tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post4685738143967085693..comments2024-01-13T18:57:18.243-05:00Comments on Information Processing: Survivor: theoretical physicsSteve Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-44088521192882300302011-10-18T17:50:38.245-04:002011-10-18T17:50:38.245-04:00I am not sure why we still producing many many man...I am not sure why we still producing many many many Ph.D. to compete for very few positions, shouldn't we limit the number of Ph.D. students so that the current senior theorists don't have to go Silicon Valley or Wall Street to find a job? rahmatoregonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-31114716416941980242011-07-27T22:54:57.292-04:002011-07-27T22:54:57.292-04:00I'd agree if the students knew that that was t...I'd agree if the students knew that that was the deal, the problem is when they do not, or do not fully appreciate the odds -- then its not quite so "fun," and becomes a "big deal," lol. sima444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-30437638050733638392011-07-27T22:54:44.920-04:002011-07-27T22:54:44.920-04:00I'd agree if the students knew that that was t...I'd agree if the students knew that that was the deal, the problem is when they do not, or do not fully appreciate the odds -- then its not quite so "fun," and becomes a "big deal," lol. sima444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-43320458041398996492010-06-24T08:04:00.770-04:002010-06-24T08:04:00.770-04:00Modern medicine, with its drugs and advanced surgi...Modern medicine, with its drugs and advanced surgical methods, has not found the answer to all the disabilities that afflict man. Medical professionals often have to resort to massage, exercise, and other methods of physical manipulation to treat certain diseases and conditions. Also known as physiotherapy, physical therapy can trace its origins to England in the late nineteenth century, when Thebuy euflexxahttp://www.bluemedica.com/euflexxa.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-20843924737264004192008-10-09T13:18:00.000-04:002008-10-09T13:18:00.000-04:00to one of the anonymous posters:rutgers should com...to one of the anonymous posters:<BR/>rutgers should come out pretty good. in fact, it's 4 if you looked at the original Erich Poppitz 2008 data.<BR/><BR/>it will be interesting if someone compiled the data for IAS once postdocs/members.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-34083483716703326162008-10-05T15:58:00.000-04:002008-10-05T15:58:00.000-04:00Why do people think every graduate degree has to b...<I>Why do people think every graduate degree has to be useful for a career?</I><BR/><BR/>Because graduate degrees cost a TON of money? On the order of six figures, at least? That's quite a hefty price for "doing something fun".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-12685640115425685612008-10-02T07:40:00.000-04:002008-10-02T07:40:00.000-04:00Do your statistics include the cases where student...Do your statistics include the cases where students get a PhD from a US university but take faculty positions abroad (other than Canada?). This should surely be counted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-39809647604580760542008-09-28T23:22:00.000-04:002008-09-28T23:22:00.000-04:00Comments:1) There's a fine line between making sur...Comments:<BR/><BR/>1) There's a fine line between making sure your students are making an informed decision and actively discouraging them from doing theory. I would put it this way: suppose your college age daughter were considering a career in field X, with which you little familiarity. What level of information would you like *her* to have about it?<BR/><BR/>2) I'm not that familiar with the Steve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-42111412761146515632008-09-28T20:46:00.000-04:002008-09-28T20:46:00.000-04:00Why are you comparing theoretical physics to all o...Why are you comparing theoretical physics to all of biology or all of computer science? Try comparing theoretical computer science with theoretical physics -- I'd be interested to see the data on that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-16401836648376674362008-09-28T15:11:00.000-04:002008-09-28T15:11:00.000-04:00You ask "How many professors do you think are / we...You ask "How many professors do you think are / were straight with their PhD students about the odds of survival?"<BR/><BR/>Obviously, if a student directly asks about this, a professor should not lie.<BR/><BR/>However, I wonder whether to what extent people feel that professors should go out of their way to make this information clear up front. Should I post a sign on my door: "WARNING: If you Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-55788979089296065352008-09-27T14:34:00.000-04:002008-09-27T14:34:00.000-04:00Any idea what the statistics for Rutgers or UCSB a...Any idea what the statistics for Rutgers or UCSB are like? Rutgers had a string of postdocs who did very well: Juan Maldacena, Matt Strassler, Dan Kabat and Hong Liu are examples. But, I don't know about the graduate students there, except for Lubos Motl and Gabadadze (at NYU).