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Why do so many people hate physics?

Before I begin, please don't comment something along the lines of: "people have different opinions" or "people are different". I am fully aware that people are different and have different opinions but usually there is an underlying reason behind someone's opinion and that is what I'm asking for.

The first reason is perhaps that people find it difficult. However people were saying this at GCSE and I can't understand how GCSE physics is any more difficult than GCSE chemistry or biology. People seem to have a perception that physics is hard even at levels when it's not hard if that makes sense. I understand people saying a degree in physics is hard but that is besides my point.

Secondly, people say that it's boring but again people said this at GCSE but I don't see how it is any more boring than chemistry or biology. Even at gcse I found physics way more interesting than the other sciences so why do so many people find it boring? I can understand how people would be more interested in biology as it seems more relevant because plants and animals are things that we can see but I don't understand how physics is more boring than chemistry when both deal with things that we cannot see necessarily. In fact, physics at gcse teaches you basic mechanics and newtons laws which are things that you can most definitely see in effect in the real world.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling on but yeah I want to know why people hate physics. I am currently at A level and after reading loads of books about physics I have decided I want to do it as my degree. When I took A level physics lots of my friends were saying like "why on earth would you take physics" and "I would rather die than take physics" which is a bit dramatic.

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So you are inherently biased towards physics and want us to engange in a discussion with you?
Physics is trash
Original post by Nihilisticb*tch
Before I begin, please don't comment something along the lines of: "people have different opinions" or "people are different". I am fully aware that people are different and have different opinions but usually there is an underlying reason behind someone's opinion and that is what I'm asking for.

The first reason is perhaps that people find it difficult. However people were saying this at GCSE and I can't understand how GCSE physics is any more difficult than GCSE chemistry or biology. People seem to have a perception that physics is hard even at levels when it's not hard if that makes sense. I understand people saying a degree in physics is hard but that is besides my point.

Secondly, people say that it's boring but again people said this at GCSE but I don't see how it is any more boring than chemistry or biology. Even at gcse I found physics way more interesting than the other sciences so why do so many people find it boring? I can understand how people would be more interested in biology as it seems more relevant because plants and animals are things that we can see but I don't understand how physics is more boring than chemistry when both deal with things that we cannot see necessarily. In fact, physics at gcse teaches you basic mechanics and newtons laws which are things that you can most definitely see in effect in the real world.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling on but yeah I want to know why people hate physics. I am currently at A level and after reading loads of books about physics I have decided I want to do it as my degree. When I took A level physics lots of my friends were saying like "why on earth would you take physics" and "I would rather die than take physics" which is a bit dramatic.


The way it's taught at A-Level is incredibly boring, I'm not surprised it puts people off physics. For example, I never really knew what a Feynman diagram represented, I just learnt how to draw one to get through the exam and forgot about it immediately afterwards.

One of my teachers even said "by the time it gets to the exam you'll be familiar with these numbers from the mark schemes" - this pretty much sums up the whole A-Level, learning things merely for the sake of it.
Reply 4
Avatar for Bio 7
Bio 7
21
People understand concepts better for some sciences easier than others. I can grasp biology concepts better than chemistry of physics, thus why I’m doing a biology related degree. I did Physics to Higher and Bio and Chem to AH so I have plenty of experience with both at those levels, and I managed to get a B in Higher for all three of them, but Bio was the most sensible and interesting to me.
Reply 5
Avatar for Bio 7
Bio 7
21
Original post by Nihilisticb*tch
Before I begin, please don't comment something along the lines of: "people have different opinions" or "people are different". I am fully aware that people are different and have different opinions but usually there is an underlying reason behind someone's opinion and that is what I'm asking for.

The first reason is perhaps that people find it difficult. However people were saying this at GCSE and I can't understand how GCSE physics is any more difficult than GCSE chemistry or biology. People seem to have a perception that physics is hard even at levels when it's not hard if that makes sense. I understand people saying a degree in physics is hard but that is besides my point.

