How Do I Become a Theoretical Physicist?

Dr. Michio Kaku, a Japanese American, a professor of theoretical physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, a world-renowned physicist, a well-known author of science bestsellers, and the founder of superstring theory. His works have been widely acclaimed. "Imagine the Future", "Beyond Einstein and Hyperspace", and "Parallel Universe" were nominated by the New York Times and the Washington Post as one of the best scientific readings of the year . He hosts an all-American networked science radio program, and has also appeared on all-American television shows such as "Hearing Hotline", "60 Minutes", "Good Morning America" and "Larry King Live Online". .

Education of a physicist

Education of a physicist

The biggest feature of the content of this article is the strong flavor of life: "I" squatting by the small pool, for the purpose of slowly swimming

Question one: The article focuses on reflecting the "educational history" of the author as a "physicist". Think about it, why does the author not narrate in chronological order from childhood to elementary, junior high and high school?

Thoughts: The main purpose of this article is to tell the reader how to become a physicist. In the author's opinion, the growth in three aspects of his experience is the most critical: (1) two interesting things from childhood (by observing the carp in the small pond and imagining the series of thinking activities of the carp "scientist" in the pond, Cultivated imagination and interest in things research; from admiration for Einstein to determination to complete Einstein's unfinished business); (2) After reading many books in high school, he set up a laboratory to make "own atomic collider" Situation and experience.

The author's arrangement in this way not only allows the reader to see the author's growth from an early age, but also allows the reader to understand the most convincing "growth factor" in the growth process of a physical scientist. If the narrative is narrated in the order of childhood to elementary school to junior high to high school, the most valuable content will be diluted, and the meaning of "education" in the title will be difficult to highlight.

Question two: What is the purpose of the author's opening quote from Einstein?

Hint: Einstein's sentence shows the purpose and significance of his research on theoretical physics. The author quotes it, both devotion to Einstein's spirit of scientific exploration and understanding of Einstein's meaning of exploring the universe, and also to show that he The goal of his life and his understanding of the significance of exploring the essence of the universe.

Problem three: The author said that it is "two interesting things of childhood" that enriched his understanding of the world and led himself to the research of theoretical physics and eventually became a theoretical physicist. Please summarize these two "funny things" in simple language and answer: (1) Do you find these two "interesting things" interesting? (2) What is the underlying reason why the author thinks these two things are interesting? (3) What inspiration did you get from the experience of Dalai Xiong on the road to theoretical physics research?

Tip: Two interesting things, one is the reverie of the carp world, and the other is the longing for Einstein's unfinished career. Whether an event is interesting does not depend on the event itself, but on one's feelings and attitude towards the event. The author has liked to think about problems since he was a child, and he especially likes to think deeply about the nature of things through phenomena. Therefore, for the phenomenon of carp swimming in water, and for the story of a scientist who explores the essence of the universe, the teacher showed a special interest. Perhaps, to the average person, these two things are extremely commonplace. This shows that interest is the best teacher. If you want to achieve something in a certain field, you must first have a particularly strong interest in things in this field.

Question four: The author can achieve something. In addition to his search spirit of "want to know the inner laws of the world", what is the most important and indispensable valuable quality?

Hint: He can surpass the mundane constraints that ordinary people cannot surpass, and boldly carry out scientific experiments. This kind of dare to challenge and practice practically puts his scientific research on the right path.

Question five: When the article says "carp 'scientist'", "scientist" must be quoted. Excuse me: What is the role of quotes here? What does the quoted "scientist" mean?

Hint: The quotation marks here mean that the quoted words have special meaning, which is different from the meaning of the word "scientist" we usually use, but "the" wisdom "carp" in the imaginary carp world.

Question six: After reading all the books about Einstein and his theory that can be found, the author said, "I decided to thoroughly investigate this secret, even if I had to be a theoretical physicist for this reason. What does it mean. "What does this" secret "mean in this sentence? What is the profound connotation of the phrase "even if it is necessary to be a theoretical physicist"?

Hint: "This secret" refers to the suspense left to the author by Einstein's story: What is his unfinished work? What is the content of the paper on his desk? What problem might be so difficult to solve and so important that it is worth such a great scientist to spend his lifetime in such research? In one sentence, it can be summarized as: "What is the problem that Einstein studied in his lifetime?" The phrase "even though" seems to be a kind of humor: In order to understand what "what God created" With this world and this world's inner laws, the author has to be a theoretical physicist; in fact, what the author wants to emphasize is: to explore the essence of the universe, you must put in hard work, and yourself In order to pursue truth, no matter how hard it is, we must struggle. Therefore, this sentence shows the persistent spirit and strong will of a scientist who pursues the truth.