together with speculative than the problems that facial expression appropriate.
Unsurprisingly, this "problem numero duo" was sufficiently vague together with unfocused that it attracted no comments. What should 1 speak most if he's told to speak over "everything he knows or thinks most particle physics, amongst a special focus on high-energy electrons"? Well, at that spot conduct been no comments except for mine. Let me repost my conversation amongst Dorigo.
LM: Sorry, Tommaso, but the form of "problems"
...Consider all thinkable physics- together with detector-related sources of the detected signature together with speak over their conduct chances to live the truthful source of the observation. Make all the credible assumptions you lot demand most the organisation you lot deem appropriate.are real hapless from a pedagogic viewpoint. It's similar "be a renaissance human being who knows everything, just similar the neat Tommaso Dorigo". It's non possible to consider "all thinkable sources" inward whatsoever form of rigor – around of them are understood well, others are speculative or due to personal prejudices. So it would live impossible to grade such a thing. And at the end, the implicit supposition that Tommaso Dorigo himself is a renaissance human being is sort of silly, peculiarly because you lot basically never include "new physics" amidst the thinkable sources of observations together with fifty-fifty if you lot did, you lot just conduct no thought which novel physics is to a greater extent than probable together with why.
TD: Hi Lumo, sorry but you lot should mean value a fleck to a greater extent than most the undertaking that the alternative commission has inward front end of them. They conduct to select experimental physicists, non theorists. An experimental physicist should live able to gain an guess answer, yesteryear considering the things worth mentioning, together with omit the inessential ones.
Prejudices are goodness – they betray the background of the individual that is beingness examined. This enquiry is non also dissimilar inward vogue to the 42 questions that were asked at the lastly large INFN exam, xi years ago.
LM: Dear Tommaso, your guild to "consider all thinkable things" is fifty-fifty to a greater extent than incorrect together with *especially* incorrect if the educatee is supposed to live an experimenter because an experimenter just shouldn't live solving the undertaking of "thinking inward all possible ways". He is non qualified (and commonly talented) for such things – together with that's also why it's non the form of an activity that he volition live doing inward his job.
An experimenter is doing a complex but largely mechanical undertaking "within a box" – at most, equally a clever engineer, he is inventing ways how to essay out things assuming that 1 is inside a box. He isn't supposed to sympathize why the box is what it is (derivation or justification of electrical flow or novel theories) together with his piece of work doesn't depend on having opinions whether the box is a goodness 1 or a bad 1 together with whether it should live replaced yesteryear around other 1 together with how probable it is.
High-energy electrons at a collider are *obviously* a conduct chances that novel physics has been discovered. That's why the colliders are beingness built. They *want* to together with *should* regain all the cracks inward the existing theories of physics that are accessible inside a given budget together with a form of a machine. What the possible theories explaining novel phenomena amongst high-energy electrons are isn't something that an experimenter should answer, it's a hard eclectic enquiry for a theorist. And theorists wouldn't concur "what form of a theory" should explicate novel high-energy electron events. They conduct their priorities together with ways to read the available evidence. But they're non hired or rated or graded for their opinions. Theorists are hired together with rated for the mightiness to mentally create, derive, calculate, together with build arguments. You desire to alter that – you lot desire an experimenter to live an amateur theorist who is graded for his opinions, non for actual theoretical piece of work that he isn't producing.
H5N1 undertaking similar that could solely live most the cognition of the "box" – most all the reasons why the Standard Model could gain such a thing, including all the phenomena that seem inward the dingy existent basis of the experiment. But [because the piece of work on many distinct parts of an experiment is commonly left to the specialists,] it's questionable whether it's helpful to formulate tasks that inquire the educatee to consider *all* these dingy things at the same moment. It's almost similar a enquiry "tell us everything you lot know most experimental particle physics". There are lots of things together with what are the priorities is unavoidably largely subjective together with dependent on the context. It's bad to grade such things because the examiner is nonetheless imposing his personal opinions onto the students.
You know, what I am to a greater extent than frequently than non afraid of inward this pedagogic vogue of yours is that you lot desire to upgrade yourself to a form of a duce – together with grade students for the flat to which they concur amongst you. But that's precisely what scientific discipline is *not* – together with you lot wouldn't acquire an H5N1 if you lot were graded yesteryear existent experts inward these parts of thinking yourself. Science plant independently of duces, including duces similar you. It is edifice on the objective show together with yesteryear telling the students to demonstrate their thinking most almost everything together with the residue betwixt all these ideas, you lot are clearly shifting scientific discipline away from the mutual depression temperature together with unquestionable realm of objective show to the realm of personal opinions – together with you lot (and every experimental physicist) is just also little a human being for such an ambitious position.
