- Dylan Doctoche
- Jakarta Pusat
- Indonesia
This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »
I am very confused. What should i do?
Hello and thank you for taking out time to read my question :)
I always had a profound passion for electronics when i was 8 years old, i used to make circuits and think i was the best at it. Obviously, i was not. Anyway, this interest evolved into something different, a passion for physics. No longer am i interested by electronics, but what really catches my attention is quantum theory. I am extremely confused. I always wanted to do something for the society, something like Schrodinger, Albert Einstein and many other great people.
I have come to understand that i am not the person who possesses such intellectual capacity. Even though i am one of the brightest students in my school, and i am capable of getting into great universities, not exceptional. I am 14 years old currently, and sadly, i am confused. I cannot figure out what to do with my life. I know it is too soon, but i cannot imagine doing anything other than science.
I am starting to give up now, as i do not possess the "brains". I am thinking of just doing engineering and then MBA and get any highly paid jobs (
Gross Ryder
"Your work is to discover your work - and then with all your heart to give yourself to it"...Buddha
"Our will is for our own good, but we do not always know what that is."...Roussou
Venus Mercury
You are absolutely crazy. And that is why, you are going to make it, kid. Don't be miserable, don't suffer. Do what you want to do in this moment now. Try your best whatever it is you want to do or are doing. Just keep going. Don't let fame, fear, or even your greatest idols intimidate you or deter you from your own path. Einstein would not have been himself, had he followed anyone else's heart but his own.
keep your chin up.
Kevin McCallum
Don't pressure yourself. Put compassion at the forefront of your choices. Recognize that making mistakes is the most likely outcome of any choice you make. Recognize that the more mistakes you make, the more you learn who you are and what you should do next. And the hardest thing is... don't lie to yourself.
Pabitra Mukhopadhyay 30+
Ken brown 30+
Follow your instinct and passion.
Good Journey.
Casey Christofaris 10+
Fritzie Reisner 100+
My younger daughter always loved math and physics. When she went to university, we had a frank conversation. While there was little doubt in my mind that she could pursue math or physics successfully as a major at many universities, we could not be certain of her success at the university to which she was headed.
She went in taking a solid program that would allow her to test the waters in a variety of sciences (physics, biology, chemistry, and interdisciplinary combinations) and see where she found her niche.She worked hard, graduated in physics and math, and is now pursuing a doctorate in physics at a major university.
Keep your options open and work hard on your math.
James Zhang 30+
The kind of career you will pursue may not even exist yet, why do you need to limit yourself when you can pursue a field that involves a combination of your interests/backgrounds? And don't forget that a career is different from just a job. A career is something that you enjoy doing, a mere job does not require the same level of passion.
James Zhang 30+
My response from that thread:
"When I came out of high school, I wanted to be an artist, but I also was pretty good at math. So I looked into something like animation, but my parents didn't want me to do this because it wasn't a very secure profession. The fact that I began to question myself whether I really wanted to go into animation/art meant that this wasn't my passion.
I am now at Georgia Tech as a Computational Media major, some new major that is a blend of communication and media studies and computer science. And now, being exposed to so many cool things like games, media, digital technology, film, digital art, web design, social media, programming, computational logic, etc. I am no longer limited to just simply math, art, and animation, and I feel that this unique mix of backgrounds give me an edge over a lot of people, even though I don't go into too much detail into each field of studies. And really, I could go into any one of these fields, do well, and live a sustainable life if I really wanted to.
So my point is, don't limit yourself just because your major tells you that you shouldn't do statistics. The exam itself and the PHD label itself are not important, what's important is the opportunities that the exam and the PHD provides. You do what you think needs to be done and what you think are important.
And personally, I don't see why you shouldn't do ecology and statistics. That would make an interesting combination of knowledge/skillsets that would put you an edge over a lot of other people.
And finally there was a recent tedtalk where there was one girl who stopped pursuing her Master's to do what she believes needs to be done: http://www.ted.com/talks/caitria_and_morgan_o_neill_how_to_step_up_in_the_face_of_disaster.html"
Sam Rock
If you love Physics then you have a bright future and believe me if your physics is good then maths will be a joke for you so please don't give up by just seeing the small part of maths. Its a interesting subject which needs practice and time. And now you have enough time so use it effectively..
keep smiling:)
Solidus Sharp
Gail . 50+
Do not believe those who say that Einstein and Schroedinger have brilliance beyond yours. It's probably not true. When I was in 9th grade, my math teacher told me that not a person in the room would ever be able to understand Einstein's theories. Was she wrong. Now they are taught in as 101 courses and all first year physics students understand them.
It does take a shift in how you perceive yourself and the world, but quantum mechanics is FASCINATING and anyone with even an average IQ CAN understand the theories coming out of that field. If I were to sit with you for a few days, you would be thoroughly familiar with what is happening, and you would understand the foundations of the theories.
Do not blame yourself if you are smarter than your teacher or if you teacher is not a good teacher. Just learn what you can from the Internet and books and other sources that you find that reach you.
And 14 is way too early to give up. My goodness, you haven't even grown up! Now is the time to follow your passions wherever they take you. You do not need a PhD in physics to understand enough quantum physics to create your own theory. Many of us have already. The difference is that we do not believe that we are not smart enough. You have to believe that you are smart enough before all that you want to know is attainable.
John Smith 30+
Physics students are already a tiny minority of the population and many of them only superficially understand relativity after a first year course, that's why more in-depth courses are given in the second and third years.
"It does take a shift in how you perceive yourself and the world, but quantum mechanics is FASCINATING and anyone with even an average IQ CAN understand the theories coming out of that field."
No, it's very hard to really understand these theories and be able to perform even the most basic calculations (for example the energy levels of the "particle in a box"). Do you understand what "spin" is, or why "spin-orbit coupling" occurs, or why no two fermions of the same kind cannot exist at the same location at the same time? These are very basic principles, taught to undergraduates, but they are not easy to understand or work with.
"And 14 is way too early to give up. My goodness, you haven't even grown up!"
You are right about that: he still has 4 years ahead of him and that should be more than enough if he has at least a slightly above average IQ.
"You do not need a PhD in physics to understand enough quantum physics to create your own theory."
Actually you do, I have a bahelor in physics and completed quite a lot of master courses already but I don't pretend to be able to come up with a new piece of quantum mechanics. It's really all at or above PHD level, and that's just if you specialized in quantum mechanics for your master's degree. Whoever wants to be a theoretical physicist has a long, hard journey ahead of them, but the only way to know if you've got the right stuff is to try and even if you don't succeed a physics degree is still very valuable on any resume/cv.
Gail . 50+
Maikel Andelbeek 10+
You just have to decide what you love doing, then you'll end up being good at what you do. Who cares if you're not the best? As long as you have fun, you will live a fullfilling and fun life ;)
Rhona Pavis 50+
pat gilbert 50+
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/e_o_wilson_advice_to_young_scientists.html
John Smith 30+
Dylan Doctoche
(Maths is essential in physics)
Thank you for answering my question :)
John Smith 30+
You are only 14, you still have 4 years to learn basic calculus and algebra (that's all you need to know, at first, the rest you'll learn at university, at least that's how it works in Europe) if you go to university at age 18. I think you should first finish high school and then decide, chances are you'll be a lot better at math by then and if not, you can always go for engineering physics, both physics and engineering physics require you to take the same courses in high school anyway, so what do you have to lose?
Gail . 50+