Navigating the Journey of a First-Generation Physics Student

[Jeremy55]

Hello all,
My name is Jeremy and I am a 21 year old student in community college. I am at the beginning of my path as a physics major and am always looking for more knowledge and insight. I am working on my transfer degree and, once I earn my BA, I want to go on to graduate school to pursue a PhD in astrophysics. I am a first generation student in my family so if anyone has any advice, I am always appreciative of that. I look forward to being a part of this community.

Jeremy

 

[phinds]

Welcome to the forum Jeremy. Are you taking any physics course this semester?

Advice:
study hard
the professor is always right
work a lot of the problems in the books to get used to the math manipulations
always make sure your units cancel properly. Don't do the math without the units.
stay out of trouble.
wash behind your ears

 

[Jeremy55]

Welcome to the forum Jeremy. Are you taking any physics course this semester?

Advice:
study hard
the professor is always right
work a lot of the problems in the books to get used to the math manipulations
always make sure your units cancel properly. Don't do the math without the units.
stay out of trouble.
wash behind your ears

Haha thanks for the advice! And I am not currently taking any physics courses since the series I need to do doesn't start until fall term. I have only recently decided on my path and that was all thanks to a very influential astronomy professor. Right now I am taking 16 credits for summer term and have been trying to get my math up to speed. At the moment I am taking integral calculus.

 

[phinds]

Haha thanks for the advice! And I am not currently taking any physics courses since the series I need to do doesn't start until fall term. I have only recently decided on my path and that was all thanks to a very influential astronomy professor. Right now I am taking 16 credits for summer term and have been trying to get my math up to speed. At the moment I am taking integral calculus.

Well good luck. We've got some great math guys here so if you need help, just ask. Make sure to use the template for homework problems. This is a forum where the rules are actually taken seriously.

 

[Jeremy55]

Well good luck. We've got some great math guys here so if you need help, just ask. Make sure to use the template for homework problems. This is a forum where the rules are actually taken seriously.

Thank you very much. I will definitely be needing help from time to time. I am not only new to this forum, but to any forum. Are there any rules I should keep in mind while on this forum? Or a thread that explains them?

 

[phinds]

Thank you very much. I will definitely be needing help from time to time. I am not only new to this forum, but to any forum. Are there any rules I should keep in mind while on this forum? Or a thread that explains them?

Look under INFO. You were pointed there when you got an email after signing up.

 

[micromass]

the professor is always right

Uuhm, no. Professors make mistakes a lot of times, both on subject level as on pedagogical level. And they're not always willing to admit those mistakes.
You should definitely trust your professors, but it should never be blind trust. Professors can be wrong and often are. It is the nature of science that you can figure out for yourself when they are wrong and when they are not.

Kip Thorne on the Feynman lectures:

It is remarkable that the errata included only two inadvertent errors in physics: Volume I, page 45-4 now says “When a rubber band is stretched its temperature rises,” not “falls” as claimed in previous editions; and Volume II, page 5-9 now says “…no static distribution of charges inside a closed grounded conductorcan produce any [electric] fields outside”(the word grounded was omitted in previous editions).This second error was pointed out to Feynman by a number of readers, including Beulah Elizabeth Cox, a student at The College of William and Mary, who had relied on Feynman’s erroneous passage in an exam.To Ms. Cox, Feynman wrote in 1975,[1]“Your instructor was right not to give you any points, for your answer was wrong, as he demonstrated using Gauss’s law.You should, in science, believe logic and arguments, carefully drawn, and not authorities.You also read the book correctly and understood it.I made a mistake, so the book is wrong.I probably was thinking of a grounded conducting sphere, or else of the fact that moving the charges around in different places inside does not affect things on the outside.I am not sure how I did it, but I goofed.And you goofed, too, for believing me.

 

[Jeremy55]

Uuhm, no. Professors make mistakes a lot of times, both on subject level as on pedagogical level. And they're not always willing to admit those mistakes.
You should definitely trust your professors, but it should never be blind trust. Professors can be wrong and often are. It is the nature of science that you can figure out for yourself when they are wrong and when they are not.

Kip Thorne on the Feynman lectures:

A very valid point that I would have to agree with. I have always taken issue with believing someone on their word alone. That is funny that you referenced that book. I just started reading the new millennium edition of the first volume the other day. It is a very interesting book and Feynman does a great job at conveying the information without it becoming dry.

 

[micromass]

A very valid point that I would have to agree with. I have always taken issue with believing someone on their word alone. That is funny that you referenced that book. I just started reading the new millennium edition of the first volume the other day. It is a very interesting book and Feynman does a great job at conveying the information without it becoming dry.

The Feynman lectures are a favorite of many members here. Even physics professors learn a lot from the Feynman lectures every day. They're a brilliant piece of writing. Make sure to visit our textbook section if you're hungry for other books!

 

[phinds]

Uuhm, no. Professors make mistakes a lot of times

You completely miss the point of my comment. I agree w/ you of course, but what I meant was that ARGUING with your professor is not likely to be good for you (and for the very reason you mention; they are not always willing to admit their mistakes).