Being a good theoretical physicist

[jobsism]

Hello everyone. I'm a 11th grader who plans on becoming a theoretical physicist. In fact, for most of the time, the only thing that goes in my head is trying to think of an idea to find a better alternative to quantum mechanics, as I feel that it is not in accordance with nature.

I have the passion for physics, but I feel that I can't think in my own original ways, which i hear is very necessary for a theoretical physicist. I can't think of ideas for problems in physics, and tend to give up easily. I am in love with maths too, and I like trying some of the unsolved problems in maths like the Riemann hypothesis, abc conjecture, but I don't think very well on my own, and have to browse somewhere soon for ideas that others have tried for solving them.

I want to know if I can ever be a good theoretical physicist, with this bad trait. Please help me!

 

[Ryker]

I have the passion for physics, but I feel that I can't think in my own original ways, which i hear is very necessary for a theoretical physicist. I can't think of ideas for problems in physics, and tend to give up easily.

I'll just comment on this, and let the others more in the know give you advice as to your wish of being a theoretical physicist. Of couse you can't think of ideas of problems in physics in an original way, you're in grade 11! Unless you've got ample amounts of knowledge of the field, you're not supposed to be able to think of new stuff. No one can be creative when they don't know enough about the field they're studying, because you have to know the basics first and *then* you can make new conjectures or whatnot. This isn't just physics, it applies to everything. A lot of things seem scary at first glance, and you can't imagine solving specific problems or coming up with new ideas when you first encounter the material, but when you delve deeper into it, you can process that consolidated knowledge and make inferences that are impossible without actually having that knowledge. How can you make a connection between two things you don't know of or know very little about? So don't let this discourage you (not just as far as physics is concerned).

 

[jobsism]

Thank you, Ryker! I guess I was just being impatient..thanks for knocking some sense into me! :D

 

[chiro]

Hey Jobsism, you may want to take a look at this:

http://www.phys.uu.nl/~thooft/theorist.html

 

[Mépris]

Hey Jobsism, you may want to take a look at this:

http://www.phys.uu.nl/~thooft/theorist.html

I love you for sharing this. Thank you so much; you don't happen to know of a similar website with chemistry resources instead, no? : D