No one will crush my dreams

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In summary, I am in a very sticky situation with academia, at the moment, in order to graduate on time I might not be able to major in Physics. My options have dissipated to a few alternative options, so here we shall ponder on my desire to learn physics. I want to work on Quantum Gravity and Advanced Mechanics, I have a desire to learn and apply number theory with linear algebra to models that are related to relativity and M-Theory. At the moment, I am left with the option of choosing a meager and insignificant physics or mathematics minor. Not Both! And the only options are the following:1. International Studies w/Physics minor.2. Information Systems w/Ph
  • #1
counterpoint
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I am in a very sticky situation with academia, at the moment, in order to graduate on time I might not be able to major in Physics. My options have dissipated to a few alternative options, so here we shall ponder on my desire to learn physics. I want to work on Quantum Gravity and Advanced Mechanics, I have a desire to learn and apply number theory with linear algebra to models that are related to relativity and M-Theory.

At the moment, I am left with the option of choosing a meager and insignificant physics or mathematics minor. Not Both! And the only options are the following:

1. International Studies w/Physics minor.
2. Information Systems w/Physics minor or w/Mathematics minor.
3. Any Liberal Arts w/Physics or w/Mathematics

Here is my point, In order to make substantial advances in Physics, we will need the use of mathematicians, neuroscientists, theoretical computer scientists, theoretical physicists, and many other specialists in both quantum computing, supercomputing, A.I etc. Without the knowledge of computer science, I see very limited progress in Physics

This is my question, If I were to major in any ordinary liberal arts studies, and I get to minor in physics and not in mathematics! What good is it to me?! Which minor would you pick? I will most likely have to work a day job and learn Physics on my own! This is a possibility, or I can mop the floors at Princeton, teach myself physics and math, and by getting in I might be able to get closer to any professor or even students that might get to read my work. But first I need at least the basics. i just passed introductory physics and calc.1.

I'm willing to mop the floors at Cambridge or Princeton! I'm dead serious...

I'm still young, but I am afraid I might be too old that i might not play an important role in the field that I know I was meant to do. None of this will stop me, I know there is something in Gravity that has yet to be figured out and I might be able to help (not discover or become famouse), I can be good at this, but alas...fate thinks otherwise.
 
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  • #2
Before enclosing yourself with the 3 choices you provided, why can't you major in Physics? This would obviously be the best choice for you.
I'll let others answer your question since I'm not enough qualified.
 
  • #3
There is a simple answer to your question. Because I am, for better or worse, an International student in the US.

As an international F1 visa student you must have enough money to pay for an education and I chose business, naively. Sophomore year I discovered Quantum Theory and I had a very strong epiphany, I questioned the foundations of everything that surrounded me. I knew that there was something in Quantum Mechanics, I can't explain it, but the more I read into it; the more I understood, and when I read David Bohm's work, I realized this could change the world.

After my classical mechanics course, I was a bit distheartened by Newton's archaic methods. Don't get me wrong, I am aware that in this world, Newtonian physics is the law. But, it wasn't until I met Einstein's relativity almost at the end of the final lecture, It clicked! And so after researching I've found great evidence to prove that there are gaps that need to be worked on, but they require extensive work, these ideas are still nothing, until I am certain that they can be applied.

Because of monetary implications, for better or worse, I am in a crossroads and unfortunately, the physics academic route is out of the question for now. The good news is that I will be able to stay in the US (I am from a third world country) after I graduate...voila.

The interesting and ever redundant question of: "Why business?" Well, it goes back to my place of origin. In Latin America, physics is not even taught in high school, most kids graduate and run their father's business, that's their dream, their only desire in life is to make money and live comfortably. Certainly, I was uncomfortable with such ordinary expectations, and yet I can still chose to live a noble life in physics! But in Latin America, you cannot. My options are limited and I hated business, I thought I wanted to be like all my other friends and study what was "safe", what "society would respect". Gladly, I left that place and decided to move to a country that embraces creativity and scientific research.
 
