/sci/ - Science & Math

There were people in my class that hadn't even taken physics in high school, but I don't know what grades they had. Anyway, if you need to strenghten something, strengthen math, especially calculus.
A great majority of my 11th grade physics was working with projectiles, without air resistance, galileo's formula for acceleration, I think it's called.
And that shit took about 10 minutesof my mechanics course.

>>5891888
I've recently picked up pic related, will this be a good book to start with? I'm taking physics next year, I think this book will be more than sufficient to put me ahead. I've already taken astronomy, but we didn't learn anything that I hadn't already known (mostly star formation/life cycle and constellations). I'm also taking pre-calc, I'll be studying that over the summer as well.

Also, your 11th grade physics class sounds very simple.

>>5891904
Ass if I know, I'm only on my second year. What they recommended to us very, very insistingly was Serway.
Physics-for-Scientists-and-Engineers-with-Modern-Physics, I think that's the actual name.

Yeah, 12th grade was where shit was supposed to get intense, it even had a chapter on relativity but my class was a joke.
Point is physics in the 12th grade was optional so they had to assume you only had the 11th grade so they started from the very basics. Hell, the first lessons were about vectors and projections and what not.

Global Rule 2:

If you are under the age of 18, or it is illegal for you to view the materials contained on this website, discontinue browsing immediately.

>>5891987
>implying you can't turn 18 over the summer going into senior year
Give the kid a break

As a high school student I strongly, STRONGLY advise you to not pursue college with the idea of "this is what I am going to do for the next 10+ years of my life". You simply don't have enough information to make that determination.

As an undergrad focus instead on building a strong base that keeps your options open. Once you have done 2-3 years of undergrad you are allowed to think about a masters. Only even dream about a PhD once you are working in the field (even if its just a shitty university research job).

Astrophysics is a degree that a lot of people regret getting. Reread that sentence. Every science nerd, freaking all of us, like space and the related topics. The field is very saturated, COMICALLY competitive, and very low wages. Basically even with a PhD the chances that you will get a job doing astrophysics is very low.

You can however get a job in a related field, but this is going to require you to focus your efforts somewhere else, and branch into astrophysics related stuff later (trying to do the opposite will not work, sorry).

Remember how I said your undergrad should focus on expanding your skills? Basically you need to determine what "level" of education you need to do the types of things you like (it is basically foolish to assume you will work in astrophysics; this is why it is important to have 'clusters' of interests, and look at where they overlap), and then you need to look at the degrees meet or exceed that level. Obviously this is damn hard for you to do, since you don't really know what material you are going to cover in the next several years.

>>5892023
A lot of people who get a Physics degree end up doing some type of engineering work. The call for actual scientists is much smaller than the number of people with science degrees.

When you are in school, ***TAKE YOUR MATH CLASSES FIRST***. ALWAYS BE *AT LEAST* ONE MATH CLASS BEYOND THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ANY PHYSICS CLASS. Do not try to take 'corequisite' classes together. Just take the math class first. Give yourself time to digest it. If you are going to get that level of science education you are going to need to understand math in a way that you likely can not even conceive of right now. It is doable, definitely, but you have to know what your priorities are and sink a lot of time into it.

Banish the concept of "intelligence" and "talent" from your mind. Replace them with notions of "tenacity", "skilled", and "dedication" and you will live a much more successful, happier life (academically and not).

Learn to program. Learn to program very fucking well. It is an absolute necessity for astrophysics. It is almost all done on a computer. Oh, specifically you need to learn about high performance computing (aka, supercomputing) and statistics. Udacity has a nice intro class on GPGPU computing. Work your way up to it.

>>5892019
You also need to make sure your undergrad is in something you can live off of, in case something happens and you can not complete your masters or PhD (this can be a baby, mental health, financial problems, physical health, purely unfair turn of events (such as crossfire from political infighting; very common!), or even just because you didn't make the cut).
With these requirements in mind, a B.S. in Math is a hard sell (easier if you specialize in Statistics), but Physics and Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical Engineering are all viable degrees and something I suggest for you.

Physics has the strongest background of those for future study (read: really going in deep and *mastering* the material). Its earning potential is lower than the engineering degrees (but more than comfortable; if you are going into science for the money you are doing it wrong). Physics pay is not as bad as it looks. This is partly because Physics is lumped together, while Engineering is broken into sections. This is because people in astro/particle/theoretical physics get paid a lot less than, and suffer higher unemployment, than people in general / applied / computational / engineering / material science / solid state physics (yes, there is a discipline called 'engineering physics'. Don't ask me why).

[Note, once you get past the undergrad, math becomes top-tier. A masters or PhD in math is incredibly strong... if and only if you study a field that has application.]

