/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.12070874]

I don't get how there are people that do not see how inferior they are to others who go to better universities and are naturally smarter, and don't conclude they should just off
themselves.

I mean, I'm pretty smart, but not smart enough to ever matter or align with any space that includes a "true calling".

It seems so cruel any response to the above basically boils to "we can't be liable for you hurting yourself so just pretend you can do anything and you're fit for whatever you're interesred in."

I'd like to hear others thoughts on this.

[Anonymous No.12070895]

The world is controlled by a few super rich elite.

They want everyone else to be easily manipulable.
They can't have everyone killing themselves just because they're useful drones.

If you try to break from their system tho, then they'll brand you with some form of crazy and encourage you to kill yourself.

[Anonymous No.12070910]

[Anonymous No.12070963]

>>12070874
what are you interested in?
this seems a lot more like you have some personal problems than anything /sci/-related, and even barring that it's more a philosophical question
what's eating you, OP? Is there something you don't feel like you're good enough to pursue?

[Anonymous No.12071045]

>>12070963
I'm interested in math.
I think what started making me feel bad about wanting to pursue it is meeting this kid on discord who is a couple years younger (I'm 19) and has already learned analysis and explored some philosophy I want to. It was also reading about some ivy league curriculum and how much there is packed in.

It might seem like nothing but I really feel guilty about it. I didn't even get into math until I started community college late last year.

[Anonymous No.12071053]

>>12070874
Psychology isn't science, OP is faggot.

[Anonymous No.12071157]

>>12071045
that's really dumb to "feel bad" for not being as smart as other people. other people are smarter than you. fact. you will never be as intelligent as einstein. fact. you will very likely never accomplish a great feat of mathematics. fact

but reasoning from that that you are useless and should kill yourself is illogical and honestly pretty smooth brain coming from someone who supposedly loves math. who cares if you will never be the greatest and most intelligent mind in all of mathematics? there have existed people who were smarter than Einstein; if he had chosen not to go into science, that would have been fine and humanity would have continued, but if he had chosen not to become a scientist because someone was "smarter than him" then that's a terrible reason. don't forget that Einstein's job at the patent office was given to him by a relative adn it was a shit job that he was miserable in. but he didn't write those influential proofs during that time because he wanted to prove himself or anything; he did it because he loved math and science and kept exploring it. there's nothing sappy or inspirational about that story; it's just what he wanted to do
don't be dumb and get down on yourself for not being the smartest person ever. you don't have to be, and you don't have to revolutionize everything.

[Anonymous No.12071173]

>>12071045
continuing:
another feeling I'm getting from you is that you probably feel "behind"
this is also a dumb idea. you don't have to "catch up" to anyone, even that 17 year old kid
he learned analysis and stuff because he wanted to and he was interested. you do the same.
and if you find someone that knows more than you, don't see them as a specter of "what you should have been" and instead as opportunities to ask them questions and advice on where to expand your learning, and also just to enjoy the fun and cool things they have to share about what they've learned
and if they're smug assholes, then ignore them and only interact with them if necessary. these people exist in all the academia, and they're not worth engaging with even to try and "dunk" on them because chances are you'll just get itno arguments or look like a loser. just because you don't know more than them doesn't make you inferior; you're living your own life adn you're doing what you want to do

[Anonymous No.12071176]

>>12071045
if you really want to do math then go do it. see if you can segway from your community college to a better school. research universities, their curriculum, and their faculty and the resources they have adn see how that might fit into your budget. then if you want go to school there, but don't stop working with the course assignments. chances are that considering your interest and language you seem like your enthusiasm and existing intelligence should afford you to breeze through most of the assingments your professors hand out
use this extra time to go to office hours and talk to your professors, who will be cumming (squirting if ladies) with joy that an undergrad wants to learn more than the bare minimum. ask them for further reading materials (of actual substance and much more interesting than the textbook shit you have to do for a grade) and directions in where to look for expanding your knowledge and interests
talking to a qualified expert at any college will save you years of searching for the good stuff and their tutelage will accelerate your abilities
if you find you really really really love this stuff then aggressively (not rudely) seek research opportunities with your professors. if you show immense interest, do well on the assignments, and continually occupy their otherwise uneventful office hours with conversation about the field they love then they will enthusiastically help you
if you want to go further then this, then take comfort in the fact that where you went for undergrad literally does not matter when it comes to entering academia. it's where you go to graduate school(sometimes) and PhD (every time). if you load your CV up with research experience, internships, and presenting papers at conferences then grad and PhD programs will look at your applicatiosn with great interest and offer you more fellowship money

but be sure to talk to as many professors and figures in your life as possible. get connected to actual people inthefield

[Anonymous No.12071194]

>>12071045
and don't ever panic because you'll never learn or master everything. you won't. you never will. and no one ever has. and unironically and buzzfeed memes aside that's a good thing
there will always be something new to explore. a new feeling of adventure as you buy the new big work in the field to tear through it that night, or a new YouTube video playlist to binge, or a new documentary on geometry, or a new discovery in the journals to write a research paper on, and on and on and on and on
if we lived in a world where mathmeticians got to the point where they knew everything, that would be boring as anything
then what? shitpost on 4chan and call eachother morons? what a miserable reality
have fun learning about what you are passionate in and pursuing a career in anything using that knowledge and making contributions when you think you can offer them up. you're going to die in around 50 years anyway, so what's the fucking pressure? you're not a special, but guess what? so is nearly 99% of every other fucking academic in every university in the country. that 17-year-old might go on to be the next Sagan, but he could also just drop out and be a bum the rest of his life or be a stay at home dad or become a billionaire CEO or kill himself in three years or become a state senator or who the hell knows? just make sure to discord him again in a few years and chat about what you two have learned since your last chat

[Anonymous No.12071243]

>>12071157
>>12071173
>>12071176
>>12071194
Thanks anon. This is a great reality check. I'll write down the advice about navigating academia. I suppose I'll go do some math or something and just enjoy life.

[Anonymous No.12071264]

>>12071243
>>12071243
good but don't take advice from a rando like me on a chinese forum board; go find and talk to people who have been through grad school and college. talk to as many people as you can and learn more. go to your community college teachers for advice and ask them if they know anyone from the schools you're interested in to also talk to.
just googling information on grad school and careers can be very unreliable sometimes; only after I talked to someone at the library of congress did i learn that librarians don't just take anyone and it's basically impossible for anyone without a lib sci grad degree acredited by teh ALA and a resume a mile long to get even a basic public library job
just be sure to get lots of different perspectives, talk to your parents, Discord peopelo on what they know and for advice on what to do, what people with upper math education do and what careers you'll be qualified for and what you might like
only then make an educated decision
the best of luck to you anon
just enjoy the week and have fun with classes if you're taking them this semester
good luck

[Anonymous No.12071300]

>>12070874
Nah, honestly, just off yourself OP. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. From the way you talk it seems like you’re lazy and unproductive and I doubt thats changing so whether you kill yourself or not, it won’t make a difference to the world.

[Anonymous No.12071313]

>>12070874
LOL so glad I'm done with that shit.
Enjoy your "social distancing" upcoming semester, faggot