The discussion revolves around the question of whether a young person without a degree can make a significant contribution to theoretical physics and how such contributions might be received by the scientific community. It explores the prerequisites for acceptance of new ideas in physics, the importance of formal education, and the role of networking with established scientists.
Participants generally disagree on the feasibility of a young person without a degree making a meaningful contribution to theoretical physics. While some believe it is possible with the right approach, others maintain that it is highly unlikely and emphasize the importance of formal education and professional guidance.
Limitations include the assumption that formal education is necessary for significant contributions, the challenge of navigating existing literature, and the varying opinions on the role of personal initiative versus institutional support in scientific discovery.
Without a degree but maybe by studiying till grad in personal coursesMondayman said:Without a degree, he/she probably does not have a complete knowledge of physics, and has likely made a mistake.
he can study the courses of graduate and those for the phd and from books and many other things he can make a discoverymfb said:Those courses teach the basics, mainy things discovered/done decades to centuries ago. They are not the science done today.
ricky33 said:he can study the courses of graduate and those for the phd and from books and many other things he can make a discovery
No he cannot. You don't even know what has been studied and what not without doing actual research, in contact with actual researchers.ricky33 said:he can study the courses of graduate and those for the phd and from books and many other things he can make a discovery
By searching and getting the curriculum used in one university and study their coursesmicromass said:There are currently over 1 million articles on arXiv. How will you choose which to read and which not to read? How will you choose which books to read and which not to read? How will you know you're not having any misconceptions? How will you ind a topic that is both accessible and something novel enough?
He can ask some scientits or search for the curriculim of some universitirs there is a lot my friend have seen courses on MIT for undergrad and graduatemfb said:No he cannot. You don't even know what has been studied and what not without doing actual research, in contact with actual researchers.
ricky33 said:By searching and getting the curriculum used in one university and study their courses
MIT courses aren't good ?micromass said:OK cool. That will make you understand a lot physics up to 1950 - 1970. What about the modern parts of physics? How do you know whether a certain topic is good to pursue?
ricky33 said:MIT courses aren't good ?
And I can get the books used in the curriculum of universities
So you are telling me that those who are studiying for a Phd in MIT are not good enought to make reasearchs and discoveries ?micromass said:You seem to be missing the point. MIT courses and books are excellent. But they only take you so far. They will not bring you to research level. Only research papers and discussions with professionals can do that.
ricky33 said:So you are telling me that those who are studiying for a Phd in MIT are not good enought to make reasearchs and discoveries ?
ricky33 said:So you are telling me that those who are studiying for a Phd in MIT are not good enought to make reasearchs and discoveries ?
micromass said:What I'm saying is that if somebody studies only MIT coursework and textbooks, then he will miss too much background to do research.
what do you think they should do more than that ?micromass said:I didn't say that at all??
What I'm saying is that if somebody studies only MIT coursework and textbooks, then he will miss too much background to do research.
Those studying for a PhD at MIT are in contact with scientists before they even start their own research projects. And when they do, they discuss with scientists which projects would be interesting, and get help from those scientists to get started.ricky33 said:So you are telling me that those who are studiying for a Phd in MIT are not good enought to make reasearchs and discoveries ?
ricky33 said:what do you think they should do more than that ?
ricky33 said:Why if a young person like 21 years old with no degrer made a new discovery in theoretical physics like an equation or a theory will not be accepted by people and no one will believe him ? What he should do before to let people accept his discovery ? Can it be accepted if that person was not famous and didn't won any physics award and and he don't publish physics article etc. ??
Vanadium 50 said:Does anyone think that indulging Ricky's fantasies helps him? Or anyone?