As a hobby since I was in high school (and before) It was what I was going to do in college (1990) as #1 choice. I’d attended a pre-college orientation and one of the professors gave a presentation called “Quantum Mechanics for the Myriad”.
I was hooked, signed up for the college. Then when I get there, he’s away for a year. ugh
Anyway, I’m glad it didn’t happen ’cause then I’d have been stuck in “String Theory” had I finished college… a very dog-eat-dog cut-throat environment in the 90s but it did get good funding during that time.
But it’s always remained a hobby of mine.
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I’m not knocking string theory mind you – we definitely need areas that tries to go beyond condensed matter physics (solid state mostly), if nothing else to fuel the imagination and push boundaries.
After all, had it not been for a few hippies in the 60s, some of the more difficult questions would have remained dormant.
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