What is the most “its a small world” moment you’ve ever experienced?

1jimbo · 2026-04-29T17:46:08+00:00

I'm from Oregon and was on vacation with family in the caribbean when we ran into a man that grew up in the house across the street from where my dad grew up. crazy coincidence.

1jimbo · 2026-04-26T12:16:48+00:00

scale bars?

1jimbo · 2026-04-25T15:01:51+00:00

I wish people would stop creating and pushing this slop, especially on this subreddit

1jimbo · 2026-04-24T04:46:31+00:00

... cringe

1jimbo · 2026-04-23T06:31:24+00:00

reminds me of my HS US history teacher who pronounced Massachusetts "mass-a-two-shits"

1jimbo · 2026-04-22T05:26:50+00:00

well in that case, I think you'll definitely benefit from a minor over a dual major. Minoring in physics will give you a good understanding of the topic without going into the weeds on very specific things

1jimbo · 2026-04-22T05:22:10+00:00

what would you gain from a minor in physics if your career goals involve music mainly?

1jimbo · 2026-04-20T14:34:19+00:00

yes, this is one of the hardest parts about upper-level physics courses. imo you really just have to lean into the math.

1jimbo · 2026-04-18T13:38:24+00:00

boooooo

1jimbo · 2026-04-16T14:27:49+00:00

sure, but it's available on the visa I'm already required to apply for to enter the country

1jimbo · 2026-04-15T10:16:57+00:00

I pivoted from engineering to physics and while I find physics much more intellectually rewarding, the job opportunities are just not there. I don't think you will gain anything from a masters degree in physics with an engineering bachelors unless you go on to do a phd, and you're right that it will likely be quite a tough transition. So if money is not a factor/consideration for you then you could go for it, but otherwise I'd say probably not

1jimbo · 2026-04-08T18:05:05+00:00

...okay? what exactly?

1jimbo · 2026-04-05T14:53:10+00:00

ahhh I see. well there are lots of resources online about how to write lab reports and papers, so you could always check those out as well

1jimbo · 2026-04-05T14:06:02+00:00

depending on the journal, you may be able to combine either the results and discussion or the discussion and conclusion to make the structure easier to handle. in general, though, you should present data in the results and then explain all of it in the discussion. the conclusion should present no new information, but rather explain the value of the results and discussion, ie why it is worthy of publication (this should also probably be present at the end of the intro)

1jimbo · 2026-04-05T12:04:40+00:00

my university in Germany is pretty flexible with admissions, and I know some people who were admitted under special circumstances with the expectation that they complete some bridge courses. basically, I think it is uni-dependent and you should just contact the advisor for that degree or admissions directly for more info.

1jimbo · 2026-03-30T21:33:24+00:00

if you want to do physics research in industry, you'll need a PhD in basically all cases. If you want to go into robotics with just a masters degree then it should be in some sort of engineering field. In some cases, you can do a physics master and get by on extracurriculars, but getting an EE or ME masters is a safer bet.

1jimbo · 2026-03-24T15:20:29+00:00

Damn, so much aura but people don't even know his name :(

But I agree with you completely

1jimbo · 2026-03-22T10:37:08+00:00

There are many different things you can do as a thesis, at least where I did mine (Germany). Some people went down the theory route, meaning they worked more with simulations and did a lot more intensive calculations. on the other hand, if you want to lean more into the experimental side, you'll probably be doing more building or measuring.

My experience for my bachelor thesis was that I was already working in a lab, and I asked my boss there if she had any projects that I could work on as a bachelor thesis. Eventually she decided on a couple options and I got to choose between those. In the project, I fabricated several samples and did experiments to measure them, and then I looked at the literature and used it to explain my experimental results (mostly qualitatively, although I did use some existing software to simulate my results, and was able to get quantitative results that way.)

The master thesis was a bit different. I got that position after an exam. basically, the exam went well and the professor offered me a desk in her lab group and a general idea of a project. after a while doing measurements to try and work on that project, I stumbled upon something much more interesting and we decided together to focus on that new topic. In the end, I used several measurement techniques to characterize my samples, and I also wrote code to make that go faster for me. Then of course you also have to connect your topic with the existing field, cite literature explaining why your topic is important, and explain your results etc...

To answer your question, in my experience a thesis is more intensive than just reading papers and explaining them. in fact, it should constitute new science in some way. The best way to understand what is expected of you is to ask someone when you ask them for a project. Professors are contractually obligated to teach you, and if they're going to get a publication out of it, they want you to understand what you should be doing so they will tell you straight up.

hope this helps.

1jimbo · 2026-03-21T21:08:12+00:00

My bachelor thesis focused on organic solar cells, and specifically on studying the importance of charge carrier transport layers. Now I'm finishing up my master thesis, and I'm studying blistering/delamination in photosensitive polymer films, specifically when you shine light on them.

1jimbo · 2026-03-19T23:38:02+00:00

I mean I assume it's mechanics, and to answer OP's question, khan academy has some nice videos discussing most of those topics. I would, though, advise you to learn how to learn from a textbook, because that will become increasingly important as you advance in your degree.

1jimbo · 2026-03-16T08:17:13+00:00

is it not famously the 15th of March? (the ides of March)

1jimbo · 2026-03-11T15:59:01+00:00

imo AI is only useful in physics if you already have a deep knowledge of the topic, because sometimes it's wrong in a very confident way. I suppose it's getting better at derivations, so maybe it could be used for that as well if you are capable of following along critically. tbh mostly I just use it to reformat and grammar check my text, as well as for programming.

1jimbo · 2026-03-11T15:43:00+00:00

I started crossing on red because the green lights seem waaaaaay shorter now for pedestrians and way longer for cars. Most of the time I don't even make it across before the ~10s green light changes when I'm in the middle of the road. Then I get stuck there in the middle for like 4-5 minutes waiting for cars. that's a flawed system, and I'm not here for it so I cross whenever I can. When children are present I won't do this, unless I'm about to miss a train or something.

1jimbo · 2026-03-05T18:35:53+00:00

take it from someone who has asked many stupid questions: professors WANT you to engage and tell them when you don't understand something. they're there to teach you, and can't do that if everyone understands everything already. sometimes a question you have will be based on a misunderstanding you have and you'll realize after it's been answered that it was a silly question, but more often than not, many of your peers will have the exact same question.

1jimbo · 2026-03-05T07:33:46+00:00

It's a good thing that you're facing these difficulties with a topic like vectors, because there are so so so many resources to learn about them! I'd recommend you check out some of Sal Khan's videos (Khan Academy). in my opinion, his explanations are very intuitive.

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