Re:On Secretly Terrible Engineers
by Iftheshoefits on Sunday March 08, 2015 @05:20PM
(#9167322)
I absolutely would expect a theoretical physicist to at least be able to competently contribute to the design of an experiment, especially as it pertains to his specialty.
The bridge analogy is spot on, in my opinion. It mirrors my above comment, and I couldn't agree more.
The theoreticians usually figure out what exactly to look at. The experimentalists figure out how to do it, and then carry it out.
A common joke is that you don't let the theorists anywhere near the apparatus, because they'll break things.
It's a sad state of affairs that our industry is currently conflating the two. Or maybe the industry has only now reached a stage where the two need to become separate?
I mean, you wouldn't expect a theoretical physicist to design an experiment or, worse, a bridge.