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So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

susanjfowler.com

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Re: So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

#11

Post by nyc111 »

joeblau wrote: post #6

This couldn't have come at a better time for me. I was listening to Kara Swishers interview with Elon Musk[1] and he touched on lots of physics related concepts related to all of his companies. The interview made me want to learn more about physics. [1] - https://www.recode.net/2018/11/2/18053424/elon-musk-tesla-sp...

Elon Musk talks about arguing from first principles and claims this is the physics way without going into details. What else did he say about physics that you liked?

Re: So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

#12

Post by mathgenius »

Books are too low bandwidth. You will get stuck, mostly on trivial stuff. Then what do you do?

My advice is to find a teacher. If they are any good they will speed up the process by one or two (or more) orders of magnitude. Even the professionals do this.

Re: So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

#13

Post by nyc111 »

I'd like to say that Mach's Science of Mechanics is a timeless book and I would recommend to anyone who hopes to like physics. It's so different than modern textbooks. You get the feeling of learning new things as he explains each phenomenon with simple mathamatics and often ingenious ways.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/science-of-mechanics/D8...

Re: So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

#14

Post by Tomte »

Susan Fowler's life story totally impresses me.

She is world-renowned for MeToo/Time Person of the Year, but her achievements in physics through sheer will and hard work, even though her upbringings did not give her much in that direction, makes me think there is a movie in it.

Re: So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

#15

Post by FranzFerdiNaN »

nyc111 wrote: post #5

> ...the pure joy of understanding the universe around us is one of the most beautiful experiences you can ever have in life. But you do not need to study physics for 25 years in order to understand how the world works. Academic physics that she wants us to learn to undersdand the world is just a new academic subject invented or formalized in the 19. century. Archimedes knew 0 (zero) physics and made huge discoveries…

A lot of times you don't know what you need. The point of a good curriculum is to help you avoid those situations as much as possible.

Re: So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

#16

Post by joeblau »

nyc111 wrote: post #11
joeblau wrote: post #6

This couldn't have come at a better time for me. I was listening to Kara Swishers interview with Elon Musk[1] and he touched on lots of physics related concepts related to all of his companies. The interview made me want to learn more about physics. [1] - https://www.recode.net/2018/11/2/18053424/elon-musk-tesla-sp...

Elon Musk talks about arguing from first principles and claims this is the physics way without going into details. What else did he say about physics that you liked?

When he was going into the Boring companies tunneling evaluation trying to figure out weather current tunneling tech was power constrained or heat constrained. Also he mentioned the supersonic jet design that he has. There were also some undertones with the Tesla Roadster, Tesla Pickup truck and SpaceX BFR.

Re: So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

#17

Post by antt »

mathgenius wrote: post #12

Books are too low bandwidth. You will get stuck, mostly on trivial stuff. Then what do you do? My advice is to find a teacher. If they are any good they will speed up the process by one or two (or more) orders of magnitude. Even the professionals do this.

>You will get stuck, mostly on trivial stuff. Then what do you do?

Find other books. There's a reason why university libraries have old editions of the same books and very similar books on the same topic.

Re: So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)

#18

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

mathgenius wrote: post #12

Books are too low bandwidth. You will get stuck, mostly on trivial stuff. Then what do you do? My advice is to find a teacher. If they are any good they will speed up the process by one or two (or more) orders of magnitude. Even the professionals do this.

What works for me is to combine the two. I can absorb most things from books. Then, when I get stuck, I ask the advice of someone who knows. I was actually surprised how inexpensive this can be these days and how much a passionate teacher can give you these days in terms of inspiration and opening your mind to new perspectives regarding something you (thought you) already knew.
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