Unlocking Mystery with Citizen Science: Cultivating Nancy Drew’s Grit in New Physics Adventure Series

Citizen Science with Jamie Zvirzdin

Exploring Physics Mysteries: A Journey Inspired by Nancy Drew

Ever since I picked up a Nancy Drew book as a kid, I’ve loved mysteries. Nancy was not just smart; she was brave and funny. She paid attention to details and stood up to bullies. Most importantly, she never gave up.

A few weeks ago, insomnia got the better of me, and I dove into one of the Nancy Drew books my mother-in-law had given me. “The Ghost of Blackwood Hall” (1967) kept me awake all night. I was drawn into the hunt for clues, feeling the rush of figuring out the mystery alongside Nancy. Even after all these years, it reminded me of how rewarding it is to solve a puzzle.

Though the stories feel dated now, Nancy’s determination still resonates. Life presents its own challenges, like dealing with “the Mean Dude Online” or “the Mystery of the Missing Keys.” Hearing about other mysteries and how people solve them can inspire us when we’re facing our own problems.

This year in my “Citizen Science” column, we’re going to tackle physics mysteries. We’ll look at what these mysteries are, why they’re tough to solve, and what’s been done so far. My hope is that as we dig into these questions, we also build the resilience to tackle our everyday challenges with grace and that same grit that Nancy embodies.

My dad often joked that there’s always a chapter in Nancy Drew titled “TRAPPED!” While being trapped isn’t likely in science, we do hit dead ends. Some physics problems take years, even centuries, to solve. Just like Nancy sometimes gets stuck, we can find ourselves bogged down by negativity. But working together and believing in each other helps push us through tough times.

We’re all bound to make mistakes, just like Nancy. This is part of learning how our universe works. As Rabindranath Tagore said, “If you shut your door to all errors, truth will be shut out.” We must remain open to new ideas while keeping a healthy skepticism. Just as our bodies filter out toxins, we must navigate the balance between trusting new information and standing by reliable science.

Interestingly, working on one mystery often helps unravel another. I’m honored to be part of the Telescope Array Collaboration at the University of Utah, where we’re exploring the origins of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. But here’s a twist: our research into cosmic rays also led to new insights about gamma-ray bursts during lightning storms. You can read about this discovery in our paper published in December 2024 in the “Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres” (https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JD041720).

While I wasn’t the lead on that paper, teamwork is crucial in science. No one can solve all the mysteries alone. We need collaboration, encouragement, and the ability to work together. Like Nancy, we might not all have a powerful lawyer for a father, but we can rely on the resources we have.

As we explore physics mysteries this year, remember that the best mysteries teach us how to ask better questions. Stay sharp, keep your mind open, and let’s solve the mysteries of the universe together, starting with “The Clue in the Cosmic Balloon.”

Jamie Zvirzdin researches cosmic rays with the Telescope Array Project, teaches science writing at Johns Hopkins University, and authored “Subatomic Writing.”