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-31111876798895309072008-09-26T19:46:00.000-04:002008-09-26T19:46:00.000-04:00I would be cautious about drawing too many conclus...I would be cautious about drawing too many conclusions from such scant and ill-defined data, though there can be no doubt that competition for the "best" positions in hep-th is fierce. It would be very interesting to see a more complete description, perhaps something similar to that available for mathematics:<BR/><BR/>http://www.ams.org/employment/surveyreports.html<BR/><BR/>That said, I Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-78715667997879703082008-09-26T14:12:00.000-04:002008-09-26T14:12:00.000-04:00The statistics cited here refer to High Energy Phy...The statistics cited here refer to High Energy Physics Only. That is not all of physics. In fact, that is a very small part of physics, hence the very small numbers of hires. If, for one, you included Theoretical Solid State physics (the largest branch of physics) the numbers would look a little better. But imho not good enough to encourage a young person to go into physics. Finally, imho things Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-41414159923041312272008-09-26T14:07:00.000-04:002008-09-26T14:07:00.000-04:00Brian: Oops, I forgot that one of Rudy's students ...Brian: Oops, I forgot that one of Rudy's students is now in the nuclear theory group at LBNL. So UO has at least produced one theoretician with a permanent position -- I don't know if this is covered in the data because he is in QCD / nuclear theory.Steve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-19180793545043727042008-09-25T17:23:00.000-04:002008-09-25T17:23:00.000-04:00Yes, and it's even true that the people compiling ...Yes, and it's even true that the people compiling the stats are not very careful about the distinction.Steve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-52849148938050382582008-09-25T17:20:00.000-04:002008-09-25T17:20:00.000-04:00When you say research universities.. keep in mind ...When you say research universities.. keep in mind there is no distinct boundary between research university and non-research university. But more significantly, I don't think teaching at a place like Amherst necessarily counts as not being a physicist. In math at least there are those who continue doing research at those places, and some of them are quite good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-3728940108772582822008-09-25T16:31:00.000-04:002008-09-25T16:31:00.000-04:00I would guess that is true -- but remember we are ...I would guess that is true -- but remember we are talking about professors at research universities in the US (i.e., doesn't count people who ended up professors in other countries or at teaching colleges). <BR/><BR/>I think it is also true of quite a few other departments in the US. Keep in mind places like UCLA, etc. (which are much bigger departments) have produced 1.<BR/><BR/>I think these Steve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-34136463726424161532008-09-25T16:22:00.000-04:002008-09-25T16:22:00.000-04:00Is it true that the University of Oregon hasn't pr...Is it true that the University of Oregon hasn't produced a single theoretical physics professor in the last 15 years?brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16949764057049234392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-85875184764715400822008-09-25T11:17:00.000-04:002008-09-25T11:17:00.000-04:00Hey there,The data is wrong, I know people from ot...Hey there,<BR/><BR/>The data is wrong, I know people from other universities which have landed jobs, which are not shown whatsoever. But the idea is there, that we know. Nothing new, is the grad student's responsibility also to figure that out, don't blame all on the advisor! Grad students are mature enough to figure it out... grad school is not kindergarten :) <BR/><BR/>GAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-43151634025667616602008-09-25T10:01:00.000-04:002008-09-25T10:01:00.000-04:00Big deal, they spend a few years doing something f...Big deal, they spend a few years doing something fun and then get a real job. Beats having to deal with boring clients, spreadsheets, and office politics for a few years. Why do people think every graduate degree has to be useful for a career? I do agree that the situation should be better known than it is, so people can prepare for alternative careers if it comes to that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-31326696111577964182008-09-25T04:14:00.000-04:002008-09-25T04:14:00.000-04:00What have hundreds of overpaid bank managers done ...What have hundreds of overpaid bank managers done for you lately?Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-32946378873025265992008-09-24T23:56:00.000-04:002008-09-24T23:56:00.000-04:00What has a theoretical physicist done for me latel...What has a theoretical physicist done for me lately?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02799291802979689902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-33787653646972148222008-09-24T14:38:00.000-04:002008-09-24T14:38:00.000-04:00A very vague understanding is exactly what they ha...A very vague understanding is exactly what they have. At least in my experience, that vague understanding did not translate to anything usefull when it actually came to finding a job. It's like they hear some stories of ex-physicists done good in the real world, and that's just enough to assuage any feelings of guilt they may have.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-51166674488733221512008-09-24T14:08:00.000-04:002008-09-24T14:08:00.000-04:00In my freshman year at MIT, Alan Guth told me not ...In my freshman year at MIT, Alan Guth told me not to count on ever reaching tenure, but to study physics anyway if that's what interested me. I was a bit skeptical - after all, <B>he</B> had gotten to MIT on the basis of one half-baked cosmological model -- but you can't say I wasn't warned.DBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06742754700763907691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-19161565392343082892008-09-24T13:57:00.000-04:002008-09-24T13:57:00.000-04:00"How many have even a vague understanding of what ..."How many have even a vague understanding of what people who leave theoretical physics do in finance, silicon valley, ...?"<BR/><BR/>Amen. A personal goal over the past few years for me has been to at least make some contact into these fields and also to gain some understanding of what non-academia physics Ph.D.s end up doing. I was reminded of this recently when I visited my old advisor at Dave Baconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506030153326411733noreply@blogger.com