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  • #4
I'm going to assume you're attending a college that will make you finish your degree soon and you don't have time to complete a physics major. Have you considered transferring to a school that would let you take the extra time? You'll loose some credits in the process, but you can get a physics degree and maybe some research experience that way. Learning physics on your own won't get you anywhere with coursework or a degree to say you really learned it.
 
  • #5
counterpoint said:
Gladly, I left that place and decided to move to a country that embraces creativity and scientific research.

No country embraces creativity and scientific research.
 
  • #6
If you're interested in continuing to study physics independently, philosophy is your best option out of those choices. Philosophy actually teaches you a lot about physics and is very relevant if you take the right courses. It is also better equipped to teach you about some of the more fundamental questions physics raises. I wrote my undergrad philosophy thesis on quantum mechanics and had it co-read by the physics department.

Of course, I have no idea how this may or may not fit in with any of your other goals like getting a job or going to grad school.

For reference here is some of the stuff philosophers write about physics:
http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/view/subjects/physics.html
 
  • #7
I had thought of philosophy with Math minor. However, I do need to support myself, and I need to solve problems...mathematically. Philosophy supplements these findings, but it is in the equations where we find the truth. I have to know all the mathematics that I could use...

If I were to take System Analysis, I can still apply for jobs that are science related, can't I? Computer Science would take me longer and so would a proper degree in physics.

I am twenty four, about to graduate, I always had trouble with school. I am not your honor role student and I dreaded mathematics until I discovered physics, it wasn't until then and later on with computer science, that mathematics is very essential to the understanding of mechanics, rates of change, and computation. Phenomena can only be described mathematically in order for it to be experimental and tested out. Thank you for your advices, I truly am at a crossroads, but I will learn physics even if it takes me another degree.

But, am I too old? I shall give myself 15 years, until I do something substantial that I can write my name on a research paper and do something that matters. But it's not even these goals of writing books that drive me, it is an innate passion to discover these gaps in gravity, I believe many answers lie in this simple and yet complex phenomena
 
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  • #8
counterpoint said:
Philosophy supplements these findings, but it is in the equations where we find the truth.

Philosophy is the study of where you can find the truth and how much of the truth you potentially have access to :wink:.
counterpoint said:
But, am I too old? I shall give myself 15 years, until I do something substantial that I can write my name on a research paper and do something that matters.

You're definitely not too old for anything at 24. You'll have to think about what would qualify as something that matters though. Have you read any theoretical physics journals? Would writing an article of that (high) quality count as mattering? I don't mean to imply an answer. Generally it takes years of formal study to reach that level though, and it's typically professors at research universities who will be doing most of the publishing. Having an understanding is one thing, but earning credibility in academia is much more difficult.
 
  • #9
one is conditioned and mechanical, while the other is artistic and unexpected :)
 
  • #10
counterpoint said:
I am in a very sticky situation with academia, at the moment, in order to graduate on time I might not be able to major in Physics. My options have dissipated to a few alternative options, so here we shall ponder on my desire to learn physics.

In order to do any sort of physics research you'll have to do attend graduate school, and so you should focus on whatever you need to get admitted. That seems to suggest a general liberal arts undergraduate with a minor in physics, but you'll have to do as much as you can to structure your coursework so that it looks impressive to some graduate school. The thing about general liberal arts majors is that they generally have fewer required courses which means that you can weight things toward physics.

Also get some undergraduate research...

Also if you get into grad school, most things are paid.

[QUOTE[I want to work on Quantum Gravity and Advanced Mechanics, I have a desire to learn and apply number theory with linear algebra to models that are related to relativity and M-Theory. [/QUOTE]

Ummmm... Careful here. The two problems are:

1) there are some topics which can take you into a beautiful abstract world that is disconnected from reality, and this generally doesn't advance physics very much. Ultimately nature and observation drives physics, and you may end up spending ten years of your life working on M-theory only to find that it's *TOTALLY WRONG*. That may be a good thing, but you need to work on a theory knowing that your destiny may be the person that shows that it just can't work.

