Theoretical Minimum (L. Susskind): Calling all wannabee slacker physicists

[deltasigma]

The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics

I can’t imagine what possessed Lenny to write this book, but if he had a demographic in mind, it had to be SDMB.

It essentially gives you the math and theory you need to understand quantum mechanics and other basics. And not just conceptually but to be able to stare down some of the fundamental equations (at least I think so since he goes into things like Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics).

If you’re interested, please chime in since it might be nice to get a small book club/study group going

[K364]

Thanks Delta, I’ve ordered this book from Amazon…

It looks like it focuses on Classical Physics - that’s great but I would also be interested in a overview of “New” Physics: Quantum, the Standard Model, etc

If you or anyone could recommend other “primers” I would appreciate it.

[Half_Man_Half_Wit]

I think it’s based on Susskind’s lecture series (available on YouTube), which is pretty much excellent. And yeah, everybody’s hoping that this is just the first book of what will become a series.

[Half_Man_Half_Wit]

@K364

Thanks Delta, I’ve ordered this book from Amazon…

It looks like it focuses on Classical Physics - that’s great but I would also be interested in a overview of “New” Physics: Quantum, the Standard Model, etc

If you or anyone could recommend other “primers” I would appreciate it.

The one I usually recommend is Penrose’s Road to Reality. It’s probably not as exhaustive as Susskind’s, but pretty much everything is in there somewhere, so you can really use it as a kind of ‘roadmap’ to navigate your way through a good chunk of the knowledge of modern physics. He’s got some nonstandard ideas (on quantum theory and its Interpretation, and about how that relates to the human mind, most notably), but he’s always upfront about that.

[deltasigma]

There are plenty of good laymen’s overviews. That’s not the point of this. This gives you the hard math you need.

[Sunspace]

Does it teach the math, though? 'Cause that’s what I’d need.

[deltasigma]

From the link in the OP

In the more limited goal of this book, the theoretical minimum is to understand physics as it actually works mathematically – beyond just the Scientific American level. Not to the level where you’re actually solving graduate textbook problems, but to the level where you know what the concept of a Lagrangian actually entails.

More impressive still is that the book entirely resists the temptation to skip to the good stuff – quantum mechanics and so on. This is a book which is purely about classical mechanics. More volumes are planned on electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, but for now this is the true basics. These basics of course turn out to be built into the fabric of electrodynamics and quantum mechanics, aside from the minor fact of the vast importance of classical mechanics in the world of practical problems.

[Boyo_Jim]

I recommend Physics for Poets, by my former physics teacher Bob March.

[Half_Man_Half_Wit]

@deltasigma

There are plenty of good laymen’s overviews. That’s not the point of this. This gives you the hard math you need.

Penrose doesn’t shy away from the math, either, though the introduction is probably somewhat more brief than what Susskind offers. And Keep in mind that Susskind’s, too, is a book written for laymen—you won’t get the full textbook level treatment from it, either. For that, I’d suggest a good textbook…

[deltasigma]

@Half_Man_Half_Wit

Penrose doesn’t shy away from the math, either, though the introduction is probably somewhat more brief than what Susskind offers. And Keep in mind that Susskind’s, too, is a book written for laymen—you won’t get the full textbook level treatment from it, either. For that, I’d suggest a good textbook…

Yes, I’m pretty sure that’s mentioned a few times in my link. The point once again is that this fills a niche that no other book does between dumbing this shit down for the masses and trying to teach you what you need to apply for a job at CERN.

[deltasigma]

Figured I’d post an update in case anyone else ordered the book and it somehow got coughlostcough. I thought maybe a word of encouragement might help.

I finally sat down and got through the first two lectures. He doesn’t call them chapters. Then he has sub-chapters he calls ‘interludes’, much like a mathematician might have a primary proof and lemmas I guess.

I won’t lie. He does buzz through things pretty quickly and were it not for the fact that I’m reading mainly for conceptual content rather being too concerned with the mechanics, it certainly would have taken me a lot longer.

Also, having had calculus will be a big help since by then end of the second chapter he’s done with integrals.

I’ve actually skimmed through chapter 4, and it’s still not too bad, but I definitely need to go over it again and I’m sure I’ll eventually hit a wall - certainly with the stuff on Hamiltonian mechanics.