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December 15, 2015

Proceedings of the Natural Institute of Science | Volume 2 | SCI-NEWS 27

Physics student crushed that STEM isn’t the sexless, geek paradise promised by the Big Bang Theory

By Gary Gomez
The American Capitalist Hegemony

PRINCETON, NJ– When Princeton University freshman Carl Lee-Jepsen eventually settled on a career in Physics, he thought he knew everything that he was getting into.

He knew about the long academic grind that he will have to slog through for the next decade or so, and the sleepless nights that he will spend fearing how he will pay for the ever-growing debt the decade after that. He even came to accept the eventual realization that the chances of him making a grand, Nobel prize-winning discovery were as slim as his student loans being cleared by a sudden fortune inheritance from some long-lost relative who died after being struck by lightning.

However, what seems to have finally broken his resolve is the discovery that studying Physics is not everything that television has claimed it would be. He explains that while he has always loved science, most of his perceptions about academics and scientists came from TV, specifically the show The Big Bang Theory.

“I was in high school when I first saw the show [The Big Bang Theory]. It gave me this idea of scientists being these geeky-but-cool group of nerds who’re passionate about comics, sci-fi, and video games. They put their work first, fun second, and everything else after that. As my school’s resident geek, that really spoke to me. After watching my first episode, I told my parents that very night that I was quitting the Football team and signing up for some extra Science classes.”

“When I first got into Princeton, I was ecstatic, ready to get my World of Warcraft on or maybe find some people to binge Star Wars with me. But I didn’t find that, there weren’t a lot of people into the same stuff as I was. Hell, when a girl invited me to her dorm for some ‘Netflix and Chill,’ I had assumed we’d be watching Firefly, which she said she was a huge fan of. Instead, she kissed me and asked me if I wanted to open her pod bay doors. I was like, ‘wrong reference,” and just walked out. I was just so confused. Chuck Lorre didn’t mention any of this.”

Carl is currently considering switching out, but isn’t sure where to head to. “I’m not giving up on Science, it’s just that I’m not sure that it fits with who I am. I’ve really clicked with some people from the Liberal Arts, so I’ve been looking into that. Conversely, however, a friend of mine suggested that I shouldn’t base my career on my lifestyle, so I’m thinking: Crime. I just binged Breaking Bad, and I just gotta say, Chemistry looks super-awesome.”

 

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