wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,
I once believed that UHF(and beyond) RF electronics was the most
technically challenging hobby there is. Period.
However, I've since read about some chap who claims his principal
'hobby' is Quantum Mechanics! This fellow is in prison somewhere in the
UK and all his 'work' is *entirely* theoretical (obviously - given the
confined circumstances) and consists of the academic pursuit of the
subject alone including heaps of serious number-crunching and
formidably cryptic calculus.
The complex, metaphysical conundrum that arises from this is: can QM
(highly theoretical even if you actually work hands-on with particle
accelerators) ever be accurately described as a 'hobby?'
What does the Panel think?
p.

It is a hobby if you're a physics Ph.D. who can't get an academic job

There are people who do astronomical computing (calculation of orbits, etc.)
as a hobby. I suppose this is similar.