Navigating the World of Modern Physics: My Experience as a New College Student

  • Thread starter LENIN
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In summary, the speaker recently enrolled in college and had a conversation with some students who also enrolled. They had previously met at a physics competition and the speaker felt intimidated by their knowledge of modern physics and string theory. The speaker wonders how much of this knowledge is expected at the college level and is reassured that there is no modern physics in the first year of college. They plan to ask the knowledgeable students lots of questions and catch up on modern physics in their free time.
  • #1
LENIN
102
1
I just enroled in my collage yesterday. It was qouit cool and I had a great conversation with some of the students that also enroled. They where the students I meet at the national physicsa competition earlyer this year. It was cool to meat theme agein but I got a bit scered theye where all talking about moderen physics as dou it's the simpelest thing in the world. Theye all already wisitet classes on modern physics and string theory. But I hardlly know enything about theme.

How much of this stuff did you know whene you entered collage? Am I really that far behind.
 
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  • #2
well i think at most high schools you do only one course of each subject in each school year. so, say you do one math course. at university you can do FOUR (or more!) math courses in each TERM! & you can do that for at least a couple years. that's how far beyond the 'average person' a university graduate is, assuming they actually learned something.

i assume it would be similar for english, history, etc students also. a girl i work with is just starting her 4th year of an english degree, & does roughly 1 novel, or shakespeare play (or some other equivalent) each week, in 5 courses, each term. that's something like 45-55 books per term she studies. she says she's collected/studied some 600 books so far & she still has 1 year to go. how many people do you know have 600 books on just one subject?
 
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  • #3
they talk modern physics but can they do the math/experiments. Don't fear what you don't know...you should have ample time to read up on stuf.
 
  • #4
Len,

I recommend asking them LOTS of questions! Use them as a resource and learn from them. You may also discover their understanding is superficial.
 
  • #5
Thanks Tide I think I will do that. And anyway I just looked thrugh my textbooks for the first year of collage and I found out that there is no moderne physics in the first year (it starts at the end of the second year). It's just mechanics, thermodynamics and some fluid statics. There isn't even any electicity before the second year. So I have qouit some of time to catch up on the moderne physics stuff.
 
  • #6
Tide said:
Len,

I recommend asking them LOTS of questions! Use them as a resource and learn from them. You may also discover their understanding is superficial.

ya maybe they're total bs-ers, and like to think they're really impressing people when talking about that stuff.
 

1. How much did you know about the topic before conducting your research?

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