/sci/ - Science & Math

If you're not grown up enough to shelve your social life then you aren't ready for anything serious in university.

>>2355796
I realize you have to make some sacrifices, but I was wondering if the workload is so intense that you have to spend all your weekends studying and don't have time for extracurricular activities.

>>2355808
It's this intense unless you go to a diploma mill.

>>2355808
nope.
all exaggerations
well, unless you have absolutely no idea what you're doing

>>2355808
I think of things in terms of working fulltime, because I've been doing that for much longer than I've been in school. 8 hrs sleep, 8 hrs work, 8 hrs play (give or take for all three.) Exchange 'work' for 'school', and honestly probably drop it by a few hours.

>social-crushing difficult
Coddled middleclass tittybaby. Cry more.

>>2355834
>social-crushing difficult
wat

>>2355834
8 hours sleep? 8 hours play? You are the uncracked one, dumbass. When I was in school, I was lucky to get 6 hours of sleep a night.

>>2355854
>6 hours
You lucky fuck, I barely got any sleep at all.

>>2355854
i got less sleep in high school.

>>2355868
I said I was LUCKY to get 6 hours

>>2355854
>>2355868
>>2355871
>>2355875
OH YA WELL WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL I SLEPT ONE HOUR A MONTH FUCK YOU FAGGOTS YOU HAVE IT SO EASY GODDAMN STOP WHINING

>>2355787
>Is it soul-crushingly difficult?

Nope

>Do you have to be a genius or is hard work and determination all you need?

I don't know anyone who gradutes with a physics degree who isn't technically a "genius". Determination is also needed.

>Is it possible to have a social life?

Of course

>What are your fellow students and professors like?

Prety cool. Usually physics is pretty laid back.


Anything else?

not that hard, if you have any natural physics skills. really hard otherwise

being a genius helps. i am good at physics so i did well. hard work won't help if you're just not good at it or don't love it.

i had a social life because i was never a ridiculous geek. i'm normal, have friends, go out...

other students range from normal, to completely socially inept. there were some geniuses in my class, publishing maths papers in their 2nd year of uni.

professors are the same. some are hopeless because they're socially retarded. some are normal

>>2355906
I'm still in highschool and I plan on majoring in physics. Sometimes I worry about my ability to comprehend the material of the more advanced classes. How can I tell whether or not I'll be able to handle it? Not OP

>>2355906

>I don't know anyone who gradutes with a physics degree who isn't technically a "genius"

what

>>2355923
you won't really know till you do it.

but maybe try reading 6 easy pieces, or anything by feinmann, or fabric of the cosmos

>>2355906
She looks like Timmy with boobs

>>2355939
Does 6 Easy Pieces actually go into the math?

>>2355945
FUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKK YOOOOOUUUUUU

>>2355956
not much, it's easy

a good idea might be to buy the physics textbook book now and start parts of it.

My favourite book was Introduction to Electrodynamics - Griffiths.

find it, read it.

Just make friends with other physics students; they'll tend to be as quirky and odd as you (assuming you are a typical physics major) and they'll help you with problems you don't get. Personally this strategy has worked best for me as it nicely rolls socialization and school work together. Furthermore they know exactly where you're coming from if you have to buckle down and work on an assignment or something, and they probably won't take it the wrong way if you don't have time for them.

What is the work like with a Physics major? Are there a lot of labs like AP and if so are the write-ups difficult?

The math I can do, the tests I rock, the concepts I think I have to capacity to learn, the labs I SUCK at because I don't see a point to it.

>>2356059
But can you smoke weed with them?

double major in chemistry and physics here

My schedule goes like:

70 hours of sleeping and eat and walking
25 hours of sports/outdoors (aka leaving the basement); stopped doing so much once i began research
25 hours of chemistry, 30 hours of physics (including class, chemistry is easier but there are a shitload of labs)
6 hours programming random shit (i'm a shitty programmer but it's very useful for internships)
12 hours of free time (partying, video games)

I spend around 1 hour of free time on 4chan, or reading. i get around fine and get Bs and As. Most of research (it's undergrad so it's not real research lol) i did over the summer. I'm a 4th year now.

yeah, i probably won't get into harvard or yale or anything, but I have a very good shot at top 30, and maybe top 20, if i'm lucky.