2) It's bad to get disconnected from reality in another sense in that you have to eat. One thing that you will find is that unless you are independently wealthy you *have* to have some business sense to do anything in a market economy. Market economies work with supply and demand, and there are some areas that are oversupplied and some areas that are undersupplied.

Here is my point, In order to make substantial advances in Physics, we will need the use of mathematicians, neuroscientists, theoretical computer scientists, theoretical physicists, and many other specialists in both quantum computing, supercomputing, A.I etc. Without the knowledge of computer science, I see very limited progress in Physics

One reason physicists tend to be in high demand is that in order to do anything substantial in physics you have to have some computer skills, so there are a lot of self-taught programmers in physics.

I will most likely have to work a day job and learn Physics on my own!

If you can get into graduate school, you'll get paid. Also, don't try to learn physics on your own. To get something useful done, you'll have to find some community that you can interact with.

I'm still young, but I am afraid I might be too old that i might not play an important role in the field that I know I was meant to do.

You need to go to graduate school or have some equivalent. You are sounding like an wided-eye undergraduate, but you need something equivalent to graduate school to burn off some of the enthusiasm.

Here are some facts:

1) Physics is tough. Pretty much every graduate student goes in thinking that they are going to revolutionize physics. By the time you leave, you will discover how hard that is, and that you are going to be lucky to graduate with *ANY* useful result. Research is a slow, painful, agonizing process.

2) Whether you discover something earth-shaking is largely a matter of luck. No one knows if M-theory or string-theory is the right approach, and it could be a total dead end, that's why we need people to study it. It could be that you get dramatically lucky, and you get to plant the flag on top of the mountain. But probably not. If could be that the there is some critical missing piece that we aren't going to be able to get for the next 50 years.

None of this will stop me, I know there is something in Gravity that has yet to be figured out and I might be able to help (not discover or become famouse), I can be good at this, but alas...fate thinks otherwise.

There is a lot about gravity that we don't understand.

However, one good thing about grad school is that it teaches you to make do with whatever cards you get. Things will *never* work out the way that you want.
 
  • #11
kote said:
Philosophy is the study of where you can find the truth and how much of the truth you potentially have access to :wink:.

Plato, the great Greek philosopher, wrote a series of `Dialogues' which summarized many of the things which he had learned from his teacher, who was the philosopher Socrates. One of the most famous of these Dialogues is the `Allegory of the Cave'. In this allegory, people are chained in a cave so that they can only see the shadows which are cast on the walls of the cave by a fire. To these people, the shadows represent the totality of their existence - it is impossible for them to imagine a reality which consists of anything other than the fuzzy shadows on the wall.

However, some prisoners may escape from the cave; they may go out into the light of the sun and behold true reality. When they try to go back into the cave and tell the other captives the truth, they are mocked as madmen.
 
  • #12
counterpoint said:
I knew that there was something in Quantum Mechanics, I can't explain it, but the more I read into it; the more I understood, and when I read David Bohm's work, I realized this could change the world.

It could, then again, maybe he's wrong. Also you need to read up on alternative ideas for how QM is structured. One thing about brilliant theorists is that you find out how many of their ideas turn out to be totally, utterly incorrect. But they come up with so many ideas that one of them is bound to be useful.

After my classical mechanics course, I was a bit distheartened by Newton's archaic methods. Don't get me wrong, I am aware that in this world, Newtonian physics is the law. But, it wasn't until I met Einstein's relativity almost at the end of the final lecture, It clicked!

The problem with general relativity is that for most problems, you can't easily get a prediction without going through a ton of math, and if you can't get a prediction, then the theory is useless. Also it could be that Einstein is basically wrong about how gravity works.

