Should I Pursue Physics with a Right-Brained Mindset?

[TheArtist]

Hi there,
I'm new to the forum. My concern is this: I am very interested in physics and was thinking about pursuing it as a career, but I don't feel I'm smart enough to do so. I'm extremely right-brained - I'm an artist and have no problem grasping the concepts of art and literature. Math is not my strongest point, but I do well in my algebra and geometry classes. I haven't had a chance to take the more advanced science and math classes since I have only just completed my freshman year in high school this spring. What do you think? Would you say stick to the more creative careers or try to expand my knowledge of science and math?

 

[Choppy]

You have lots of time to decide.

Rather than classifying yourself as left- or right-brained from the start of high school, take the courses that interest you the most. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself either. Read up on your interests outside of the classroom too. That way you can build up a reasonable base of experience on which you can make decisions about subjects you want to pursue in university - if you decide to go that route.

 

[Pengwuino]

You're way too young to think you're not made for a certain career path. Just take more science and math classes and maybe read a few books on the subject and if it doesn't peak your interest, then it might not be for you. As far as being good enough to be a physicist, it just takes a lot of work. Some people have a natural ability to do physics, but it just means less work, not no work.

 

[TheArtist]

Thank you. It's simply an interest I have - I'm sure I won't end up pursuing it further than high school. My passion is writing. I'll probably get into a journalism career. I want to write about psychology and do research in that field. Psych is my other interest :)

 

[lisab]

I know many people who are strong in both artistic and analytical thinking. You could be one of them! Don't despair if you find math and science a bit hard, it doesn't mean you're bad at it.

 

[jtbell]

If you're into science and you enjoy writing (and are good at it!), you could build a career around science journalism. There are the popular-level science magazines like Scientific American and Discover, of course, but there are also magazines for science professionals that carry news and other non-research articles (Science, Nature, Physics Today, etc.).

 

[twofish-quant]

I haven't had a chance to take the more advanced science and math classes since I have only just completed my freshman year in high school this spring. What do you think?

You have plenty of time to figure out what to do. One thing to remember is that in the end, it's not how smart you are, but how you react when you feel stupid. If your reaction to not understanding something is to walk away, then this doesn't bode well for the future, but if your reaction to not understanding something is to try harder, then the odds are pretty good that you have enough mathematical ability to do useful things.

Would you say stick to the more creative careers or try to expand my knowledge of science and math?

There is a lot of creativity involved in science and math.