Secondly, people say that it's boring but again people said this at GCSE but I don't see how it is any more boring than chemistry or biology. Even at gcse I found physics way more interesting than the other sciences so why do so many people find it boring? I can understand how people would be more interested in biology as it seems more relevant because plants and animals are things that we can see but I don't understand how physics is more boring than chemistry when both deal with things that we cannot see necessarily. In fact, physics at gcse teaches you basic mechanics and newtons laws which are things that you can most definitely see in effect in the real world.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling on but yeah I want to know why people hate physics. I am currently at A level and after reading loads of books about physics I have decided I want to do it as my degree. When I took A level physics lots of my friends were saying like "why on earth would you take physics" and "I would rather die than take physics" which is a bit dramatic.


Additionally, you say Biology is boring but Physics is fun. There you are, I could make a thread opposite yours and argue the same points but in favour of Bio. That’s all the answer you will get as it is simply down to tase and what we find the most compelling.
I got an A* at Physics GCSE, but dropped it as soon as I could.

My reasons were...

a) Difficulty - on the whole, I found physics GCSE quite easy, but the topics towards the end (mainly electromagnetism) I just didn't understand, and I knew that as it was likely to get harder at A-level, I probably wouldn't be able to understand that either. Whereas with biology and chemistry, there was never anything I didn't understand.

b) It was SO BORING - How interesting you find something is subjective. You may not be able to see how physics GCSE is any more boring than chemistry/biology, but for me it was infinitely more boring. In chemistry experiments, you get to burn stuff, look for reactions, colour changes. In physics you're just sliding things down ramps and timing how long they take on different surfaces. I feel bored now just thinking about it. And biology I found more interesting because you're learning about the human body and all these different things that can go wrong with it (I admit I wasn't so fascinated by the plant stuff & auxins!)

For what it's worth, I didn't end up taking any science A-levels (unless you count Maths), though I did consider taking Chemistry or Biology for a while.
Reply 7
Avatar for ibyghee
ibyghee
19
Original post by Nihilisticb*tch
Before I begin, please don't comment something along the lines of: "people have different opinions" or "people are different". I am fully aware that people are different and have different opinions but usually there is an underlying reason behind someone's opinion and that is what I'm asking for.

The first reason is perhaps that people find it difficult. However people were saying this at GCSE and I can't understand how GCSE physics is any more difficult than GCSE chemistry or biology. People seem to have a perception that physics is hard even at levels when it's not hard if that makes sense. I understand people saying a degree in physics is hard but that is besides my point.

Secondly, people say that it's boring but again people said this at GCSE but I don't see how it is any more boring than chemistry or biology. Even at gcse I found physics way more interesting than the other sciences so why do so many people find it boring? I can understand how people would be more interested in biology as it seems more relevant because plants and animals are things that we can see but I don't understand how physics is more boring than chemistry when both deal with things that we cannot see necessarily. In fact, physics at gcse teaches you basic mechanics and newtons laws which are things that you can most definitely see in effect in the real world.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling on but yeah I want to know why people hate physics. I am currently at A level and after reading loads of books about physics I have decided I want to do it as my degree. When I took A level physics lots of my friends were saying like "why on earth would you take physics" and "I would rather die than take physics" which is a bit dramatic.

I also asked this question quite a while ago. I also am going to take physics in uni this year. It seems it's all about the teacher to spark that interest. Like me, in GCSE I didn't give 2, 3, 4 or even 7 shits about physics. Mainly since we had supply teachers 24/7. Then in around 6 months of 1st year a level, the teacher put such a impression of physics on me...I just had to find out more. I needed to do physics in University .
Original post by funky2722
So you are inherently biased towards physics and want us to engange in a discussion with you?


Do I have to be neutral on a topic in order to engage in a discussion about it? I don't know what you think a discussion is but usually it's between people with differing views.
Original post by ibyghee
I also asked this question quite a while ago. I also am going to take physics in uni this year. It seems it's all about the teacher to spark that interest. Like me, in GCSE I didn't give 2, 3, 4 or even 7 shits about physics. Mainly since we had supply teachers 24/7. Then in around 6 months of 1st year a level, the teacher put such a impression of physics on me...I just had to find out more. I needed to do physics in University .


