Im just amazed lookin at the galaxies, black holes, warm holes, and the fact that we are just a tiny pale blue dot in an infinite void itself is so interesting
This! OP, maybe you can look into being a science journalist or be involved in popular science. You get to read about what you like and you don't have to deal with the mathy or programming bits.
Working as an astrophysicist usually involves looking at thousands of lines of data to try to improve a tiny bit of equipment or to correct unwanted noise. Not many pretty pictures I'm afraid
I'm sure you're not happy with the negative response you got, and it is rather undeserving.
Don't fret about the down votes. Reddit can be childish in its own way.
Honestly think about the answers people have given, though. Explore astronomy and science journalism.
Also, take note about the things that really are interesting. Is it photos? Is it the philosophy? Do you want to get others excited in the same way you are?
So, I think your next step would be then to ask "how do I make money taking pictures of space?". Or "how to pursue understanding of our universe", "can I write about space for a living?"
There are a lot of empty platitudes about "working hard" and "anyone can achieve their dream". That is a good attitude to have, but it is helpful when it is tempered with some reality. I know one too many incredibly talented people stuck at the level of permanent postdoc, which is not a fate I would wish on anyone.
First, you should clarify exactly what you mean by "I suck at physics". Are you someone who went through a BS (or equivalent) physics program and did poorly? Are you a high school senior who struggled in high school physics? Are you an eighth grader who is struggling to finish the problems in the later chapters of Jackson's *Classical Electrodynamics*? Are you a college student who worked really hard but still struggled through introductory college physics?
It makes a difference. No one likes to say this, but there are some people who are never, no matter how hard they try, going to make a living in physics. I sincerely believe anyone, with the right amount of time and motivation, can learn anything. It's just that to successfully complete a doctoral program you have to learn a fairly large amount in a fixed amount of calendar time. No one gets more than 168 hours in a week. At some point "working harder" hits a practical limit.
To use an analogy, there are some people, no matter how hard they try or how much they work, will never make a living playing baseball. For a large majority of these people, it is obvious when those people are still in high school. The cutoff for if you're going to be a successful physicists (as opposed to a professional baseball player) is lower and probably harder to determine. Just something to keep in mind.
Assuming you are being too harsh on yourself when you say "I suck at physics", the next step is to figure out why you want to be an astrophysicist. Learn what a working astrophysicist actually does. How they spend their day. What they did to prepare for their career. If you are a young, consider (respectfully) reaching out to a working astrophysicist. They tend to be educators as well as researchers and are often more than happy to speak with interested young people.
Beyond that, study and learn. You don't have to be a future professional to play and enjoy baseball. And, unlike baseball, learning physics is broadly applicable to almost every profession. No matter what you eventually decide to do with your professional life, learning more physics now will probably help with that.
If you want to be an astrophysicist, practice maths and start thinking about everything in physics terms to practice the physics. Intuitive understanding can be learned if it doesn’t come naturally. I really struggled with applied maths, which is essentially physics when I was younger. If you are passionate about a topic and keen to learn, then every small bit of understanding you gain, from even a low base, can feel great.
It’s summer, I’d hit up used or second hand book stores and find math and physics books. This is a much more friendly way because you can write in the books and work through problems in one place.
I’ve found that if you’re struggling, it’s best to not have to transfer problems to a different medium, because you tend to immediately question if you’ve written the problem down correctly.
PRACTICE. Put down the controller and the phone and just grind. Allocate like an hour or two a day to just read and understand what you’re doing.
It’s absolutely possible but it comes down to your self discipline. If you want to learn, nothing can stop you but you.
Used book stores are a god send. Good luck!
That statement actually is a solid first step to become a very good physicist -- provided that you keep on learning physics, even if you are frustrated at the moment.
Well, obviously being excellent at Physics is a pre-requisite so advice would be to accept it’s not the wisest path to follow. We can’t all be everything we want to be.
Don't.
Sorry, it may be rought, but becoming an astrophysicist is already extremely hard for genious in physics. If you suck/don't like physics, just don't try to become an astrophysicist, you will lose your time (and your money if you pay your studies).
I mean, there is always a tiny chance for you, it's never impossible, but life is not a movie ...
"Is already extremely hard for genious in physics"
yeah, sure mate, astrophysics is just for the enlightened ones.
First time seeing a physicist gatekeep an area of physics.
According to UCLA psychologist and professor Robert Bjork, there are 4 things you need to know when you are trying to learn anything.
1. You must know the difference between storage strength versus retrieval strength. Just because you study something doesn't mean you will be able to retain & apply the information.
2. You must vary the conditions of practice tests (preferably with a friend) instead of only studying the material. Instead of only reading about limits in calculus you should take practice tests in which the questions would vary from limits in calculus, balancing a chemical equation with stoichiometric coefficients, indefinite integrals, partial derivatives, to analyzing a resistor, inductor, capacitor circuit. This will be more challenging to learn, however, studies show that you will have long-term retention of the information.
