
What Does Any of This Have to Do with Physics? (2016) - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/issue/43/heroes/what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-physics
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rocqua
"I was haunted by the possibility that the thing had no answer at all, and by
the even more dismaying thought that the damn thing was simple and I just
couldn’t see it. Am I stupid to keep trying or stupid to not be done yet?
Either way …"

This resonates so much with me. This is the biggest gulf between doing very
hard assigned problems and original research.

Just knowing that a problem is 'at your level' really helps me with solving
it. Any failure becomes a temporary setback, rather than an indication that
maybe I won't be able to solve this.

I've tried to meta-game myself on this, simply by assuming the solution is
achievable. It gets ever harder the longer a problem goes unsolved though.
Simply because it takes more effort to ignore the 'evidence' suggesting the
problem is hard.

~~~
scarejunba
Honestly, I quit mathematics for the very same reason. And, like the author
but to a greater degree, I didn't have the strength of will to keep at it.

Funny, quite a few friends of mine like that who quit mathematics. But we're
all better off materially for having done it.

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lisper
Contemporaneous discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13276968](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13276968)

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vertline3
Wow "the hardest part is controlling your emotions."

"You didn't fail Bob, you quit."

Was physics just as streesful for him as it was for me?

There is a lot of food for thought.

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alpineidyll3
Well written piece of quit-lit, but the funny thing is the author barely
touches on how lucky he was to quit when he did. In the intervening years
academia devolved further into toxicity. Rather than wistful, the many-worlds
version of this narrative where he stays would probably be a rage filled
diatribe.