We always had physics teachers who could at least control the class but in year 11 we had a teacher that most people found quite boring because he was quite monotone but I didnt mind him. I think perhaps the gcse syllabus isn't particularly inspiring but the content covered in it is necessary if you want to get onto the more interesting parts of physics. I was always naturally drawn to physics from when I first started learning about science but I also quite like biology. I never liked chemistry at high school because we had a teacher who really didn't care and she didn't even teach us. I actually quite like chemistry now I'm at college because I have a good teacher. So yeah it probably depends a lot on the quality of teachers. There is a massive shortage of physics teachers (mainly because physics graduates can earn a lot more elsewhere) so therefore there's a lack of good ones.
Original post by LeapingLucy
I got an A* at Physics GCSE, but dropped it as soon as I could.

My reasons were...

a) Difficulty - on the whole, I found physics GCSE quite easy, but the topics towards the end (mainly electromagnetism) I just didn't understand, and I knew that as it was likely to get harder at A-level, I probably wouldn't be able to understand that either. Whereas with biology and chemistry, there was never anything I didn't understand.

b) It was SO BORING - How interesting you find something is subjective. You may not be able to see how physics GCSE is any more boring than chemistry/biology, but for me it was infinitely more boring. In chemistry experiments, you get to burn stuff, look for reactions, colour changes. In physics you're just sliding things down ramps and timing how long they take on different surfaces. I feel bored now just thinking about it. And biology I found more interesting because you're learning about the human body and all these different things that can go wrong with it (I admit I wasn't so fascinated by the plant stuff & auxins!)

For what it's worth, I didn't end up taking any science A-levels (unless you count Maths), though I did consider taking Chemistry or Biology for a while.


I also got a 9 at physics gcse but I really liked physics. I would genuinely look forward to physics lessons but because my school was **** at timetables we didn't have many physics lessons.
I didn't find any topics on the physics syllabus to be that hard. I found electricity difficult at first but once I learnt all the rules I was fine. I found electromagnetism really interesting and we learnt about machines that can be made using electromagnets and I found that really interesting. For me that topic was just about remembering the left hand rule but I acknowledge that you did the old syllabus whereas I did the new one.
Again I suppose interest is subjective but my concern is as to why someone who likes chemistry would not like physics. I agree that the practicals in physics are way more boring but I'm talking about the theory mainly. The practical are always going to be limited due to the fact that schools have limited resources, the quality or lack thereof of physics practicals is due to the lack of resources in schools. Chemicals are cheap so chemistry isn't that limited in its practicals. But yeah when we talk about the theory i don't see how chemistry is more interesting than physics.
Original post by Bio 7
Additionally, you say Biology is boring but Physics is fun. There you are, I could make a thread opposite yours and argue the same points but in favour of Bio. That’s all the answer you will get as it is simply down to tase and what we find the most compelling.


umm I did not say that biology was boring. Biology is one of my favourite subjects lol I chose it at A level. I'm not asking why other people's favourite science isn't physics I'm asking why so many people see physics as PARTICULARLY boring and why so many people hate it. A much larger percentage of people like biology than physics and I can understand why because biology incorporates things that you can see in everyday life such as plants and animals. However I don't see why physics is so widely hated as a subject compared to chemistry.
Original post by jameswhughes
The way it's taught at A-Level is incredibly boring, I'm not surprised it puts people off physics. For example, I never really knew what a Feynman diagram represented, I just learnt how to draw one to get through the exam and forgot about it immediately afterwards.

One of my teachers even said "by the time it gets to the exam you'll be familiar with these numbers from the mark schemes" - this pretty much sums up the whole A-Level, learning things merely for the sake of it.


