Informally, Phys400 is an opportunity to see how research is done in theoretical physics. Unlike other courses in the undergraduate curriculum, this course (by its nature) is closer to a research environment than a school environment: you have far more control over the contents and pace of this course, but also far more responsibility regarding the outcomes. Hence, it will provide you with some valuable experience before your research-oriented graduate studies begin. Phys415 on the other hand is unofficially the continuation of Phys400. For more formal information on these courses, see
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I do not accept any Phys415 students unless we have already conducted Phys400 together. If you are one of such students and are interested taking Phys415 with me, please contact me in person.
If you are interested in taking Phys400 with me as your instructor, please follow the steps below.
We are social creatures! Even while working in abstract fields like mathematical or theoretical physics, we still remain emotional beings: we will be more motivated to learn something if we like our instructor, we will be eager to help our research partners if we are good friends with them, and our emotions will be better regulated in our work environment if we feel belonging there.
This will be vitally important during your PhD studies and your postdoctoral years afterwards: if you are with wrong people, your life can turn into hell very quickly!
But how about Phys400? Luckily, this is only a one-semester course and you don’t have to work with me afterwards if we are not the right match as mentor and mentee. Nevertheless, it is still loss of a semester and of a good research opportunity if this turns out to be the case later, so you should try to make this judgment before asking me to be your instructor.
Here are a few things that should help you make an educated judgment:
I take academic integrity with utmost importance. I would like to emphasize this: I WOULD NOT TOLERATE ACADEMIC DISHONESTY!
My apologies for this somewhat rude tone, but unfortunately academic dishonesty is somewhat common in Turkey. METU is way above the average, but students are exposed to incorrect role models throughout their early lives, hence can even be oblivious to what is academically moral and what is not!
If you would like to work with me, please first read my explanations of the expected academic integrity: if you do not fullheartedly agree with my points there, there is little chance that we could get along as mentor and mentee.
I take my work seriously. I will do my best to guide you, not only because I see this as my job but also because I genuinely care about potential young scientists (and how I could help them). But this also means that I expect you to take this course seriously and do your best to hone your skills!
This is a very important point because theoretical physics is a really abstract realm and aiming to be a good scientist in this field is a genuinely challenging task! The main part of the challenge is our nature: we members of Homo sapiens are tool using creatures, and are evolved to use everything as tools for ourselves —knowledge is no exception. When we learn something new, our natural instinct is to find out where we can use it, or what it is good for. This is why seeing concrete examples help us learn something better, why students tend to study for an exam by solving similar questions, and why utility is an intrinsic motivation for almost everyone. Theoretical physics is bereft of this instinctual motivation.
What is my point? You have to have a strong resolve, a genuine curiosity towards nature/math, and a strong willpower to keep working on this field. And only then, you can take this course seriously enough to make the most of it!