>>5892024
I can't really give you advice too deep into the future, because if you don't know calculus it is silly to ask about your PhD direction. I've heard the "The Easy Way" series it good. I also suggest a few websites:

ck12 (high school stuff)
coursera (good)
udacity (easy and good)
MIT OCW (good)
edx (don't know)
udemy (don't know)
khan academy (fair; overhyped)

I actually happen to go to a school that is a major hub for NASA and the space industry. Here is a snapshot of my friends who have graduated from this school:

B.S. Applied Physics w/ Minor in Classics (of all things). Works in missile defense radar tracking and simulation. Uses Matlab extensively. His extracurricular activities got him hired.
B.S. Applied Physics (with astro specialization, which he now jokes about), M.S. Material Science. Works at Los Alamos doing statistical modeling on data from some space probe, I forget which one. Lab experience (optics) got him hired.
B.S. Computer Engineering. Works for NASA doing HPC on thermal camera images of rockets being tested. He is published in an emerging field and has a ton of self directed research.
B.S. Astrophysics, PhD Astrophysics. Is a post doctoral student. Published in Nature (on using lasers to combat space junk). Can't find a job. Not even kidding.
B.S. Math. Works as a web developer.
And now for me: B.S. Computational Physics. M.S. Computational Physics (in progress). I simulate space weather (charged plasma interacting with the earth's atmosphere/magnetosphere). It is very similar to general purpose computational fluid dynamics, which is widely used in industry.

My engineering friends are all still in school. (half of them are dumb as bricks anyways. There is definitely a culture gap between the physics and engineering departments)

>>5892026
I strongly advise you to A) learn to code far better than you think you need to B) learn lots of math, especially lots of statistics C) focus on setting a strong foundation with your undergrad D) join a student organization [but don't be afraid to quit it. You will see what I mean.] E) get a job in your field, no matter what it pays or how inconvenient it is F) study for more than 4 hours outside of class every day (some significant portion of that should be self-directed and not directly related to your current classes) G) make sure your professors know and like you H) go to class, every single freaking day (even if you don't need to!!) I) if the class format encourages it, ask questions and be involved.

Finally, do not EVER try to convince anyone you are smart. Do not EVER brag, or put anyone down. You will see a LOT of this shit from other people. There are a lot of over inflated, fragile egos in science (at every level). Be as humble as possible, and let your skills and resume speak for themselves. This will set you apart from the trash, and give you a huge advantage when it comes time to hire. Being hired when you are still an undergrad is CRUCIAL to ensuring your future job possibilities.

Please feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday and Resnick is a good one. You will need some basic calculus but nothing too bad. You do NOT need the newest edition for self teaching.

I strongly suggest you look at the math and science offerings of Dover Publications. $15 per book is pretty typical, and typically of very strong quality. Schaum's Outlines are also good investments. Go ahead and spend a $100 and buy a selection of books on trig/early calculus/ODE/linear/vector calculus/whatever you feel like you need. Once you are in college you will be spending more than that per single book, and the books will probably be useless.

Don't forget the online resources I linked above. They are free (except udemy).

>>5891879
OP here. I'll take what you said into consideration, I'll always have a backup plan (working with computers). I was already offered a $70k/year job as a web developer but had to turn it down because it was full time and I'm still in high school. I'll start studying math more in depth when I'm finished with "Physics The Easy Way", as I got it from the library and have to return it in 3 weeks. I'd renew it, but I might be moving to a different state before 3 weeks is up. Thank you for your input though, your fingers must hurt after all that typing and I might save it as a text document lol. I know the job outlook for a physics major isn't as great as other professions, but I love the science and math involved. [anecdote]I've always loved and been good at math. When I was 12 I theorized Zeno's paradoxes, only to be wildly disappointed when I discovered someone else already came up with the idea.[/anecdote]

>>5892019
>The field is very saturated, COMICALLY competitive, and very low wages. Basically even with a PhD the chances that you will get a job doing astrophysics is very low.

This is not true. it's competitive but jobs exist if you're prepared to move. Wages are the same as anywhere in academia. Getting a job depends on how well you did, for some it's easy, for others it isn't happening at all. You can always leave academia, at which point you realise astro majors have some of the lowest unemployment and good wages. It's not doom and gloom.

unless you plan on going into the specific area of computing in astronomy (which is programing not astronomy) do physics and not CS. Double major if you can.

>>5892042
No worries. I am home sick with mono today, so I figured I'd help you out.

The sort of people who like web development are not the sort of people get degrees in the sciences. I would resent every waking moment of my life if I knew I had to work on web development.

Anyone who offers a teenager a 70k position is dumb as hell. I suspect that you extrapolated from "I was offered X amount of money to do project Y in time Z" out to an annual salary, or something equally silly.

The outlook for a physics degree is just fine. Physics is a perfectly reasonable, employable degree. It is harder than an engineering degree, and you will need to work a bit more to get the same career, but it is not a bad degree at all. (And if you are scared of hard work you don't need to be in the sciences at all)

(My undergrad was actually in Applied Physics, but it had a very strong focus in computational)

>>5892132
Astrophysics on the other hand, is an entirely different beast. You might say its dual in the humanities is library science. All the humanities students like books, so all of them have thought about being a librarian before. But to be a librarian you need a masters degree in library science (which is useless outside of being a librarian). The pay is shit (<30k starting is not unusual - for someone with a masters!). Job competition is fierce (how many libraries are in your city? how many people do they serve?).

You can definitely do astrophysics. It is possible. But planning to do it is almost crazy (like training to be in the NBA/NFL; every kid has hoop dreams, and almost every kid has those dreams shattered).

You can move outside of astro by leveraging the relevant skills (image processing, statistical modeling, high performance computing, etc), but much of your degree is too specialized? How many jobs do you think need to know how (say) stellar nebula form?

