Hi Nick, great vid as always ! May you clarify a point please (I never found a clear answer for that) ? If you fall in a black hole (A) and go beyond the even horizon, what happens if a much bigger black hole (B) is suddenly "passing by" at a very high speed ? Will you be expelled from (A)'s event horizon since the pull of (B) is much bigger ? If not, then would not that imply that more spacetime is created between the two black holes (because then you would remain beyond the even horizon despite being attracted strongly enough to be "before" the event horizon) ? Thanks in advance.
When I was studying Physics at school level and then undergraduate level, what truly made all the difference were the tests. Every Saturday morning for 1 year straight at school, I had to sit 1-2 hours doing a Physics test (+3 hours for the other subjects on the same day), and then at undergraduate level, it was 3-4 hours Physics test every Saturday for 2 years (always 4 questions: two easy, one advanced, one hard). You won't find many people with the discipline to do it, or to do it so consistently for years, so I can't see how youtube videos teaching the math can be useful to the general public, they are mostly a complement to mentoring or monitoring for undergrad students, however it's called in your country when a top student (must score +8 out of 10 in the previous semestre in the Physics subject) teaches new students when you're an undergrad in Physics or Engineering.
This video triggered quite a trip down memory lane for me. When I was a new physics teacher at a high school in Pasadena, I ended up with both of Richard Feynman's kids in my classes, and for several years after that he came to talk to my classes about topics in "modern" physics. I was happy to hear him say to my students that nobody really understands quantum mechanics because they thought that when I said the same thing that it meant that I didn't understand it. Kip Thorne visited my physics classes once to try to recruit more minority students for Caltech. And to top it off, I learned E&M from James Hartle at UCSB. He was one of the best teachers I ever had because he anticipated where we would have problems, and he taught us the math along with the physics.
Cool! In our email correspondence, James Hartle seemed like a really nice guy. I remember being so confused and my advisor was like "You could probably just email him. Worst thing that could happen is he won't answer." Hartle responded within 24 hours with the contact info for the person who made his graphs. It was incredibly helpful.
@@robertprentice8230 This was in the 1970s when minority students (and all girls) were routinely and purposely steered away from math/science classes. A decade earlier when I was in middle school all the boys were taught how to make furniture while the girls learned how to bake cakes. This kind of discrimination still goes on in a lot of places even today.
@@danielduncan576 It's things like this that is hard for people to understand these days when they know nothing about the history of education and how it affects generations.
This is perfect. A map to follow with important been-there-done-that hints. I will never walk this particular path, as advanced math eludes me, but as a retired teacher it is clear to me that this is exactly what the learner needs. Well done Nick!
Totally agree, It's nice to have these paths laid out for learners when it comes to particularly advanced things in advanced fields like this. I see discussions from a lot of people who struggled in graduate degree programs who might have benefited from this kind of advice but instead were given the "all the information is out there, just go learn it" directive instead.
@@Toefuy as a mathematician, I honestly think it's my attraction to the subject and a passion to discover answers, that keeps me from going insane Or ig it might be due to my Asperger's lol..it develops fixation to specific things in you.
I am currently reading your book "Advanced Theoretical Physics" and it's really good. I really enjoy reading and diving deeper into the fascinating world of physics. I can absolutely recommend it. Greetings from Germany :)
😂 (Also, I like how thorough your playlists are and they're better than watching an MIT lecture because no one has to squint trying to read a distant chalk board.)
@@ScienceAsylum Thanks. Making those videos was basically how I taught myself tensors. Although, like you, some of my earlier videos I'm not so happy with anymore. Didn't spend enough time proof-reading.
@@ScienceAsylum Nick, considering how you described M,T,&W as reference, I wish I'd known that some many decades ago when I bought the book, and tried to learn GR from it. It remained on my bookshelf for almost that long, and got very little use. I'm sure for many others, it was invaluable.
I was lucky to take a course in GR during my senior year of undergrad back in 89/90. It was taught by the math department. The first semester was differential geometry and SR. The second semester was applying all of that to the R(3+1) manifold of spacetime. I have to say spending the time learning the math of diff geom and tensor analysis and calculus before diving into GR was a fantastic approach. BTW, the running joke at the time was that Miser, Thorn and Wheeler could be no other text than on GR because it was so dense it bent light around it. (Yeah physics jokes for the win :))
Yeah, I took a differential geometry course in the math department too. It was helpful, but not as much as I had hoped. (That's a funny joke! If I had known it, I would have included it in this video for sure.)
