4 ms·

I have a physics degree. It turns out a bachelor’s degree doesn’t help much, and I was too burnt out at the time to go to grad school. I took a few introductory

I have a physics degree. It turns out a bachelor’s degree doesn’t help much, and I was too burnt out at the time to go to grad school. I took a few introductory programming classes and I’ve been trying to get back into it lately. Try talking to a bartender sometime, you may find out they’re not as dumb as rocks.

pstuart 7y ago
> Try talking to a bartender sometime, you may find out they’re not as dumb as rocks. AOC has done an excellent job in that regard :-)
- xster 7y ago
  Though sad that she's now taking marching orders from Pelosi now https://www.nationalreview.com/news/aoc-drifts-away-from-activist-left-toward-a-more-conventional-staff-and-political-strategy/ https://www.nationalreview.com/news/aoc-drifts-away-from-act...
  - therealdrag0 7y ago
    I don't follow politics much. But I think it just underlines to get stuff done in many areas of life you need to be willing/able to compromise and build coalitions.
  - khrbrt 7y ago
    That article has very thin gruel for "taking marching orders from Pelosi": not endorsing some people and asking for civility in Twitter feuds. Be skeptical of anything written by the National Review about progressives.
mostlysimilar 7y ago
My bartender friends are some of the smartest, most capable, most hard-working people I know.
lb1lf 7y ago
-Irrelevant, but I chuckled at your last sentence. One of the all-time smartest people I’ve ever met worked a bar in Bergen, Norway; autodidact in anything which caught his fancy, he could give you a lecture on what brought down the Scythians, serve a new guest and striking up a conversation on advances in semiconductor fabrication with him, picking up where he left off the lecture on the Scythians before heading out to see if any of the patrons outside wanted anything, having a quick word on the Poincaré conjecture with the math postgrad having a beer in the backyard... He had studied for a while at the university before figuring out that he’d have more time to study if he didn’t have to concern himself with exams, quit, kept his uni library card and got down to it.
- hazeii 7y ago
  Norway's like that. Last time I was there the taxi driver taking us back to the airport knew more about the CUDA API than I do (not a terribly high bar, but still...).
glippiglop 7y ago
I met a programmer many years back who had previously been a physicist at CERN. I'd never have guessed but I think he picked up the programming bug there. If you think coding is your thing then go for it and all the best to you!
- seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  Not really surprising when you consider that the web was invented there (CERN).
- cozzyd 7y ago
  There are very few physicists who don't know how to program.
sumofi 7y ago
Hn is very it specific. I wouldn't thought that you find many bartenders here for the soul reason that those two interests or occupations are just different independent to intelligence.
_prototype_ 7y ago
AOC is not doing you guys any favors
joeblau 7y ago
Super cool backstory. I also wondered what brought you here as well.
mrfusion 7y ago
How’s the pay? What’s the process for becoming a bar tender? I always thought it might be a fun job when I retire.

pstuart 7y ago

> Try talking to a bartender sometime, you may find out they’re not as dumb as rocks. AOC has done an excellent job in that regard :-)

xster 7y ago
Though sad that she's now taking marching orders from Pelosi now https://www.nationalreview.com/news/aoc-drifts-away-from-activist-left-toward-a-more-conventional-staff-and-political-strategy/ https://www.nationalreview.com/news/aoc-drifts-away-from-act...
- therealdrag0 7y ago
  I don't follow politics much. But I think it just underlines to get stuff done in many areas of life you need to be willing/able to compromise and build coalitions.
- khrbrt 7y ago
  That article has very thin gruel for "taking marching orders from Pelosi": not endorsing some people and asking for civility in Twitter feuds. Be skeptical of anything written by the National Review about progressives.

mostlysimilar 7y ago

My bartender friends are some of the smartest, most capable, most hard-working people I know.

lb1lf 7y ago

-Irrelevant, but I chuckled at your last sentence. One of the all-time smartest people I’ve ever met worked a bar in Bergen, Norway; autodidact in anything which caught his fancy, he could give you a lecture on what brought down the Scythians, serve a new guest and striking up a conversation on advances in semiconductor fabrication with him, picking up where he left off the lecture on the Scythians before heading out to see if any of the patrons outside wanted anything, having a quick word on the Poincaré conjecture with the math postgrad having a beer in the backyard... He had studied for a while at the university before figuring out that he’d have more time to study if he didn’t have to concern himself with exams, quit, kept his uni library card and got down to it.

hazeii 7y ago
Norway's like that. Last time I was there the taxi driver taking us back to the airport knew more about the CUDA API than I do (not a terribly high bar, but still...).

glippiglop 7y ago

I met a programmer many years back who had previously been a physicist at CERN. I'd never have guessed but I think he picked up the programming bug there. If you think coding is your thing then go for it and all the best to you!

seanmcdirmid 7y ago
Not really surprising when you consider that the web was invented there (CERN).
cozzyd 7y ago
There are very few physicists who don't know how to program.

sumofi 7y ago

Hn is very it specific. I wouldn't thought that you find many bartenders here for the soul reason that those two interests or occupations are just different independent to intelligence.

_prototype_ 7y ago

AOC is not doing you guys any favors

joeblau 7y ago

Super cool backstory. I also wondered what brought you here as well.

mrfusion 7y ago

How’s the pay? What’s the process for becoming a bar tender? I always thought it might be a fun job when I retire.