Hi today
I want to talk about some of my ideas surrounding
Why people get interested in studying physics or wanting to be a physicist in the first place now?
This is just going to be my opinions so you can let me know how relatable this is
but essentially I think that if you look around
You know a physics class people that are majoring in physics
you will find maybe more so than many other you know subjects that the people in this class are really
inspired
Driven and passionate about studying physics and wanting to be a physicist
There will be some people there who I guess have just taken the class because they needed to fill a spot
But I think for the most part
physics really attracts people who I guess feel destined to study physics and
I think I wonder a little bit about why this is and I think about my own journey
to wanting to pursue physics and to be a physicist and I think one of the things that contribute to it is that
People really do like the challenge and the challenge comes from physics
Reputation as being quite difficult when I learnt about physics for the first time it was reading books about you know famous
physicists whether it's like Albert Einstein or Richard Fineman something like that and
some of the contributions they've made over the history of science and
Maybe it takes a little bit of arrogance on my part
or maybe it's just a bit of confidence to read about these discoveries and think I
Would like to have my name added to this list like I would like to make some contribution
That's in line with the contribution that these people have made because I just admired them so much. I think it's natural for
anyone to want to make some kind of contribution to the world and for people to want to be
Remembered and I think wanting to be remembered or have you named down?
Amongst the greats and like a book about the history of science is one of the best ways I could imagine
being remembered
like I said
Maybe it does take a certain level of confidence to
Want to read about this stuff and think that you're good enough or smart enough to even you know
comprehend or contribute to these things
But maybe that confidence is what you need and is probably a good thing to motivate you through all the difficult studying
I also think it's why physics attracts people that do, you know quite well academically
I think it's a bit of a positive feedback loop
Like if you're at school say and you're doing well in your classes on math and science
You kind of you know, your ego gets a little inflated and you think you're you're just good at this stuff
So what should someone do if they are good at this stuff? Well, they should pursue
maybe being the best at this stuff and
Maybe that naturally leads people
Who do well it in some of these classes to want to pursue being a physicist?
Because I think it's seen as you know, one of you know, the pinnacles of the field
I think it's also natural for people to like challenging themselves a bit
Maybe if even if you don't truly believe you're ever gonna win a Nobel Prize, I think you know
It'd be hard to find any aspiring physics student who wouldn't like that idea
You know like the idea of doing something really great within physics
and
like I think it's just human psychology if you
Just are you know in a social gathering and you have some riddle maybe that you pose for people to?
Want to try and attempt or solve?
I think you have people just wanting to work on it and
You'll find some people who get really obsessed with it and wanting to solve the problem that you're posing to them
Whether it's to prove that they are smart or just to flex, you know their mental abilities
I think it's just a natural thing for people to enjoy
challenges and like academic challenges and puzzles are very much a part of
Physics and being a physicist. I spoke about reading books about like the history of science and I guess
This is just my experience
but when I read those books and whenever I do read a book about
Awesome stuff going on in science or even just articles about it
My natural feeling is to think I would like to be a part of this like when I read about
Mysteries and unsolved problems and for the physics. I feel like I want to be a part of solving it
I guess I would find it hard
to just read the information and be happy with
Having no part in wanting to pursue the answer
but I guess a lot of people do feel that way because there's
Many more people reading about science discoveries and interested in them
Then there are people actually actively pursuing physics and maybe that just comes down to I guess
Maybe their own opportunities maybe
Everyone who does read these articles would like to be a physicist?
But I guess that's not possible if you've already got a career in something else you're already in some other direction
I guess there is a
sweet spot of you know being inspired and being able to pursue it that maybe I was
Lucky to just be swept along with but yeah
Definitely whenever I read about physics
I
feel this urge to be a part of it and saying that I don't really know like if I ever will make a contribution because
Right now I'm pursuing things like science communication more than I am
Pursuing trying to make some discovery
But we'll see what happens in a few years. I guess. I don't really know what my future holds
This is just I know my feelings that have gotten me this far another aspect that I think contributes to people feeling
Destined to study physics is that physics relates to trying to understand the nature of reality?
like I don't want to sound too like off in the clouds when I'm talking like that but that
Inherently to me still is what physics is about
it's trying to gain some answers from this vast sea of just
unknown because I think
for maybe some people who study physics it is their religion and it because that I think
people are attracted to you know typical religion because it takes this very
confusing world where we have no answers and nothing really makes sense and it gives some like
Glint of meaning or you know a comfort and understanding what this is all about. And what will be here after we're gone and
Whilst you can definitely be
religious and a physicist for some people physics becomes the only religion that they have the only
You know glint of meaning
Amongst all this, you know stuff going on in the world. I think almost when you think about physics
And you think about pursuing some of these really big?
Questions and you know this really, you know fundamental truth of what the world is
everything else and every other topic can seem mundane and to
terrestrial in a way I have definitely felt in the past like
you know physics is the only thing worth studying and everything else is just a waste of time like even
You're just doing random chores
I'm like, this is such a waste of time when we could be, you know, really looking for answers
But maybe I've calmed down a little bit about those thoughts. I think you know
definitely you can be happy studying something other than physics or just doing something else entirely but
Maybe for me my fulfillment does come from
Never losing track of thinking about some of these things thinking about you know, what the world is made of and thinking about things
From the I guess point of view as a physicist
but yeah that aspect of physics I think really does contribute to people feeling like they're distant to study it because
They can't imagine themselves doing anything else there
nothing else provides them with that same fulfillment and all of these things that I've said are a
Great advocate for physics, but they can also lead to great disappointment
I mean if you're going into this thinking that you're going to be the next Einstein that you're going to win a Nobel Prize
Which actually I know many students, you know, they have this wish in their mind and they want to work towards it
It means you've got really high expectations and it means that whatever the reality is that you achieve
Maybe it's not going to live up to those expectations and that lends itself to
You know room for a lot of disappointment and maybe unhappiness from never fulfilling
expectations I
guess this is a bit of a different thread but my personal philosophy is that
Happiness and expectations are very related to each other
And so the higher you have your expectations whilst it can motivate you to do things. You might not otherwise be doing
It's probably not the best road to happiness
That's just my thoughts around that so I guess it's a little bit dangerous to
To think you're going to get a Nobel Prize and you're going to have your name recorded in history alongside
some of your heroes and the people that have inspired you but I don't think that shouldn't really
Discourage anyone from at least giving it a go
Let me know what you think if you're on this road as well of wanting to be a physicist
Are you setting your expectations pretty high for yourself?
Or you know, how did you even get this idea of pursuing it in the first place?
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Thank you for watching and I'll see you next time