How to Become a Physics Student
A pre-journey reflection and exercise in milestone-setting.
When I was in 10th Grade (or the international equivalent thereof), I was pretty mediocre at everything. The sciences, the humanities, the fine arts. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, as I began to think about the course load I wanted to take on in my last 2 years of pre-University education.
5 years later — after a 2 year stint in the Army — I am still somewhat wary of my desire to study one of the most ascetic subjects in academia; the subject that I’d be scared to mention at parties, one that bequeaths me with responses like “That’s crazy!” or “I could never…”.
To be a Physics student is to be crazy enough to believe in numbers, variables and abstract spaces. To attach meaning to them in our reality. There are 2 kinds of Physics students: The ones who romanticize science, and those who don’t.
Taking cues from Hossenfelder’s Lost in Math, the Romantic will likely rant and rave about the elegance in Mathematics and Physics. They’re looking for answers to “life, the universe, and everything”. They believe in the beauty of reductionism, and seek truths that they think will transcend reality and make us all feel warm and fuzzy inside.
The rest of Physicists are simply trying their best to reconcile what we see with what we believe. Mr. Feynman cutely quips :”So I hope you can accept nature as She is — absurd.”. While I will not further expose the inherent misogyny of one of modern Physics’ most famous minds (most anecdotal evidence will portray Dick as a casanova), I will agree that some things about nature may very well be beyond our grasp. In a similar way to how Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem dictates that Mathematics as a system can never be both complete or consistent, our means of unearthing fundamental truths may just never truly exist. The best we can bring to the table are facile judgements and good approximations.
What does this mean for me? (And for you, the prospective Physics student?)
Well, the study of Physics is far more than just answering questions that require thousands of pages of calculations (and still being wrong), or finding out that all matter in the Universe is primarily composed of tiny overcooked macaroni elbows.
Every year, new branches of Physics research are being developed. From Twistronics to Quantum Optics, papers are being churned out on the daily by academics the world over. And all for what?
These are all ways to make the world a better place; to let society run more smoothly, more efficiently, more wonderfully.
Naturally, most research takes years before it finds proper applications. A famous example is the decades-long lapse between the discovery of antibacterial properties in Penicillin mold, and its first therapeutic use in medicine.
Physicists are needed everywhere. Nowadays, with the skillsets they develop in classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, mathematics and computing, the applications of an unassuming Physics student are manifold. With the right minors or secondary majors, a Physics student could head into banking, finance, pharmaceuticals, engineering and architecture, education, astronomy, environmental and sustainability studies, the list goes on. Understanding underlying physical concepts that apply to these outer fields is tantamount to being hands-on.
That’s not to say that this multiplicity of utility comes overnight — Years will be spent slaving over problem sets, internalizing and comprehending complex concepts, and crying (well, hopefully not) over final exams and research papers. Be prepared for sleepless nights — as with most majors these days — And hand cramps, among other things.
Pray tell, then, what does it take to become a Physics student?
First off, I’ll preface this by saying: I have absolutely no idea. This is my pre-journey reflection before I begin Physics classes at University. But if I can do anything, I can hypothesize, and extrapolate some ideas from what I’ve seen others do. Anyway, these aren’t restricted to any major. These are good ideas for anyone who finds themselves in University.
1. Be a good worker.
In most places, this means get good grades. Of course, this is a must. However, obtaining good grades does not make one a good student; it is merely one requirement of many.
Be a participant in class — Contribute to discussions, take time outside of class to internalize what was taught during the lecture or seminar, and take time to help your fellow classmates understand the topic matters. To teach, is to learn. You will find that you assimilate concepts much better if you verbalize them to help someone else understand. If the person you’re teaching can get what you’re saying, it’s highly likely you get it too.
Don’t just do homework problems — Find problem sets from other schools, work on concepts you don’t quite feel comfortable with yet, and be comprehensive in your work. Don’t take this as a command to do every question ever. Rather, cherry pick questions that demand highly of you and require the kind of thinking you might display when doing proper research next time.
Regardless, be careful. I’m going into my first semester with a full course-load among other things. Don’t over-do it — When I write a retrospective about the Semester, I’m sure that will be my new mantra.
2. Get chummy with members of faculty
No, really. Be their ‘bestie’.
Building rapport with your professors and advisors is one way to get your name known. If you’re looking for work or research opportunities on campus, or your professors are looking for assistance, you will be on their list.
Go for their office hours, approach them after class, or drop them an email, with an eagerness to listen.
Faculty members at Universities (specifically, large ones) face an insurmountable task: Remembering names and faces. Currently, it’s doubly hard, given the mask mandates in most places, or the lack of in-person instruction. Hence, it is of utmost importance that you catch your lecturer or advisor in one-to-one interactions, and get to know them better, both professionally and somewhat personally.
With that, your support system on campus grows ever wider and you will be exposed to opportunities never seen before.
Obviously, this should not be your primary intention. I would like to believe that professors don’t appreciate being used and manipulated for their students’ whims. Sincerely, genuinely engage with them, not for the possible benefits, but simply because they are human and a human connection goes a long way.
3. Enjoy your time in school
Don’t head to the library every day once your classes end.
I feel like I might end up being guilty of this, due to the sheer volume of my course load alone, but I will try to practice what I preach.
Join a club, a society, a sport. Maybe not A cappella, though — They give me the heebie jeebies. But really, do what it is that you enjoy doing. If that means party and go all out, by all means, party and go all out. If it means playing sports, go out there and get your heart rate up. Visual arts, music, advocacy, student government, intramural sports, fraternity/sorority rush (for the Americans); there is something for everyone.
Not to mention that in University, you will be making friends. Lots of them — Every semester, you’ll be taking new classes, some with familiar faces, some without. In the clubs you do end up joining, you’ll meet peers with similar tastes and dispositions.
Hang out with your friends. Eat your meals together when you can, relax in their rooms when you guys have nothing to do, study together in the library when you have too much to do. You guys have a good few years together on the same campus, and if you all play your cards right, you’ll all be stuck together for life. And that’s probably a good thing, if you’ve met the right people.
So yes, enjoy your time in school. Sometimes, it might not feel good to extricate your nose from the work you’ve been doing for the past 3 days non-stop. But it does help your mental facilities to take a break and socialize or leisurize once in a while. Unless your idea of fun actually is studying your rear end off, then why are you still reading this?
I have many goals for my University life. I want to make many good friends (and I kind of already have so far), keep in touch with my old friends from High School (which I seem to be doing okay), and do well in whatever it is I do.
I will be working nearly every Semester, and working hard to get a high grade and hence as many scholarships as I can get my hands on, so that I can pay for my education. This is a must.
I will join and try to be an integral part of at least one club or group activity. To keep myself firmly rooted in something strictly non-academic, to keep myself sane.
I will be majoring in Physics. I would like to minor in 2 related fields, namely Mathematics and Molecular Biology, and get into graduate school and study either some really esoteric branch of pure Physics, or go into Biophysics and look at what I can do in the Pharmaceutical industry. However, life is uncertain, and I will be taking every twist, every turn, with a pinch of salt. And if anything, above all else,
I will trust the process. You should too.