Go into this understanding that there is a (loosely speaking) 95% probability that your career path will not involve the stars. Even if it does involve space, it will probably focus on a very specific sub task (like ensuring that flow through a nozzle in a hybrid rocket remains laminar). These seemingly minor tasks can be *extremely* intellectually satisfying and challenging. (that nozzle example is a great example of "seems simple enough..." but basically has its own sub-disciplines devoted to studying the problem)

>>5892134
I am NOT saying you shouldn't pursue knowledge for erudition, but I am saying you have to be realistic. Grow a strong base of widely applicable skills, and THEN figure out what you want to do with them.

Basically, always ask yourself "how can I use this? when will I use this?". I assure you that everything in the sciences has applications, but your teachers will NOT focus on that.

If you are good at self teaching, a second major is not necessarily the best idea. It is not a bad idea, though more degrees does not mean better. If you want to show you can program (for example), self teach, be involved in the relevant clubs, build some project on your own, and leverage it (and your social connections!) to get an exemption into a high level computing elective. This is exactly what I did. I got basically the entire undergraduate computer science curriculum waived based off of **proven** personal expertise and a sympathetic professor (whose son I used to teach). I skipped from CS 112 to CS 613.

I had dropped out of school for a few years between; remember what I said about you need to be able to get a career with your undergrad as a back up? Well, just remember, when it rains it fucking pours.....

>>5892138
It should be obvious but you can not go from CS to Physics. You can probably go from Physics to CS, if you ever want to. CS has a lot of problems as a degree program. Part of the hate for it on this board is unwarranted, but this is not to neglect the very real problems with CS. Regardless you must learn to program. Learning to program, and actually using that in application, is completely non-negotiable for any serious science/engineering student (imo).

Reread the part about "don't brag". No one cares what you did when you were 12. I understand why you want to talk about it. I did cool stuff when I was young and it made me proud. Not a lot of things made me proud because a lot of people in my childhood focused on tearing me down. I wanted to share it with people. For a long time I did not have anyone who was even remotely on my level that I could talk to (how many other adolescents care more about combinatorial explosions than actual explosions?), so I felt a very strong desire to show how capable/worthy I was to differentiate/validate myself. In short, I made myself out to be a huge ass to everyone I spoke to.

But I am not exaggerating when I say that humility will save your ass in the sciences. You need to let that stuff go. Especially since every 17 year old boy I have ever met has been incredibly egotistical, disrespectful, immature, and had very unrealistic expectations of the world (myself included). Honestly, they are worse than 15 or 19 year olds. If you can find calm through the hormones, it WILL pay off for you.

>>5892023
Why do you say math is top-tier only after undergrad. From what I've seen A BS and masters differ very little in terms of job prospects.

I'm starting my BS math degree in september and not sure if I should continue to graduate school.

>Physics and CS
Don't double in CS; it's the science equivalent of the Business degree. Take a class on basic programming if you are not familiar, and take a class on algorithms. They should sufficiently prep you for working with data sets.

Also, expect labwork, long nights of write ups, and continuing to fuck up your experiments and data as your shoddy undergrad equipment decalibrates.

>>5892141
>MATH

A Masters will prep you for your actuarial exams far better than anything in undergrad will. Realistically if you're going to do grad work in math, you'll want to continue on into the doctorate -- some employers will find you overqualified with a masters.

>>5892139
I'll take that to heart. Note that what I've done with computers so far is more software engineering than computer science, and I don't plan to pursue CS in college.

As an ex-astrophysics major, I can back up all that's been said here. Even most professors will warn you of all of these things when you talk to them. But you should get involved with your uni's chapter of the Astronomy Society or Society of Physics Students, as you will learn immensely more there than you will from some anons on the internet.

On a personal note, I'd recommend looking into optics/photonics/laser engineering if your university has such a bachelor program for the following reasons:

1) Astronomy (obviously) cannot be done without optics. You probably know by now that we're in a new era of discovery with exoplanets, but the discovery/analysis process is extremely limited because even the most advanced telescopes can gather a handful of pixels worth of data at a time. Optical/photonics engineers are the ones who research and design better such imaging systems, such as adaptive optics, and you can bet there's a huge frontier in this technology.

2) The field is VERY under-saturated and the demand is very high.

3) When (if not already) you get a qt3.14 gf you want to settle down with and, as crazy as it sounds, want to have kids, you won't have to worry about supporting them on the instability of an underpaying job in an over-saturated field where even after being hired you must worry about grant funding, which is what astrophysics sadly entails.

4) In most large cities, this field offers a median (MEDIAN, mind you) six-digit salary and noice benefits.

5) You can bet your sweet ass the demand for it won't change any time soon. Defense budgets are increasingly relying on optics technology, but if that's not your cup of tea you have easy mobility to many private companies, research, infrastructure, etc.

>>5892141
The difference in terms of math curriculum between an electrical engineer and a math major at my university is (very roughly speaking from memory) baby's first topology, real analysis, foundations of math (a survey course), baby's first abstract algebra, and maybe a one or two other classes.

None of those strongly improve your job prospects.

The EE has practical skills, though, including: a working knowledge of circuits and electronics, signal processing, maybe some programming, and physics. (and other stray skills like VHDL, antenna design, simple robotics, or control theory) You can get a job doing each one of those things as at a bachelor's level.

