**** you eng phys

(Fuck you eng phys/fizz is the name of a song about engineering physics at UBC, by a UBC engineering physics student.)

I think I've mentioned before that I'm looking into engineering physics. I'm not sure if I've mentioned what people keep telling me; "don't."

Engineering physics is basically applying the more complex ideas of physics such as electricity, quantum physics, optics, nuclear, or maybe even simple mechanics to engineering. It's technologically advanced, often deals with equations that would make you give up on math (it's suggested that eng phys students not take extra math courses, since they're physics calculations are more advanced) and require a super computer. It's a common joke (well, more like reality) that engineering physics students don't have lives, and it's a five year degree (whereas most degrees are four year programs). That's if you pass all your courses.

Well, a few days ago, I decided to do some exploring. I walked to the top of Henn, the physics and astronomy building, where there are many diagrams of physics concepts, pictures of galaxies (in various ranges of light), and some books and antiques on display. Then I walked across a hallway joining Henn to Hebb, where posters displayed a timeline of Principia, Newton's book that revoltionized mathematics and physics (including relolution). Then I reached Hebb, where there are intruments of physics that would make a cello feel small and insignificant. Up the stairs to the top floor, through the doorway where I noticed the video game poster, and up the blue stairs.

At the top was a room with event posters, thick books on low shelves, a complicated mechanical device of some kind, windows with a view over a large part of the campus (but it was a bad day for pictures), and sitting at a table, some engineering physics students, hard at work. I continued down a hallway of what looked like studying cubicles to another open room, this one with more tables, a few more students, vending machines (selling root^2 beer), and it's own cairn (the cairn is large, almost tetrahedral, concrete slab in the middle of UBC with E's written on each face as a display of the engineers' dominance). I eventually exchanged a few words with someone, telling them I was a first year looking into engineering physics. A couple of them looked around awkwardly for a moment before someone said what was on everybody (paying attention)'s mind: "Don't." I didn't argue, instead I headed back down and to class.

Since then, twice I've noticed posters advertising a branch of physics, and I've thought to myself, "that look cool, what is it." Both times, they were posters for engineering physics. Damn.