And so after researching I've found great evidence to prove that there are gaps that need to be worked on, but they require extensive work, these ideas are still nothing, until I am certain that they can be applied.

There are tons and tons of problems that are totally unexplained, but it's after you start working on them that you find out *why* those gaps are there.

Because of monetary implications, for better or worse, I am in a crossroads and unfortunately, the physics academic route is out of the question for now. The good news is that I will be able to stay in the US (I am from a third world country) after I graduate...voila.

I don't see why. Most physics graduate schools need large amounts of cheap labor so they'll pay you to take courses. If you don't have immigration issues and can stay in the US, I don't see why you can't get a job and then finish your degree, or maybe transfer to a cheaper school.

Certainly, I was uncomfortable with such ordinary expectations, and yet I can still chose to live a noble life in physics!

Ummmm... Physics is a business. Science is a business. The reason physics gets money in the US is that people figure (correctly I think) that if they give money to physicists that they'll end up making things that will end up making money.

My options are limited and I hated business, I thought I wanted to be like all my other friends and study what was "safe", what "society would respect". Gladly, I left that place and decided to move to a country that embraces creativity and scientific research.

Ummmm... Not really. The United States like any country is extremely complicated, and it has some very complex attitudes toward intellectuals. The US curiously is quite *anti-intellectual*, and in general, academics get a lot less respect and value in the US than in most countries of the world.

The reason that the US embraces scientific research is not for particularly noble reasons, but because the US wants money and power. Physics is key to US wealth and global power. No physicists -> No atom bombs and silicon chips -> US is just another nation. Also the university system is also key to US wealth and power. The US academic system sucks some of the smartest people from the world, puts them into universities and then turns them into Americans.

Personally, I think its a good system, but you shouldn't be under any illusions about why things are what they are. From time to time, the politicians and the generals will go to the physicists and basically ask "do you have any inventions that will allow the US to maintain global domination?" The problem that you have is that condensed matter physicists, biophysicists, and even astrophysicists can show the politicians and generals some interesting toys. String theorists can't, and so there is a supply demand problem.
 
  • #13
I could also go to a community college and take some physics courses, if they are available. I'd be cruising by, compared to how these courses are, but it's way more cheaper and I could use the extra time.

Then go to a public school, work on my gpa, and do it the right way. it's never too late to do the right thing? i know that i believe in this, but how do i know it's true? it goes against all logic.

I also work at the labs, I'm doing ok in physics. I know there is a lot more to learn, and I could use some discipline. Some english discipline, have you heard of english discipline? that was a terrible joke.
 
  • #14
counterpoint -

if you are international student then u should most def go for more education...

try to get funding and head for grad school, that way you will be able to stay in US longer anyway.

You say you will get to stay in US after you graduate... I'm assuming you have good job prospects then? How long is your visa going to let you stay after you graduate to look for a job? It's tough right now to get sponsorship.. your best bet might be to go for grad school

Why can't you change your major again? You can always go to a less expensive school. It is well worth it in pursuit of your dreams. That way you can have the money to finish the courses and then get yourself on the path to grad school. If you are majoring in something science related, its far easier to get funding, especially if you get yourself set in a school with a smaller department. Like me, there's so few in my dept although its an amazing dept and I am almost 100% to get funding next fall.

Which country are you from btw? What are your plans in US?/ Do you want to stay here permenantly?

Please take my advice... if you are very seriuos about wanting to pursue a different career, switch your major while you still can. Believe me you can. You have not completed two years of school yet right so you should be able to transfer if need be. I stress this because the opportunity for education comes only once, and if you are int'l student it's all ready difficult in first place to get to US and start your studies. Why have u chosen business? Do you like it? It's going to be difficult to find employment with business degree v. getting a scientific degree

I really want to see u work this out so u can study as u please! You can do it!

