Are You Smart Enough To Study Physics?

Рет қаралды 1,763

Күн бұрын

There’s this popular notion that to study physics, you need to basically be a high-IQ genius and math savant. As someone who went through the process, this is my take on what you need to study physics…
Content:
0:00 INTRO - 140 IQ?
0:43 DO YOU HAVE TO BE A GENIUS?
2:23 DO YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD AT MATH?
4:59 WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH IT?

Пікірлер: 17

@user-du8hf3he7r 4 ай бұрын

Stated mathematically: Mathematics is necessary, but not sufficient, to do physics.

@physicsbutawesome 4 ай бұрын

Yes.

@TimTeatro 7 ай бұрын

Luckily, I did know how to self learn, but I was a terrible student. I did well on tests and exams, so I coasted, as you described. I definitely had my "Oh, shit!" moment in 2nd year, having had my ass handed to me in Semester 1. I caught up, learned to pay attention in class (close my laptop and open my notebook), and then 3rd and 4th years were easy again :)

@simranbal228 7 ай бұрын

I genuinely don’t believe physics is a hard subject matter. I just believe it depends on who is teaching it. There are so many professors that use such a diverse range of vocabulary to explain the simplest concepts and I believe that is why it’s so hard to grasp the basics of physics. At least this was the issue for me. I remember when I was first learning, I had a hard time differentiating between velocity and acceleration until someone told me that velocity is just speed with a direction and acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes.

@__playsguitar5796 7 ай бұрын

Physics is hard even if you have a great teacher. I realized this when I was having trouble understanding physics in my first sem. Then during second sem we had a different teacher which taught way better. But as we dug deeper there were times even I couldn't understand. I think the biggest factor is time. It takes tomes for other concepts to sink in. But it will definitely sink in.

@physicsbutawesome 7 ай бұрын

I'd say you have a point, in that defining basics is important and often somewhat glossed over because "everybody knows what we're talking about anyway". But I don't think that's the main thing that makes physics hard.

@augustinejnrchime3499 7 ай бұрын

@@__playsguitar5796Physics is hard. What teachers can do is help students embrace the difficulties and relish the challenge.

@mrtienphysics666 2 ай бұрын

that linear algebra book is impressive, who is the author?

@physicsbutawesome 2 ай бұрын

It's "Linear Algebra Done Right" by Sheldon Axler. I must admit I haven't used it a lot, but it is very well structured.

@mrtienphysics666 2 ай бұрын

@@physicsbutawesome cool

@gabrielbarrantes6946 7 ай бұрын

To study it? Average intelligence will do... To produce a new theory or important result, pretty smart.

@physicsbutawesome 7 ай бұрын

Broadly, yeah, I‘d agree

@ucfj 4 ай бұрын

Suure, just like you don't need to be tall to play basketball...unless you want to actually win

@physicsbutawesome 4 ай бұрын

That depends on what you mean by "winning"... You can absolutely get a physics degree as a guy with regular IQ, and use that to work in a good, well-paying job or in academia. Working hard beats being gifted every time, in the long run. If you mean going for the Nobel prize, you need to be smart AND hard-working AND lucky - very lucky.

@ucfj 4 ай бұрын

@@physicsbutawesome Yeah. That's also what I keep telling those 5'2" women at the basketball court. It's all about that hard work (I'm 6'5")

@ucfj 4 ай бұрын

On a more serious note I've been around a pure math dept & seen > 130 IQs run laps around normies. Imo it's plain evil to "ecourage" sub-iq kids to compete (waste their time) unless you're 100% sure they have the intellectual firepower necessary to succeed

@physicsbutawesome 4 ай бұрын

Cool. I don't know why you keep talking about basketball, because I am not - and the equivalence isn't nearly as strong as you think it is. Also, I'm not talking out of my @ss here, I have graduated in physics, I have spent a long time at uni - and there are far more average to good people around than geniuses. I have also seen a lot of really smart people stumble and fall, because they thought they could just get everything by being smart. In the end, the people that tend to end up at the very top are those that are above average IQ AND work harder than everybody else. I never disputed that. If that is the only "succeeding" you allow for, we're only having a disagreement about terms, not facts.