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2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/sci/ - Science & Math

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12217342 No.12217342 [Reply] [Original]

I know there are many people who will say that this is a poor question because you cant compare the difficulty between subjects, but this is just complete nonsense in my opinion. Are you really going to say that its impossible to say that physics is harder than something like political science or kinesiology? Looking at that example, its obvious that certain subjects are harder than others. So at each subjects highest level, which is harder, physics or math?

>> No.12217411

Physics is easier because it's only a subset of maths and reality tells you all the answers.

>> No.12217423
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12217423

>>12217411
Lol

>> No.12217425

Definitely physics. As soon as you approach upper level physics, having a solid foundation in math is required to even glance at most of the experimental, and some of the theoretical fields, of physics such as special relativity, nuclear physics, particle physics, string theory, quantum mechanics/physics and so on.

>> No.12217432

>>12217342
People have won the fields medal for doing physics.
No one has been given the nobel prize for doing pure mathematics.
Maybe...

>> No.12218746

>>12217411
>>12217423
You can interpret it both ways. There's a book by Mark Levi with the title "The Mathematical Mechanic", where, instead of solving physics problems with mathematics, he solves mathematics problems with physical intuition.

Both fields are closely intertwined. I only study physics, but I definitely noticed a lot of mathematical rigour being skipped for utility's sake. It's definitely not as bad as some engineering lectures, but it kind of bothers me.

I'm assuming both fields look very intimidating to an outsider. Difficulty is obviously subjective, but I think it's safe to say that they're both in their own league. Some people are better at maths than they are at physics, and vice versa. Problems in mathematics are abstract and not bound to real-world constraints, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, depending on the problem.

>> No.12218773

>>12217342
I think physics is harder. With math you can more or less let your imagination run wild as long as you comply with a few axioms. With physics you still have to comply with the same axioms as math, except now you also have a new set of constraints imposed on you by nature, and nature doesn't tell you what those constraints are explicitly, you have to figure it out yourself.

>> No.12218790

>>12217342
Math. There's no hard boundaries so you don't know where to go.

>> No.12219071

>>12217432
Fields medal you idiot

>> No.12219228

>So at each subjects highest level, which is harder, physics or math?
Math without a doubt.

>> No.12219983

>>12217411
I feel like this is the most persuasive answer so far. If this thread dies without a more compelling answer, it will be the official position of /sci/ that math is the more difficult subject.

>> No.12220318

>>12217423
This reads like something out of time cube.

>> No.12222472

you'll have to take beyond first year physics subjects to understand that physics is truly hard. there are problems in physics that makes mathematicians scratch their heads and end up becoming too obsessed with trying to solve with it.

>> No.12222796

Bro Kurisu is for Okabe but Mayuri is so cute and was always his friend and was always there for him...

>> No.12223117

>>12222472
this. math gets good way earlier than physics does. general physics (1, 2, 3, and modern physics) is suffocating. modern is a slight improvement but it's still shit, meanwhile calc 3 and intro to analysis is already pretty cool

>> No.12223121

>>12217342
My dick is harder.

>> No.12223809

>>12222472
So answer is that mathematical physics is harder than pure math or theoretical physics

>> No.12223830

Maths is more difficult to grasp because it's more abstract and less intuitive.

>> No.12223873
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12223873

>>12217411
math is contained within the universe, so physics wins out

>> No.12223907

>>12223873
>math is contained within the universe, so physics wins out
isnt it the opposite?

>> No.12224790

>>12217342
I'm getting my degree in Electrical Engineering so I'm inclined to says Physics because it's closer to what I do but I'm not a physicist lol.

>> No.12224859

theoretical computer science beats them both

>> No.12224925

Physics studies only two things: matter and energy. Of course, as with many other disciplines (music comes to mind) the further you explore, the more complicated the details become.
Mathematics studies many things, which are often infinite in breadth, depth, and scope. No other discipline studies infinities of infinities, for example.
I have degrees in both, and in my opinion, Mathematics is harder.

>> No.12224932

>>12224925
Physics do not study matter. Physics study energy. Matter is a more primitive lingo thats associated more with chemistry now.

>> No.12224936

>>12224932
No, chemists do not study matter. Chemists study energy. Matter is a more primitive lingo thats associated more with biology now.

>> No.12224947

>>12224932
I so fucking do study matter.

>> No.12224969

>>12224947
Hows middle school going?

>> No.12225001

physics is harder. Its not really questionable.

>> No.12225017

theoretical physics is harder. Not only do you need to know the math, you need to understand the physics as well. Math is rather simplistic in how it can be proven. Physics is more messy and requires more creativity.