What are ur major concenrs about switching major? Is it only tuition costs? If u don't mind my asking are u at a public or private school? U say u are low on funds, about how many semesters left can u fund urself? Scientific education is a much less expensive road as funding is incredibly easy to get at graduate level depending on ur performance and drive as an undergrad and what school u are going for. I can not stress this enough, if u are getting a proper scientific education, u shouldn't pay for advanced degrees!

My boyfriend is F1 as is my best friend and the vast majority of my friends, so I am very familiar with the woes of int'l students! Its so much more to deal with then what Americans have going through college... confusing with all the red tapes and ridiculous laws and restrictions! But don't worry it will always work out! :D

oh and btw, a minor is often all u need to get into grad school, u just need something that's related as ur bachelors. My BS which I'll have 2 weeks from now! :D Is a math major with minors in chem, bio, and CS. I'm going for grad school in CS in the spring despite only having taken about 6-7 CS courses in total. Similarly I could head for bio grad if I wished, med school, math grad, many places because of the minors I have, so don't underestimate the power of a minor as long as its cleverly combined with other studies.

Another thing u can consider right away is research, do research. Few undergrads get involved in research. If ur interest is purely in gaining knowledge about subjects u are interested in, there is nothing that will benefit u more than research. I did research in plant virology for a year before switching to AI in computer science. Both separate reseraches taught me more than I learned in all 4 years of college. Research is unparalleled as an undergrad experience goes, there's no describing how much u will learn and how it will shape your thinking. U can do it right away, there are no restrictions as far as int'l student status and most profs are happy to have eager people who just want to learn.
 
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  • #15
american heritage. it's a great book.

:)
 
  • #16
i am not academic material...

i could learn for hours on my own, it does great for me, but not for the system. I've always felt like this, I was always in good schools because I could pass tests, I've never been under so much 'academic scrutiny'. It's brainwash, old fashioned, it's MORE MORE MORE abstract than it's TAUGHT.
 
  • #17


I read for hours, even days, everything metaphysics, metamatemathics, all the great novels 'brothers karamazov', it was entertaining and painful, I've been forced everything and I never found my passion, I always felt incomplete. Until I went through a phase, I started questioning dualism, what reality truly meant, I am a romantic!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486602699/?tag=pfamazon01-20
I dreamt about Combinatorics the other day. Sadly, my dreams don't translate to 'reality'. I'm not crazy, I saw a great painting and I wanted to paint aswell. There is a voice within me that says 'don't paint, don't paint', so i need to paint.
 
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  • #18

could you put that into a formula?

thank you ;)

i am a terrible comedian.
 
  • #19
Of course no one will crush your dreams...


that's reality's job.
 
  • #20
Awake, my St. John! leave all meaner things
To low ambition and the pride of Kings.
Let us, since life can little more supply
Than just to look about us and to die,
Expatiate free o'er all this scene of man;
A mighty maze! but not without a plan;
A wild, where weeds and flowers promiscuous shoot,
Or garden, tempting with forbidden fruit.
Together let us beat this ample field,
Try what the open, what the covert yield;
The latent tracts, the giddy heights, explore
Of all who blindly creep or sightless soar;
Eye Nature's walks, shoot folly as it flies,
And catch the manners living as they rise;
Laugh where we must, be candid where we can,
But vindicate the ways of God to man.

I.
Say first, of God above or Man below
What can we reason but from what we know?
Of man what see we but his station here,
From which to reason, or to which refer?
Thro' worlds unnumber'd tho' the God be known,
'Tis ours to trace him only in our own.
He who thro' vast immensity can pierce,
See worlds on worlds compose one universe,
Observe how system into system runs,
What other planets circle other suns,
What varied being peoples every star,
May tell why Heav'n has made us as we are:
But of this frame, the bearings and the ties,
The strong connexions, nice dependencies,
Gradations just, has thy pervading soul
Look'd thro'; or can a part contains the whole?

Is the great chain that draws all to agree,
And drawn supports, upheld by God or thee?