Basically undergraduate math is far too easy to hold its own weight.

>>5892195
Graduate level, however, is different. Real math, the stuff that mathematicians do, begins (roughly) after your first or second class in analysis. This depends upon how rigorous your university is. Most degrees it doesn't matter so much at the undergrad level, but do not even THINK about doing a BS in math at school that does not have a strong reputation. You just fucked yourself out of an academic/career path if you did.

Getting a double major in math as an EE or Physics degree is not hard, because they already do a ton of math! One of my physics advisers told me years ago that "hell, we do more math than the mathematicians!", and to a point she was right! They do different types of math, but trust me, you will be neck deep in math if you do physics or one of the serious engineering programs (electrical / mechanical / aerospace, basically, but your school might have a heavily watered down program...).

Graduate level math can be anywhere between utterly useless ("great, and could you tell me one more time what a non commutative algebra is?") to "300k starting" (statistics is the obvious example here, but there are lots of other sub fields, like stochastic calculus and dynamic programming (not actually a programming field), that are highly employable). It will, invariably, be hard though. That alone (that you did something very hard) is worth something to employers, but not as much as actual skills.

I would strongly suggest that if you want to do a graduate program in math to double major in something else as an undergrad. It is harder, yes, but if you are REALLY not cut out for math if you are afraid of hard!

If you just want to do math because math is cool, look at taking a single major in physics (they have a BIT more respect for the formalism than engineers do).

>>5892170
As mentioned above, I live in a place with a strong tech industry. Plenty of math majors get hired here. You will, however, never get a web design job with a masters in math. (THANK GOD)

>>5892171
Learn math like you were going to do nothing but math the rest of your life.

Learn physics like you were going to do nothing but physics the rest of your life.

Learn programming like you were going to to do nothing but programming the rest of your life.

You need the formalism. You do not need to get it from your school, but you absolutely do need to be able to know the difference between shell / quick / merge / radix / bubble / harmony / bogo sorts, when to use each one, what their performance characteristics are, etc. The algorithm and data structures classes in the CS curriculum are the absolute CORE of that field.

Once you master the basics, then you can dive into the specifics of implementation details for (say) the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm for your specific problem, which can be REALLY fun/satisfying.

>>5892177
I can confirm. In this economy you will need to go a bit deep in optics (probably more than a bachelors) but you can set your self up for life by studying optics. Also, and this is very important, *people will pay you to play with lasers*.

>>5892213
Sigh. I'll go flog myself now. Harmony search is obviously a search algorithm not a sorting one. I blame my fever.

Thanks everyone for their input. If I wanted to pursue astrophysics but have a backup plan in technology, would it be considered feasible to double major in astrophysics and either CE/EE? I've been told I have a great work ethic, but I'm uncertain as to what the workload would be in this situation. I mean, if it's a subject in which I find great pleasure, the work wouldn't feel like "work" as much as it would an opportunity to practice my interests.

>>5892220
>>5892177
>get paid to play with lasers
Is there a specific major involving optic/photonic engineering?

As a high school student, there is really only one thing I'm sure of at this point, which is that I love math, science, and technology, I'm absolutely certain I'll major in physics, engineering, or both

>>5892261
Learn practical electronics. Get an arduino and a book. I enjoyed this one "Arduino and Kinect Projects: Design, Build, Blow Their Minds".

You will need more electronics resources than just that though. Keep self teaching. Do not become a passive participant in your education and you will be fine.

(Do people even call it photonic engineering? That sounds made up.)

EE and physics are (much) closer than computer engineering and physics, and I don't know anything about chemical engineering except that it is seen as watered down at my school. (CE is chemical engineering; did you mean to say CPE for computer engineering?)

Don't worry so much about the work load. Just do what is demanded of you and more. Physics is usually the hardest undergrad degree, but, and this is very important, all of undergrad is piss easy compared to what comes later.

One of the best things you can do for yourself TODAY is to go and start the free online course called NAND2Tetris.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JtXvUoPx4Qs

Ex-astrophysicist here: I can confirm with most of what was said above.

Especially with the part that nobody cares about what you did at 12: that's cute, but talent is not enough. Talent alone will carry you for the first two weeks of a (decent) university. After that, you'll need hard work and dedication.

One more point: it does not matter that much what you specialize in during your first few years. What matters is that you learn, no, really get your brain used to constantly thinking and learning new things.

And what really matters is getting a good advisor and a good topic for a thesis. A good thesis will let you practice how to actually do science (and in the best case it can blossom into your first few published articles), and a good advisor will mean contacts, which are essential.

>>5892289
Yes, I meant CPE. Sorry if that caused any confusion.

>>5892134
>How many jobs do you think need to know how (say) stellar nebula form?
Nonsense. Astro majors have lower unemployment than physics students. In some studies it is zero.

>>5892320
You will also need to know how to spot people who spout bullshit and/or try to hurt you.

This sort of wisdom is an essential life skill for anyone, and especially necessary in the sciences (telling which published papers are bullshit is an art in and of itself).

>>5892261
This anon >>5892177 here. It's pretty rare to find such an undergraduate program, but my university added a bachelor's program for it that starts next year.
But there are plenty of optics/photonics graduate programs out there (always a good choice in the field), and studying general physics or electrical engineering will set you up pretty well for these.

