Brian's article is one of the best I've read on this subject in a long time. We seem to have lost that sense of wonder and curiousity somewhere along the line. There's one reason that I became a scientist. I wanted to answer one question "why"? We can always blame the media for sensationalizing science, or highlighting just the alarmist aspects, but there's a huge gap between science today and public awareness.

Part of it is that things have become more complex, and difficult to relate to. But that can be overcome, and it must be. As Prof. Greene says

"Like a life without music, art or literature, a life without science is bereft of something that gives experience a rich and otherwise inaccessible dimension."

This trend is similar to the loss of creativity in education. My theory is that it's also a side effect of having teachers who aren't experts in their field; after all, how can you expect someone who doesn't understand physics to teach physics? They'll teach by rote from a textbook, which leads to exactly this. Do the same for the arts and math and every other subject, and you gradually wear the imagination, curiosity, and creativity out of students.

It doesn't help that the masses tend to resent the intellectuals... I remember well the looks my friend and I got when we got our AP physics test results back, and the average was 59%, the high was 96%... they knew who got the 96, and they blamed us for blowing the curve.

had a chance to go hear him talk one time, well worth the effort.