Quick note, I do want to mention MIT provides free lectures of GR online. I also want to say that GR is very math-intensive. That isn’t to say that you can’t learn it, just be prepared to struggle. Some other suggestions are to try studying electricity and magnetism first. David Griffith’s E&M textbook is super good for a beginner comfortable with vector calculus (Calc 3 at most universities). E&M provides insight as to exactly why special relativity makes sense and will help a lot with understanding the subject
@@misterlau5246 When compared to intro quantum, yes, by far, lol. Most people don’t realize GR is typically a grad level course. I’d say GR is probably closer to maybe quantum field theory in terms of difficulty.
@@joshuagrumski7459 man, those excitations of fields are transients. 😳 Infinity everywhere, except we have the >h/4pi stuff and renormalising that stuff is the key. Those fields are worse in chromodinamics. I love electrodynamics, Rick Feynman did a great job creating that framework with the diagrams!
As a fellow holder of an MS in physics, I celebrate the distinctions between PhD and non-PhD. Too often a PhD (the credential) is mistakenly taken to mean the recipient is an expert at all things in a discipline, which is most certainly not the case (if you’ve ever taken a college physics course you know what I mean). Anyone can understand anything regardless of the letters behind one’s name.
I agree. The fact that I have a Ph.D. mostly just means that I passed a series of tests (a comprehensive exam) with high enough scores to be allowed to work on a dissertation project. I spent a few years of the project and learned a lot during the process (and pushed the limits of human knowledge slightly), but I didn't learn any more about areas of physics that were not closely related to my project.
One comment about getting a PhD: it does not only make you proficient in one tiny area of science, but also teaches you diverse research skills, and you get to meet experienced researchers from many different related fields. I'm sure you can do that also without getting a PhD, but most Masters I know have not gone into research, so they did not acquire nor require those skills.
Nick, Brother, I'm always pleased to see a new upload from ya. ALWAYS. I'm no scientist other than what my obsession with science has made me . I'm a retired carpenter who now builds ultra custom cutting boards. So geometry is as deep as I get in practice,mathematically. I've got several favorite science channels. Your right up top on my list. And" wife reacts" are most of our favorites (I'm assuming) . Em and you are truly entertaining and educational to watch. Much love Brother.
You know, these maths are like scary. Then, you get it. Like the geometry you are expert at, more dimensions? Yeah Matrix math. But honestly. After I wasn't scared anymore I just saw the table it represents. Cheers. You know many theoretical dudes can't build physical stuff? I mean, you know how to build things for real with wood. Just because they don't do it. I have my degree and stuff but I prefer building stuff than calculating by hand. Maybe you could try to build some of the math stuff. Just check Riemann surfaces, then manifold and stuff. If you can build it, you will understand it. And I could, why can't others?
I have an engineering degree but ended up teaching high school physics. Your videos have been absolutely awesome - used quite a few in class - hope that's ok man!!
I don't think I'll be pursuing physics after high school but still it is a very enlightening video.... It encourages me to actually go through the basics myself... This is kinda the fundamental of real education. Thanks I liked this
Carlo Rovelli with General Relativity - The Essentials was most helpful for me; will get Sean Carrolls book next as I already ordered his newest book soon to be released Biggest Ideas in the Universe about space and time.
I love that you're honest about how not just you, but edutaiment as a whole is not enough to learn. While I study law, physics and astronomy is my platonic love, so I try to learn the most from channels like your and online articles but I know there is a limit on how far I can go without a formal education in the matter. I apreciate that you share your own sources and methodology with us in this honest way so we know what is important in Order to learn properly
EDUtainment is meant as a solid start. Here's this interesting thing and this is some of the physics connected to it. It's necessary to get people excited, but the hope is that some viewers will go learn more.
This here is great. As a mechanical engineer GR was never part of our education but I was interested in in since highschool. My fascination for Einstein was the significant reason for me to get into physics. Up to recently I was kinda afraid of GR to be honest but hopefully your guide will help me get at least into it
For regular Joe’s like me “Einstein, Relatively Simple” by Ira Mark Egdall is great. It claims “Our Universe Revealed in Everyday Language”, and does an excellent job delivering on that claim.
