The big bang time relativity problem sometimes makes your brain hurt but this is amazing!
I’m so fascinated by the fact that we can look back through time by looking at these distant objects. I wish I went into astrophysics instead of engineering…
I’m so fascinated by the fact that we can look back through time by looking at these distant objects. I wish I went into astrophysics instead of engineering…
Truly, only those who think about nothing but (astro)physics can bear it.
I still love thinking about fundamental problems and upcoming research however. That will never be gone.
I used to love engineering but with AI I feel like all the passion (learning things, making brain squeeze) is gone and I’m just managing another resource.
Don’t get me wrong, I like building things. I also like solving challenges and hard problems and I haven’t done that in a few years now.
Physics tends to reward finding THE solution. It's akin to a pirate's quest to finding the treasure hoard. The solution rarely involves a logical progression and more luck than anything else. I recognize this is a controversial take since few people realize this and would accept it. Physics education trains people that everything is derivable through assumptions and steps but new advances rarely come through this process.
Anyways, I relate to your mindset more as well. I much rather approach solvable problems.
There's a scene in Good Will Hunting where the two professors talk about Will [0] and Sean (Robin Williams) says it's "There's more to life than a fucking Fields medal". Both are correct but there's only a few names in history that will be remembered as "The Greats".
Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543)
Sir Isaac Newton (4 January [O.S. 25 December] 1643 – 31 March [O.S. 20 March] 1727)
Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955)
This is obviously a cut down list just to make a point that big ideas don't come around every day. Sometimes, it takes a few hundred years in between.
99% is definitely an exaggeration, I apologize. The good astrophysics researchers, imo, are focusing on improving college-level physics education, pushing breaking-edge experimental results, making sense of large-scale survey results, and working on the next big simulation run. Younger departments with younger professors tend be pushing the envelope more, we might see a industry cleanup in my lifetime.
I remember secretly judging them at the time, but as the years wore on I came to realise how wise/scared they actually were..