physics envy

noun

The tendency of academics in non-scientific subjects to introduce jargon and mathematics to make their work appear more rigorous.

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Meanings

nounphysics envy (uncountable)
  1. derogatoryuncountableThe tendency of academics in non-scientific subjects to introduce jargon and mathematics to make their work appear more rigorous.

    Lack of sufficient pride in our own material (another consequence of reductionism and physics envy) made us more receptive to gurus from elsewhere.

    1997, Michael P. Murphy, Luke A. J. O'Neill, What is Life? The Next Fifty Years, page 31
    1 more example

    By looking hard at traces of physics envy in the social sciences, these poets are able to diagnose the pathologies of race science and urban social theory.

    2015, Peter Middleton, Physics Envy: American Poetry and Science in the Cold War and After, page 11
Cite this entry
APA

physics envy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physics%20envy

MLA

“physics envy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physics%20envy. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “physics envy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/physics%20envy.

Source: physics envy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.