<p>Hey guys, I have always planned on majoring in physics at a good university, but right now (junior year), I'm starting to get bored with it. And I know that I love it deep inside, I just haven't felt passionate about physics. Kinda like a lame marriage. </p>
<p>This year, I'm taking AP Chemistry (booorrring) and no math (finished BC last year, couldn't fit in Calc III this year). I have many study halls, but I can never find enough drive to self study AP Physics C. I plan on finishing AP Physics C this year, but it just seems like a chore.</p>
<p>I really need to rekindle my passion for physics. I want to apply to summer programs like RSI, and without a true display of passion for my focus, I have no chance of getting in. </p>
<p>Any ideas? Am I just burnt out?</p>
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<p>You’ve planned too far ahead. You’re only in high school, you haven’t made any serious commitments to any field, and you should expect that your interests will change. If this is just temporary as you say, the interest will come back on its own.</p>
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<p>lol omg</p>
<p>but how can ANYBODY feel this way about physics</p>
<p>what is it about physics that interests you?</p>
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<p>I think it’s possible to feel that way about physics, but not with the level of knowledge a typical high school student has of it. </p>
<p>(Math is one of the majors I’m considering, and I like what little I’ve seen of math. But if I went and told someone with a math degree that I “love” math, they’d probably shut me down right away because I haven’t studied any “real” math and I can’t possibly know whether I’d like it or not. To them, me saying I love math is akin to someone saying they love literature because they read The Cat in the Hat. I’m not sure if physics is the same way or not.)</p>
<p>^I think physics is the same way… ish. Basically, on the last day of my AP Physics C class last year, my teacher was like “You know what, guys? All the stuff you learned this year? Just kidding about everything! Most of what we learned isn’t good physics. If you want real physics, study modern physics. You just wasted an entire year. Hahahaha.”</p>
<p>Physics is weird. I think it’s become a sort of romanticized field, especially in theoretical particle physics/astrophysics. The people that in these disciplines are widely perceived as the greatest modern geniuses (e.g. Einstein, Feynman, Hawking and most recently perhaps, Higgs). Modern physics has also become sensationalized, to a degree, by popular science TV shows claiming teleportation and time travel are nearly possible, or that we’ll soon be exploring the universe by traveling through wormholes. These factors together have certainly contributed to an increase in the “coolness” factor of physics and this is part of what attracts a lot of people to the field initially, I think. </p>
<p>I know I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else, so I certainly can’t judge. It’s definitely worth examining where your love of physics comes from, though, to determine if physics is really something you want to spend the rest of your life doing!</p>
<p>My interest in physics has increased a lot by reading Wikipedia articles on all kinds of topics, from nuclear fusion to dark energy to the Higgs boson. Oftentimes I’ll learn lots of interesting things about physics that would never be taught in high school just by browsing through Wikipedia for an hour or so, clicking links that interest me. Also, read Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman immediately if you haven’t already. Seriously, it’s amazingly interesting, even for people with little to no interest in physics.</p>
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<p>yes, clearly, if he’s using marriage analogies LOL</p>
<p>On another note, has anybody read anything by Steven Hawking? I used to want to be a theoretical physicist in middle school, wanting to discover the Grand Unifying Theory (physics nerds will know what that is). I read Hawking’s The Universe in a Nutshell, which provides graphic representations of theoretical physics in accompanying simple language. "Black Holes and Baby Universes and a Brief History of Time are also Hawking’s works.
I got a B- in Physics.</p>
<p>Yeah a Brief History of Time is pretty interesting. And I’ve read Wikipedia articles on things like the higgs particle, wormholes, Steven Hawking, etc. I’m taking physics next year, I guess I’ll see how well that goes. Was it the B- that made you not want to go into physics anymore, Ractogon?</p>
<p>Few thoughts. </p>
<p>Maybe take a break and do something else for a while. Learn to play the guitar or something. Kind of like a bored couple taking separate vacations:)</p>
<p>Physics will be more interesting at the college level, so you’ll get re-excited.</p>
<p>Physics IS used for things. Can you expand your scope by learning about related areas? It’s used extensively in chemistry, in engineering, in communications…the list is endless. Plus, truthfully, i hear too often there are no jobs in physics so it might be practical to marry your interest to a technical field. If that’s not stooping too low</p>