My plans

Greetings.  This is the first post of what I intend to be many hundreds.  I will be spending the next few years, trying to work my way through a BSc Hons degree in physics and maths based subjects.  I am then planning to move straight onto a post grad qualification in physics / maths, which will be a masters level degree.  I then plan to do a Ph.D., specialising in an area of physics, which will hopefully be, particle physics.  I am aiming to have this all done, within 10yrs, studying part-time, whilst continuing to work in a full time job.

Just to put you in the picture, I left school with a grade C in GCSE Maths (high school level, for those who haven't sampled the delightful nuances of the U.K education system).  I didn't know my times tables, my confidence in my maths and physics abilities was non-existent, and I was destined to never achieve my lofty goals of becoming a scientist or medical doctor (fleeting childhood dreams).

So, I am married, in a job where I have supervisory level, but will never go much further and I have two amazing children.

Now, back in my school days, I always found it extremely difficult to study, read or concentrate.  So, in order to cull some of those demons, I decided to take some humanities courses with the Open University, in the U.K.  As part of this re-entry into education, I was later assessed by an educational Psychologist, to try and understand why an apparently bright guy (scored 155 on the Cattell B Verbal IQ test), couldn't concentrate for more than 5 minutes, remember the times-tables, any equation or any formula.  I even struggled to remember what I had for breakfast, that morning.

To my surprise, (but with a weird sense of relief), I was diagnosed with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Irlen syndrome.  I will Blog in later weeks, and give the low-down on these conditions and my experience of them.

I then decided to do something about these issues, so I went on the net and found a professor in London, who specialised in adults with Irlen syndrome ( Irlen syndrome, in my case, causes words to jumble on the page and I can't bear to look at a white page, because my eyes are too sensitive to the reflected light).

£300 later, I was assessed and was issued with a pair of pink lensed glasses, to wear when studying or reading.

To say that the effect was dramatic and immediate, is an understatement.  When I put them on, it was like someone had flipped a switch on my head.  I found myself able to read for extended periods, concentrate and absorb information more quickly.  The words had reduced from moving around on the page, to just occasionally flickering.

I then spent the next 6 months constantly reading, all of those things I hadn't done before, because it was just too difficult.  Then, one evening, over 2 bottles of wine, I pondered on what to do with my newly recovered ability to read and concentrate.  It was at that point, that I hatched a plan.  The plan was simple and had to meet the following criteria:

1. Choose an insanely difficult job that I would love to do, but never had the courage to follow, because of my, now diagnosed and treated, learning difficulties.

2. I had a family now, so I couldn't leave my job, to follow my new path.  I needed to be able to study or train, whilst working 40hrs, per week, at my current job.

3. The end result, had to pay sufficiently well, that any expense could be recovered, once I had started working.

4. It had to be in a subject that was widely agreed upon, to be impossible for all but the most gifted or dedicated people. (I wanted to test myself to destruction, so this condition was vital).

So, what I came up with were two possibles:

Astronaut

Theoretical Physicist (like Prof. Brian Cox, who is my hero)

I plumbed for Theoretical physicist.  This was because I am too battle damaged from playing rugby, to be an Astronaut.  And I also don't like heights (space is really far away).

I liked the fact that Brian Cox failed his A Level maths, yet he still went on to not only have a career as a pop star (keyboard player in D:Ream), but also gained a Ph.D. in particle physics and went on to have a successful career, smashing hadrons into each other, whilst sipping Swiss coffee, in Geneva!

So, to all of my doubters for the last 30yrs, at school, in my home town and inside my own head; I say, stuff it, I'm going to be a Theoretical Physicist.

And so the journey begins.