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Maybe it's time for me (40+) to go back to college. I want to pick up Mathematics and Physics up to the point of General Relativity. Since it's "use it or lose

• miamiwebdesign 2y ago
  If you have the discipline, you can create a lesson plan with an LLM without spending an arm and a leg.
  • 331c8c71 2y ago
    You would still very likely need human input and help. LLMs will hallunicate badly on problems just a bit more difficult than the very standard ones (first-hand experience with math).
  • ferguess_k 2y ago
    Thanks. I definitely will teach myself some of the pre-requisites before registering in University. I need to prove to myself that I can sit down, take some course, complete the coursework + assignments + exams on MIT courseware, before committing anything that costs $$.
    • sn9 2y ago
      Math Academy is really all you need. 30 minutes per day is enough, though more time will mean faster progress.
• cultofmetatron 2y ago
  I was running into the same issue. I wanted to get into deeeplearning but my math skills had atrophied. go check out mathacademy.com. its no where near the level of time investment that going back to college is and you will learn a lot!
• ljm 2y ago
  I've always toyed with the idea of studying Computer Science since I taught myself how to code. Hell of a lot more difficult now when I need to work and don't really have the same amount of time to dedicate to studying. Hell of a lot easier when you're younger, your whole life basically revolves around the education, and any job you have generally fits around your school life rather than the other way round.
  • ativzzz 2y ago
    Plugging Georgia Tech's online masters program - I did it over the course of 4 years while working - can take 1 class a semester - and it's very cheap for a high quality masters
    • lkrych 2y ago
      I'm going to second ativzzz. It's a great program. I did it the same way: 1 class a semester over 4 years.
  • ferguess_k 2y ago
    Yeah it was really a surprise to me when I realized that my energy declined to the point that I couldn't work on my side projects for the down days. Then I counted how many days I have for the rest of my life (up to 75) and this dreaded me a lot. And it got worse after my son was born a few years ago. I would count the number of weeks available, not the days, because there has been whole weeks that I couldn't do anything. After all those are two full-time jobs. As for your CS education, I'd recommend getting into some side projects and explore from there. If you go to a school, it's going to take too many courses.
    • flanbiscuit 2y ago
      I'm in my late 40s and I've found that my desire for working on side projects after work is affected by how engaged I am mentally at work. When I'm building new features/products from scratch and I'm having to figure out architecture and learn more about whatever language I'm coding in, I get more amped to do side projects at home. When I'm bored and just bug fixing and dealing with more mundane things, I have no desire to do any more coding after work. Something about being more engaged gets my brain in a state that I can keep going for the rest of the day until I need to pull myself away from the computer because it's 2am and I should have been asleep hours ago. I should note that I don't have children so the only "obligation" I have is to spend time with my partner and eat dinner, which I enjoy doing, of course. She usually starts getting ready for bed around 10pm and that's when I start coding. I do have some bad sleep patterns though, doesn't matter if I'm coding or not, which is probably not healthy. I have that revenge nighttime procrastination thing real bad.
• Luc 2y ago
  I found 'So You Want to Learn Physics...' helpful: https://www.susanrigetti.com/physics https://www.susanrigetti.com/physics Agreed on prioritizing financial freedom.
  • ferguess_k 2y ago
    Thanks. I did read that but found it to be too broad. I set a very narrow target and hopefully everything can be wrapped up in 8-10 Math/Physics courses.
• meindnoch 2y ago
  It is impossible to truly understand General Relativity after the age of 35.
  • jimbob45 2y ago
    Is the joke because Einstein published his findings on General Relativity at 36?
    • whiplash451 2y ago
      Devil's advocate: how many years did it take him to get to publishing this work?
  • zusammen 2y ago
    [dead]
  • ferguess_k 2y ago
    It is a possibility I actually agree with, because a true understanding probably requires a lot more than taking some classes. It probably needs a PHD on Cosmology or something else. But let's say a shallow understanding is good enough...even just completing a General Relativity graduate course with good mark is good enough.
