Does anyone else ever go in and out of liking physics?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the fluctuating interest in physics among participants, particularly focusing on personal experiences with motivation and engagement in the subject over time. It includes reflections on academic challenges and emotional responses to studying physics and mathematics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares their experience of alternating interests between physics and other activities, seeking validation from others about this phenomenon.
  • Another participant affirms that changing interests at a young age is normal, suggesting that such fluctuations are common.
  • A participant discusses their struggles with Multivariable Calculus, expressing doubts about their abilities when facing difficulties, which leads to questioning their dedication to physics and mathematics.
  • A later reply from a PhD student indicates that even at an advanced level, feelings of disillusionment with physics can occur, describing a shift from initial enthusiasm to a more negative outlook.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that fluctuating interest in physics is a normal experience, but there are differing perspectives on whether this is limited to younger individuals or persists into adulthood, as illustrated by the PhD student's comments.

Contextual Notes

Participants express personal feelings and experiences without resolving the broader implications of these fluctuations on long-term engagement with physics.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals experiencing similar fluctuations in interest in physics or other academic subjects, as well as those in academic settings contemplating their dedication to their fields of study.

The riddler
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Does anyone else ever go in and out of liking physics?

I have this weird thing where one month all I want to do is nothing but physics and the next month nothing but play my guitar or something else.

I don't do this as much as I did when i was younger, i used to try all sorts of crap like yo-yo's, website building, hypnotism (which i swear once work on my friend Sam) and about 100 ther things like that. I'm only 16 right now and I am trying to stick with just Physics, i was just wondering (for peace of mind) if anyone of you employed physicists does or youst to have this problem.
 
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You're 16 and your interest change. It's perfectly normal.
 


I'm taking Multivariable Calc right now in the summer and I've changed a lot. For example, I got a 6/10 on my first quiz which really bummed me out because I was really bad at normal vectors, planes, cross product, and dot product stuff. I seemed to keep getting different properties mixed up and I began to question if I was good at Calculus anymore (I got perfect scores on several practice AP Calc BC tests).
When my class finally began to actually incorporate calculus (gradients, limits, partial derivs, etc.), I really began to excel as usual and I loved the course again. As a pre-freshman in college, I constantly question my dedication in physics/math whenever I do badly in a quiz or test.
 


General_Sax said:
You're 16 and your interest change. It's perfectly normal.

Is it normal when you're 26? I just finished the third year of working on my PhD in physics, and I haven't liked physics for awhile now. I was really into physics my first year though. All in all my love/hate relationship with physics has mostly just hate these days, so maybe it's a mid-grad school crisis or something.
 

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