I agree somewhat but I think that's true of basically every subject. I don't think I've been in a lesson for a long time where the teacher hasn't mentioned the final exam and I'm only at the start of year 12. I got sent out of chemistry once in high school and into a year 13 Physics class and they were learning about Feynmann diagrams and they did learn what they represented and they watched a short documentary about them so maybe that was just your school. I don't think I would be near as interested in physics if I hadn't have read popular science books independently. I know about Feynmann diagrams because of the books I have read.
Original post by Nihilisticb*tch
I agree somewhat but I think that's true of basically every subject. I don't think I've been in a lesson for a long time where the teacher hasn't mentioned the final exam and I'm only at the start of year 12. I got sent out of chemistry once in high school and into a year 13 Physics class and they were learning about Feynmann diagrams and they did learn what they represented and they watched a short documentary about them so maybe that was just your school. I don't think I would be near as interested in physics if I hadn't have read popular science books independently. I know about Feynmann diagrams because of the books I have read.

Yes same for every subject, the teacher has to provide an insight into why it's so important and interesting. Like English , I've never known the importance of analysing a story. And I still don't xD. TBH, physics just hit me. I was like wow...this is it, this has to be it. I was thinking of engineering since I was good at maths. Then physics and I was like omg...I've met the love of my life. I dunno how the teacher did it.

However, I see you like fymann diagrams and it seems you're into quantum physics 😏 . Same here boi.
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Original post by Nihilisticb*tch
I agree somewhat but I think that's true of basically every subject. I don't think I've been in a lesson for a long time where the teacher hasn't mentioned the final exam and I'm only at the start of year 12. I got sent out of chemistry once in high school and into a year 13 Physics class and they were learning about Feynmann diagrams and they did learn what they represented and they watched a short documentary about them so maybe that was just your school. I don't think I would be near as interested in physics if I hadn't have read popular science books independently. I know about Feynmann diagrams because of the books I have read.


True, what I said is by no means limited to physics.

However, I think the way it's taught and some of the topics chosen make it even more boring - for example how sub-atomic particles interact is well beyond the scope of the course itself, so it ends up as rote learning to pass the exam. Another problem with A-Level Physics is that there's no requirement to know any mathematics past GCSE level, so things aren't explained properly, it's just largely sticking numbers into formulas and pressing the right buttons on your calculator, no wonder people don't want to do it.
Original post by Nihilisticb*tch
Before I begin, please don't comment something along the lines of: "people have different opinions" or "people are different".


People are different and have different opinions.

Simples.
I saw physics as the better of three sciences. It was better than biology and Chemistry for me
Original post by jameswhughes
True, what I said is by no means limited to physics.

However, I think the way it's taught and some of the topics chosen make it even more boring - for example how sub-atomic particles interact is well beyond the scope of the course itself, so it ends up as rote learning to pass the exam. Another problem with A-Level Physics is that there's no requirement to know any mathematics past GCSE level, so things aren't explained properly, it's just largely sticking numbers into formulas and pressing the right buttons on your calculator, no wonder people don't want to do it.


Yeah I think there are issues with the A level syllabus and I think it largely depends on the teacher. Some teachers will literally stick to the syllabus whereas some will branch off a bit and teach you things that are related to the topic but not on the syllabus simply because they're interesting.
Reply 18
Avatar for colin3
colin3
10
Your interest in a subject depends a lot on how you're introduced to it for the first time. I'd say physics is often poorly introduced. Not only do teachers tend to be boring but it can be difficult to make the lesson interesting as well. With the right exposure to some high level physics and popular science it can be very engaging and interesting. Doubtless, advanced physics can be fascinating to the average person because it crosses the realm of sci-fi. But the basic physics that's first introduced at school (i.e. Newton's laws, etc) concern questions that you'd only come up with if you're highly philosophical and introspective: 'how do you mathematically model interactions between objects?' Not the kind of question people would ordinarily be interested in (or would have the imagination to ask). What's worse is that the way this question is answered is by giving rote methods that have to be memorised. Then there's no fun at all except for the anticipation of the more interesting topics to come, if you're sufficiently familiar with more advanced material at a high level. I think people who are introduced to physics via some really interesting book, documentary, or science communicator are really lucky because for most others, they get a boring teacher and that negatively affects their outlook on physics for a long time.
Original post by Nihilisticb*tch
Chemicals are cheap so chemistry isn't that limited in its practicals.


I don't know where you've got that idea from. They're not.

Original post by Nihilisticb*tch
However I don't see why physics is so widely hated as a subject compared to chemistry.


It's not. Maybe it's your school or college.

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