Why have I been summoned, mortals?

hi JamalS saw your chatting over in physics room & noticed you listed solitons on your profile pg.

thx for dropping by. seems not many are studying that subj in physics.

have been interested in solitons for a long time as a "deep level" theory for particle physics.

you list this interesting pg on your profile

David Tong: TASI Lectures on Solitons

> These lectures were given at the Theoretical Advanced Study Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder in June 2005. They are aimed at advanced graduate students and cover solitons in gauge theories, with emphasis on applications to string theory and supersymmetric gauge dynamics.

can you elaborate more on your interest/ knowledge in solitons?

Well, I learned about solitons from Weinberg's text and Tong's notes, as well as from other miscellaneous sources.

what drew you to the area?

I like differential geometry and certain aspects of topology, and it seemed like solitons were an interesting application

fyi this (recently written) has some refs to solitons as a "deeper level" theory for/ behind QM.

am very interested in doing grid simulations with 3d solitons. it seems almost nobody has done it. think there are big discoveries lurking there.

I'm not really interested in learning any new speculative stuff about solitons

np. there are lots of applied/ experimental refs. a big dimension to the field.

Yeah, you're blog seems to be written in a more 'stream of thoughts' style, which I don't find pleasant.

was it you, applying to top US colleges?

I've applied to MIT, Princeton and Harvard.

sorry you dont like the style. :(

it is somewhat inspired by "chat style"...

you dont seem to mind long chats

do you have a top choice college?

also am interested to hear what area you decide to write the math paper on. was wondering about your comments seeming to refer to a rejection of a too-advanced paper.

MIT, and then I hold Harvard and Princeton equal at 2nd place. Of course, I'd be happy to go to any of them. I've extensively researched all three.

(many yrs ago) went to an IB school myself, but not for the IB program there. it was a "computer magnet" school.

What institution are you at now?

work in industry. finance.

physics is a side interest.

did someone reject your math paper?

I know a few people in finance, e.g. Goldman Sachs

finance has a lot of physicists in it nowadays with quant stuff etc.

No, not really. For the IB you have to write a math paper, but it's less formal and doesn't adhere to the style of an actual paper. My teacher thought what I was doing could not be assessed by the examiners.

anyway, my idea for this chat room was to discuss QM theories, but maybe that thread has dried up for the moment, so am thinking of just inviting the most interesting/ ambitious characters seen in the physics room (which is quite busy lately)...

what was your math paper on?

Any conversations about physics can be done there too.

the physics room is so busy lately. theres a pt where its too "noisy".

@vzn Classification of semi-simple compact Lie algebras; a beautiful result.

cool

did you write something on it?

are you in the US?

I'm in Europe.

what was your idea for the paper? it sounds like an established result.

It is; you're not required to do something original.

I'm already doing original research that isn't for school.

what kind of research?

It's related to string theory and general relativity.

I don't really want to go into details since it's ongoing research and I haven't got conclusive results yet.

np

So are you a quant or something?

have done quant stuff on the side. work with "big data"/ java at work.

was just reading the IB page & dont see a ref to a sr paper yet.

The guy I know that went to Goldman was miserable; he said they originally had a very interesting project for him (he just got his PhD), but then they abandoned it and he ended up maintaining code.

stories like that are not uncommon.

research is not very common in private industry.

he is likely well compensated.

the old greek exhortation "know thyself" comes to mind.

prjs come and go even in academia too.

I know, but it's what made him go there in the first place.

Anyway, he's left them now.

ah whered he go?

Doing something independent.

it would be interesting to hear more details eg if it was supposed to be a phd like research prj etc, is it trading analysis, etc

sometimes "independent" = "unemployed" :(

have had some quant-related chats in the physics room a few wks ago. alarge has some bkg/ knowledge there.

That is what I meant

He has a doctorate from a very prestigious university, and he's working on something which should work.

do you have an idea, would you like to end up in academia or industry?

he sounds like an interesting case, it would be interesting to hear details.

I am 100% certain academia; I want to eventually be a tenured professor.

nice

What I want to do is incredibly abstract, there's no place for me in industry.

ok. do you have any interest in teaching? or do you want to focus on research?

Both.

And I'd like to TA or be involved in teaching asap at university.

that will work better :)

At my school I've actually had experience teaching.

is your friend working on a physics prj?

did you like the teaching?

I gave a course on laTeX to my teacher; mentored a student in math for a few months; taught a physics lesson when the teacher was gone.

No, it's not a physics project, closer to mathematics and programming.

great

I do like teaching, but I don't always have patience. That's why I think graduate courses would be better for me.

you are obv very advanced for your age.

se has a great TeX - LaTeX site. often see ppl from CS sites contributing there. (typically hang out on the CS sites myself.)

