Childhood "story" on my master's SoP?

Question

I am currently preparing my applications for various theoretical physics/physics master's programs in Canada and Europe. Canadian institutes typically require you to write a 1000+ words SoP. Now I am mostly certain about what to include in my SoP and how to do so. However, I am in a dilemma regarding my introduction. In particular, is beginning with a childhood story of how I was inspired to pursue the subject is a good way to start or not?

Some sources like this call it "cheap talk" whereas some sources like the one here stress having a narrative and gripping the reader from the first line on. The two suggestions might have an intersection but the latter source particularly encourages beginning with an impactful childhood experience.

In my case, the story goes as follows:

I happened to tag along with my father to an ophthalmology conference in the US. While my father was busy, I was left with this engineer colleague who was relatively free. He spent the next three days talking to me about some interesting areas of research in modern physics. We spoke about topics like QM, dark matter, LHC, and gravity. Of course, it was more of a first popular science introduction to things but it sparked my interests and genuinely led me to pursue physics. This was 7 years ago.

Now, I wish to mention this in the introduction and spend about 60 words doing so. I am unsure as to whether the above comes off as something unprofessional or unnecessary. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

In physics culture, most people do not care what inspired you. Telling stories (in the sense of a narrative with a sequence of events) is not a popular activity among physicists. I would not include an inspirational or motivational story in an application for anything relating to physics.

Your statement should describe what you want to do (your purpose) and why you are able to do it, with factual evidence.

Answer 2

NO!!!

Telling stories about your childhood will not "grip the reader from the first line on," it will put them to sleep. Possible exception if something truly unusual happened during your childhood (e.g., being hunted by the mob), but chatting with your father's friend does not rise to this level. Moreover, this is a professional document in which you are asked to state (and justify) your purpose; telling inane personal stories is not a reasonable way to answer this question.

I'm writing this so emphatically because this is such a common mistake. And it's understandable -- writing the first sentence of a statement of purpose is not easy, and including such stories is often encouraged during grade school English classes. But now is the time to make the transition to professional documents written for an audience of your peers, and that means providing logical thinking with factual evidence rather than cute stories.

Answer 3

It was okay to mention colleagues/relatives/family friends getting you interested in some particular topic during the initial assignment at the university right after high school, at least where I'm at.

By the time of writing master's SoP, however, one is expected to know lot more about various areas of modern physics. Writing about "inspirational" childhood experience actually would undermine my confidence (as a hypothetical member of the admissions committee) that your understanding of the field has increased enough since that story's time, which is supposedly way back in high school - before you have actually gotten all your advanced education in physics.

So, ultimately my advice is the same as in the Anonymous Physicist's answer:

Do not do that.