Thanks... Always wanted to learn a bit more about it but always thought that it would be too much for me. Reading the author's words, I think this book may help me a bit to some extent.
We already live in some questionable times, and this is the timeline where the Feynman lectures exist. Imagine what it would be like if they didn't. Volume 1 chapter 31 to this day is still as good as the first time I read it
Coincidentally, my first GR textbook was J. Hartle's " Gravity " too.. And afterwards, R. Wald's: a classic, more advanced for those that are more mathematically inclined. S. Carroll 's textbook is great also, in my opinion, one of the best at an " intermediate" level ( between Hartle's and Wald's). C.Rovelli has published an introductory textbook also, for those that prefer something more brief or less extended than the other ones.
Thanks for the great video. I'm a physics professor and regularly send my students to your channel to supplement my classes. Your style is idiosyncratic and informative, perfectly complementing rigorous study. Just ordered your book and look forward to soaking up your unique insights and sharing it with my students.
I think the book by Einstein himself provides a good introduction to SR. The language is not too easy, but it's not too difficult either and it just feels awesome to read about the thought experiments presented by Einstein himself. The book also covers GR, but I haven't made it through this part yet, so I can't judge.
This is awesome! Thanks for making this video. I have already ordered the first book. I'm curious though, what level of math do you think someone needs as a prerequisite for these books?
Calc is a must, but differential equations would be better. If you don't have that background, I'd recommend watching a couple of 3blue1brown's playlists before you start reading. GR is mostly tensor math, but that stuff is usually taught to you as you read.
Going to have a dive into the tensors videos linked here. I've got a good understanding of the basics, but lack a good working knowledge of Tensors. Thanks for the links!
7:00 I know it sounds silly but it's very interesting to see the wear of the book It reminds you that nobody knows everything, and that science is really more about knowing where and how to search instead of trying to remember everything
Nice tips, I learned GR from Carrolls's lecture notes , i must say that it was a good source for learning. I also learned some stuff from Eigenchris videos and some other sources online. I definetly think that a combination of both the right book and good online sources is perfect to learn such subjects, gives more "point of views" on the subject and different explainations can be usefull to understand deeply a concept
Thank you for this video! I have experienced a TH-cam college reunion: I took the same course as another commenter in Differential Geometry & Relativity created and offered by a math professor at Johns Hopkins in 1989-90. Neat! That class gave a strong and solid mathematical foundation to the topic. My graduate studies and life went in different directions, but I've often thought I'd like to return to Relativity with my now more mature mind; this feeling has intensified in recent years and then voila! You create this video - thank you! Interesting that some of the texts and still THE texts. You are an excellent physicist and educator, and I continually enjoy your stimulating content. I enjoy it as someone who continued on the path to achieve a PhD in physics, for me one of the most challenging accomplishments in my life. While I was required to become an expert in a niche topic (granted), more significantly, I had to generate new physics knowledge and communicate that discovery to the world in the form of a thesis - a relative big deal and I believe more than a bump on a diagram. Best wishes
As a person looking at graduate textbooks in maths, I assure you that the book at 2:20 is in fact the adult equivalent of a book with colours. it has figures and few walls of text, which is just beautiful
I'm only up to 6:43, but the this is already one of my favorite you've done. Explaining the your background, owning the masters (congrats), and the shots of books are well done and like the wood, the angle, lighting, and how they're accented with bookmarks. Though the math is a language I cannot read. This video shows multiple levels of mastery. I wanted to be a PhD in neuroscience. Got a BA in English in 2005, went back to school in US in 2013, did a BA in psych taking grad level classes for BA credits. I really wanted to study biology, but I couldn't get through algebra required to enter chem required to enter biology due to dyscalculia in distracting environments (university lecture rooms and computer labs with hundreds of people and noises). I was able to get through the course work by using brown noise stuffed in ear buds and brought my failing stats grade to 100%. Long story short, moved back to Tokyo in 2015 to study neuro-education, but due to financial and family issues, I had to start working instead. I got into medical editing and ended up working on papers for Japanese researches from editing to ghost writing and getting them published. I wanted to be able to edit science papers outside of medicine, so started watching particle physics on TH-cam as a crash course, which is how I found your channel. It's a great shame to me that I wasn't able to get a masters or PhD, even though I aced the grad level coursework (for undergrad credits). Now I've switched focus to audio engineering. It's fun because it uses both neurophysiology (hearing) and physics (sound waves). I teach English, but from an understanding on how the brain makes long term memories, and use techniques focused on those applications. So this video resonated with me. I'm embarrassed that I don't even have a masters. But i know we can teach ourselves anything by following the research. Yes, the references of Wikipedia are important. Thank you.