II.
Presumptuous man! the reason wouldst thou find,
Why form'd so weak, so little, and so blind?
First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess
Why form'd no weaker, blinder, and no less!
Ask of thy mother Earth why oaks are made
Taller or stronger than the weeds they shade!
Or ask of yonder argent fields above
Why Jove's satellites are less than Jove!

Of systems possible, if 'tis confest
That wisdom infinite must form the best,
Where all must fall or not coherent be,
And all that rises rise in due degree;
Then in the scale of reas'ning life 'tis plain
There must be, somewhere, such a rank as Man:
And all the question (wrangle e'er so long)
Is only this,--if God has placed him wrong?

Respecting Man, whatever wrong we call,
May, must be right, as relative to all.
In human works, tho' labour'd on with pain,
A thousand movements scarce one purpose gain;
In God's, one single can its end produce,
Yet serve to second too some other use:
So man, who here seems principal alone,
Perhaps acts second to some sphere unknown,
Touches some wheel, or verges to some goal:
'Tis but a part we see, and not a whole.

When the proud steed shall know why man restrains
His fiery course, or drives him o'er the plains;
When the dull ox, why now he breaks the clod,
Is now a victim, and now Egypt's God;
Then shall man's pride and dulness comprehend
His actions', passions', being's, use and end;
Why doing, suff'ring, check'd, impell'd; and why
This hour a Slave, the next a Deity.

Then say not man's imperfect, Heav'n in fault;
Say rather man's as perfect as he ought;
His knowledge measured to his state and place,
His time a moment, and a point his space.
If to be perfect in a certain sphere,
What matter soon or late, or here or there?
The blest to-day is as completely so
As who began a thousand years ago.

III.
Heav'n from all creatures hides the book of Fate,
All but the page prescribed, their present state;
From brutes what men, from men what spirits know;
Or who could suffer being here below?
The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,
Had he thy reason would he skip and play?
Pleas'd to the last he crops the flowery food,
And licks the hand just rais'd to shed his blood.
O blindness to the future! kindly giv'n,
That each may fill the circle mark'd by Heav'n;
Who sees with equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish or a sparrow fall,
Atoms or systems into ruin hurl'd,
And now a bubble burst, and now a world.

Hope humbly then; with trembling pinions soar;
Wait the great teacher Death, and God adore.
What future bliss He gives not thee to know,
But gives that hope to be thy blessing now.
Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be, blest.
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutor'd mind
Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind;
His soul proud Science never taught to stray
Far as the solar walk or milky way;
Yet simple nature to his hope has giv'n,
Behind the cloud-topt hill, an humbler Heav'n,
Some safer world in depth of woods embraced,
Some happier island in the wat'ry waste,
Where slaves once more their native land behold,
No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold.
To be, contents his natural desire;
He asks no Angel's wing, no Seraph's fire;
But thinks, admitted to that equal sky,
His faithful dog shall bear him company.

IV.
Go, wiser thou! and in thy scale of sense
Weigh thy opinion against Providence;
Call imperfection what thou fanciest such;
Say, here he gives too little, there too much;
Destroy all creatures for thy sport or gust,
Yet cry, if man's unhappy, God's unjust;
If man alone engross not Heav'n's high care,
Alone made perfect here, immortal there:
Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod,
Rejudge his justice, be the god of God.
In pride, in reas'ning pride, our error lies;
All quit their sphere, and rush into the skies!
Pride still is aiming at the bless'd abodes,
Men would be Angels, Angels would be Gods.
Aspiring to be Gods if Angels fell,
Aspiring to be Angels men rebel:
And who but wishes to invert the laws
Of order, sings against th'Eternal Cause.

V.
Ask for what end the heav'nly bodies shine,
Earth for whose use,--Pride answers, ``'Tis for mine:
For me kind Nature wakes her genial power,
Suckles each herb, and spreds out ev'ry flower;
Annual for me the grape, the rose, renew
The juice nectareous and the balmy dew;
For me the mine a thousand treasures brings;
For me health gushes from a thousand springs;
Seas roll to waft me, suns to light me rise;
My footstool earth, my canopy the skies."

