Is It Too Late to Become a Physicist and Study the Hierarchy Problem at 60+?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the feasibility and implications of pursuing a Ph.D. in physics, specifically regarding the Hierarchy Problem, at an older age (60+). Participants explore the motivations, challenges, and societal perceptions associated with late-career academic pursuits in physics, alongside the intersection of physics and parapsychology.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether being 60+ years old would be too late to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, expressing a desire to study the Hierarchy Problem.
  • Another participant argues that the issue is not age but the limited time available to achieve significant contributions in the field before retirement.
  • A different viewpoint suggests that even with 30 years of potential work, the notion of a "final theory" in physics is misleading, implying that theories are always subject to revision.
  • One participant, identifying as a parapsychologist, emphasizes the need for a Ph.D. to engage with mainstream physics and argues that without formal credentials, their ideas may not be taken seriously.
  • Concerns are raised about the likelihood of achieving substantial work in physics at an advanced age, citing statistics on life expectancy and active working years.
  • Another participant expresses skepticism about the feasibility of unifying physics with paranormal research, suggesting that the scientific community is unlikely to accept such claims without rigorous evidence.
  • Critiques are made regarding the quality of evidence in parapsychology and the biases that may affect its research, contrasting it with the standards of scientific inquiry.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with no consensus on the viability of pursuing a Ph.D. in physics at an older age or the potential for integrating paranormal research with mainstream physics. Disagreements exist regarding the implications of age, the nature of scientific theories, and the credibility of parapsychology.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight various assumptions about age, time constraints, and the nature of scientific inquiry. The discussion reflects differing perspectives on the intersection of physics and parapsychology, as well as the societal perceptions of late-career academic pursuits.

cube137
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First. To become physicist with Ph.D. Do you have to be connected with institutions? Do you have to teach?

I will be 50 years in a few years. If I will go back to school. I will become full fledge physicist 60+ years old.. Would I be too old? Haven't you heard of 60+ year old newly graduate physicist? I'd like to be Ph.D. in the Hierarchy Problem as this is what really interests me.
 
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It's not a question of being too old. It's a question of not having enough time. If you complete your training at retirement age, how much will you be able to accomplish?
 
Vanadium 50 said:
It's not a question of being too old. It's a question of not having enough time. If you complete your training at retirement age, how much will you be able to accomplish?

From 60 years to 90 years old.. I have 30 years to work on the final theory... that will be enough years isn't it.
 
cube137 said:
From 60 years to 90 years old.. I have 30 years to work on the final theory... that will be enough years isn't it.

No, because your "theory" will never be "final".

If you are getting into physics under that kind of delusion, then you have chosen the wrong field.

Zz.
 
ZapperZ said:
No, because your "theory" will never be "final".

If you are getting into physics under that kind of delusion, then you have chosen the wrong field.

Zz.

I'm a parapsychologist with over 30 years experience with the most extreme subjects. As long as scientists will ignore the paranormal.. They will never arrive at any unification. And it's the only experimental guidance there is that can falsify or guide certain theories especially between the TeV and Planck scale. Therefore I have to become a physicist with Ph.D. to communicate with other foundational theoretical physicists and lead. Without a Ph.D. who would even listen to me? If I don't do it. Who are the existing theoretical physicists with the same extreme background as me? None. Anyway. Who are the physicists who graduate at 60 years old? is there any? please share some references about them as I want to imagine what it would be like when all your professors are younger than you. And I have to walk the walk and make it become part of mainstream science.
 
cube137 said:
I'm a parapsychologist with over 30 years experience with the most extreme subjects.

My ESP tells me you will have a hard time with this plan.
 
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cube137 said:
From 60 years to 90 years old.. I have 30 years to work on the final theory.

The fraction of 65 year olds who make it to 90 is under 30%. The fraction of 90 year olds who are still working is 4%. So there's a ~99% chance that this plan won't come to fruition.
 
cube137 said:
I'm a parapsychologist with over 30 years experience with the most extreme subjects. As long as scientists will ignore the paranormal.. They will never arrive at any unification. And it's the only experimental guidance there is that can falsify or guide certain theories especially between the TeV and Planck scale. Therefore I have to become a physicist with Ph.D. to communicate with other foundational theoretical physicists and lead. Without a Ph.D. who would even listen to me? If I don't do it. Who are the existing theoretical physicists with the same extreme background as me? None. Anyway. Who are the physicists who graduate at 60 years old? is there any? please share some references about them as I want to imagine what it would be like when all your professors are younger than you. And I have to walk the walk and make it become part of mainstream science.

Have fun!

Zz.
 
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ZapperZ said:
Have fun!

Somehow I knew you should say this. Mental telepathy!
 
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cube137 said:
I'm a parapsychologist with over 30 years experience with the most extreme subjects. As long as scientists will ignore the paranormal.. They will never arrive at any unification. And it's the only experimental guidance there is that can falsify or guide certain theories especially between the TeV and Planck scale.

I'm sorry but this is a pipe dream. If you are seriously considering becoming a physicist primarily because you want to explore the paranormal as a scientist and unify physics by using the paranormal, then you are deluding yourself as to how science works and what you can realistically achieve.

cube137 said:
Therefore I have to become a physicist with Ph.D. to communicate with other foundational theoretical physicists and lead. Without a Ph.D. who would even listen to me?

Very few would listen to you regardless of your background. Paranormal research has produced exactly zero unambiguous results supporting the existence of any paranormal phenomena, despite over 150 years of research. To quote wiki:

Scientists critical of parapsychology state that its extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence if they are to be taken seriously.[148] Scientists who have evaluated parapsychology have written the entire body of evidence is of poor quality and not adequately controlled.[149] In support of this view, critics cite instances of fraud, flawed studies, and cognitive biases (such as clustering illusion, availability error, confirmation bias, illusion of control, magical thinking, and the bias blind spot) as ways to explain parapsychological results.[150][151] Research has also shown that people's desire to believe in paranormal phenomena causes them to discount strong evidence that it does not exist.[152]

I don't care what title you hold or what background you have, you aren't going to change this. This is because science values all the things that the paranormal community, as a whole, does not. Integrity, accuracy, education, reliability, and many others, not the least of which includes, for lack of a better word, introspection. The ability and willingness to evaluate oneself. Science does its damnedest to avoid all the biases mentioned mentioned in the wiki quote above. The amount of research on these biases and how to avoid them probably exceeds the entire volume of work by paranormal researchers by several orders of magnitude. In contrast, the paranormal community appears to be almost completely ignorant of the very existence of such biases (among many other biases, logical fallacies, and limitations). Even suggesting that an experimental finding may be the result of such biases is anathema to the paranormal community.

If you really want to become a physicist, then that's up to you. But if you're expecting to actually accomplish anything in physics by being a proponent of the paranormal, you're going to be seriously disappointed.

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