I think the author is missing a couple of important points:
1) How would one approach this task having a day job?
2) How do you compensate for not having a chance to work
in a suitable environment doing good research?
2a)Knowing and
understanding everything that has been done in the past
doesn't by itself make you a researcher. This (being a scientist) must be
taught by actual theoretical physicists. There are many
supervisors, but very few that can teach you to do research.
2b) Serious and worthwhile research is seldom done by one person. You need to collaborate or at least communicate with
other scientists in the field (and sometimes even out of the field). You have to be in the right
environment. Just reading arxiv won't quite cut it.
1) How would one approach this task having a day job?
2) How do you compensate for not having a chance to work in a suitable environment doing good research?
2a)Knowing and understanding everything that has been done in the past doesn't by itself make you a researcher. This (being a scientist) must be taught by actual theoretical physicists. There are many supervisors, but very few that can teach you to do research.
2b) Serious and worthwhile research is seldom done by one person. You need to collaborate or at least communicate with other scientists in the field (and sometimes even out of the field). You have to be in the right environment. Just reading arxiv won't quite cut it.