I can’t really speak about other specialisations, but mathematical physics seems to me not too beneficial for general thinking skills. I know at least two mathematical physicists who think that the main task in the job is to suppress your intuitions (which isn’t itself bad) at any cost (this is worse). So any heuristic argument they dismiss until you have find the correct way to prove it. The obsession with proofs makes mathematical physics (and mathematics in general) in my eyes closer to what is here called Traditional rationality than to Bayesian approach, and a little bit legalistic. Subjects like theoretical physics rely more on intuitions, but still firmly based in reality (well, string theory not so much, but still), and so closer to everyday thinking.
“Theoretical physics is more intuitive and more practical for everyday use”. It seems true in this case (since you explained it) but it is certainly not something I would usually expect to be told!
In comparison to mathematical physics, that is. I would expect the general rational thinking profit most from studying subjects like biology or even psychology—those are empirical sciences with opportunities for relatively cheap experiments—but one can fear the presently established level of rationality there is not enough high.
I can’t really speak about other specialisations, but mathematical physics seems to me not too beneficial for general thinking skills. I know at least two mathematical physicists who think that the main task in the job is to suppress your intuitions (which isn’t itself bad) at any cost (this is worse). So any heuristic argument they dismiss until you have find the correct way to prove it. The obsession with proofs makes mathematical physics (and mathematics in general) in my eyes closer to what is here called Traditional rationality than to Bayesian approach, and a little bit legalistic. Subjects like theoretical physics rely more on intuitions, but still firmly based in reality (well, string theory not so much, but still), and so closer to everyday thinking.
“Theoretical physics is more intuitive and more practical for everyday use”. It seems true in this case (since you explained it) but it is certainly not something I would usually expect to be told!
In comparison to mathematical physics, that is. I would expect the general rational thinking profit most from studying subjects like biology or even psychology—those are empirical sciences with opportunities for relatively cheap experiments—but one can fear the presently established level of rationality there is not enough high.