Wow. Your life has been a roller coaster. You seem to have turned out ok though 🙂. Don't be embarrassed through. Like I said in the video, degrees don't say as much about you as people tend to think.
Unique topic, and I am so happy, since I have been asking so many times for it! Wanted to do it slowly, for the rest of my life, thank you for this, it will help a lot!
Although it's not an official "textbook," the English versions of Einstein's papers, including corrections, are available online for free.His writings are easily readable and explain the problems with combining _Newtonian_ gravity with _special_ relativity. The papers published before 1916 had been written before there was a complete solution to the field equation, so Einstein's derivation of _Newtonian_ gravity is explained without assuming the readers have already mastered differential geometry, tensors, and curved spacetime.
For my exam of GR I used (and really liked) "Schutz B.-A First Course in General Relativity-Cambridge University Press (2009)" The author uses the "wrong" convention on the signature, but except for some strange minus here and there, it's really explained well and in a easy way
I can recommend _Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology_ by Robert Lambourne (Cambridge University Press, 2010). This was written as an Open University course book, so it's specifically designed for self-study, and includes exercises - with solutions!
wow thank you very much, this is so much valuable for someone who self teaches. If possible a whole self study guide for physics from start would be appreciated.
Practice is by far the best way to learn something. I did a Cosmology and Relativity paper at University back in 2000 during a stint working at a Job in which I had a lot spare time on my hands. Every week we were given a problem to research and because this was also my only paper, I was able to spend an absurd time of time on it. I had only been a solid B to C student prior to that when I had been a full time student, but for that one off paper I ended up with an almost perfect final mark. Practice and having the time to practice.
I love your content maaaan. I binged most of it the first time, then gone back and watch them more attentively, and now I cherish when I see a new video uploaded. The mix of hard-core science with personality quirks is delightful.
At my university, Carroll's lecture notes were used to introduce GR and it's great. Wald was too difficult for me to follow without going through Carroll first.
I am 76 now, and I realiza that my mind isn‘t as flexible as it used to be. Therefore I started to look videos on Physics and Math, just for mind training. What do I still understand, what is still understandable for me and where I still habe a chance when looking into the books. Your videos are really perfect on for this purpose. I regard your list as a good recommondation. Feynman is a must, even though he was a real macho. What I still would like to really understand is the geometry of the 4-dimensional Lorentz-Manifold with the Minkowski-Space as tangent. For my way of looking at general relativity this is essential. But till now, I didn’t find to much on this in the books. PS: Your pronounciation of „Freund“ was perfect (second try). Much better than my english is. (;-).
The tangent space (tensor bundles) is simply the reduction of GR to SR. The formalism of GR is such that it must reduce to SR under certain circumstances. One way to see this is Taylor expand the metric at a point and you will recover the SR space and you can see where the GR terms creep up. This is one way of introducing the Riemann curvature tensor since you precisely, if so desired with an actual metric, at what space time length (interval) in which a SR approximation fails. Good luck.
@@tethyn That is exactly what I said (or wanted to say). General Relativity is a system of differential equations, but does not define the global Topology or Geometry of the underlying 4-dimensional Lorentz Manifold. And the devil hides in the topological details. This accounts for the known (and unknown) different solutions. And by definition, a Tangent Space to the respektive Lorentz Manifold is a 4-dimensional Minkowsky Space with its„weird“ non positiv definte metric. In some way, Special Relativity and General Relativity are analog to the „Flat Earth Model“ and the „Sphere Model“ of our planet (:-). This view really helps, if one is to lazy to calculate (like me). Anyhow, thanks for your comment. PS: Meanwhile I try to find a way to construct a wormhole through the atlantic. When I suceded, I will visit you in the US. Might become an interesting conversation (For me, at least(;-).)
