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Can someone explain how someone who has decided to distance himself from math can major in PHYSICS?!

Exactly that. At my university first-year physics students would effectively take the same courses as mathematics students and Mathematical Methods in Physics on top of that.

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There is, in my experience, a difference between the courses required of mathematics majors and the courses that students who might want to be mathematicians are expected to take.

This is true, but becomes a lot less relevant when you're playing in Huh's league. It's not that easy to make a move even from theoretical high-energy physics to pure mathematics. You can read about some interesting success stories in Quanta, but I think most people who try this end up leaving academia. There's a large cultural gap they have to cross, and most will never integrate enough to survive the job market.

Talking daily to a world-class professional mathematician for two years will do a lot to help in this respect.

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