Yes, I know, I was there just yesterday.

Surprised I got a response from someone from the AMS about a problem I had.

se is increasingly impressive in its "talent/ expertise magnet" aspects. it seems to be continuing.

although the CS sites seem kinda "flat" lately :|

Are you in the US by the way?

yes US.

Ever been to NJ?

actually yes. as an undergraduate yrs ago.

Oh you went to Princeton?

heh no, nutley

Is NJ a 'nice' area? Clean, low crime rate, etc.?

its ok. nutley was not far from NYC, simple bus ride :)

NJ is large & there are different areas. not sure about the princeton area.

the campus experience will be the main element for you probably unless you have other outside "cosmopolitan" interests.

Yeah I might not even live on campus.

Depends on the quality of the accomadations.

ah! ok. so you have some discriminating tastes there maybe.

I'm a bit of a snob :)

lol a double edged sword. not sure how.

was it you who listed out all the huge extracurricular activities over on physics chat?

Probably

I hope it's enough... :)

I forgot to mention the clarinet in my applications, but I didn't find it important.

lol

if youre halfway good at it, its relevant...

I'll just mention it in the interview

It'll make it into the report then.

But I haven't done any public performances. Just had lessons for 7 years or so

btw, was thinking about this after someone maybe you mentioned it. online chat is some evidence of a social life/ rapport/ communication skill etc.

in my day they used to call it "people skills" ha

My communication skills are fine. I am incredibly articulate in person, and I can write very well.

Oh, well, I distinguish between communication skills and social people skills.

right. people skills are that and somewhat deeper.

People skills a bit less I guess.

I'm a very direct and honest person.

:)

e.g. I'm brought to a family gathering, and something is bad, I'll say it

actually there was a long chat about people skills recently in the physics room, maybe a bit before you arrived it seems

have you read anything about the conflict between GR/QM? there was a question about that recently on the main site...

Well, I understand why you can't naively quantize GR

it seems to be a frontier/ active area of research. to me its a fascinating "wrinkle" in the theory...

or theories that is.

fyi re (found) this:

^ Yeah, that's me

was thinking/ musing, you might want to avoid comments like that in your interview(s). ie "spin" it in a bit different way.

Really?

I mean, I could say that, but then show how I've compensated academically and at school.

it would not be uncommon for the schools youre applying to, but what does it say about "people skills"?

I sacrificed those things for a reason.

"compensating" is a psychology term :\

it is probably the same as in my time. schools want what is called "well rounded".

the extracurriculars are not nec a competition but also evidence of "well rounded".

I don't believe that.

They don't want a well-rounded student, they want a well-rounded class.

hmmm, doesnt sound right to me.

Well, then it doesn't make sense.

you think life makes sense? :p

Yes, it usually does, actually.

what doesnt make sense?

sociality is not logical.

Well, if they hold 'well-roundedness' over all other qualities then they're senseless.

it is possible to be quite academically driven yet social at the same time, you seem already to embody that dichotomy.

Cambridge, for example, cares solely about your academic potential in your subject. I think that's an extreme, but it goes to show well-roundedness isn't everything.

have you heard of that movie "imitation game"? some threads of this concept in the movie. urge you to see it.

I've already seen it.

ok, did you detect anything unusual in turings behavior? particularly wrt his peers?

Of course.

ofc the movie is a portrayal.

That Turing is an extreme.

Though I share his feelings about teamwork at a high school level.

It irks me when working with a team.

in some ways the portrayal was a stereotype. probably not realistic. but the hollywood version. dramatized/ exaggerated.

That is, a team I can't choose.

My problem is I have to rewrite what everyone does anyway, so I usually tell them to let me do the whole thing.

yes gifted kids feel teams weigh them down. have had that feeling myself over the years. a kid I know closely was complaining about it too.

I work well in a team of adults, at least that's been my experience at school.

(Yes, I've worked with faculty at my school.)

colleges generally do not list "well roundedness" but it is a peripheral/ background consideration.

saw an essay on this recently, maybe need to try to dig it up.

ah found it.

Well, it was fun procrastinating - I have to go out to a restaurant now. I'll be back, but I've got work to do.

ok JS nice mtg you.

plz feel free to drop by occasionally.

also hang out in a TCS chat room.

Sure, I'll pop by :)

hope to see you again & hear more about your impressive scientific adventures.

can dig up those soliton refs in particular you might find interesting. etc

see also

another neat recent movie wrt team experience, spare parts / Tmachine blog

some more on imitation game / Tmachine blog