[sn9]

I know of at least one professor in Canada (Toronto maybe?) who was self taught and got into a graduate program on the strength of a letter of recommendation from a physicist he had been corresponding with. Can't remember the name at the moment, but I think his background had been in art.

And then there's Ed Witten, who studied history and linguistics. It's not really clear when or how he studied physics (so very possibly self-taught), though he had a famous physicist father so he would have had a ready source of advice on textbooks, etc.

[vecter]

Ed Witten was very good at math when he was young. He scored exceptionally well in the American Mathematics Competition. He didn't pick physics up out of nowhere, he already had a quantitively talented mind.

[kayoone]

That might be true but op was just claiming that the number of self taught people in theoretical physics is non zero.

[vecter]

He was almost implying that Witten came out of nowhere with very little mathematical background and became a physics god. He implied this by saying that Witten studied history and linguistics in college, but he failed to mention his previously strong background in mathematics during his childhood. That last part is the key signal to how Witten could have even possibly become a successful physicist, although of course it is not a sufficient condition.

[sn9]

Could you provide a citation for the AMC score? A cursory Google search doesn't turn up anything.

My understanding is he only knew calculus before college.

[vecter]

I can't find it today, but I remember reading the AMC results with my own eyes many years ago. I believe he was one of the best scorers on either the AMC 8 or the AMC 10 in his state.

[mikebenfield]

But these examples aren't what is being referred to as "totally self taught." Your grandparent comment acknowledges, "I have no doubt you can replicate the undergrad education through self-study..." (Of course that is pretty rare too, but what's in doubt is people who did the equivalent of grad school on their own).

FWIW, in mathematics I know there's Blake Temple, who IIRC did his undergrad in philosophy but was somehow admitted to a strong math grad program and went on to a very successful career... but again this isn't "totally self taught" in the sense here.

[fosco]

he was corresponding with another physicist, I do not think enough people realize no one is an island. Working, talking and communicating with others is how many things are learned and solidified because others force us to sharpen our thoughts by questioning them.

I think this is why some of the 'big' thinkers (see feynman einstein) worked at universities, it forced them to continue sharpening their skills because they had a collection of students questioning their ideas. I believe this applies to all fields... not just physics

my two cents. I agree with PaulPauper, I think it is zero as well.