I genuinely want to learn mathematics, physics, programming, computer science, and AI. I want to build a career in computer science, pursue AI research, and hopefully do a PhD someday. But lately, I've been feeling increasingly demotivated.

The problem is that I rely on AI to learn almost everything. Whenever I have a question, I ask GPT. Whenever I don't understand a concept, I ask AI to explain it. And the more I learn this way, the more I wonder: What's the point of learning anything when AI will always know more than I ever could?

Even the most basic AI models seem to possess more knowledge than I could acquire in a lifetime. And with new models becoming increasingly capable, I keep wondering whether the knowledge I'm working so hard to gain will even matter in the future.

With GPT-6, Claude Opus 5.5, Gemini 4, and other models competing to become more capable, it feels like the gap between human intelligence and AI capabilities will only continue to grow.

I want to understand the mathematics behind AI, learn physics, become a better programmer, and contribute to actual research. But sometimes I question why I'm putting in the effort when AI can explain concepts faster, write code better, and potentially solve problems that I might spend years learning to solve myself.

And even when I genuinely want to learn, I'm confused about what I should prioritize learning and whether any of it will remain valuable by the time I become proficient.

I'm not necessarily saying that learning is useless. I genuinely love the idea of understanding how things work. But I'm struggling to reconcile that curiosity with the feeling that AI might eventually outperform me at almost everything I want to become good at.

For those of you studying computer science, mathematics, physics, or AI, how do you deal with this feeling? How do you stay motivated to learn when AI is advancing so rapidly? Do you think deep technical knowledge will still matter for people pursuing AI research and PhDs, or should we be approaching learning differently now?

I'm in a physics 1 (calculus based) class. We are allowed cheat sheets for our exams. Here is the exact policy:

"Students may use review notes (a "cheat-sheet") consisting of one 8.5" by 11" sheet of paper (letter-size) written on one side only during all in-class assessments (exams and quizzes). The "cheat-sheet" may not contain any solved problems or answers to quiz questions from the text. Failure to follow this rule will invalidate the assessment."

My cheat sheet for exam 2 contained step by step guides for solving each type of problem with diagrams using only letters/symbols. I was under the assumption that he would not collect the cheat sheets because he didn't last time.

This time, after the exam, he asked everyone to staple their cheat sheet to the back of their exams. I had no choice but to do this, so now my professor will see that cheat sheet with all of the problem tutorials and derivations. Do you think I will get in trouble for cheating because of the in depth tutorials for solving each type of problem? Should I send him an email right now apologizing for "misunderstanding" the policy?

I'm a junior physics student at my state school. I love doing research but I also have commitments at home that make me very hesitant to leave over the summer halfway across the country. My question is, looking at my current experience, should getting an REU at another institution be at the top of my priorities, or can I prioritize my family?

General list of my research experience:

• Academic year undergrad research fellowship on satellites (not in a lab) freshman year
• Summer undergrad research fellowship following the same topic (following summer)
• summer undergrad research fellowship in the major condensed matter physics lab on campus
• continued unfunded research in that same lab that I plan to do until the end of my degree (I plan to apply for funding for summer 2027)
• undergraduate research assistantship at a non-physics department (1 academic year) about environmental policy. I will be co-author on a paper for this project.
• science communications consultant micro-internship this past summer

Additionally, in the spring I will be assisting a class/being in the learning center.

I hover around a 3.5 gpa and I'm an honors program student. My career goals are to get my masters and my PhD in physics. I am also an artist and I love science communication, so thats another career avenue besides research I want to explore.

What should my priorities by in my last couple years? Should I be dropping everything to get an REU at another institution? Thank you!

I'm a PhD student in the UK. I find it hard to measure success in the PhD. So papers is the only measure but obviously it's an incomplete measure.

please help me feel better about bombing my modern exam i studied hard for 🙏

I saw this term used in the definition of stationary and static spacetime. I cannot however find a formal definition of what it means to be asymptotically timelike anywhere. Any help?

I want to self-study physics. I have already studied precalculus and calculus. However, I’m not sure how to proceed with the mathematics required for a physics degree.

I’m considering two approaches:

1. Study different math textbooks on seperate subjects (linear algebra, differential equations, tensor analysis...)

2. Study one or two comprehensive textbooks that cover all or most of the math needed for an undergraduate physics degree. I’m considering "Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences" by Boas.

My main goal is not to become highly proficient at solving physics problems, but rather to develop a deep conceptual understanding of physics and gain enough mathematical proficiency to solve basic problems.

Thanks in advance for any advice!