>>5892289
Yup, it's a thing. Here they treat it as a sort of hybrid between physics and a specialization of EE

I got a PhD. A few observations from my own experiences:

- a PhD study is long, mostly painful and frustrating. There is very little money.
- any job that requires a PhD tends to be badly paid. Sure, everyone agrees that R&D is important and want the next great thing/medicine/toy but won't pay more than pennies
- world economy is in the toilet. Make sure your field is of a type that can give you an industrial career as a plan B

On the plus side a PhD makes you mobile: laws of nature are the same all over the world, a handy little thing that studies in national law, business etc. don't have

Also a recent article (sorry, got no links) showed that a higher academic degree in medicine and physics gives you an edge, most other fields an advanced degree is a loss. Mind you, I suspect that is for masters degrees, not PhD.

As for my career I saw my field implode (high Tc) but got interesting stays around the world (like Japan), turned to programming in industry and experienced disposable income for the first time in my life. I left programming and now I am in consultancy.

>>5891904
>not taking AP physics in 12th grade
>not taking AP BC calc in 12th grade

good luck being an astrophysics major, OP.

>>5892378
>Being such an incoming college freshman that you actually think these things matter

>>5892170
>Don't double in CS; it's the science equivalent of the Business degree
What do you mean by this? I'm a different anon, I'm thinking of doing a CS major. It's supposed to be an expanding job market, and it's not going to go away. Isn't that pretty practical?

>>5892400
he means CS isnt "sciency" enough. it's a popular thing on /sci/ to hate on CS, which i find to be stupid, but w/e. i'm a cs major and very good at math but i enjoy writing code.

it's not a hard degree if you're good at math/science, so people in those majors make fun of CS majors (which doesn't really matter, because CS majors make some really good cash).

>>5892398
>thinking OP has any intelligence for astrophysics when he's taking pre-calc in 12th grade

keep feeding him lies

>>5892407
Oh ok. I'm cool with that, I'm not huge into math/science, I just want to have a place in the future.

>>5892412
>thinking that the only reason someone doesn't take a class is because it's too hard for them
why haven't you taken an economics class anon?
What's wrong, too hard for you?

>>5892422
just be good at it and you will have that and more :)

>>5892423
why would I take an economics class? how does that help my major?

>>5892434
You'll be concerned about making space things with less money.

>>5892434
holy shit you have poor critical thinking.

>>5892468
why are you so mad?

>>5892434
Exactly the point anon.

You're assuming OP wanted to take math and science classes just as bad as you did but he simply failed to get as far.

What if he just didn't have the plans to need those classes?

inb4 if he was smart he would have known

^ maybe... But that's not necessarily true in all cases.
There are plenty of scientists who made major contributions without even knowing much math.
Faraday for example.

>>5892496
>>5892423
>>5892412
>>5892378
I didn't get into honors/AP classes in 11th grade because I had planned to move to Nevada, then had to come back to New York, ended up missing my regents exams and one of my finals. They were only able to get me into astronomy and algebra 2/trig. If I stay in New York this upcoming year (I might try going back to Nevada) I'll be in pre-calc, honors physics, AP chem, and a robotics/engineering course. I'm also taking Number Theory and Nuclear Physics online (Virtual High School classes provided by my school district)

I'm 21 and I'm in precalc. When I was a teen doctors riddled me with drugs and I'm just getting back into it now

>>5892559
Damn that sucks man.

That's exactly the reason I don't want to see anyone about my depression.
They'll just give me drugs and who knows what that'll do to my ability to do physics

>>5892595
That's probably a good idea. If you're young, it's likely they won't work and they'll keep pumping you with new ones or higher doses. You probably hear this all the time, but sleep and exercise does wonders.

>>5892595
Get that shit under control, one way or the other. (I'm not a big fan of pills either) No one really talks about mental health, but moving out and suddenly being under more stress than every before is a GREAT way to go a little crazy for a while.

Regular sleep schedule, exercise, light therapy, healthy eating habits, plenty of water, cleanliness, and meditation. Your body is a feedback system. Depression is a psychosomatic feedback system. If you break part of the vicious cycle (the somatic, physiological response) you WILL improve your neurological/psychological state. Learning that basically saved my life.

---

Btw, I don't think I pimped NAND2Tetris hard enough earlier. It is THE way to learn how computers work, and (ultimately) how to program them to do what you want.

Also, always relevant:

http://lifesciencephdadventures.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/a-demotivational-letter/

>>5892496
>not all scientists know math
And those days are pretty much gone. Show 10 people in the last 10 years who have made non trivial contributions to science without using calculus and above. (I guess biology?)

>>5892530
AP doesn't matter so much, except for getting admitted. After that, NO ONE CARES. No one looking for admission to a grad school says "oh well he did AP classes, better take him over this guy with lab experience!".

In fact, I've seen people get hurt by taking AP classes. They thought the shitty education they got in their public school was enough, so they entered straight into Cal B and hit integration techniques and infinite series like a brick wall.

Don't worry about being top dog, #1 all the time, youngest in your class with 4.0 GPA, etc. Just do the work, learn the fundamentals, and go beyond on your own. I'm 26 and still an undergrad. I dropped out when I was 19 because I was near-fatally ill. Took me 2 years to recover.

