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Help with a Genius: Physics

Ankari

Hero Breaker
Moderator
I'm writing a story which involves an eleven year old boy who happens to be a borderline genius. I want his focus to be in the realm of physics, but I'm out of touch with that is taught in college level courses. Would the following make since? Does it show a high enough level of intelligence?

My birthday arrived on the heels of a stretch of good days. Mom devoted her energies into organizing the party. The hurt I had caused her vanished behind a flurry of phone calls and runs to various stores. I stayed home to brush up on Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics. My mom enjoyed a discussions of physics and I wanted to be prepared.
 

Vaporo

Inkling
I think that it makes sense, but it feels like you're trying too hard to sound like you know what you're talking about. Maybe cut Hamiltonian and just stick with Lagrangian, since I think that it's a bit more of a common subject. Although, the only thing that I honestly remember about Lagrange is "Lagrange points," so maybe take my advice there with a grain of salt. My rule of thumb is that if I'm not willing to put in the research to learn about a subject properly, then try to avoid mentioning it unless absolutely necessary.

What realm of physics would he specifically be interested in? Astrophysics? Quantum mechanics?
 
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I'm writing a story which involves an eleven year old boy who happens to be a borderline genius. I want his focus to be in the realm of physics, but I'm out of touch with that is taught in college level courses. Would the following make since? Does it show a high enough level of intelligence?

My birthday arrived on the heels of a stretch of good days. Mom devoted her energies into organizing the party. The hurt I had caused her vanished behind a flurry of phone calls and runs to various stores. I stayed home to brush up on Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics. My mom enjoyed a discussions of physics and I wanted to be prepared.

Is this something the kid says (it would be in quotation marks?) or is he narrating in the first person? Im not totally sure.
 
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