Hypothetical—if you were forced to go get a PhD in one of the following science fields, which would it be and why? 1. Physics 2. Chemistry 3. Biology
If the IQ points necessary to actually get the PhD come with it, then (1). If my current self is forced to toil away at a PhD until I get one, then (2).
Physics if post economic, biology if I wanted to make money afterwards. I think there are still huge gains to be made in ai x bio. I also have always wanted a big chunk of time to study physics.
Also what would be your thesis you’d want to work on for your PhD
2. mostly because organic chemistry sounds like fun
Chemistry. I know very little about it. That disturbs me. I managed to never take a single class. My lowest ACT score was in Math. That’s why I majored in Mathematics.
1 Because you could tell the other two their downstream of everything you do and status is the real reason to have a PhD so why get anything but the top status one?
Biology so I could make a love potion and sell it to everyone who chose 1.
I feel the most linear learning process of one of these advanced fields would be chemistry. The basic mechanisms seem to scale and thus far are pretty uniform across the universe. Physics and Biology have so many contradictions to consider.
3. Biology I preferred physics and chemistry as a student. As an adult who would relish in being forced to get a phd, I’d like to explore an area that didn’t come as intuitively to me.
i almost did 3 but would also consider 2. if i'm going to be deeply researching a topic for 7+ years, the experiments i'm running better be hands on and exciting. i was friends with some physics PhDs who had exclusively theoretical focus areas... never had to use their hands except to type and flip pages. not for me.
(DeSci) biology for sure https://mirror.xyz/0xDc3BB7ebfFA056Fa67A6d3a5F1BCd96379b8B6D0/0vssJXftAC96tGq-30hBCn00BlZ3UkkPS4-JanA4Imc
Chemistry; start 20 biotech companies; sell the winner to Eli Lilly and gg
1. that was kind of my childhood q: how does an atom works? and i get sideline into EE ... and now radicalised into crypto
1. to better understand the fundamental nature of the universe
1. Chemistry Especially organic chemistry, wanna deeply explore those exceptions 🤪 studied in my high school.
the civilization's biggest limitations are from physics. we need a whole new generation of physicists to move beyond the current barriers.
Sounds like a case of cognitive-behavioural psychology and trauma management.
2. Chemistry Especially Organic Chemistry, wanna in dept explore those exceptions 🤪 studied in my high school.
1 Struggled developing intuition for the other two through school
3. So much interesting biology happening in the world right now. Cell therapies, CRISPR, synbio, ...
Probably biology. Intuitions are weakest there rn. I think I get physics and chemistry as well as I ever will but biology seems to have lots of personal headroom
I want 1 because"it's the lowest level" but 3 probably is more applicable for this century
2. So I can be a food scientist and make the most bomb dot com ultra processed foods on the planet. I want to up the ice cream game of the world
1. The smarts required to do physics can be generalized to many domains.
I loved chemistry in high school. Would probably go that route
1. physics no lab work and thus can be all theoretical, matter sucks cc: @jmon
Also as a physicist you can be in projects like LHC and build machines like this
Chemistry, then I could just turn everything into gold and dump it on tradfi boomers, and then use the proceeds to get a PhD in Physics and Biology as well while buying ETH.
1. Physics Because everything is applied physics Well physics is just applied math
Biology: a high level mix of physics and chemistry.
3 — as someone who wants to “know myself” and learn about others — studying the code of human bodies (Genetics) and the conditions of human experience (Nueroscience) would be powerful. I’m also optimistic and passionate about the effects these disciplines can have on human health in the coming decades.
1. Physics It's the least likely that AI will dilute the value of your PhD to zero.
4. maths bc it's just an endless unproductive nerdsnipe and this is what life is about
2. I'm already degree'd in electrical engineering and most physics (spare cosmology) is indistinguishable from the EE dept. Re. 3: I was originally pursuing neuroscience as a field in grad school, but I saw enough bio to not be enamored with studying a single protein or pathway for 5 years. Chem is practical
1. I was not good at chemistry and biology in high school, so I avoided majors involving them in college.
2, mostly because I think material science is going to be crucial for an abundant future going forward (and my perception is chem is better for this than the others, but I might be wrong!)
Physical Chemistry / Materials Science
Biology, hopefully I could focus the PhD on synthetic biology or genetics because I loved that way more at MIT than biochemistry 🤣
Oh man, this is a tough one. Torn between 1 & 3. I actually always wanted to be a scientist, but realized academic research wasn’t for me after some experience as an undergraduate. I’m a student of the natural world. Geology is a nice combo of all of them.
1 - I actually considered studying physics instead of CS for a bit.
I'll say that I think the correct answer is probably Physics, but that doesn't reflect what *I* would do if forced to make a choice.
Bioengineering Genomics are the future of computing
I'd arrive at Physics by exclusion, also mechanical engineering degree
3. Biology. I'm probably more interested in physics, but I'd feel better about the work I could possibly do with a biology PhD. Also in school I loved Physics the most but got C's despite my best efforts. Meanwhile I slept through Bio and got straight A's 🤣
Biology, I'm into audiovisual and would love to capture and archive all content possible✨
1. Though I think the crowd here reveres physics, and will be the common answer
1 because it all boils down to physics/math. i want to be working in the field that is uncovering/redrawing the map, even if it would be anxiety inducing at times
Physics, because it interests me the most. I feel that deeply understanding physics can give you a different outlook on life.
After bachelor and master at chemistry (engineering actually) I decided not to continue this path and chose design in fact that it’s more common in practical use and I can achieve more freedom P.s. engineering and design are super similar in skill set imo
I would rather have a masters in all 3 as I don’t have any interest of specializing in any one field, enabling something like mechatronics or manufacturing
I feel like physics is a useless thing to study. No progress being made just a bunch of entrenched interests. Ok unless you mean applied physics then fuck yeah.
