I think numpy and scipy[1] beg to differ. You should go look at what's actually available in terms of scientific computing on Python, as I think you might actually learn something (hint: numpy is really a bunch of Python wrappers over FORTRAN routines, if you look at the source code). Having been a PhD student in Physics, in particular (at an Ivy League university, nonetheless), I can tell you that the majority of new code we were writing was Python, and since I've left, it's probably gotten more so. A good example of Python in physics, is PyMCA[2]. Python is really poised to also (thank god) reduce the marketshare of Matlab.

[1] http://docs.scipy.org/doc/numpy-dev/f2py/getting-started.htm... [2] http://pymca.sourceforge.net/

Also: http://www.quora.com/How-did-Python-dominate-scientific-comp... http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/138643/why-is...

Finally as a Physics person, you might also like the coursework for this (I certainly enjoyed the course): http://pages.physics.cornell.edu/~myers/teaching/Computation...