Specialties that involve the most geometry and physics?

[Gauss44]

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Which specialties do you think would best suit a person who is exceptionally gifted in geometry and physics? This student is also gifted in math and science in general, but his very best subjects are geometry and physics.

I'm asking on behalf of parents with a high school kid who got through calculus "effortlessly" while still in elementary school, and who has scored in the "immeasurable" range (the highest range) on geometry-related neuropsychological/IQ tests.

(We are well informed about the benefits of keeping an open, yet non-ignorant, mind and waiting until rotations to decide for certain on a specialty. We are still interested in answers to this question.)

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Rad Onc.

 

[JPA178]

Radiation Oncology

 

[ridethecliche]

Probably better off doing translational research since that'll make a much larger impact. Making new tech for rad onc.

 

[Lucca]

I concur, RadOnc. Contouring + High energy beams.

However, this child's intellect is needed in Academia!

 

[Conflagration]

If you're thinking about physician work; I'd say radiology only because of absorbency's influence on images and image quality.

In general; they could be a brilliant engineer- chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, and especially biomechanics comes to mind.

The world's his oyster, though. 🙂

 

[mimelim]

Telling the parents "Rad Onc" is a bad idea. This is a high school student. Statistically, medical school isn't the right place for this kid. Parents even trying to figure out a specialty for them at this point is going to harm them far more than help.

The real answer to their question is, "You are asking the wrong questions." They may not like it or accept it, but it is a better answer.

 

[DermViser]

Which specialties do you think would best suit a person who is exceptionally gifted in geometry and physics? This student is also gifted in math and science in general, but his very best subjects are geometry and physics.

I'm asking on behalf of parents with a high school kid who got through calculus "effortlessly" while still in elementary school, and who has scored in the "immeasurable" range (the highest range) on geometry-related neuropsychological/IQ tests.

(We are well informed about the benefits of keeping an open, yet non-ignorant, mind and waiting until rotations to decide for certain on a specialty. We are still interested in answers to this question.)

Here's the answer: Those parents have ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS selecting a medical specialty for their high school kid bc the metrics they're using are not at all appropriate for choosing it. I don't care how good at Geometry and Physics he is. Specialty selection is a very complex process that really can not be done at the high school level. As you get farther and farther from med school, there aren't many correlative metrics with med school, esp. specialty selection.

 

[deleted407021]

I agree with the doctor. The parents already deciding this kid's career isn't the proper thing for them to be doing. Why should someone who's super great at mathematics be shoved into medicine, anyway?

 

[Doctor Bob]

The simplistic answer to your question is rad onc, or maybe ortho...

As others have pointed out though... it's not really a fair question. Tagging a specialty based on one aspect is a poor way to select.
I'm fairly technically proficient when it comes to procedures... but I'd make a lousy surgeon because if a procedure takes more than 30 minutes I get bored and my attention starts to wander.
I've got 20/20 (corrected) vision and good low-light visual discrimination but I'd make a lousy radiologist because it just doesn't interest me.

So... great. This kid has one aspect that would make him good in a certain field, but there's no way to know if he has the other 9000 aspects necessary, or even the interest for that field.

 

[Strudel19]

If the kid is that gifted with numbers, I don't know why Physician is the first career to come to mind.

 

[Aerus]

Having a gift or talent for something doesn't mean one should go into it. I've been "strongly encouraged" to pursue law by many of my professors and friends, but I have no interest in it. If my heart isn't set in it, I'd probably end up doing a lousy job even if I'm good at certain aspects of a field.


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[smoothbunzz]

Opthalmology?

 

[boltedbicorne]

Geometric physics.

 

[edgerock24]

Pretty good at physics, you say? Then maybe, I don't know, he should get a degree in.......physics.

 

[Narmerguy]

If true, that kind of brain is wasted on medicine. Go create or discover something and show all the other docs how to use it. If he's short on ideas I've got plenty that need solving.

 

[Hospitalized]

While a career as a physician would be great for this kid, I think something involving bioengineering would serve him better. If they are spatially gifted, they could do wonders for the development of medical instruments. Engineering is a much more rewarding path for someone gifted in physics. Most doctors will end up doing only very basic physics, which is enough because it isn't a necessary component for most practices.

 

[Strudel19]

I've never been encouraged to pursue law, but at this stage in this kid's life and from what we are given by the OP, there is no evidence in any way to suggest that a career in medicine is great for this kid. There also isn't much evidence of this kid being a world-renowned physicist.

The kid needs to wait and see how the story unfolds and in 15 years choose a medical specialty. This huge intelligence gap from "effortlessly" acing psych tests and doing well in calculus could easily close, just like it does in a lot of smart kids.

 

[rotarman]

I'm a physics guy and shadowed both rad onc and ophtho. Gotta say neither use any physics day to day. Neither I shadowed were very interested in discussing the physics of them either. They have a little understanding of the physics behind them (what attenuation plates do, why you would see upside down without a lens, etc.) so they can explain it to patients. That said, physics skills like programming, modeling, and statistics are important parts of academic research in all medical fields.

 

[kthxbai]

Keeping an open mind, you say?

How about an open mind regarding his professional choices, which are years and years away at the moment.

 

[hydroxyurea]

Clinical Rad Onc is more bio focused than physics and geometry, though it still amy be one of the more geometry/physics oriented fields. They have physicists and dosimetrists which due much of the mathematical calculations of radiation dispersion, etc regarding beam focusing.

If this kid is set on medicine, have him start looking into imaging research. Integrating wave functions on MRIs and coming up with new functions is no easy task, and as we investigate the effect/use of higher Tesla MRIs *more akin to chemistry NMR power) on humans, he could make some notable advances. If he is truly "autistic-savant smart" he may be able to see both the clinical side and the technical side, aka the math, electronics and computers behind it.

In all seriousness though, medicine is not just an aptitude, you have to be interested in the end-goal of treating illness. If he just wants a career that will flex his superpowered noggin, engineering or computer engineering is just as valid if not more so. Top level guys that can get 3.9-4.0 math/comp sci or math/engineering double majors with a relevant internship or two get placed in excellent positions in the time that med students are just getting out of undergrad.