Why are You a Physics Major?

Often, I'm asked by people major in physics, a horrific choice for many. So, I cooked up the main reasons, though some by seem a little absurd, though correct for some.

You really want to understand physical reality and understand how the models explain it.
You have problems with the physical world compared with the spiritual world. That is, your beliefs are challenged.
You absolutely love physics and feel there is no other subject for you.
You ultimately want to study the origins of the universe and wish to understand all the theories extant.
You get a scholarship in physics.
Your parents give you three choices of what to major in, physics, physics, and physics.
You do physics because you want others to think you’re smart.
Finally, you doubt your intelligence and want to take on a difficult subject simply to master it, and thereby prove to yourself your intelligence.

P.S. I was a physics major, but changed to math in grad school. I never felt I understood physics.

Comments

Accepting Fake Information

Every day, we are all bombarded with information, especially on news channels. One group claims it's false; another calls it the truth. How can we know when to accept it or alternatively how can we know it's false? There are several factors which influence acceptance of fake or false information. Here are the big four. Some just don’t have the knowledge to discern fact/truth from fiction/fact/false*. Some fake information is cleverly disguised and simply appears to be correct. Some fake information is accepted because the person wants to believe it. Some fake information is accepted because there is no other information to the contrary. However, the acceptance of information of any kind become a kind of truth , and this is a well studied topic. In the link below is an essay on “The Truth About Truth.” This shows simply that what is your point of view, different types of information are generally accepted, fake or not. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/g-donald-allen-420b03

Problem-Solving - Obsession

Problem-Solving - Obsession Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end. Henry David Thoreau, Walden, "Economy," 1854. Introduction . Many facets of problem-solving are well-known and understood. They range from vast knowledge to critical thinking, to intuition, to insight, and to experience. Today, we add a characteristic, though an important ingredient. It’s more like a condiment-to-food, or a sauce to a delicacy. It’s needed though sometimes not essential. It is mostly helpful with big problems, difficult problems, or imossible problems. It is the quality of obsession. Each of us has experienced obsession in one form or another and is often relieved when the problem is solved. One literally leaves oneself becoming an engine driven to resolve the matter. Obsession is an all-consuming state of mind, possessive, jealous of distractions, and impervious to interruptions. T

Your Brain Within Your Brain

Your Bicameral Brain by Don Allen Have you ever gone to another room to get something, but when you got there you forgot what you were after? Have you ever experienced a flash of insight, but when you went to look it up online, you couldn’t even remember the keyword? You think you forgot it completely. How can it happen so fast? You worry your memory is failing. Are you merely absent-minded? You try to be amused. But maybe you didn’t forget. Just maybe that flash of insight, clear and present for an instant, was never given in the verbal form, but another type of intelligence you possess, that you use, and that communicates only to you. We are trained to live in a verbal world, where words matter most. Aside from emotions, we are unable to conjure up other, nonverbal, forms of intelligence we primitively, pre-verbally, possess but don’t know how to use. Alas, we live in a world of words, stewing in the alphabet, sleeping under pages of paragraphs, almost ignoring one of

First Blog

Search This Blog