How did you discover Physics Forums

  • Thread starter Thread starter rhody
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
Many users discovered Physics Forums (PF) through various online searches, often related to specific topics like string theory or quantum mechanics. Some were referred by friends or colleagues who recognized the forum's value for academic discussions. Others stumbled upon PF while browsing Usenet newsgroups or other science forums. The community's reputation for knowledgeable discussions and helpful responses has kept members engaged over the years. Overall, PF serves as a valuable resource for those seeking to deepen their understanding of physics and related subjects.
rhody
Gold Member
Messages
679
Reaction score
3
Will keep mine pithy, late in 2008 a co-worker, really smart, Harvard undergrad, MIT Graduate, with honors turned me onto http://www.ted.com/talks" .
After watching a bunch of video's I stumbled on Garrett Lisi's E8 talk, thought it was cool. A few well placed searches on Lisi led me to PF, where I have been happy as a clam ever since (March 09, after lurking a bit before joining).
Funny how one thing leads to another, eh ?

Rhody... :devil: :biggrin:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
Actually, Orstio, a PF member who owns and administers Everything-Science told me about PF and the homework forums. He mentioned the discussion forums and intensive use of LaTeX, and recommended I check it out. I did.
 
Probably google, I actually don't remember lol.
 
I probably came here via a link from a posting in one of the Usenet sci.physics.* newsgroups. PF used to have a bidirectional gateway to sci.physics.research, and I remember seeing posts from PF there. Or someone may have posted a link to a thread here from a similar thread in sci.physics or sci.physics.relativity. This was over six years ago, so I don't remember the details.
 
Last edited:
A google search led me to a thread here. I have long forgotten what it was I was looking for in the first place.

(April 2008)
 
I was searching for information on string theory. This forum was the most active of the knowledgeable forums. Then I found GD...
 
Evo said:
I was searching for information on string theory. This forum was the most active of the knowledgeable forums. Then I found GD...
And fell into a hole, not unlike the Ditch of Doom.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
I had a dream... :D
That's beautiful Greg... hehe

Rhody... :biggrin:
 
  • #10
Evo, I heard from VERY reliable sources that the combined General Discussion threads formed a hole in spacetime and out popped a rainbow unicorn which layed a chocolate covered egg that you then appeared out of. To everyone's pleasure of course.
 
  • #11
Drakkith said:
Evo, I heard from VERY reliable sources that the combined General Discussion threads formed a hole in spacetime and out popped a rainbow unicorn which layed a chocolate covered egg that you then appeared out of. To everyone's pleasure of course.
:!)

<inserts 10 billion GOOBF cards in Drakkith's computer>
 
  • #12
Evo said:
:!)

<inserts 10 billion GOOBF cards in Drakkith's computer>

I'm afraid to ask...but what are GOOBF cards?
 
  • #13
Drakkith said:
I'm afraid to ask...but what are GOOBF cards?
Get Out Of Banning Free
 
  • #14
Evo said:
Get Out Of Banning Free

Woohoo!
 
  • #15
I wanted to read and learn about astrophysics and I think I came to the right spot.
 
  • #17
I am a crank! :biggrin: I was looking for a way to define zero.
And Greg, I thought this was a high school project gone awry?
 
  • #18
Evo said:
I was searching for information on string theory. This forum was the most active of the knowledgeable forums. Then I found GD...
String theory ... :eek:
 
  • #19
Evo said:
I was searching for information on string theory. This forum was the most active of the knowledgeable forums. Then I found GD...

You were looking for string theory and you found G-D! I knew it!
How do I get this ink off from the "Crank Stamp?" :frown:
 
  • #20
I was looking for help for my undergraduate physics I class :shy:. I got help, and I decided to return the favor. I spent most of 2004-2005 on the homework forums then I branched out to other forums once in a while :blushing:. That was 7 years ago!.
 
  • #21
I came in through the Michio Kaku forums in 2003.
 
  • #22
Math Is Hard said:
I came in through the Michio Kaku forums in 2003.

ha! i didn't know that! i guess something good did come from that experiment!
 
  • #23
I really don't remember...I was a lurker for a while then I decided to join :)
 
  • #24
I was googling "arguments for physicalism" and I ended up here in some HUGE legendary thread "Can everything be reduced to pure physics" 1 year ago or so. Until then, I never would've thought there are forums with people actually willing to discuss such things so I got a bit excited. I read other threads for a while and then decided to join.
 
  • #25
I was killing lunchbreaks:

googling mathamatics and chess -> reading University of St Andrews website full of biographies of mathematicians -> reading Wolframs maths website -> PF.

Lurked for years and then joined. Totaly addicted. I've learned so much from PF, thankyou all. I wish I had more time to post. Great thread Rhody, I've been wanting to say all this.
 
  • #26
I was tired of the attitude of yahoo answers were people would just expect the answer without working for it. So I searched for math forums on google, and this was the first one I liked :smile:
 
  • #27
How about more mentors ? I am sure they have an interesting story or two to tell.

Rhody...
 
  • #28
I was looking for the psychics network and ended up here by mistake.
 
