I Finally Figured It Out

[pianoperformer]

I've finally figured it out. I finally have something that really makes me excited.

If anyone has followed my threads, you will know that i was stuck between piano performance and programming. Well, I chose neither.

I received a little nudge that hinted that I should go for physics. Totally random direction! Of course, I really like physics, and love and am very good at math. so I thought it couldn't be too far off the mark.

Of course, I was really scared at first because, well there was no way to be sure it was the right way.

But I discussed it with my mother, to get her input, and decided that it really felt right to me. so I went and am going forward with it. I decided to double major in physics and math.

And now I am really excited and motivated again. I feel that thrill and can't wait to get into it. I'm confident that everything will fall into place just so in order for me to accomplish my goals.

And then tonight I did something else. I decided that to make it even more concrete in my mind, and thought maybe it'd work with LOA as well, I would imagine my future self, imagine I have morphed into that future self, in the ideal situation. I identified myself as Dr. Olivares, since I plan on earning a doctorate. I imagined myself doing research and calculations and discovering things. I imagined myself being respected in the field and making contributions in it. And I could actually hold that in mind for a while. it's sort of like Steve's blog post on feeling blessed, I guess. And that feeling actually made me wide awake, which is why I'm here right now, lol.

but that makes me even more confident about it, and makes me feel like I'm just waiting for the physical manifestation of reality to change to reflect my vision.

So now I think I've finally found what I am supposed to do, and wanted to share my excitement, since I'm wide awake and can't really do much else.

[Trezker]

Ahh, makes perfect sense. Programming interests will help a bit with physics I think.
And a mad scientist isn't complete without a good piano act.

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by Trezker

Ahh, makes perfect sense. Programming interests will help a bit with physics I think.
And a mad scientist isn't complete without a good piano act.

Haha, perfect!

Yes indeed I think programming will help, or at least having that same mindset.

[viscapes]

Well done, you sound really excited and motivated, which is contagious so thanks for sharing.

[PianoManGidley]

Oddly enough, I graduated with a music composition degree and myself have considered going back to school to become a theoretical physicist. What a small world!

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by PianoManGidley

Oddly enough, I graduated with a music composition degree and myself have considered going back to school to become a theoretical physicist. What a small world!

Lol that's funny. That was my exact fear—that I'd get out of school and not be able to do anything with the degree I just earned.

Oh, theoretical physics sounds interesting...I'm not quite sure yet what branch of physics I'd be interested in. Quantum mechanics has always sounded very interesting to me, though.

Good luck with it, though. I am curious whether you decide to pursue that.

[The Cloud]

It's odd how music and math go together so well, isn't it?

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by The Cloud

It's odd how music and math go together so well, isn't it?

Yeah definitely. Well, I think of both as laws of nature. One is in regards to sound, and the other to numbers. I in fact find it fascinating to think about, that such a simple concept—numbers—can become so complicated with so many rules and formulas and such, and it makes me wonder what we are missing, as surely not all has been discovered in that arena. Same goes for physics, though.

[theknightwhosaysni-NI]

That's great Piano Performer !! I am happy for you !

[uberinquisitive]

I'm so envious of musical people who are good at math!

[PianoManGidley]

Don't worry--I knew plenty of fellow music majors who were great at music but were horrible with math. The Mozart Effect apparently has too much post hoc reasoning unduly attributed in the studies, as Project Zero at Harvard suggested.

[pianoperformer]

Yes, I had an Acoustics course last semester that was basically dumbed-down physics for music students. apparently not all music students are good at physics, either. I found myself horribly bored because of the snails pase at which we were proceeding. Incidentally, I got 102% in that class.

I mean, as long as you knew how to do basic math, and maybe could find the square root button on the calculator, you'd be fine. They even gave a cheatsheet of formulas on the tests! Yet, 10 people managed to fail that class, some with an unbarable 25%. I know this because the professor posted the grades online.

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

They even gave a cheatsheet of formulas on the tests! Yet, 10 people managed to fail that class, some with an unbarable 25%. I know this because the professor posted the grades online.

Get used to it. I've been out of college for ten years and am still blown away by all the lowest common detonator situations I run into.

[JimOfferman]

Originally Posted by The Cloud

It's odd how music and math go together so well, isn't it?

No it's not! Music is highly mathematical in nature. Music is math. Music is physics. Most of us just aren't taught to think about music in that way.

It is also no accident that many a programmer dabbles in music (or vice versa). The fields have much in common.

@pianoperformer: congrats on finding your direction! Told you so!

[Rockchick26]

Yayyyy Brandon! I already knew this from chatting with you but i just had to show you my support here! I'm happy for you that you finally have a clear path to your future now!

[Fullcrum]

Awesome! Cool that you found something you really like.

Maybe you can describe the physics of music or something; merge the fields

[PianoManGidley]

Originally Posted by Fullcrum

Maybe you can describe the physics of music or something; merge the fields

There are already MANY published articles on the physics of acoustics. In fact, some schools teach courses on simply this subject as part of regular music major curriculum.

[Calculusaurus]

math/physics double major? pianist?

you sound a bit like myself