Do you want to be a physicist or understand physics? Two very different things.

If you want to BE A PHYSICIST learn a lot of math + work somewhere they do their work. Try to network and find someplace you can be a scientific programmer for a yearish.

If you just want to UNDERSTAND physics, start reading primary sources rather than shit like Wired.

Often there is a type of person that exploits that gap between say, an ARXIV print to going to a conference to going to a journal to being presented at a conference... where then a journalist sits down, observes the presentation, and writes it up, to sound smarter than they are.

I don't like that kind of person.

Hope the above is helpful!