    • obbie3 2y ago
      You should not have entertained that comment. There is absolutely zero evidence that 35 is some mystical cut off for "understanding." That poster has NO clue what they are talking about. Seriously, feel free to ignore that comment. As for practical advice for learning, you should look into learning how to learn and then spend about 1-2 year habituating to the proper way to acquire knowledge. The science says your (not just you, practically everyone) current intuitions and habits are incorrect; as evidenced by almost everyone in this post. Youtuber Justin Sung is pretty much second to none in terms of a practical program for acquiring these skills. If you want general guidelines to follow to determine who's telling you the truth and who isn't use the following wikipedia article to guide you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_learning#The_principles_of_learning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_learning#The_principles... Note: Simply reading that article and "understanding" what it is saying is not equivalent to having a study program that implements these things, and having a program that implements these things is not the same thing as actually executing on and habituating to said program. This process takes many months to years. Best of luck.
• whiplash451 2y ago
  > please please prioritize financial freedom This advice could really backfire badly if taken literally by young people. Optimizing for financial reward early in your career could be the surest way to end up in a dead end from a mission/purpose/domain/skills perspective. 20 years later, you realize you burned two precious decades accumulating money that, honestly, does not help you at all make sense or use of the next two.
  • road_to_freedom 2y ago
    > honestly, does not help you at all make sense or use of the next two. Why?
    • lxgr 2y ago
      Money can't buy you a sense of purpose, especially if that purpose would largely involve non-monetary aspects.
      • ferguess_k 2y ago
        The thing, being poor doesn't buy one a sense of purpose too. Money for sure doesn't solve the issue, but it gives you all the freedom to solve it for the rest of your life. Damn I wish I had a million so that I could just drop my job and twitch my coding and gaming streams 12/7. I can't do that.
        • lxgr 2y ago
          Absolutely. Money (at least some amount, at least for most people) is necessary, but not sufficient for a fulfilled life.
        • brulard 2y ago
          I believe most people having that million wouldn't spend it to find the fulfillment in life, but would end up increasing their life style by slacking off, drugs, expensive cars and items, etc. And the million would be gone in months and you would be left with just bad habits, dopamine hangover and no idea of the further direction in life.
• jpmattia 2y ago
  > up to the point of General Relativity. Putting in a plug for MIT OCW 8.962 [1]. I also had this itch, and was able to find time during the pandemic to work through the course (at about 1/2 speed). But true to what others are saying, life intruded for the last few lectures, so still have some items on my todo list. I thought Scott Hughes laid out the math with terrific clarity, with just the right amount of joviality. It is not for everyone, but if you have a suitable background it may turn "scratch an itch" into the obsession that it has done to me. And to make the obligatory on-topic comment: I'm 61yo. Now get off my lawn. [1] https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-962-general-relativity-spring-2020/ https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-962-general-relativity-spring-...
  • ferguess_k 2y ago
    Thanks! Yeah I planned to use MIT OCW for my education, at least the first 3-4 pre-requisite courses, before I even consider registering in an independent program in some University. BTW I hope you are going to get more free time in a few years so that you can come back and enjoy the education again.
  • deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
• Bloating 2y ago
  More proof that old boomers don't get what its like to be a modern, young adult. I was just texting with friends about this at the coffee shop this morning while making plans for this weekend. Boss is interruping by goat-yoga mindfullness session, asking me to come into the office an hour this month. Who has time for this? You olds have all the money, all the time.
  • ferguess_k 2y ago
    I wish I had all the money and all the time! I don't, alas... I know it sounds stupid but I started to but lottery tickets, not to win, because statistically it is impossible, but just to give me hope, because lottery is the only thing in the world that can land a mountain of cash in one shot, with a very small investment. Nothing else can do that. That's why humans purchase lottery tickets all the time throughout history. It's too cheer themselves up.