>>2356095
Experimental evidence validates all theory, science is blind without experiment.
It's a good idea to know exactly how labs work and where everything comes from.

Suck it up I say.

>>2356130
Great so I'm proving Newton right once again. Maybe its just the labs we do I don't know. I'm wondering what the labs in college are like. Are there a lot of them? Do they require a large write-up?

>>2356137
Current (and last lab course) that I'm in is 6 labs, one every 2 weeks. They're on Superconductivity, Nonlinear Mechanics, Brownian Motion, Hyperfine Diffusion, and 2 others I can't remember atm.

And yes, they require extensive analysis and writeups,
but 2 weeks seems pretty ample for what's required.

>>2356137
had 4-8 hours a week at my uni. i don't know about other places.
yeah it sucks, but they don't expect good reports. they except good experimental procedure and work and only competent reports

>>2355922
>>2355906


What do you mean naturally good at physics?

Like math or logic or what? I'm currently doing my pre reqs to take physics so I haven't had any physics classes yet, not the OP btw.

>>2355906

Lol what? You definitely don't have to be a genius. I'm about to graduate with a 3.9 GPA and I definitely don't consider myself to be a genius. Mmart, yes. Genius, definitely not.

>>2356151
>>2356150
Okay thank you. In AP we haven't had one in a while because we are learning modern physics and its a little bit difficult to do labs on speeding particles up to .99c and smashing them in our HS classroom ;). Those labs you mentioned actually sound interesting the ones we have done so far have been: Springs, Pendulums, Resistance in a wire, Resistors, and circuits. Think I'm forgetting a few but either way they have not been all that much fun or interesting.

>>2356172
Isn't Physics 11th grade?

...How old are you?

>>2355796
This

>>2356189

3.9 is low now?

I love how you faggots lump any GPA with a value of 3.5<x<4.0 to be considered trash. Good thing I already got my degree before I came into this shithole or else my mindset would have been tainted by this bullshit.

You don't need to be "smart" or a "genius." If someone puts their mind into it, then they can achieve things that they thought impossible, like earning a Physics degree. All you need is an interest in the subject, determination, and hard work.

Sure there are geniuses, but those people are special; life isn't fair, so deal with it. The ones who claim they are though, like most of the faggots here in /sci/, you gotta watch out, as they're self deluded neckbeards who are mostly arm-chair Physicists/Mathematicians that still live in their parents' basement.

>>2356234

You misinterpreted what I was saying. I was saying that I have a very high GPA and I am not a genius and therefore you don't have to be a genius to do Physics.

>>2356272
Most Geniuses don't relize they are genius.

The bar for Genius is really low, only like ~140.
Most physics majors are at least ~130. You won't find anyone with an IQ lower the ~135 in a grad physics or math program.

Just about everyone I know are fucking geniuses.

LifeTip: Keep good company. Don't hang around with dumbshits.

>>2356297

This is retarded, obviously physicists and mathematicians are smarter than your average person, and the casual asshole walking down the street with his book on women's studies might say oh woah man you're a total genius I could never do that much math and I have a short dick.

Buuuuut within science, there are geniuses, and there are scientists, and most scientists aren't genius. In fact, I know several "capable" mathematicians and physicists I consider stupid as fuck. Also no arrogance, I'm not a genius, regular physicist blah blah blah

>>2356297

Well if you consider genius to be an IQ of 140 then maybe I am borderline genius but if I had to guess I'd say I'm probably a little short of that. I always though genius was an IQ of 160 and I'm definitely not that smart.

>>2356315
Most of the geniuses do not contribute to anything. They become lazy over time and die without any accomplishment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James_Sidis

:(

IQ is subjective and geniousses are hipocrits. Anything else gentlemen?

