Why teach science?

摘要

Jake, a high-school student, wrote to me on behalf of his science class. Our exchange follows. Jake: What interested you in your profession? Howard: My father is a nuclear physicist. He instilled in me a natural curiosity about how things work. In third grade, I began reading some of his old books, starting with the Handbook of Mathematical Tables and Formulas. At first, I couldn't understand the notation, but I understood that the book held great secrets. Later, in school, while my classmates were still adding and subtracting, I was working with square roots and complex numbers. When my dad gave me a battery and an ammeter, I became hooked on electrical engineering.