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English
Noun
physics envy (uncountable)
- (derogatory) The tendency of academics in non-scientific subjects to introduce jargon and mathematics to make their work appear more rigorous.
1997, Michael P. Murphy, Luke A. J. O'Neill, What is Life? The Next Fifty Years, page 31:Lack of sufficient pride in our own material (another consequence of reductionism and physics envy) made us more receptive to gurus from elsewhere.
2015, Peter Middleton, Physics Envy: American Poetry and Science in the Cold War and After, page 11: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.