Placing physics undergraduates into a state of confusion: Why we must deliberately perplex learners during their degree course

In this opinion piece (based on personal teaching experience and independent study of the literature) I outline how we as teachers deliberately confuse our students during their physics degrees. I explain how the passing through this confused state can be thought of as a rite of passage for students, and suggest how a greater awareness of this can assist our teaching

Catapult Description of Magnetic Fields and Forces

In many high school teaching materials the force on a current-carrying wire in a magnetic field is discussed using an idea based on a so-called “catapult field” (cf. Fig. 1), an engaging depiction of magnetic forces, albeit one which, to the best of our knowledge, has neither been used in college-level educational material or scrutinized in academic journals. Here we examine carefully the physical basis of the “catapult field” concept, and find both its accuracy and utility seriously questionable

Earth: Evolution of a Habitable World (2nd ed.) by Jonathan I. Lunine

This is an ambitious book. It attempts to integrate all branches of natural science to provide a complete overview of how the Earth has developed, from the Big Bang through to the present day, within the confines of about 300 pages. That it manages to do so at all is admirable, and that it manages to do so while also be thorough, engaging and thought provoking is all the more remarkable. There has clearly been a lot of loving attention put into the development of this text and as such it stands out as one of the best undergraduate-level textbooks on planetary science I have seen