But errs not Nature from this gracious end,
From burning suns when livid deaths descend,
When earthquakes swallow, or when tempests sweep
Towns to one grave, whole nations to the deep?
``No," 'tis replied, ``the first Almighty Cause
Acts not by partial but by gen'ral laws;
Th'exceptions few; some change since all began
And what created perfect?"--Why then man?
If the great end be human happiness,
Then Nature deviates; and can man do less?
As much that end a constant course requires
Of showers and sunshine, as of man's desires;
As much eternal springs and cloudless skies,
As men for ever temp'rate, calm, and wise.
If plagues or earthquakes break not Heav'n's design,
Why then a Borgia or a Cataline?
Who knows but He, whose hand the lightning forms,
Who heaves old ocean, and who wings the storms;
Pours fierce ambition in a Cæsar's mind,
Or turns young Ammon loose to scourge mankind?
From pride, from pride, our very reas'ning springs;
Account for moral as for natural things:
Why charge we Heav'n in those, in these acquit?
In both, to reason right is to submit.

Better for us, perhaps, it might appear,
Were there all harmony, all virtue here;
That never air or ocean felt the wind,
That never passion discomposed the mind:
But all subsists by elemental strife;
And passions are the elements of life.
The gen'ral order, since the whole began,
Is kept in Nature, and is kept in Man.

VI.
What would this Man? Now upward will he soar,
And little less than Angel, would be more;
Now looking downwards, just as griev'd appears
To want the strength of bulls, the fur of bears.
Made for his use all creatures if he call,
Say what their use, had he the powers of all?
Nature to these without profusion kind,
The proper organs, proper powers assigned;
Each seeming want compensated of course,
Here with degrees of swiftness, there of force;
All in exact proportion to the state;
Nothing to add, and nothing to abate;
Each beast, each insect, happy in its own:
Is Heav'n unkind to man, and man alone?
Shall he alone, whom rational we call,
Be pleas'd with nothing if not bless'd with all?

The bliss of man (could pride that blessing find)
Is not to act or think beyond mankind;
No powers of body or of soul to share,
But what his nature and his state can bear.
Why has not man a microscopic eye?
For this plain reason, man is not a fly.
Say, what the use, were finer optics giv'n,
To inspect a mite, not comprehend the Heav'n?
Or touch, if tremblingly alive all o'er,
To smart and agonize at every pore?
Or quick effluvia darting thro' the brain,
Die of a rose in aromatic pain?
If nature thunder'd in his opening ears,
And stunn'd him with the music of the spheres,
How would he wish that Heav'n had left him still
The whisp'ring zephyr and the purling rill?
What finds not Providence all good and wise,
Alike in what it gives and what denies?

VII.
Far as creation's ample range extends,
The scale of sensual, mental powers ascends.
Mark how it mounts to man's imperial race
From the green myriads in the peopled grass:
What modes of sight betwixt each wide extreme,
The mole's dim curtain and the lynx's beam:
Of smell, the headlong lioness between
And hound sagacious on the tainted green:
Of hearing, from the life that fills the flood
To that which warbles thro' the vernal wood.
The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine,
Feels at each thread, and lives along the line:
In the nice bee what sense so subtly true,
From pois'nous herbs extracts the healing dew!
How instinct varies in the grovelling swine,
Compared, half-reas'ning elephant, with thine!
For ever seperate, yet for ever near!
Remembrance and reflection how allied!
What thin partitions Sense from Thought divide!
And middle natures how they long to join,
Yet never pass th'insuperable line!
Without this just gradation could they be
Subjected these to those, or all to thee!
The powers of all subdued by thee alone,
Is not thy Reason all these powers in one?

