How to develop the "thinking like a physicist"

[Bestfrog]

Hi everyone, I will start the major course in Physics and I would like to ask you a question about the way of studying.
Supposing that you are preparing for the mechanics exam, how do you know at a certain period that you can stop practicing exercises? (I think that doing too much exercises without thinking is worthless) How do you feel that you have developed the "state of mind"(=thinking like a physicist) that you use to solve mechanics problem (in this case)?
In the preparation for an exam it is better have seen all the possible kinds of problems: actually this is impossible, so how do you know that you can solve also the problems that you have never seen?
I hope my question is clear, and if you don't understand I will try to explain myself better.

(I am sorry if there were similar questions before, but I didn't find them, so if you know a thread/site that can help me you can link it)

 

[phinds]

I think that doing too much exercises without thinking is worthless

I think that doing ANY exercises without thinking is worthless, but perhaps that's not really what you meant?

 

[Bestfrog]

I think that doing ANY exercises without thinking is worthless, but perhaps that's not really what you meant?

Yes you are right

 

[clope023]

Can you wave your hand? If so, you're half way there.

 

[Bestfrog]

Can you wave your hand? If so, you're half way there.

What do you mean?

 

[gleem]

so how do you know that you can solve also the problems that you have never seen?

You don't know for sure. But you have the confidence from your practicing that you can. Does an Olympic gymnast know for sure that they will not make a mistake and fail to qualify. Of course not but they have the confidence to try. . I think that you must develop confidence or feel confident in what you have learned in your past experiences of solving problems.

You prepare as best you can and if you are not successful you try to learn why you were not successful and incorporate the lesson into your next effort. Belief in ones ability ,was so important to me and to my success. When my future was looking a little dim I said to myself, "I'm better than this" and buckled down to address any deficiencies I identified in my attitude or effort. Keep in mind that you have an ultimate goal to achieve and you must focus on achieving that goal one course at a time.

 

[fresh_42]

Hi everyone, I will start the major course in Physics and I would like to ask you a question about the way of studying.
Supposing that you are preparing for the mechanics exam, how do you know at a certain period that you can stop practicing exercises? (I think that doing too much exercises without thinking is worthless) How do you feel that you have developed the "state of mind"(=thinking like a physicist) that you use to solve mechanics problem (in this case)?
In the preparation for an exam it is better have seen all the possible kinds of problems: actually this is impossible, so how do you know that you can solve also the problems that you have never seen?
I hope my question is clear, and if you don't understand I will try to explain myself better.

(I am sorry if there were similar questions before, but I didn't find them, so if you know a thread/site that can help me you can link it)

In my opinion to learn physics (or any natural science) is far more similar to learn a language, than it is commonly thought. It is the way physicists are thinking, approaching problems and using math, which has to be learnt. So it is in some extend a reprogramming of thought processes, rather than a collection of knowledge. This of course is also necessary, the same as learning vocabulary is important for languages. This means in return, that a lot of reading in the foreign language has to be done, in order to grasp the new concepts, and of course active practicing. I'm sure that this may not be the general point of view, but it is what I experienced, e.g. by watching the different use of mathematics in physics and mathematics day by day on PF.

 

[Bestfrog]

a lot of reading in the foreign language has to be done, in order to grasp the new concepts

How can I "translate" this in physics practice? Do you mean "discovering new techniques of problem solving" by solving always new problems or is it something more thoughtful?

 

[gleem]

I'm sure that this may not be the general point of view, but it is what I experienced, e.g. by watching the different use of mathematics in physics and mathematics day by day on PF.

Yes this is a good point, by observing how physics is done, by seeing how physicists do things.

 

[fresh_42]

How can I "translate" this in physics practice? Do you mean "discovering new techniques of problem solving" by solving always new problems or is it something more thoughtful?

No, quite the opposite. I meant to learn by assimilation. See how others do it. How, depends on your opportunities. Books are a good place to start with, e.g. a book on classical mechanics. Even better could be a team, where the members actively try to solve exercises and understand concepts. This again doesn't merely depend on the opportunity alone, but also on personal preferences. I do better in a group, others are better learners if they can concentrate on the matter by themselves. One has to "get used to" physical thinking.
Let me construct an example. The task is: "Give an example of a linear transformation." A physicist might answer "a uniform movement without acceleration" $x(t)= v\cdot t$ and a mathematician typically answers "$0$". Both is correct, but quite a different point of view. And this was an easy example. Wait until more complex concepts come into play. So although they talk about the same thing, their perception is completely different. And it is this perception which has to be developed. How, depends on many general circumstances.

 

[Bestfrog]

No, quite the opposite. I meant to learn by assimilation. See how others do it. How, depends on your opportunities. Books are a good place to start with, e.g. a book on classical mechanics. Even better could be a team, where the members actively try to solve exercises and understand concepts. This again doesn't merely depend on the opportunity alone, but also on personal preferences. I do better in a group, others are better learners if they can concentrate on the matter by themselves. One has to "get used to" physical thinking.
Let me construct an example. The task is: "Give an example of a linear transformation." A physicist might answer "a uniform movement without acceleration" $x(t)= v\cdot t$ and a mathematician typically answers "$0$". Both is correct, but quite a different point of view. And this was an easy example. Wait until more complex concepts come into play. So although they talk about the same thing, their perception is completely different. And it is this perception which has to be developed. How, depends on many general circumstances.

Ok, I understand. Thanks for your advices!

 

[symbolipoint]

Hi everyone, I will start the major course in Physics and I would like to ask you a question about the way of studying.
Supposing that you are preparing for the mechanics exam, how do you know at a certain period that you can stop practicing exercises? (I think that doing too much exercises without thinking is worthless) How do you feel that you have developed the "state of mind"(=thinking like a physicist) that you use to solve mechanics problem (in this case)?
In the preparation for an exam it is better have seen all the possible kinds of problems: actually this is impossible, so how do you know that you can solve also the problems that you have never seen?
I hope my question is clear, and if you don't understand I will try to explain myself better.

(I am sorry if there were similar questions before, but I didn't find them, so if you know a thread/site that can help me you can link it)

About a day or less before each examination. You sense yourself as ready when you are much less confused than when you started a topic.

 

[Choppy]

I think in most cases people don't identify a specific point where they feel perfectly confident. Rather with practice and feedback, they tend to develop an ability to sense when their returns are diminishing and in the task of balancing all of their other priorities in life, they reach a point where it's better for their long term goals to move on to something else.

With respect to helping to recognize that point of diminishing returns, a couple things come to mind. First, a lot of textbooks will identify "challenging" problems from the more standard ones. Once you're comfortable with the standard ones, dive into the challenges. Once you've successfully finished those ones, you're probably in a good place.

A friend of my also said he would often go through as many questions as he could. He wouldn't outright solve all of them. He would solve some (probably those assigned and a few more), but then formulate a plan for solving the rest. The point was that if he couldn't see outright how to arrive at an answer, he would work though it until he could.

The other thing is to review the material at a later date. It's all fine and dandy to be able to solve the problems while you're working on that specific chapter. But once you've moved on, it can be critically important to come back to the previous stuff, to make sure you can see how it fits into the bigger picture. This is of course a never-ending task. And as stated, I think for most people it's the kind of thing that they do until they're not getting enough out of it for it to be worth their time.