Should I go back to school?

[John Chang]

I was reading more of the transcripts pertaining to some of the physics questions that Arkadiusz was asking.

I've been at a crossroads for a while now. Trying to figure out what to do next. Try this, back up, try that, go around in circles. Perhaps I need to go back further. I was once studying to be a physicist, and stopped with a bachelor's, because the job market for scientists was very shaky at the time. And I was young and ignorant and scared. Maybe the primary mistake I made was leaving physics for the commercial world. Maybe I should've persisted and got that PhD anyway? Then again, maybe now was the right time after all.

If Arkadiusz is reading, I'd appreciate any advice on how and where to "pick up where I left off". I got as far as college-level QM. I remember doing the hydrogen atom and its enegy levels, that was one of the last classes I took. I also did a good chunk of numerical simulation of plasma particles - solving 2nd order ODE's with spline interpolation.

 

[Third_Density_Resident]

Need some advice

Like you, I am at a crossroads, figuring out what to do next with my life. And I also have a bachelor's degree in science, majoring in physics and mathematics, but I stopped there. I went on to do a totally different degree in communication (media and film) and have just recently finished that one. Both have been useful. I now have to decide whether to do postgraduate work in physics or mathematics, or do something not science-related.

The main reason I didn't pursue a career in science initially is because of the way in which everything is controlled and compartmentalised in the scientific world; moreover, the whole peer review system does not usually allow for anything terribly ground-breaking to be discovered, unless of course there is a lot of money to be made as a result. So with this in mind, I figured that a career in science is almost always going to be commercial, whether directly or indirectly. "Fringe science", the type of science I have always been interested in, would never get a look-in.

 

[Ryan]

Need some advice

In one of the sessions, the C's say, "The past, if carefully and accurately charted, holds all the answers for you."

This was in answer to a question of broader historical inquiry, but in my opinion is a useful "rule of thumb" regarding personal deliberations and decisions as well. Questions of personal direction, career, relationships etc are formulated within a unique context of an individual's reality that has been shaped since childhood, and it is very difficult for another person to get an understanding of that person's situation and know what kind of advice might objectively benefit them. Then there is also the matter of free will - what kind of advice constitutes hints or clues, and what might constitute making someone's decisions for them? If someone is really asking to give up responsibility for their decisions, then perhaps no advice is the best advice. So, there are many things to consider.

I've found that in my life, interest in things seems to stem from two sources: External circumstances and internal impulses. Sometimes the two combine in synchronistic ways to give a sense of "correctness" or "destiny fulfilled" for want of a better way to describe it. However, the big caveat is that these internal impulses are sometimes not as "internal" as they might appear, and are really a result of programs and reactions "grafted on" at an earlier point in life. Following these sorts of impulses down the garden path generally ends up with me learning lessons the hard way.

So the question becomes something like "Is this something I REALLY want to do, or is it just what I THINK or FEEL I want to do?"

For me, the only way to answer such a question is to "know thyself", as the saying goes. Reviewing my life history and childhood helped me obtain clues as to which outcome might be more oriented towards my essential nature, rather than my programming. Always listening for the internal warning bell of conscience is also a good idea IMO.

This is pretty generalised "advice", I know, but it seems to have worked for me (so far).

Good luck! :)

 

[vinny]

Need some advice

I noticed that both of you who have been put off a scientific career (as I was) have, from how I interpret what you say, been stopped by fear. This is a fear of the unknown, of a pathocratically imposed fear of not being able to make a living, or of not having the freedom to do things in a certain way.

It sounds a bit like castaneda's "predator's food anxiety" to me.

ie. it is actually irrational, when taken in the context of following your life's purpose. Castenada talks about fear as being the warrior's first and very difficult hurdle to progression and doing anything, and looking at my own life, I can certainly see how I have allowed fear to shut down my potentially creative options.

Doesn't mean you should necessarily do it just because you're afraid of it, but something to consider anyway.

Vin

 

[ark]

Need some advice

I have no simple answer to your questions. It seems to me the institutionalized science is very-very sick, and that it gets sicker with each passing day. The degree and the rate is not uniform when you compare different coutries. From my experience it is very bad in USA, somewhat better, though not much, in Europe, apparently essentially better in South America (but I never been there, so I do not have first hand experience). Whenever you are really good at something, you are faced with the choice: either you work for the MACHINE, or you become marginalized. The machine is either the government (or some of its agencies), or industry, or "private" funding. It is to be noticed that the machine was not able to make even one essential step during the whole century! No dramatic progress in science, neither in physics nor in humanities in XXth century. The only dramatic progress was in the computer technology - which however resulted simply in fulfilling the Orwellian nightmare, and which could have been the result of "alien technology" transfer, not of our own efforts.
What I see today is that science in general, and physics in particular, is full of hypocrits. The few that are not hypocrits are not "professional scientists". Tony Smith is one such example. See his web site http://www.valdostamuseum.org/hamsmith/TShome.html. Although trained as a theoretical physicists, he makes his live as a lawyer! It seems to me that having a professional training from the top class teachers is indispensible, but after that it is necessary to leave the formal structure and to become independent. Unfortunately there are no institutions that I know about that would support independent, high quality research. A system of support for such a research must be created. And it should be working on the international scale, with no preferences for races or nationalities. Whether one is a Jew or an Arab, an American or a Russian, a Chinese or an Indian, a European or Australian, should not make any difference. The love for science, for the truth, rather than for a personal carreer, the devotion and the quality - should be all that count. Unfortunately no such structures exist in the world.
My personal dream is to be able to create such a structure. And that is what I am working on - step by step.
My first step was to distance myself from the "standard support schemes". It is possible to apply for "grants" and to get them, and have lot of money for whole groups of scientists working on a certain project. But it is impossible to get these grants without cheating. It is indispensible to cheat, cheat more and more with each year, so as to satisfy better and better the unhealthy and artificial criteria for funding your projects by external institutions. It is necessary to "have friends" and to "support each other". The TRUTH becomes less and less important. The form takes precedence over the content. Perhaps there is a place in the world where it is not that bad - but I did not find such a place. Still searching.... But, as Laura teached me: if you do not see a light - YOU must become the light! Though certainly it is not easy.....

ark

 

[John Chang]

Need some advice

So, you're saying a formal physics education may not be prudent. How about independent study then? Got to start somewhere.

Ok, here's a first good step - learn differential geometry. Can you recommend a good basic diff geom textbook to look at?

 

[ark]

Need some advice

So, you're saying a formal physics education may not be prudent. How about independent study then? Got to start somewhere.

Ok, here's a first good step - learn differential geometry. Can you recommend a good basic diff geom textbook to look at?

Before differential geometry should come a good knowledge of calculus and of part of linear algebra. Which book is good - that depends on the background and the aim of the student. One book that I like, because it is conscise abd comprehensive at the same time is Tensor Analysis on Manifolds by Samuel I. Goldberg and Richard L. Bishop - only $10!

ark