Easily physics, everything downstream of math and then physics. To be clear: I would be the dumbest physics PhD candidate but would be worth
Physics bc it’s the closest thing to sci fi! 🤓😎
Physics, it's the one I've always found easiest to wrap my head around. I think I find Biology the most fascinating but I just can't get it into my head.
bio because I think it would hold my attention/enthusiasm best, but all are amazing
3. Because plants and ecosystems are cool and they provide us with the foundation of the terrestrial biosphere. 🌱 Also, uhhhhhm, I could lean on what I learned from my previous attempt at getting a PhD in plant biology. 🙃
physics — trains your brain one order of magnitude more intensely than the other two
1. Physics: least amount of memorization (I'm terrible at memorizing, pretty good at deriving).
Biology. I'm always fascinated about nature and the evolution of all animals.
surrounded by 2. at work and these folks are wicked smart.
Physics. Specifically Quantum Physics. The heart of everything.
3. I already have a pretty extensive amount of knowledge in researching endocrinology so I have a head start there
2. (Bio 🧫) And I’d get my ass into Michael Levins “computational biology” research lab @ Tufts somehow Its Turing machines (via bio electricity) all the way down 🤖, and it feels like the flood gates of progress are about to fly open in the biological sciences (↑ from this total layman’s perspective)
Physics easily The harder decision for me would be between physics and math, though I still think I’d do physics
I did a biochem BS, but loved my physics courses Then an environmental science masters which was mostly civil engineering and toxicology
2 because I'm love the chemistry lab and love to calculate them.
3 is interesting because it's the result of the simulation gone right with the various hyperparameters of 1 and its abstractions are relevant for material impact of all living things on the earth
2, it was my undergrad and at the quantum/theoretical levels it touches on 1 which would be my 2nd choice!
3 We know so little about the brain and I believe it will be the final frontier
All 3. It would be dope to get deeper into both the study of colloids and the way the colloidal mechanics dominate the operation of cells in bodies. The physics is how the chemistry makes the biology work.
Definitely 1. I already did it once and I had such a great time. Definitely would do again not much force needed.
2- you can build the coolest shit now (not to be confused with 1 which builds the absolute coolest shit)
2 you can abstract 3 as a special case of organic molecules, a subset of 2. I liked 1 way too much growing up, it’s time for something new.
1. But I worry we are totally stuck there at the moment and you could dedicate your entire life towards a series of dead ends. Other two are more practical.
Physics - was a physics major before I switched to - ahem - Poli Sci & English
Is it an option to just go to prison instead?
It’d be Physics. Only if I was forced though. Got a bit of interest astrophysics plus I was a Physics major in Uni.
Physics is what I love the most, Astrology and Quantum Physics
Biology. My first degree is in biology education and I found some things very exciting. Molecular Biology and Genetics, animal histology, Botany. I can’t do much with my degree but biology is really exciting
Bio-engineering, but if I had to pick the three, prob 1, since it questions more than it answers…
Biology, or more specifically neurology, so I could work on plugging computers into brains. When the tech is ready, not before...
Defo Physics. Was actually studying Physics in varsity, my first love 🤓 I wanted to be a Particle Physicist.
Biology , to detect new way for cancer clearing with AI and protoein dna maps
1. Physics. Took a physics lab in highschool and one of the assignments was to hit a falling ball with a spring-propelled projectile. Yeah, doesn’t get better than that 🤗
Biology, to me it seems to be the most underexplored field and most fun as well!
I have always been fascinated by biology, darvins theory and history of evolution.
1 did undergrad in physics.... Wtf happened in my life to end up here? 😂 😂
2. Chemistry - let’s mix stuff together…did advanced chemistry in school and would have continued in it, but they canceled our lab classes so I went into business. Ended up with a PhD in org behavior
I was good at chemistry and biology back then but i had no clue what physics is so i guess i would choose biology since its more interesting to me.
Chemistry because I almost became a pharmacist. Went into psychology instead.
There is so much to explore in Chemistry, and even more in Biology. It turns out the “state space” in Biology is built on top of Chemistry, itself on Physics. But it is not “abstraction”, it is just a different domain, with more notions that interact.
Smartest would be the intersection of all three
Physics. I have natural interest to quantum physics which wasn't fully realized because I didn't have practical opportunity. I would like to change this.
Chemistry because I like to know how chemical products work... but unfortunately I have to choose Biology as the field is now medical science.
2. My grandfather actually did get his PhD in chemistry and he told me fascinating stories.
3.I am very interested in nature, environment, animals and plants.
Physics was my choice in high school. Now maybe Biology instead.
I did phd in math bc I was obsessed with it. Other than loving it math is also a great foundation on top of which you can move in almost any direction career wise.
1 Potential to unlock secrets of the universe. Also, weirdly close in a way to what I actually studied (philosophy).
1 would be the most useful in this current time, I think 3 is most aligned with my skills and interests
Physics for practicality towards engineering. Biology for depth in understanding personal health.
I was pre-med way back when, and I really enjoyed biology. “Forced” wouldn’t be the word in my case. I’m assuming that forced means that whoever is forcing me is also making sure that I’m financially secure while earning said PhD.
Intersection of 1&2 - material science is the modern day alchemy
not hypothetical–im currently being forced to get a PhD in biology (i just wanna work on crypto but im 7 years in and cant quit now lol)
Intriguing hypothetical, but history tells us forced science doesn't always yield efficient results. Ever heard of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharashka ?
3 - and work in biotech or “tech bio” as people now call it