Physics for a multi dimensional person

[adiphysics]

Physics for a "multi dimensional" person

Most people have given me the advice that physics is for the kind of "devoted and dedicated" people who give it their everything. You need to focus solely on it, be (a lot)patient and not loose your interest in the way.

I am ,what I would like to call, a "multi-dimensional" person with many interests and talents. I love physics and want to pursue research in it. I think analytically and logically well and so I also love programming and find it easy.The creative aspect of engineering also gets me excited. I am very creative and innovative; those are my most important traits.

Besides these, I play guitar and synthesizer, follow sports and play football(soccer),write some articles,read a lot,sing a bit etc. I won't like to drop all of these things though I can drop most but not fully.

All these interests are a result of the well rounded schooling which has cultivated in me so many things that it is hard for me to chose now.I take part in most activities now and find it hard to imagine life sticking to one thing all the time.I am prepared to put most of my time, but not my all.
Is physics for a guy like me? Or you have to be a one sided person, like all the great physicists, to be successful?

Thank you for reading the whole post.

 

[TMFKAN64]

Or you have to be a one sided person, like all the great physicists, to be successful?

I don't know where you got the idea that physicists need to be one sided. For example, this guy was certainly a multidimensional person as well as a world-class physicist.

That said, really becoming a physicist requires a Ph.D., and that requires specialization and focus. So as you continue your studies, you will find yourself learning more and more about less and less. That might not appeal to you.

 

[adiphysics]

I have heard Richard Feynman saying this: "I am a one sided person,I have limited intelligence and I direct it in a particular way...I read a bit,go to the cinemas...but basically I am a one sided person".
How he kept focus is really a mystery to me.

 

[twofish-quant]

Most people have given me the advice that physics is for the kind of "devoted and dedicated" people who give it their everything. You need to focus solely on it, be (a lot)patient and not loose your interest in the way.

I'm curious *who* has given you this advice, because it seems all wrong. What happens is that if you focus only on the "grunt work" you forget that it was Star Trek and Doctor Who that got you interested in physics.

Is physics for a guy like me?

Don't know. Try it out and see what you think about it.

Or you have to be a one sided person, like all the great physicists, to be successful?

All of the great physicists that I've known personally have had very strong interests outside of physics. One of my mentors is a published science fiction novelist, for example. People that are single mindedly obsessed tend to burn out.

I mean, I got into astrophysics because I wanted to understand the universe. Guitars are part of the universe aren't they?

I'm very curious who is telling you these sorts of things.

 

[twofish-quant]

That said, really becoming a physicist requires a Ph.D., and that requires specialization and focus. So as you continue your studies, you will find yourself learning more and more about less and less. That might not appeal to you.

On the other hand you can focus on something that mixes skills. Take three things at random. Mayonaise. French literature. Black holes. I'm sure that you can mix those to put together a Ph.D. dissertation in something.