VIII.
See thro' this air, this ocean, and this earth
All matter quick, and bursting into birth:
Above, how high progressive life may go!
Around, how wide! how deep extend below!
Vast chain of being! which from God began;
Natures ethereal, human, angel, man,
Beast, bird, fish, insect, who no eye can see,
No glass can reach; from infinite to thee;
From thee to nothing.--On superior powers
Were we to press, inferior might on ours;
Or in the full creation leave a void,
Where, one step broken, the great scale's destroyed:
From Nature's chain whatever link you like,
Tenth, or ten thousandth, breaks the chain alike.

And if each system in gradation roll,
Alike essential to th'amazing Whole,
The least confusion but in one, not all
That system only, but the Whole must fall.
Let Earth unbalanced from her orbit fly,
Planets and stars run lawless thro' the sky;
Let ruling angels from their spheres be hurl'd,
Being on being wreck'd, and world on world;
Heav'n's whole foundations to their centre nod,
And Nature tremble to the throne of God!
All this dread order break--for whom? for thee?
Vile worm!--O madness! pride! impiety!

IX.
What if the foot, ordain'd the dust to tread,
Or hand to toil, aspired to be the head?
What if the head, the eye, or ear repin'd
To serve mere engines to the ruling mind?
Just as absurd for any part to claim
To be another in this gen'ral frame;
Just as absurd to mourn the tasks or pains
The great directing Mind of All ordains.

All are but parts of one stupendous Whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul;
That changed thro' all, and yet in all the same,
Great in the Earth as in th'ethereal frame,
Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze,
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees;
Lives thro' all life, extends thro' all extent,
Spreads undivided, operates unspent;
Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part,
As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart;
As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns,
As the rapt Seraph that adores and burns.
To him no high, no low, no great, no small;
He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all!

X.
Cease, then, nor Order imperfection name;
Our proper bliss depends on what we blame.
Know thy own point: this kind, this due degree
Of blindness, weakness, Heav'n bestows on thee.
Submit: in this or any other sphere,
Secure to be as bless'd as thou canst bear;
Safe in the hand of one disposing Power,
Or in the natal or the mortal hour.
All Nature is but Art unknown to thee;
All chance direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good:
And spite of Pride, in erring Reason's spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.

alexander pope had it right all along...cheers gentlemen, i will see you...soon.
 
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  • #21
counterpoint said:
alexander pope had it right all along...cheers gentlemen, i will see you...soon.

Actually. I don't think he did at all. What you just quoted is IMHO, 18th century non-sense, and if you use that as your guiding philosophy for getting into physics, you are going to be extremely disappointed. It also has some interesting insights on English views toward imperialism and the rest of the world, since in turns out that Indians and Chinese *had* pretty strong indigenous scientific traditions, and my views are very influenced by the Chinese scientific tradition.

There are moments of excitement, but it's mostly total frustration, and in the end you feel more stupid and ignorant about the universe than you did before. This is a good thing.
 

1. What does "no one will crush my dreams" mean?

"No one will crush my dreams" means that the person is determined to achieve their goals and will not let anyone discourage or prevent them from doing so.

2. Why is it important to not let anyone crush your dreams?

It is important to not let anyone crush your dreams because your dreams are a reflection of your passions and desires. If you let others discourage you from pursuing them, you may end up feeling unfulfilled and regretful in the future.

3. How can I prevent others from crushing my dreams?

You can prevent others from crushing your dreams by believing in yourself and your abilities. Surround yourself with supportive and positive people who will encourage and motivate you. Also, stay determined and resilient in the face of adversity.

4. What if someone does try to crush my dreams?

If someone tries to crush your dreams, remember that their words or actions do not define you or your potential. Instead, use their negativity as fuel to prove them wrong and work even harder towards achieving your dreams.

5. Is it okay to have setbacks and failures while pursuing my dreams?

Yes, setbacks and failures are a natural part of any journey towards achieving your dreams. They can provide valuable lessons and make you stronger and more determined in the long run. The important thing is to never give up and keep pushing towards your goals.

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