    • 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
      I found a cheaper way. I walk around the city for a couple hours every weekend with the hopes of randomly finding a winning lottery ticket.
    • cudgy 2y ago
      Why not buy out of money options in companies that you know with spare money? Better odds and good payouts if you hit it right.
      • ferguess_k 2y ago
        Needs too many correct bets or too much $$ to get a few million of returns. You can win a lottery of 50 million with just a few dollars! But I do think this is an interesting strategy. I might try it out just for fun. Anyway I'm half joking. I do buy lottery but it is just to improve the mood of the day. Oh a good mood for a few hours is so important to keep being sane.
• yojo 2y ago
  If you’re going to try this route, I’d also recommend prioritizing your family and/or life partner with all your remaining energy. Grinding is soul-sucking, and having someone at home was the only way I made it through the roughest patches. I semi-retired in the 35-40 range, but if my choices were being retired and single or working but with my family, I’d 100% take the latter.
• semireg 2y ago
  Yay, do it! I'm in linear algebra right now (midterm in 40 minutes) and I'm over 40. I went back because I always regretted not taking more higher level math. It's been a lot of work, but very rewarding. My kids (age 7 and 5) think it's pretty cool to see dad working on his TI-89 and Notability on iPad.
• 725686 2y ago
  "If you can retire around 35-40" really? If you can retire that young, you probably don't need any advice.
  • ferguess_k 2y ago
    You can't blame an old man trying to give advices to people who don't need them...
  • kccqzy 2y ago
    Achieving financial independence and early retirement does not mean one no longer needs any advice about life. Indeed, because those people have a longer retirement, they might ponder things like the meaning of life much more than someone who's living paycheck to paycheck and has to devote all brain cycles to survival. And there are so many options for those who retire at 40 that they genuinely need advice about what to do, how to find what matters most to them, and how to go about doing the things they had always wanted to do but couldn't. These people have succeeded in making money and that's all. But life is so much more than just making money.
  • zahlman 2y ago
    People's financial goals range wildly, which also impacts on when they can retire. Some people don't care about some combination of having a car, or expensive living quarters, or fancy food, or a family.
• matwood 2y ago
  I'm over 40 and even though I mostly manage/lead now I have time to do programming and plenty of math. I still see improvement mentally (not so much physically anymore), but also a lot of improvement in skills I neglected when I was younger like interpersonal skills and sales. I'm also learning a new language and read more than ever. Sometimes I feel like I'm less sharp, but I wonder if that's because I'm doing so much more. My tricks that I don't always follow, is work out every day, get enough sleep, and stay off of most short form social media. I realized when I was on short form social it would zap a lot of time and kill any focus I had.
• tayo42 2y ago
  I got excited to do this a couple years ago. (early 30s) Time and energy were a real killer. Physics and Math in a formal setting like school is rigorous, not fun. I found it really hard to stay motivated. I don't know how I would practically use that knowledge, i would never contribute anything scientific. It would take years of grinding through foundational math and physics to get there.
  • derangedHorse 2y ago
    Oftentimes they're not even rigorous. At least in the math setting, many professors excuse their student's lack of comprehension on complex material when it's really bad teaching. Some attempts at explaining proofs are laughable and although their conclusions may be correct, because the covered theorems were proven by those much smarter than them, the steps taken to get there rarely follow the tight logical sequencing needed by those learning the material.
• jdefr89 2y ago
  I often ponder if I have the energy to go back to school. I am employed by MIT at one of the labs where I do research for embedded security. As a consequence, they offer free classes you can pick up. I am yet to actually take advantage of that yet but your comment has me thinking the same thing. I turn 36 in a couple days!
• kamaal 2y ago
  >>please please prioritize financial freedom if you don't have a clear objective in mind This. To Infinity. Please prioritise financial freedom. I missed a few steps, but as I get old, I realise this is the biggest blocker to almost anything. Money == Free time.