Differential geometry is a big one for GR, and that's part of the reason I've never attempted to get into it, ha. I don't know a blooming thing about it. Don't be so fixated on one theory though, make sure you check out the other parts of physics along the way!
I did not want to portray my parents as a set of iron-fisted dictators that -- judging by the tone of your posts -- is what I think you think all conservative Christian parents are.
I was merely trying to point out that the "forcing" of beliefs may not always come from the parents'...
But, they do believe that. That's my whole point. What I do in this life does have a direct affect on my "afterlife." From this comes the fear mentioned in my first post.
I was sort of in the same boat, but my situation was slightly different. I have a pretty good GPA and letters of rec., but I am from a very, very small school that I can guarantee nobody has ever heard of. I applied to 9 and, to my surprise, got into 4 (one had the funding yanked by the NSF)...
I can only speak from personal experience, but I think the reason some religious parents will "force" their views onto their children is because they're genuinely afraid that their children will not be "saved," "go to hell," etc.
I brought my mother to tears when I was 15 or 16 and decided to...
http://www.cam.cornell.edu/Graduate/Courses/#dynamical"
http://www.math.umd.edu/research/dynamics/"
http://www.math.psu.edu/dynsys/"
http://www.math.sunysb.edu/dynamics/"
I am an applied math major, so those are all math programs. I'm strongly considering going into dynamics as...
Oh yeah:
For all the young whipper-snappers out there who are unsure of themselves, read this:
http://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths/"
It's written by a Field's Medal-winning mathematician named Terence Tao, a prof at UCLA. Given his...
I agree. Somebody's wall may be college algebra. Another person's may be algebraic topology or some other esoteric field. That's when you find out what you're really made of. I know that for me, I have had a real tough time with upper level physics courses. Stupid Lagrangian mechanics!
For...
If we were to slighly rearrange the order in your post:
But then,
So you sort of gave yourself an example. Those kid-prodigies fully warrant the term "talented." Even a cursory review of their accomplishments will convince you this is so.
Again, while nobody is denying the power of...
I don't know if I'd agree with the non-existence of "natural talent." People could work their entire lives and not accomplish what Euler or Gauss did in one year. And then there's the child prodigies...
With that being said, I tend to agree with you in a way. I think this whole "talent"...
The transition from computational math to abstract math is a real doozy for the unprepared. If you tough it out and work really hard, it'll pay off.
I have a lot of interesting stories about how I arrived in my major. :biggrin: I was booted out of my high school my junior year for various...
I go to an average state school. My first year physics course was cake. However, if you're taking a course on the level of K&K, then I'd image it'd be pretty hard.
I'm in a senior level mechanics course (I'm not a physics major). Now that's a course that will inspire a lot of horror stories.
I think I was 15 or 16 when I got my ear pierced. I put lower gauge stuff (it's backwards, right? Lower gauge = thicker?) into my ears too soon after the piercing and the puss and stuff couldn't seep out. Oops. Removed the jewelry and everything healed right up. I got it done with a piercing...