>> No.12225022

math only deals with numbers. physics has to deal with really hard to understand things such as black holes and theories like quantum mechanics which seem to go against reality. Its obvious that physics is harder

>> No.12225034

>>12224969
I mean, yes, 3rd year undergrad is still babby-tier physics, but fuck if I'm not being taught a lot of things pertaining to matter.

>> No.12225642
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12225642

>>12225022
>math only deals with numbers

your argument would be wrong regardless, even if this was true

>> No.12225833

>>12219071
Are you fucking retarded?

>> No.12226853

Physics is considered harder than Biology due to the heavy math involved in the subject. The amount of math and the complexity of the math determines the complexity of the subject. Therefore, it should be obvious that math is more difficult than physics since it is math, which determines the sciences difficulty.

>> No.12226864

>>12217342
Math is easier because in my general physics classes the textbooks read like shit and the lectures were shit in comparison to math.
Math is easier because more intelligent people do it than physics.
/thread

>> No.12226875

>>12225022
Math only deals with arrays of numbers. All numbers can be encoded as arrays of numbers and all math can be encoded as a manipulation of arrays of numbers.
Physics also deals with arrays of numbers, just with different rules.
>such as black holes
That's just an array of numbers.
>theories like quantum mechanics
That's an array of numbers.

>> No.12226884

>>12217432
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_Medal

It all looks like Mathematics to me.

>> No.12226897

>>12226875
you sound like a platonist. A black hole is not just an array of numbers, its an actual physical object that can be described roughly with math

>> No.12226949
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12226949

>>12217342
>What's harder, math or physics
>Posts a pic with an electrical engineer and a neuroscientist
anon... I

>> No.12227066

>>12226949
>electrical engineer and a neuroscientist
Wait really? I don't watch anime but all the discussion around these characters is about how they made people go into physics.

>> No.12227071

>>12227066
they are both physicists

>> No.12227075

>>12227071
nope, newfag

>> No.12227083

>>12227066
They both are into physics (and Kurisu's father is a physicist so she learned from and with him) but their actual fields of study are electrical engineering and neuroscience.

>> No.12227096

>>12227066
plus both Okabe and Daru are in the same class in this school
https://www.dendai.ac.jp/en/undergraduate.html
that has no pure science majors. Only engineering so the debate is IF they do computer or electrical engineering maybe.

>> No.12227112

>>12227083
there doesnt seem to be any evidence that okabe is an electrical engineer. He considers himself a mad scientist, and engineers are not scientists. So he likely from what weve seen in the show call him an applied physicist

>> No.12227119

>>12227096
I dont recall them going to school in the show

>> No.12227128

>>12227112
>there doesnt seem to be any evidence that okabe is an electrical engineer.
it was said in the manga that he's an engineer, I believe computer or electrical, maybe Okabe is electrical and Daru is a computer engineer but Daru also repairs a time machine so... dunno

>> No.12227134

>>12227119
they are not directly shown but Okabe uses one of TDU's labs to analyze something at a certain point.

>> No.12227148

>>12227083
>>12227096
>>12227128
>People where inspired by an anime electrical engineer character to go into physics.
What did they mean by this?

>> No.12227150
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12227150

>>12227148
Even Elon Musk said that engineering > physics

>> No.12227355

>>12227150
Well duh. He needs more wage saves to make him money.

>> No.12229087

Math is harder. Math is the reason physics is considered harder than the other sciences.

>> No.12229271

>>12227112
The end of the Braun manga mentions that he's studying electrical engineering.

>> No.12229281

philosophy

>> No.12229303

>>12226875
What about topology and infinite sets?
You can't encode sets of infinite length as an array.
Its why I hated topology

>> No.12229326

>>12217342
Math.
You (might) be able to understand all physics in one lifetime up to what we know now. Try doing the same with math. It would take literal lifetimes.

>> No.12229412

>>12217342
Define "harder" in the context of billions of different people with billions of different levels of ability.

>> No.12229689

>>12217342
Math has always came easy to me and I had a hard time with physics. In university they teach it too fast, I had to learn like 10 new formulas a week. Math I would maybe get 10 formulas a semesetr

>> No.12229706

>>12217342
it's wrong to teach math as a subject. Maths has always been a tool for physics and chemistry. all mathematical concepts should be taught in the context of physical/chemical/engineering processes.

>> No.12229731

>>12227066
All mad scientist types in media are engineers. Don't believe the scientist lie. I fell for it and you don't get to do cool shit like they do nor are you capable of doing it. If you want to have those skills you need to build them up yourself. I am stuck researching new materials and proving theories while the cool kids get to build exciting electronics with my stuff.

>> No.12231170

>>12229706
Really? Is this just a meme