LM: added for TRF: Note that I was respectful towards Dorigo's field – for example, I conduct used the master copy term "duce" instead of the derivative term "Führer". ;-)
But dorsum to the issue. All of our disagreement is basically most "one idea" inward around way. But nosotros limited it inward diverse ways. For example, I haven't commented on Dorigo's comment that INFN has been using similar problems inward many other exams (well, that's fifty-fifty worse if there's something fundamentally incorrect amongst the problems) together with peculiarly his quote:
Prejudices are goodness – they betray the background of the individual that is beingness examined.Prejudices – that indeed betray the background – aren't "good" inward science. Prejudices are unavoidable together with the approach of people (theorists together with experimenters) unavoidably depends to their background together with prejudices to 1 extent or another. And around backgrounds may possibly live to a greater extent than helpful inward achieving a surely advance inward scientific discipline which is why the diverseness of backgrounds could sometimes assist – although I am to a greater extent than frequently than non skeptical most similar claims. But a key insight of Dorigo's countrymate Galileo Galilei that Tommaso Dorigo clearly misunderstands is that the whole scientific method is a clever together with careful means to brand the conclusions as independent of the prejudices equally possible. And that's why rational people mean value of scientific discipline (and Galileo) hence highly! The processes included inward the scientific method just "dilute" the outcome of the prejudices to homeopathically depression levels at the cease – the terminal conclusions are almost all most the mutual depression temperature hard show that is independent of the prejudices.
So prejudices may ever be to around extent (and I frequently similar the fun of the interactions of the backgrounds, equally my repeated references to Dorigo's Italian nationality inward this real spider web log postal service also show) but science, if it is done well, is treating them equally annoying stinky pests. Feminists together with opposite racists may celebrate the influence of backgrounds together with their diverseness for their ain sake (and hence do all other racists, nationalists, staunch religious believers, together with all other herd animals) but a individual who thinks equally a scientist never does. Science maximally minimizes the concentration together with influence of these arbitrary cultural together with psychological pests – together with that's why scientific discipline is to a greater extent than successful than all the previous philosophies, religions, nationalisms together with grouping thinks combined. Dorigo worships the opposite province of affairs together with he worships the dependence on the background, hence he is just not approaching these primal issues equally a scientist.
Backgrounds together with prejudices may live fun but if a speak or an argumentation depends on them also much, this fun is non goodness science. I am surely that everyone whom I conduct ever met together with who was considered a goodness scientist – at all institutions inward the U.S. together with my homeland – agrees amongst that basic assertion. Too bad Dorigo doesn't.
As I conduct explained, the enquiry "what form of novel physics produces high-energy electrons" is a typical enquiry that should live answered yesteryear a high-energy physics phenomenologist, non an experimenter. Similarly, the detector portion of Dorigo's enquiry should live answered yesteryear experimenters – but it's OK when they buy the farm specialized (someone understands calorimeters, others are neat at the pile-up effect). And the phenomenologists volition disagree most the most probable type of novel physics that may Pb to around observation! The reply hasn't been scientifically established together with people conduct dissimilar guesses which concepts are natural or probable to alter physics inward the futurity etc. Their beingness goodness or the right men to live hired isn't determined yesteryear their agreement amongst each other or amongst around universal authorities. Phenomenologists together with theorists are people who are goodness at calculating, organizing derivations, arguments, inventing novel schemes together with ideas etc. It doesn't thing whether they concur amongst around previous authorities.
Obviously, the Italian educatee facing Dorigo's enquiry can't write a sensible scientific newspaper that would consider all possible schemes of novel physics that gain high-energy electrons at the flat of standards together with rigor that is expected inward particle physics – he would conduct to encompass almost all ideas inward high-energy physics phenomenology. This educatee is basically guild to offering just the terminal answers – his opinions together with his prejudices, without the corresponding argumentation or calculation. And that's what the educatee must live unavoidably graded for.