>>2356315

>thinks genius is qualitative

>thinks is all relative

>>2356347
Genius IQ is generally considered to begin around 140 to 145, representing ~.25% of the population (1 in 400). Here's a rough guide:

115-124 - Above average (e.g., university students)
125-134 - Gifted (e.g., post-graduate students)
135-144 - Highly gifted (e.g., intellectuals)
145-154 - Genius (e.g., professors)
155-164 - Genius (e.g., Nobel Prize winners)
165-179 - High genius
180-200 - Highest genius
>200 - "Unmeasurable genius"

>>2356407
By what test?
Where do I take this test?
Is this test objective?
Is it biased in any way?

>>2356420
It's biased, in the sense that dumb people do bad...lol.

There are various IQ tests, through various orginzations (look it up for your area).

Test is mostly just spatial reasoning and pattern recogintion, which is as unbiased as you can get. Test is objective.

>>2356420
>can't read

>>2356449
Is it culturally biased? Will you get different results in different cultures with the same test?

Would I have to pay for this shit?

Okay.

>>2356457
What?

Through all the tests I've taken, apparently my IQ is 160. I got an invite to join MENSA when I was in 5th grade and I've been in it ever since. People really don't believe me if I say I'm a genius because I don't try to make straight A's or anything in school.

BTW, 15 y/o here

>>2356459
>Anon said rough guide
>you take it as a something set in stone

It is obvious you wouldn't make the cut kid

>>2356487
>implying I said that it was set in fucking stone

I was merely asking a question, I wasn't arguing. I just don't want to make another fucking shitty thread about IQ.

>>2356357
moar?

>>2356459
>Will you get different results in different cultures with the same test?

Of Course, some cultures are smarter then others. You are starting to sound like a hippie kid.

Thinking everything in the world is equal and fair. Everyone is created equal.....Laughing my fucking ass off.

>>2356508
>mfw I get insulted simply for inquiring about something.

What a faggot you are.

>>2356525
>thinks he was insulted

R U new here?

Jesus guys fuck off about IQ nobody gives a shit.

Current physics major, doing 3 years then doing 2 for aerospace and mechanical engineering. Workload is alot more than high school, you will be studying more than your history and english major buddies combined. It is not easy, but it is not impossible. Tests are, in general, quite difficult but if you study, you will pass. The best things in life you work at- physics is one of them. Do it, you won't regret it. Also, make physics friends. I couldnt imagine going at it completely solo, thatd really suck.

Physics grad student here. It's not all that bad, but you need to be into the whole physics thing. You might have to take honors or upper-div physics before you find out what it's actually like.

phys major here,

not difficult at all if you were able to keep up in high school. It's all about desire to learn I think.

I haven't made it into any physics classes how will I know I'll actually like it and if it will be too hard?

>>2356407
>>2356484
160 on another SD could translate to something significantly lower. Also the 145+ (genius) is not the standard 15 SD. The term genius is no longer used in IQ test. The term "genius" has been replaced with "very superior" which is the 130+ IQ range. There are various intelligence test that measure different types of intelligences. Progressive Raven Matrices exams measure "fluid intelligence". Autistic people tend to score higher on those exams than do non-autistic people.

So,

120-129 is considered "superior", 130+ "very superior".

I wouldn't be surprised that math/physics majors are "above average" as in 110+, but the 120, 130+ within those majors would probably be a bit more rare.

Also you could have an IQ of 130, be a physics major and not be good in physics (but be excellent in another subject). Say person A and person B both have an IQ of 130. They may not be good at the same types of intelligence.

>For those majoring in physics, what's it like?
Pain. But sometimes rewarding. Mostly pain though.

>Is it soul-crushingly difficult?
Nope.

>Do you have to be a genius or is hard work and determination all you need?
Not being stupid helps.

>Is it possible to have a social life?
Yes, but there are drawbacks. When your machine says "measure tonight" then you measure tonight.

>What are your fellow students and professors like?
Nice. There are few hardcore nerds, and I get along with most of my colleagues. (And the hardcore nerds are nice to me. Yipee)

>>2356407
But IQ is bullshit.

It doesn't show how intelligent you are or if you are a genius.

>>2356297
Now you are the dumb shit.

Having a super high IQ does not = genius.

a genius is someone like Einstein or Tesla. Are your so called genius friends like Tesla or Einstein? Are they as smart as Einstein or Tesla? Have they done just as much as them?