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Physicists avoid highly mathematical work despite being trained in advanced mathematics, new research suggests. The study, published in the New Journal of Physics, shows that physicists pay less attention to theories that are crammed with mathematical details. This suggests there are real and widespread barriers to communicating mathematical work, and that this is not because of poor training in mathematical skills, or because there is a social stigma about doing well in mathematics.
Dr Tim Fawcett and Dr Andrew Higginson, from the University of Exeter, found, using statistical analysis of the number of citations to 2000 articles in a leading physics journal, that articles are less likely to be referenced by other physicists if they have lots of mathematical equations on each page. [...] Dr Higginson said: "We have already showed that biologists are put off by equations but we were surprised by these findings, as physicists are generally skilled in mathematics.
"This is an important issue because it shows there could be a disconnection between mathematical theory and experimental work. This presents a potentially enormous barrier to all kinds of scientific progress."
http://phys.org/news/2016-11-physicists-mathematics.html
[Abstract]: Statistical Analysis of the Effect of Equations on Citations
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday November 13 2016, @10:21PM
The problem with younger people is that they don't understand why learning that stuff is so important, and it is a tedious grind in the context of passing a math class. Sometimes people just have to wait until they're ready to learn on their own terms. It doesn't help that a lot of math teachers are monotone Ben Stein-tier autists.
I spent my entire algebra II class in high school ditching when I wasn't pinching my girlfriend's braless nipples and playing Led Zeppelin on my guitar in class, and the teacher let me get away with it because he was one of those guys who didn't bother to motivate such blatantly unmotivated students.
Well, when I actually decided I wanted to learn math around college age, I had to start from -- no joke -- introductory plane geometry because I sucked at math so bad. If there was anything I could say to any math newbie it's to learn the fucking symbolic manipulation of intermediate algebra, because that's all math fucking is all the way to quantum physics and beyond. "Calculus" is just a fancy way to introduce new algebra techniques. It's all fucking algebra, and if you blow your algebra class you're gonna be set at least 5 years back and be in a world of shit should you decide you want a degree that will make you some money.