physics envy
Appearance
English
[edit]Noun
[edit]- (derogatory) The tendency of academics in non-scientific subjects to introduce jargon and mathematics to make their work appear more rigorous.
- 1997, Michael P. Murphy, Luke A. J. O'Neill, What is Life? The Next Fifty Years, page 31:
- Lack of sufficient pride in our own material (another consequence of reductionism and physics envy) made us more receptive to gurus from elsewhere.
- 2015, Peter Middleton, Physics Envy: American Poetry and Science in the Cold War and After, page 11:
- By looking hard at traces of physics envy in the social sciences, these poets are able to diagnose the pathologies of race science and urban social theory.