I never took my education seriously when I was kid, and graduated high school without knowing even basic trigonometry (but still everyone told me I was so "good at math" because I was really good at arithmetic).

Almost dying and coming back to school after having worked for a living was actually the experience I needed to focus and really take advantage of the college experience. I've gotten all A's since I came back, and couldn't be happier.

Is the curriculum for those number theory / nuclear physics classes available online? That sounds a little too good to be true.

>(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)

MODS = GODS

>>5892019
>Every science nerd, freaking all of us, like space and the related topics.
That's not true. Most physics undergrads I hang out with are not into space at all. I don't blame them. All you do is look at the sky and make pretty pictures. Doesn't really seem like the most enjoyable way to spend your time.

>>5892637
>All you do is look at the sky and make pretty pictures
I genuinely feel sorry for anyone who can't see past constellations.

If we are blunt, and literally just look at space pictures as nothing more than the splashes of color they appear to be on the surface, then ya space would seem quite dull indeed.

The beauty of space is _not_ something you can see with your eyes, it's in your mind.

Not even joking, but if someone really finds space boring and isn't brought to their knees from time to time by its sheer magnitude and beauty (which you can only see with your mind) they haven't thought about it enough.

I almost want to say it's.... impossible? For someone to comprehend even a fraction of what they are _really_ looking at (not just the colors) and not say it's the most beautiful thing they can imagine.

How some people can look at something like space in such a simple minded way is beyond me.

>>5892658
TL;DR

All I'm saying is that you're demonstrably wrong. No need to write a novel about it.

>>5892685
I'm not the same guy you quoted earlier.

So, you said he's wrong
I backed him up
you didn't read my post

conclusion: you cannot say I'm wrong until you read my post.

Or don't read it, it's your loss though.

>>5892703
>it's your loss though.
Yeah I'm sure your post is of very high quality. I'll take your word for it.

>>5892637
I however AM the guy you quoted.

I was being hyperbolic, I know.

Not everyone, but a lot of people are really into space (or at least go through a phase), and this percentage is way higher if you only consider physicists. I'm just saying I can't imagine any thinking, questioning young person (child) who has never laid in bed and wondered in fascination about space ships and black holes and supernova and so on.

Granted, once you get older you start to see less obvious sources of wonder in the physical world. I had a friend who spent a full two years studying a very specific nano structure of silicon and germanium. It intrigued him but what young mind would care about that minuscule detail when they didn't know why the sun burned, what lightning was, how magnets worked, what radiation was, or why a fire was hot?

It is a lot easier for the young mind to be captured by renderings of solar systems and nebula, to hear how large galaxies were, how far away the stars are, and how nothing, nothing!, could escape a black hole. (I know, I know. I oversimplified on purpose). An interest in stat mech, for example, requires a lot more sophistication and comes later.

tl;dr: how terrible for you.

>>5892636
/sci/ is neck deep in cancer and guy who asked an earnest, science-related question got banned. (so what if he was a bit naive, who wasn't as a teenager?)

Are you fucking kidding me?

MODS=FAGS

Seriously the whole site is crawling with obvious underage faggots and THIS is the kid who gets banned?
You gotta get your shit together faggots, the guy was asking a legit question as opposed to 90% of this board and instead of doing what you're fucking supposed to do and cleaning up "hurr wat conscious" or "you cant know nuthin" threads youre banning this fukcing future /sci/ contributer who actually studies physics as opposed to, again, 90% of this board?

Douche move

>>5892754
Not only do these
>"choose my major"
>"help with choosing collage"
>"lulz whats uni like? once i pass my 8th grade i wanna be mathematician"
threads get regulary deleted, the OP even admits on being underage too, this site is 18+ on all boards.

Not to say that i disagree with the fact that /sci/ is swimming in shit and mods could visit a little bit more often but someone must be made as an example, thye could have just as easily deleted this thread but did not to remind that we don't want underage people here and to preserve the little discussion that might have been worth it.

>>5892754
Are we not allowed to ask for academic guidance on /sci/ anymore?

erm, why the fuck was OP banned?
is it coz he implied he's underage?
really? is that it??

you fucking pathetic kike mods, anybody can say anything about their age, it doesnt mean shit

im 3 years old, i'm the most talented 3 year old in the country, i know how to fully operate a computer
so ban my ass

cunts

>>5892783
The funnest possible outcome would be you getting banned.

>>5892783
enjoy your ban

>>5892786
*you're

>>5892787
haha retard

>>5892783
>you fucking pathetic kike mods, anybody can say anything about their age, it doesnt mean shit

Yes it does, fucking niggerjew.

>>5892791
i dont give a fuck, bans are pretty easy to circumvent.
mods have no real power.
if they actually did, i wouldnt have posted that

>>5892777
>>5892781
>>5892783
I don't think you guys even know why the +18 rule is in place here.

Hint US law, porn, 4 chans future operation.


If someone says they are underage they have to be banned.

>>5892783
enjoy your ban.

>>5892794
haha trolled

>>5892796
how the fuck does it mean anything??
my entire point was that people can easily lie about their age

if someone actually is under 18, then it's easy as fuck to just NEVER EVER MENTION THAT, and therefore not ever be banned for it.

face it: age bans are completely and utterly unenforceable.

it's a stupid fucking rule, and they know it.

it's like on pr0nz 'click here if you're over 18, otherwise fuck off''
>le me, age 13
>erm, yep sure, im over 18. show me what you got...

