You can develop an intuition for anything when you spend 2+ years looking at only that thing.

I'm very much looking forward to hearing about your research. Enjoy it, if you can :).

I think doing research in grad school is one of the most stable jobs out there. It's apparently relatively impossible to get fired, and yet everybody depends on your productivity. I think especially if you want a job in academia, that's the situation to really deliver results.

Oh, and I came across this article today, which might be summed up best with this quote from therein:

I have spelled out many times, very clearly, what theoretical physicists should do differently. It’s just that they don’t like my answer. They should stop trying to solve problems that don’t exist. That a theory isn’t pretty is not a problem. Focus on mathematically well-defined problems, that’s what I am saying.

no mathematical formulation provided

the author actually works in bedrock physics theory, but attempts to insulate themselves from criticism by acknowledging that they haven't yet come up with a grand unifying theory and can't offer concrete advice regarding a direction to proceed from where we are now

OK so I'm only like 10% theorist, and that little op ed triggered me purdy bad. From a capitalist perspective, sure, financially re-purpose all of the relatively unproductive theory efforts into green tech development and fighting climate change, if you can. But damn, if it isn't some kinda statement on the times we live in that society begins to give up on "big picture" endeavors just because the complexity of the universe appears prohibitively yuge at this exact moment in human history.