01 May,2023 08:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Devanshi Doshi
The Pauli exclusion principle. Pic courtesy/Instagram
If you don't understand something, the fault is often in the explanation. This week's podcast is for those, who, like this writer distance themselves from the world of science for the simple reason of incomprehension. The problem is always the jargon or academic language.
A scientist's way of explaining can seem dreary. But the presence of a cartoonist could possibly reduce the sense of feeling overwhelmed. The podcast Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe is one step in that direction. Daniel Whiteson, physicist at CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire), along with Jorge Cham, the creator of popular online comic, Piled Higher, come together to explain scientific terms and phenomena that are generally considered too complicated. While Whiteson adds to the podcast the seriousness and focus the subjects deserve, Cham makes it light-hearted with his
timely jokes and unexpected juxtapositions.
Our favourite episode is the one that explained the Pauli Exclusion Principle. This episode starts off with a question that puts the listeners in a dilemma. If you could eat only one flavour of ice cream, would it be vanilla or chocolate? The writer knew her choice was chocolate but how it connected to the subject of this episode was beyond her understanding. What followed were some chucklesome references from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how it irks Whiteson when popular culture gets quantum physics wrong.
Cham, representing the listeners, asks Whiteson to break down every element of jargon into simpler words, including the term âquantum'. Soon, the hosts connect all of the random references to why two electrons can't be in the same place. It truly astonished us to have understood a concept considered so complex in the world of science within an hour.
Tune in to this podcast to re-look at science in a way that promises a lot of learning coupled with a healthy dose of laughter.
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