>>5892809
>if someone actually is under 18, then it's easy as fuck to just NEVER EVER MENTION THAT, and therefore not ever be banned for it.

And? But whenever the fucknuggets mention that they're under 18, they get banned.

I really don't understand why you can't comprehend this.

i guess we should've known /sci/ was riddled with underage teenagers long ago

protip: the nsa is watching your asses

>>5892822
OBVIOUSLY i fucking comprehend that!
it's just.. what kind of a complete fucking imbecile do you have to be to just declare that you're underage??
it's utterly moronic.

even if i WAS underage, i'd have the fucking sense to keep my god damn mouth shut!

Fine, ban OP. But while you're at it, why don't you go and clean house?

There are plenty of people here that do nothing but shitpost. How many threads at any given time are actually about science or math? 10% if we're lucky?

>>5892827
meh. those who aint doin owt wrong dont have any reason to worry.
it's only criminals who will be fucked over.
the NSA, or anyone else for that matter, wouldnt give a shit about me.

i'd rather be spied on and also have terrorists spied on, than have neither of us spied on

>>5892830
>ban 90% of the board
yeh, good idea, faggot

the board is slow enough as it is. /sci/ would basically be unusable if they started turning the whole nazi moderation thing up to 11

>>5892809
>age bans are completely and utterly unenforceable

They're meant to keep kids bitching about their petty problems off the boards like: "other kids are bullying me :(", "my school is blocking .bat files an I can't play mind-craft", "what college should I go to", "help with my prealgebra hw", etc etc....

There's also the problem of 90% of 4chan being lolicons/shotacons

>>5892835
protip#2: they can use this information as political leverage to blackmail you if you ever do anything important

i.e.: saying you're affiliated with a site associated with hackers and CP

mods = gods
that is all

>>5892841
>banning shitposters
>"nazi"
Shitposter detected.

Polite sage for not science.

>>5892835
9/10

You forgot an appeal to authority or special pleading.

>>5892841
Fine, enjoy your 0.999 = 1, quali, "consciousness", evolution, and religious troll-bait threads. I would rather it take a month for a thread to fall off the board if half of the threads were actually on topic.

>>5892839
doesnt prevent that. kids can still bitch about their problems, they would just mask certain details to circumvent any potential ban
>' "other kids are bullying me'
would change to "my coworkers are giving me hassle.."

>my school is blocking .bat files an I can't play mind-craft
first of all, thats MINE-craft, you fucking pleb, and secondly, that would change to
>hey /b/, i've just got a new job in derp inc, but the company computers block .bat files and i feel like slacking off....

it's pretty fucking simple to do
and just coz they're underage doesnt mean they're fucking idiots
i bet my 13 year old self could run rings round most of you faggots

>>5891879
>astrophysics

why? It's the most bullshit field of physics.

>I might even minor in CE

If you want a job, get a major in it

>>5892855
>shitposting 101
Here come learn from the master of shitposting
you should eat your meds or something

>>5892853
ahahah!
>implying im trolling
no, i really dont give a fuck
i always presumed the government was keeping tabs on it's citizens. it's funny that everyone else seems so surprised by the snowden leaks.

>>5892863
you know nothing of my meds, peasant.

>>5892855
>my coworkers are giving me hassle
Bitch to HR -> discrimination lawsuit -> payday

>but the company computers block .bat files
How the fuck do they expect you to do any work with that computer?

>>5891879
sage goes in all fields

My hard drive died and i lost all of the "take your pills" images I made for EK. :(

>>5892871
was just an example, it doesnt really matter

>>5892170
>and take a class on algorithms

Most would be bored way out of their minds doing so. Reading a copy of CLRS is far better in terms of depth and pacing.

>>5892400
>What do you mean by this? I'm a different anon, I'm thinking of doing a CS major

A CS major requires very very little actual brain function to get. Yeah, you can spend all your time taking grad classes but you will still be grouped with all the other mediocre majors who can't into fizzbuzz (nowadays it's so famous they probably just memorize sample code to do it).

>>5892809
It's to cover their own asses(moot in perculiar) from being sued or held liable for any content on here.

Kill yourself, EK.

>>5892879
good!
that shit was old, and the joke died long ago.
fix your fuckking shite immature sense of humor, ya bloody macrophile.

>>5892905
obviously he cant be sued anyway.
theres no image-block-algorithm to stop porn, gore, or even hardcore beastiality CP from being posted on any fucking board.
if i had any, i could go to fucking /ck/ or /v/ or anywhere and start spamming it on the main page, and theres nothing moot, or any mod could do to stop me.

and as far as teh feds would be concerned, obviously i'd be the cunt who's posting it, and would be 100% responsible.
moot wouldnt be held liable for something some other shithead posts onto his site. he literally cant control that, and they know damn well.

>>5892213
>bogo sorts
>when to use each one

bogosort will never be pulled out of someones ass on their own.

Merge (or quick if it's not really that big or needs to be massively parallelized) is all you really need to know; radix rarely is that useful and bubble only good when the max displacement for the correct position is very small compared to the number of elements.

