Importance of Pure Math Skills in Astrophysics?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nova Era
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Skills
AI Thread Summary
Pure math skills are important in astrophysics, but the focus is often on practical applications rather than theoretical concepts for their own sake. Astrophysicists and astronomers typically learn the necessary math to solve real-world problems, emphasizing the physical significance of mathematical concepts. While a strong foundation in math is beneficial, the emphasis is on applying math to understand and solve astrophysical challenges rather than purely engaging with theoretical mathematics.
Nova Era
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Hello everyone! I just registered on this forum!
I've been interested in astronomy and cosmology for quite a few years now, and I'm thinking of doing astrophysics. The only problem is: I'm not good at pure math. As long as I see the practical use of math, I'm quite good, but as soon as it becomes too theoretical, where I don't know how it could be of any use in practical work, I lose interest. Now my question is: are pure math skills (i.e. theorethical math) in astrophysics important? thank you!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Even in theoretical fields of astrophysics the math you do will have physical significance. Physicists and astronomers tend to learn the math you need to solve problems, not math for the sake of math. I'm good at math, certainly, but I wouldn't have been a math major. I'm not that interested in it for it's own sake.
 
I graduated with a BSc in Physics in 2020. Since there were limited opportunities in my country (mostly teaching), I decided to improve my programming skills and began working in IT, first as a software engineer and later as a quality assurance engineer, where I’ve now spent about 3 years. While this career path has provided financial stability, I’ve realized that my excitement and passion aren’t really there, unlike what I felt when studying or doing research in physics. Working in IT...
After a year of thought, I decided to adjust my ratio for applying the US/EU(+UK) schools. I mostly focused on the US schools before, but things are getting complex and I found out that Europe is also a good place to study. I found some institutes that have professors with similar interests. But gaining the information is much harder than US schools (like you have to contact professors in advance etc). For your information, I have B.S. in engineering (low GPA: 3.2/4.0) in Asia - one SCI...

Similar threads

Replies
6
Views
1K
Replies
13
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
3K
Replies
32
Views
440
Replies
2
Views
3K
Replies
13
Views
2K
Back
Top