4 ms·
I think many people are faced with a choice of studying physics or chemistry at a graduate level and, since up until then chemistry is generally much harder wor
by sparsely 2y ago
I think many people are faced with a choice of studying physics or chemistry at a graduate level and, since up until then chemistry is generally much harder work than physics if you are an above average student, gravitate towards the subject where their ability so far has made life easy for them.
I still remember my introductory chemistry lecture at uni where the instructor said that a whole bunch of us had coasted up until now, and that in his experience those that had had to work hardest to get there, even if they had lower grades, would be the ones to succeed (he was right!)
- RugnirViking 2y agoI'm a little confused by your anecdote. High ability students who coast along gravitate towards physics, which is easier for them. But your professor said that the chemists had coasted?
- nkmnz 2y agoThis matches my experience studying chemistry after graduating from highschool with 0 effort. Studying chemistry is hard work in a lot of different fields: brute force memorization, understanding the intricacies of arcane heuristics with multiple (historically inspired) levels of "reasoning", applying lots of basic math and some higher math, applying some higher math in the context of more modern and somewhat less confusing models, and doing manual work in the lab with all kinds of equipment. It was a lot of fun, but I wasn't ready for the insane amount of work that I needed to put in. For comparisson, I've also done some courses in economics and business administration – 0 effort, just like basic school.