>>5892908
you fucking dunce, that doesnt mean im samefag

oh, just like im inurdaes, eh?
yeh, funny how that turned out, wasnt it?

people share each others images, fag. it aint a difficult concept.
but i love that you're so obsessed with me.
i'll go find you a pair of chopsticks or something, hun. and then you can eat my ass.

>>5892924
If you're not, youshould be sued by the girl who you pick the pics, but only to screw you.

>>5892924
Why did you temporarily use the name Terelsecky?

>>5892911
>theres nothing moot, or any mod could do to stop me

ban your entire IP range

>>5892926
>sued for using pics
ha!
then i've got a hell of a lot of lawsuits ahead of me.
i suppose i can expect one from danny devito in the mail tomorrow then?

>>5892929
i can still get around that if i wanted to
>>5892927
i didnt

>>5892289
CE can mean both but usually CompE. ChemE isn't brought up on 4chan much outside of tube lover threads so it's usually the safe assumption....

>>5892875
>was just an example, it doesnt really matter

kids problems are usually problems because they are kids. If you try to dress the up as adult ones the solutions usually very different

>>5892932
>i can still get around that if i wanted to

What are you gonna do if moot bans all of Scotland? Move to another country to shitpost on 4chan or waste your money on a banned VPN? You have some serious mental illness,

>>5891879
(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
praise be

>>5892911
>theres no image-block-algorithm to stop porn, gore, or even hardcore beastiality CP from being posted on any fucking board.

Why the fuck would you want to go to a 4chan without porn, gore, beastiality, or loli?

EK for fucks sake, take your meds, they are there for you to take.

>>5892932
>i didnt

There's no point in denying. The archive is full of evidence. You are truly obsessed with /sci/ and you're highly autistic.

>>5892936
>still believing im in scotland.
hah!
still slightly less dense than the 7/7/11-fags, but not by much, clearly.

>>5891987
But why?

/sci/ is a lot better than other stuff kids can get into on the internet.

>>5892940
>denial

>>5892941
im not actually into porn. obviously theres shit-tons of it all over the internet, but it all seems pretty bland and it's basically all the same, and just really uninteresting.
anyway, with that being the case i obviously dont need to be getting my pron from tards on 4chan, even if i was into it.
i dont like gore either. i dont get grossed out or shocked by it, but it aint exactly funny or clever either, so i tend to just scroll past it.

>>5892942
She likes to show her cookie head, that's not a problem.

>>5892941
All of those can be found to much greater extent on dedicated forums which you can find via a simple google search.

>>5892942
STFU, i know to take them, i do, and i dont need cunts like you to remind me!

>>5892943
i aint autistic, and i aint other tripfags.
i dont tripfag at all anymore, actually. if you think that 'evidence' is in the filename of images, then you're fucking deluded because by that logic you've 'proved' that i'm inurdaes, because we share some of the same images
im not though

>>5892946
i dont need to deny what fucking country im in. if you wanna get trolled by blackman, then be my guest.
i know i aint from scotland, and i've never even been.

>>5892019
>As a high school student
Are you suggesting that you are also a high school student - in the sense on might say "as a mother of four..." in response to an issue about family life - or are you just telling him what he should do himself, being highschooler?
If you are yourself in highschool, why would anyone care what you think?
If you're not in highschool, what are your qualifications?

>>5892955
>i aint autistic, and i aint other tripfags.

It is a well known fact that you were posting under the name "Terelsecky" in 2011. It was your failed attempt to build up a semi-serious trip persona.

>>5892961
no it wasnt.
and my EK trip persona was 'semi serious' anyway
i mean sure, i had fun with it and took the piss a bit, but i was sometimes serious in threads too, i could help people out.

>>5891879
sage

>>5892965

>>5892026
Yes, but the engineers are employed

Stay mad, physicsfag

>>5892965
>and my EK trip persona was 'semi serious' anyway

And it failed hard. You are too stupid to fit in as a good poster but you're also too autistic to be a troll.

>>5892972
erm, i aint actually autistic.
i've actually been tested (along with a few other things) so im actually completely certain that im not
and yeh, i aint great at math, but that's just coz i dont care, not because i lack the ability.
if theres any zoology thread or whatever then i'll help the shit outta them!

>>5892965
>but i was sometimes serious in threads too, i could help people out.

>>5892979
That's what I'm talking about. You're backpedalling again, being defensive and trying to justify yourself on an anonymous board. You have a severe personality disorder and you know it. I honestly feel sorry for you.

>>5892985
how is that backpeddling?? i havnt retracted owt, and i havent gone against anything i've previously said.
and shut the fuck up about my disorder, if you had something like that you wouldnt be so fucking tactless about it. and maybe it'l happen and we'll see how you cope with it, eh?? probably a hell of a lot worse than me

>>5892368
>consultant
isn't that like the go to job of serial killers

>>5892993
I'm sorry. Did you try to seek professional help? What meds are you taking? Anxiolytics? Antidepressants?

>>5893002
i aint talking about it and im going anyway. bye

>>5891987
We don't know if he's 18. He could had been held back for 2 years. He can be 18/19 for all we know as a high school senior

>>5893002
antipsychotics, she needs it for her bipolar

>>5892197
> but do not even THINK about doing a BS in math at school that does not have a strong reputation.
Undergrad level? No. Grad level? Probably.

>>5891879
HORY SHIT