Friday, March 31, 2006

"How to become a GOOD theoretical physicist?"


It should be possible, these days, to collect all knowledge you need from the internet. Problem then is, there is so much junk on the internet. Is it possible to weed out those very rare pages that may really be of use? I know exactly what should be taught to the beginning student. The names and topics of the absolutely necessary lecture courses are easy to list, and this is what I have done below. It is my intention to search on the web where the really useful papers and books are, preferably downloadable as well. This way, the costs of becoming a theoretical physicist should not exceed much the price of a computer with internet connection, a printer, and lots of paper and pens. ...

That's from Gerard't Hooft. Here.

His list of ideas and concepts that one needs to master starts with "Language". This is what he says under this topic:

English is a prerequisite. If you haven't mastered it yet, learn it. You must be able to read, write, speak and understand Englaish, but you don't have to be perfect here. The lousy English used in this text is mine. That's enough. All publications are in English. Note the importance of being able to write in English. Sooner or later you will wish to publish your results. People must be able to read and understand your stuff.

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