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Feynman's Hughes Lectures: 950 pages of notes

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Re: Feynman's Hughes Lectures: 950 pages of notes

#31
post #2

I never understood the appeal of Feynman and these Lectures. It has been a constant topic for years around here. For example, the Electricity and Magnetism book by Purcell is phenomenal but it is hardly ever mentioned. To quote wikipedia, Electricity and Magnetism is a standard textbook in electromagnetism originally written by Nobel laureate Edward Mills Purcell in 1963. Along with David Griffiths' Introduction to E…

One collection that I always loved due to the clear exposition is the one from Walter Greiner[0]. It goes from zero to quite advanced theoretical physics topics in a very nice way. I think that sadly some volumes were never translated, so there is a gap if you read them in English.

I never found anybody taking about Greiner, and at this point, I'm way too afraid to ask why.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Greiner

Re: Feynman's Hughes Lectures: 950 pages of notes

#32
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Angela Collier has a 3-hour video on the topic (The Sham Legacy of Richard Feynman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwKpj2ISQAc ) with funny takes and criticism. It has been a while, so I cannot remember if she was criticizing Feynman himself to some extent or how his legacy is being portrayed by the media. In the latter case, I am also a bit annoyed how he is constantly portrayed as some kind of a super star by Amer…

especially reading Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! leaves a bad taste in my mouth after all these years. i can only take the title literally "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"

There is a nice essay from Paul Graham that starts with:

> The word "prig" isn't very common now, but if you look up the definition, it will sound familiar.

Re: Feynman's Hughes Lectures: 950 pages of notes

#33
post #2

I never understood the appeal of Feynman and these Lectures. It has been a constant topic for years around here. For example, the Electricity and Magnetism book by Purcell is phenomenal but it is hardly ever mentioned. To quote wikipedia, Electricity and Magnetism is a standard textbook in electromagnetism originally written by Nobel laureate Edward Mills Purcell in 1963. Along with David Griffiths' Introduction to E…

One collection that I always loved due to the clear exposition is the one from Walter Greiner[0]. It goes from zero to quite advanced theoretical physics topics in a very nice way. I think that sadly some volumes were never translated, so there is a gap if you read them in English. I never found anybody taking about Greiner, and at this point, I'm way too afraid to ask why. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Gr…

Greiner's QFT book is by far the best I've ever seen.

Re: Feynman's Hughes Lectures: 950 pages of notes

#35
post #2

I never understood the appeal of Feynman and these Lectures. It has been a constant topic for years around here. For example, the Electricity and Magnetism book by Purcell is phenomenal but it is hardly ever mentioned. To quote wikipedia, Electricity and Magnetism is a standard textbook in electromagnetism originally written by Nobel laureate Edward Mills Purcell in 1963. Along with David Griffiths' Introduction to E…

1) He had a HUGE amount of personal charisma. Some lecturers are watched because they know a lot or are famous, despite a lack of public speaking skills. Feynman could have gone into acting or politics the guy is genuinely entertaining and a VERY skilled presenter. Feynman's on camera personality is the professor from Gilligan's island but funnier and friendlier.

2) He got his Nobel price in peak boomer years 1965 and then didn't die until the end of the 80s. For boomers he is "their" generation's physicist just like the WWII gen had Einstein as "their" physicist. Who is "the" popular science fad physicist for the X-ers and younger? Hawking, maybe Susskind, possibly even Sabine, I guess?

3) IMHO he was an autodidact who wrote for fellow autodidacts. That is my learning style. His style REALLY STRONGLY resonates with me and my learning style. If you're capable of self-teaching you get a feel for who's your type of author and who is not. Feynman definitely writes books for people like me. His books and notes are all old, of course, which is sad. As for "moderns" who emit similar intense autodidact vibes, I'd suggest Schroeder and his famous "Introduction to Thermal Physics" from the turn of the century. I subjectively like that book. I don't care if there's a better way to learn bachelors thermodynamics by taking a course in a classroom or watching video lecture, I just like the book's style. Not the superficial style like typography but the organization and connectivity of the topics is very autodidactical, just like Feynman's books. To some extent, he's post-education in that once you are done officially learning, the rest of your life you're an autodidact, like it or not, and Feynman's style leans into that. I still remember as a kid in high school, where I took two years of public high school physics, paging thru a copy of Feynman's lectures in the library and it was so clear and so fascinating compared to my experience in "official classes with new textbooks".

Re: Feynman's Hughes Lectures: 950 pages of notes

#37
post #10
post #2

I never understood the appeal of Feynman and these Lectures. It has been a constant topic for years around here. For example, the Electricity and Magnetism book by Purcell is phenomenal but it is hardly ever mentioned. To quote wikipedia, Electricity and Magnetism is a standard textbook in electromagnetism originally written by Nobel laureate Edward Mills Purcell in 1963. Along with David Griffiths' Introduction to E…

Feynman was a uniquely gifted teacher that made things intuitive and simple. Those other books are course textbooks for physics majors, and they require an order of magnitude more effort and time to understand. When I was a physics student the best students seemed to use both types of materials simultaneously. A work like Feynmans would give a bigger picture and more intuitive understanding of what is going on and he…

Bang on.. Several thought experiments and constructs he would present in the lectures will elucidate/challenge a foundational concept in such a manner as to lead an inquisitive reader or student on a quest to absorb the extant knowledge just to be able to answer the conundrum satisfactorily. Many of these have since become classics.

Re: Feynman's Hughes Lectures: 950 pages of notes

#39
post #2

I never understood the appeal of Feynman and these Lectures. It has been a constant topic for years around here. For example, the Electricity and Magnetism book by Purcell is phenomenal but it is hardly ever mentioned. To quote wikipedia, Electricity and Magnetism is a standard textbook in electromagnetism originally written by Nobel laureate Edward Mills Purcell in 1963. Along with David Griffiths' Introduction to E…

Electricity and Magnetism by Purcell is one of my favorites too, especially the chapter on “The Fields of Moving Charges”.

Re: Feynman's Hughes Lectures: 950 pages of notes

#40
post #2

I never understood the appeal of Feynman and these Lectures. It has been a constant topic for years around here. For example, the Electricity and Magnetism book by Purcell is phenomenal but it is hardly ever mentioned. To quote wikipedia, Electricity and Magnetism is a standard textbook in electromagnetism originally written by Nobel laureate Edward Mills Purcell in 1963. Along with David Griffiths' Introduction to E…

Normal students learn the material from normal textbooks. The Feynman Lectures on Physics are a fantastic supplement and a great reference for people who already have a solid background. They’re not a practical introduction. Feynman acknowledged in his preface that, as an intro physics course, the Lectures were a failed experiment. Especially as a beginner it’s possible to read along with the Feynman Lectures and thi…

I agree. It's like a fairy tales book for Physic students. You learn from the main book and just before bed you read one of the lessons, just the relevant one. It's not a book to marathon, unless you have a (almost) complete degree in Physics, or something equivalent.
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