4 ms·

when i took my quantum mechanics qualifier, i studied for a month, i was honest, i worked so hard. The exam was so tough (I passed), but as I was walking out I

when i took my quantum mechanics qualifier, i studied for a month, i was honest, i worked so hard. The exam was so tough (I passed), but as I was walking out I saw a student who had all the old exam questions with solutions printed out on his "table of integrals". Sure, maybe I "learned" some quantum mechanics more than that guy. But it's a topic I have never used (I do geophysics and machine learning) so I don't think I remember much of anything about quantum mechanics. So what was the lesson learned there? "Work smart, not hard"? "Do whatever the minimum is because that is all that gets assessed"? "The goal is all that matters"? "The ends justify the means"? "Worry about yourself"?

fauxpause_ 3y ago
Don’t do things that are not useful, enjoyable, or rewarding.
- mnky9800n 3y ago
  yes i think you hit the nail on the head. that is what i do now. but that took time to arrive to even though it seems so easy when you say it now.
throwawaysleep 3y ago
Ruthlessly focus on your goals and don't get distracted by side quests.
bee_rider 3y ago
There’s something seemingly dysfunctional in academia that made you get the best degree in quantum physics and then not work in quantum physics. I mean it is really common and not your fault, but people end up getting a PhD in these really advanced subjects all the time and then just leverage the ancillary coding and data analysis skills they happened to pick up on the way to get high paying tech jobs in unrelated fields. It seems like a massive waste of brain power that we could target more effectively.
- passion__desire 3y ago
  > There’s something seemingly dysfunctional in academia that made you get the best degree in quantum physics and then not work in quantum physics. The following article is the best example of the above quote. https://nautil.us/what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-physics-236309/ https://nautil.us/what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-phys... What Does Any of This Have To Do with Physics? Einstein and Feynman ushered me into grad school, reality ushered me out.

fauxpause_ 3y ago

Don’t do things that are not useful, enjoyable, or rewarding.

mnky9800n 3y ago
yes i think you hit the nail on the head. that is what i do now. but that took time to arrive to even though it seems so easy when you say it now.

throwawaysleep 3y ago

Ruthlessly focus on your goals and don't get distracted by side quests.

bee_rider 3y ago

There’s something seemingly dysfunctional in academia that made you get the best degree in quantum physics and then not work in quantum physics. I mean it is really common and not your fault, but people end up getting a PhD in these really advanced subjects all the time and then just leverage the ancillary coding and data analysis skills they happened to pick up on the way to get high paying tech jobs in unrelated fields. It seems like a massive waste of brain power that we could target more effectively.

passion__desire 3y ago
> There’s something seemingly dysfunctional in academia that made you get the best degree in quantum physics and then not work in quantum physics. The following article is the best example of the above quote. https://nautil.us/what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-physics-236309/ https://nautil.us/what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-phys... What Does Any of This Have To Do with Physics? Einstein and Feynman ushered me into grad school, reality ushered me out.