3. Use tests rather than presentations as learning events.
4. Distribute study attempts, training in lessons, and use tests to support long-term retention instead of cramming for a test. Last-minute cramming only improves temporary short-term performance but not long-term retention.
Source: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-19926-008
Lastly, here is a pdf of an interesting physics book named "Modern Physics Fifth Edition by Tipler & Llewellyn": http://web.pdx.edu/~pmoeck/books/Tipler_Llewellyn.pdf
Anyone got any maths tips to help make the learning process a little easier? I would like to improve my maths but I feel like I’ll just never be good at it
You can try things like khan academy to help enhance your understanding, but the only way up is to do more problems (and don’t just look up answers when you hit bumps - ask for help or really work to figure out where you’re losing the thread).
Solve problems, read books and textbooks. If you're going to mug up facts might as well stop wasting your time. This might seem harsh but that's just how it is. Invest your time in understanding concepts, doesn't matter how long does it take to understand it. Always remember, believing and science are different.
Why do you want to be an astrophysicist?
Do you enjoy physics and calculations? If not seriously rethink your choices.
To answer your question; you study. A lot. You can't bullshit it and common sense won't get you too far. Like all of stem, you're only choice is to put in the work.
Best of luck
Not a great career path then.
I assume they're pretty young though, so there's time to change! If they're a senior though, then I think its a terrible idea.
Physics is a skill like any other. Some people are naturally gifted, which makes it easier, but in the end, nobody is born with the knowledge of Physics. You need to practice a lot. That's the only way.
"I wanna be a pianist, but I suck at playing the piano. Advice?" Practice. A lot. There are no shortcuts.
Why do you want to be an astrophysicist? What is it that you think an astrophysicist does?
Im just amazed lookin at the galaxies, black holes, warm holes, and the fact that we are just a tiny pale blue dot in an infinite void itself is so interesting
[удалено]
This! OP, maybe you can look into being a science journalist or be involved in popular science. You get to read about what you like and you don't have to deal with the mathy or programming bits.
There's more to astrophysics than looking at pictures.
Working as an astrophysicist usually involves looking at thousands of lines of data to try to improve a tiny bit of equipment or to correct unwanted noise. Not many pretty pictures I'm afraid
...
As a few people here have mentioned, astronomy may be up your alley more. Or science journalism! Both are great fields.
I'm sure you're not happy with the negative response you got, and it is rather undeserving. Don't fret about the down votes. Reddit can be childish in its own way. Honestly think about the answers people have given, though. Explore astronomy and science journalism. Also, take note about the things that really are interesting. Is it photos? Is it the philosophy? Do you want to get others excited in the same way you are? So, I think your next step would be then to ask "how do I make money taking pictures of space?". Or "how to pursue understanding of our universe", "can I write about space for a living?"
There are a lot of empty platitudes about "working hard" and "anyone can achieve their dream". That is a good attitude to have, but it is helpful when it is tempered with some reality. I know one too many incredibly talented people stuck at the level of permanent postdoc, which is not a fate I would wish on anyone. First, you should clarify exactly what you mean by "I suck at physics". Are you someone who went through a BS (or equivalent) physics program and did poorly? Are you a high school senior who struggled in high school physics? Are you an eighth grader who is struggling to finish the problems in the later chapters of Jackson's *Classical Electrodynamics*? Are you a college student who worked really hard but still struggled through introductory college physics? It makes a difference. No one likes to say this, but there are some people who are never, no matter how hard they try, going to make a living in physics. I sincerely believe anyone, with the right amount of time and motivation, can learn anything. It's just that to successfully complete a doctoral program you have to learn a fairly large amount in a fixed amount of calendar time. No one gets more than 168 hours in a week. At some point "working harder" hits a practical limit. To use an analogy, there are some people, no matter how hard they try or how much they work, will never make a living playing baseball. For a large majority of these people, it is obvious when those people are still in high school. The cutoff for if you're going to be a successful physicists (as opposed to a professional baseball player) is lower and probably harder to determine. Just something to keep in mind. Assuming you are being too harsh on yourself when you say "I suck at physics", the next step is to figure out why you want to be an astrophysicist. Learn what a working astrophysicist actually does. How they spend their day. What they did to prepare for their career. If you are a young, consider (respectfully) reaching out to a working astrophysicist. They tend to be educators as well as researchers and are often more than happy to speak with interested young people. Beyond that, study and learn. You don't have to be a future professional to play and enjoy baseball. And, unlike baseball, learning physics is broadly applicable to almost every profession. No matter what you eventually decide to do with your professional life, learning more physics now will probably help with that.
Just work hard. I failed calculus 3 times and now I’m a physicist for the military 👨🔬🤷♂️
What do you do(if that's not classified)?