  • #29
Time and again searches in google for something or the other had led to PF. But I never joined that time. Few days back I was feeling bit upset on not being able to discuss physics with anybody for long time. Then in a Eureka moment I remembered PF and there I was :)
 
  • #30
Jimmy Snyder said:
I was looking for the psychics network and ended up here by mistake.
Score one for the Jimster, seriously though, how did you find this place ?

Rhody...
 
  • #31
As a software engineer I had not used my education in math and physics for a long time.
A couple of years ago I started giving private lessons (college+) to fill this gap in my life.

Then I found the puzzle forum below GD and fooled around a bit there.
After a while I branched out and became addicted. :smile:
 
  • #32
Looking for a physics forum on google where people were interested in open discussion.
 
  • #33
do any mods use physicsforums as "broader impact" or "outreach" on CVs or proposals?
 
  • #34
I don't remember how I became aware of PF. My first post was a question concerning Zweibach's "First Course in String Theory". I got excellent help from SelfAdjoint, nrqed and others. SelfAdjoint is no longer with us. Afterwards, nrqed and I passed a large number of e-mails between us because he wrote a book which I read and sent him a list of errata and comments about it.
 
  • #35
Dang Jimmy. You're an old ... like me! Seriously, I remember them well. We're lucky to have found PF. :)
 
  • #36
That's better, thanks Jimmy, now, how about Zz, and our famous "Citizen of the World", who seems to relish mystery and privacy, maybe he will poke his head out long enough to give us his story as well.

Rhody... o:)

P.S. Evo we are interested in your story as well, if you can break yourself away from your banning gun long enough. And, oh yeah, where is that pesky pengy bird too, probably still complaining about MS and Mr Gates.
 
  • #37
When searching for information about quantum mechanics and Bell's Theorem (probably on Google), I found interesting discussions on physicsforums; and when I started to follow those I also noticed a number of questions on other physics topics with which I could help, so I joined. :smile:
 
  • #38
I found PF while doing a Google search for something long forgotten. I liked its mission and the quality of responses from all of you (and still do). I remember replying to ZZapper's "How did you leam QM" thread and thinking that PF is pretty cool.
 
Last edited:
  • #39
Usually when I search for things physics-related a thread from this site will at least be on the first page a lot of the time.
 
  • #40
I was searching for a science related forum. As a physics major, I must say I'm very satisfied with what I have found. :)
 
  • #41
I think I googled, for some forgotten reason, on "arc length parametrization", and a thread from PF showed.
Since the participants had mired themselves in a pseudo-problem, I joined and made a comment there.

I think..
 
  • #42
rhody said:
That's better, thanks Jimmy, now, how about Zz, and our famous "Citizen of the World", who seems to relish mystery and privacy, maybe he will poke his head out long enough to give us his story as well.

Rhody... o:)

P.S. Evo we are interested in your story as well, if you can break yourself away from your banning gun long enough. And, oh yeah, where is that pesky pengy bird too, probably still complaining about MS and Mr Gates.
Already did.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3397757&postcount=7
 
  • #43
... I can't remember. :bugeye:
 
  • #45
I came though a google search somehow related to looking for papers or numerical info related to my Ph.D. thesis (hence my user name), and I found homework-helping and general discussion both great procrastination tools. (Sometime in 2006).

As an aside, I DID still successfully defend in October of '06, so I didn't procrastinate TOO much on PF... at least not back then.
 
  • #46
Not going to lie, I came here because it was billed as being the official forum for Piled Higher and Deeper Comics (PhDComics), which is now relegated to being a sub-sub-sub forum. I've been trying to procrastinate less here whilst trying to finish my thesis (hence my diminishing post frequency) but this place definitely falls into the edu-tainment category for me.

Piled Higher and Deeper Comics--the grad life:
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php
 
  • #47
I binged, then I decided.
 
  • #48
micromass said:
I was tired of the attitude of yahoo answers were people would just expect the answer without working for it. So I searched for math forums on google, and this was the first one I liked :smile:
I used to be active in yahoo answers too, and that pretty much ended the day I found PF.
 
  • #49
In June 2005, someone familiar with me from sci.physics.research sent me an email about Physics Forums, so I joined, and I stopped posting on sci.physics and sci.physics.research.

Greg sent me an email in September 2001,

Hey there,

I thought you might be interested in visiting physicsforums.com which I have recently announced. You can find and discuss many subjects.

https://www.physicsforums.com

thanks,
Greg

but I ignored it.
 
  • #50
George Jones said:
In June 2005, someone familiar with me from sci.physics.research sent me an email about Physics Forums, so I joined, and I stopped posting on sci.physics and sci.physics.research.

Greg sent me an email in September 2001,

Hey there,

I thought you might be interested in visiting physicsforums.com which I have recently announced. You can find and discuss many subjects.

https://www.physicsforums.com

thanks,
Greg

but I ignored it.
George,

I think it is cool that you kept it, and that you stayed and became a Mentor.

Rhody...
 

Similar threads

Mathematica This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 262)
Replies
4
Views
3K
Programs How to continue after a major academic failure
Replies
6
Views
2K
Mathematica This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 266)
Replies
1
Views
3K
Mathematica This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 264)
Replies
6
Views
4K
Mathematica This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 236)
Replies
7
Views
3K
Mathematica This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 236)
Replies
9
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top