That's just bad, bad, bad. In practice, the educatee volition live graded for the similarity of his prejudices together with Dorigo's prejudices. And that's just non how the grading plant inward the scientific method or whatsoever meritocracy. If a enquiry hasn't been settled yesteryear convincing scientific evidence, the educatee shouldn't live graded for his opinions on that question. If he is, together with then this procedure can't systematically select goodness students, peculiarly because Tommaso Dorigo – the ultimate benchmark inward this pedagogic scheme – would acquire a grade rather distant from an H5N1 from around truthful experts if he were asked most whatsoever questions that depend on theory, peculiarly theory together with phenomenology beyond the Standard Model. For the Italian institutions, to gain clones (and frequently fifty-fifty worse, imperfect clones) of such a Dorigo is just counterproductive.
Dorigo's "pedagogic style" is ultimately rather similar to the postmodern didactics systems that don't learn hard facts, methods, algorithms, together with well-defined together with justifiable principles but that indoctrinate children together with students together with brand them parrot around ideological together with political dogmas (usually kitschy politically right lies). Instead of learning how to integrate functions, children pass to a greater extent than fourth dimension yesteryear writing "creative" (identical to each other) essays how the EU is wonderful together with how they dream most visiting Jean-Claude Juncker's rectum on a sunny twenty-four hours (outside) inward the future.
That's non a goodness means to prepare experts inward anything. And Dorigo's method is sadly real similar. Needless to say, my top dog specific worry is that people similar Dorigo are ultimately allowed yesteryear the organisation to impose their absolutely idiotic opinions most the theory – something they know almost aught most – on the students. It seems plausible that an Italian educatee who is much brighter than Dorigo – to brand things extreme, imagine someone similar me – volition live removed yesteryear the Italian organisation because that has been hijacked yesteryear duces such equally Dorigo who conduct completely misunderstood the lessons yesteryear giants such equally Galileo. In this way, the corrupt Italian organisation may live terminating lots of Galileos, Majoranas, together with Venezianos, amidst others, patch it is producing lots of little marginal appendices to Dorigo who is ultimately just a piffling Šmoit himself.
By the way, later the spider web log postal service higher upwards was published, a novel comment was posted yesteryear around other user nicknamed "Please Respect Anonymity" on Dorigo's spider web log (the postal service most the "problema numero due"):
Based on credible assumptions most the system, a possible theory is that around not-very-good physicist goodness of leptons, photons together with missing liberate energy must win the "concorso". So the commissars conduct a undefined enquiry amongst a subjective reply most leptons, photons together with missing energy.Exactly, amen to that. Perhaps at a schoolhouse amongst 500 clones of Enrico Fermi (among commissars together with students) who were made up-to-date, the enquiry would live great. But inward the realistic organisation nosotros know, amongst the names nosotros know, it's pretty probable that the enquiry brings at most dissonance to the grades etc. Or something worse.
PS: the enquiry would live real goodness inward a dissimilar system.
Dorigo's reply is that the enquiry is neat together with the right reply is that at that spot had to live a Z-boson or ii W-bosons amongst either 1 or ii photons, or a spurious signal inward the calorimeter. I mean value that solely a little fraction of the truthful experts would reply the enquiry precisely inward this way. Moreover, the reply completely omits whatsoever novel physics possibility, equally all of Dorigo's thinking. It's extremely problematic for experimenters non to conduct an thought what a regain of novel physics would genuinely facial expression similar – or to encourage them to believe that it can't hap – because that's the top dog achievement that the lucky ones amidst them volition make.
Experimenters just must live able to facial expression for signals of novel proposed theories, at to the lowest degree around of them – whether they "like" the novel theories (as a grouping or individually) or not. Whether they similar them or non should live an irrelevant curiosity because they are just non experts inward these matters hence this goodness piece of work shouldn't live left to them. Experimenters' opinions most item novel theories' "a priori value" should live equally irrelevant equally the sentiment of the U.S. president's privy janitor most the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She tin conduct an sentiment but unless the organisation is broken, the sentiment won't touching the U.S. policies much. If she believes that at that spot can't live an excrement at a incorrect identify that needs to live cleaned later the see yesteryear a Palestinian official, together with that's why she doesn't gear upwards clean it, well, she must live fired together with replaced yesteryear around other 1 (be surely that that may happen). The same is truthful for a CMS experimenter who is hired to facial expression for novel physics but is unable to facial expression for SUSY because of around psychological problems.
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