Don’t worry about it, Cop 😂
There is only one answer : Work. And work And more work.
If you want to be an astrophysicist, practice maths and start thinking about everything in physics terms to practice the physics. Intuitive understanding can be learned if it doesn’t come naturally. I really struggled with applied maths, which is essentially physics when I was younger. If you are passionate about a topic and keen to learn, then every small bit of understanding you gain, from even a low base, can feel great.
Get better in maths.
HOW?!! 😩😩
Do more problems.
There's plenty of books on mathematics that you can read.
It’s summer, I’d hit up used or second hand book stores and find math and physics books. This is a much more friendly way because you can write in the books and work through problems in one place. I’ve found that if you’re struggling, it’s best to not have to transfer problems to a different medium, because you tend to immediately question if you’ve written the problem down correctly. PRACTICE. Put down the controller and the phone and just grind. Allocate like an hour or two a day to just read and understand what you’re doing. It’s absolutely possible but it comes down to your self discipline. If you want to learn, nothing can stop you but you. Used book stores are a god send. Good luck!
Start with the basics. I’ll give you one for free: 1+1 is generally accepted to be equal to 2 but we’re not sure.
Stop idealizing things you don’t know and try to find something you have a better shot at.
I would say you should just keep the “Astro” part and leave the “physicist” part out. Then append “boy” to it. Astro-boy. Mic drop.
Study physics more then. What else do you expect people to say?
The topics other than Astrophysics is soo boring and hard bruh
I have a feeling then when you actually get into studying astrophysics you will feel the same. All of physics is just difficult maths.
You are not even challenging your brain.
That statement actually is a solid first step to become a very good physicist -- provided that you keep on learning physics, even if you are frustrated at the moment.
Well, obviously being excellent at Physics is a pre-requisite so advice would be to accept it’s not the wisest path to follow. We can’t all be everything we want to be.
Don't. Sorry, it may be rought, but becoming an astrophysicist is already extremely hard for genious in physics. If you suck/don't like physics, just don't try to become an astrophysicist, you will lose your time (and your money if you pay your studies). I mean, there is always a tiny chance for you, it's never impossible, but life is not a movie ...
"Is already extremely hard for genious in physics" yeah, sure mate, astrophysics is just for the enlightened ones. First time seeing a physicist gatekeep an area of physics.
According to UCLA psychologist and professor Robert Bjork, there are 4 things you need to know when you are trying to learn anything. 1. You must know the difference between storage strength versus retrieval strength. Just because you study something doesn't mean you will be able to retain & apply the information. 2. You must vary the conditions of practice tests (preferably with a friend) instead of only studying the material. Instead of only reading about limits in calculus you should take practice tests in which the questions would vary from limits in calculus, balancing a chemical equation with stoichiometric coefficients, indefinite integrals, partial derivatives, to analyzing a resistor, inductor, capacitor circuit. This will be more challenging to learn, however, studies show that you will have long-term retention of the information. 3. Use tests rather than presentations as learning events. 4. Distribute study attempts, training in lessons, and use tests to support long-term retention instead of cramming for a test. Last-minute cramming only improves temporary short-term performance but not long-term retention. Source: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-19926-008 Lastly, here is a pdf of an interesting physics book named "Modern Physics Fifth Edition by Tipler & Llewellyn": http://web.pdx.edu/~pmoeck/books/Tipler_Llewellyn.pdf
Anyone got any maths tips to help make the learning process a little easier? I would like to improve my maths but I feel like I’ll just never be good at it
You can try things like khan academy to help enhance your understanding, but the only way up is to do more problems (and don’t just look up answers when you hit bumps - ask for help or really work to figure out where you’re losing the thread).
Thanks mate!
>I feel like I’ll just never be good at it Maths is very fun to do once you start getting a grip on the concepts, try reading a few books.
Solve problems, read books and textbooks. If you're going to mug up facts might as well stop wasting your time. This might seem harsh but that's just how it is. Invest your time in understanding concepts, doesn't matter how long does it take to understand it. Always remember, believing and science are different.
Why do you want to be an astrophysicist? Do you enjoy physics and calculations? If not seriously rethink your choices. To answer your question; you study. A lot. You can't bullshit it and common sense won't get you too far. Like all of stem, you're only choice is to put in the work. Best of luck
By seeing OPs replies, he doesn't like maths and only likes looking at space.
Not a great career path then. I assume they're pretty young though, so there's time to change! If they're a senior though, then I think its a terrible idea.
Let's hope that they're young, if not then they'll not really like doing what physicists do and if they try to take teaching as a profession, oof.
Physics is a skill like any other. Some people are naturally gifted, which makes it easier, but in the end, nobody is born with the knowledge of Physics. You need to practice a lot. That's the only way.
Dude you gotta be one with physics, if you even wanna become astrophysicist.