Best of Critical Point

Home » Collections » Best of Critical Point

Critical Point is a column that has appeared in Physics World magazine since May 2000, written by science historian and philosopher Robert P Crease. Enjoy here our pick of the best Critical Point columns, which bring the perspective of an outsider looking in on the "workshop of science".

Robert P Crease lifts the lid on 25 years as a ‘science critic’

illustration of a person sat at a desk using a typewriter

Why science thrives on criticism

The first Critical Point column by historian of science Robert P Crease

The many roads to leadership

Scientific leaders through the ages

Ever felt your ordinary human experience is being delegitimized? It’s the fault of ‘scientific gaslighters’

illustration of a door opening between two walls of abstract quantum simulations

When physicists and philosophers realize they share a noble truth

So you think the history of science is easy?

Physics of the everyday

Brewing coffee

Robert P Crease finds there’s more to espresso machines than meets the eye

Science toys

Tim Rowett is an avid collector of science-related toys. Robert P Crease and son drop in to play with them

Photo of Kenneth Brecher spinning a supported top with a frame and a string

Meet the topaholic

Robert P Crease visits a physicist with an unusual passion

Photo of the image inside a standard kaleidoscope

Meet the kaleidoholics

Robert P Crease stumbles into the incredible world of a "philosophical toy" that’s 200 years old

The human side of science

Detail of the Super Proton Synchrotron at CERN

The competitive edge in science

The feelings you get when you discover something new

Photograph of a 250-year-old violin made by Piacenza instrument builder Giovanni Battista Guadagnini that now belongs to Norweigian musician Peter Herresthal and that was studied in the Elletra synchrotron in Trieste, Italy

The sound of trust

Cartoon of a pencil with letters coming from the back of it

Memorializing the great: how to honour scientists who’ve died

Black elephants: scientific issues that we don’t talk about

Still of the film Tár showing Cate Blanchett conducting

The ethical dilemmas of renaming scientific principles that honour fallen idols

We asked, you answered

diagram of the spatial intensity distribution of electrons that have interfered in a Young’s double-slit experiment

The most beautiful experiments in physics as chosen by real physicists

What is the most beautiful experiment in physics, according to our poll of Physics World readers? Robert P Crease reports

**The greatest equations in physics as chosen by Physics World readers**

Robert P Crease discusses the results of his reader survey

Snowflakes, snorkelling and spacewalks: your holiday secrets revealed

Robert P Crease reveals readers’ favourite holiday-physics problems – and outlines some new teasers too

The best physics humour ever

Jokes about physics and physicists

Physics is like…

Robert P Crease reveals the best metaphors for physics sent by Physics World readers

Physics World podcast

Explore our two regular podcast series! Physics World Weekly looks at the latest events and headlines in physics, as well as featuring short interviews with scientists and our team of journalists. Physics World Stories takes a more in-depth look at a topic.

The practice of physics

Cartoon of a scientist's idea being snared by a net

Going deeper

Close-up detail of the Foucault’s pendulum in the Pantheon in Paris

Related jobs

Related events

Medical physics | Virtual event Virtual International Day of Medical Physics 2025 7 November 2025
Condensed matter | Workshop SCFS25 10—14 November 2025 | Dresden, Germany
Quantum | Conference SPIE Quantum Catalyst 2025 12—13 November 2025 | Boulder, US

Reset your password

Registration complete