I was always very interested in maths but had no real exposure to science until I was 10 when my mom dragged me to see the film "A Brief History of Time" about Stephen Hawking. I came out begging for a copy of the book, which my uncle bought me for my 11th birthday. I was sold. 14 years later, I am doing my PhD in Quantum Gravity.
Other books that inspired me along the way: Cosmos by Carl Sagan is something I come back to more than anything else; Contact by Sagan; Hyperspace by Michio Kaku; and Three Roads to Quantum Gravity by Lee Smolin.
One TV show I really enjoyed was Bill Nye The Science Guy and the series Cosmos hosted by Carl Sagan. Contact the film was the first DVD I ever bought, and I still have it:)
I also second the comments about MacGyver, although I didn't learn until recently that he was a physicist on the show. But I did get a sense that humans have the power to do amazing things just by the innovations created in the mind and molded with the hands.
Finally, I should add that while my dad studied maths and philosophy in university, it wasn't something we ever discussed and has nothing to do with his work. My mom needs a calculator to do anything but simple arithmetic. I didn't know any scientists growing up. Politics was always the dinner topic at home. I have a theory that one reason science was/is so interesting to me is that it was so different. What was important in my home environment is that my mom was willing to expose me to things that she didn't know much about, and she encouraged my blossoming interest with books and trips to science lectures.
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I was always very interested in maths but had no real exposure to science until I was 10 when my mom dragged me to see the film "A Brief History of Time" about Stephen Hawking. I came out begging for a copy of the book, which my uncle bought me for my 11th birthday. I was sold. 14 years later, I am doing my PhD in Quantum Gravity. Other books that inspired me along the way: Cosmos by Carl Sagan is something I come back to more than anything else; Contact by Sagan; Hyperspace by Michio Kaku; and Three Roads to Quantum Gravity by Lee Smolin. One TV show I really enjoyed was Bill Nye The Science Guy and the series Cosmos hosted by Carl Sagan. Contact the film was the first DVD I ever bought, and I still have it :)
I also second the comments about MacGyver, although I didn't learn until recently that he was a physicist on the show. But I did get a sense that humans have the power to do amazing things just by the innovations created in the mind and molded with the hands.
Finally, I should add that while my dad studied maths and philosophy in university, it wasn't something we ever discussed and has nothing to do with his work. My mom needs a calculator to do anything but simple arithmetic. I didn't know any scientists growing up. Politics was always the dinner topic at home. I have a theory that one reason science was/is so interesting to me is that it was so different. What was important in my home environment is that my mom was willing to expose me to things that she didn't know much about, and she encouraged my blossoming interest with books and trips to science lectures.