There are many paths to GR and it really depends on what you are tying to do with it in the future that determines the most efficient path. I went from AP French Special Relativity to Shultz a first course in general relativity, then relativity gravitation and cosmology by Cheng, relativity by stephani, General Relativity by Wald and large Scale structure of space time by hawking and Ellis. MTW is a great resource but it is truly that. As far as practice problems With content, Shutz, Cheng and Stephani are great and not too mathematically complex (though each step is a bit more difficult then the previous). Relativity Demystified is not a good learning book but goes through basic GR calculations including Schwarzchild solutions. And lastly mathematical methods for physicists by Arfken for a mathematical reference. Differential topology is a great way to look at GR and helps those looking at cosmological perspective without imposing an actual metric on the topology. Good luck and the time and effort will be rewarding.
I am currently reading Einstein's own book on special and general relativity. It sure is crisp and concise. Looking forward to reading the undergraduate one you suggested after that. Thanks.😃
I liked "A short course in General Relativity" by Foster & Nightingale as a first book. Somewhat lightweight and with some exercises. While still quite early getting into the actual field equations.
They are absolutely worth it. But you do have to bring some concentration. They are not infotainment. The dedicatedTensor playlists go into a lot of detail while the Relativity playlist focuses more on the application in Einstein's theories while explaining the relevant aspects of the math.
Don't ever let any PhD make you feel bad about being a master of physics. In the inspiring words of Darth Vader: "When I met you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master."
9:31 seems so satisfying that you mentioned Dr Physics he is the only one who's explanation of Mathematics seems Interestingly simple to understand don't know what magic hidden in him .
You haven't only learned a german name, you also learned the german word for friend. Good to know if you want to visit our Moria through the west gate.
I find the most pressing issue whenever I try to teach myself something is forgetting "previous chapter's" information and not realizing it. However, the issue goes beyond simple forgetfulness. In math, I feel the difference between a beginner and a master is that beginners need everything spelled out to them while masters only need "the gist" to proceed. To better understand what I mean by this, consider this example. Imagine finding the area of a strange polygon. Give the problem to a master and have that master explain how it did it to a complete beginner. The master will likely say some like "I broke the shape up into a bunch of easily calculable areas and added them together". The beginner would then ask "how". Masters condense many steps into a single statement and know what it means, allowing them to more easily think about novel situations and trust their ability to follow through. When I leave a past chapter and am unable to think novelly pull knowledge from it in a condensed form to think about something, it means I left before mastering it, and the details may soon be lost to time without realizing it. Figuring out when I've mastered an idea as opposed to being temporarily competent in it is difficult to say the least, but I have to move in eventually or else he trapped in a cycle of unconfident meandering. I thought of "cumulative homework" to prevent this from becoming an issue, but books have a limited number of problems, waiting to do them until much later on comes at the cost of crucial practice now. The fundamental question is how does one structure practice to mastery as opposed to temporary understanding. Thank you for listening to my TED talk *outro noises*.
I usually take notes as I read. There's about half a page to a page of notes for each chapter that I can refer back to when needed. It doesn't always work though because, sometimes, what I _thought_ was important wasn't _actually_ important.
@@ScienceAsylum I've heard of the approach of taking notes only after a chapter or subchapter is completely so you can better recall important details, but I haven't tried it yet. Thanks for the reply btw.
One of the easiest books to start with and understand the very basics is surprisingly "The Theory of Special and General Relativity" by Einstein himself. This is a book written for college audience with minimum equations but clearly explaining his entire reasoning from the start. This book opened my mind ☺
Thank you! Very helpful! Difficult topic, GR...but it has consumed me...and I am always thinking about it. No easy pathway. No quick understanding. This type of long hard mental pursuit is nearly gone in our new world.
I appreciate that the recent videos have featured an overall more sedate tone, both in host and editing style. Additionally, the perfectly-rectilinear overhead book shot is very satisfying to observe.
I knew you taught physics but didnt know much more. Its a great achievement to have obtained such a higher level of understanding of a subject. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge
Another useful resource for GR could be David Tong's notes online, I have found them really useful because they cover all the concepts of physics, so even if you need some basics to be cleared without reading through a whole text on that concept, you can just go and read that section in his notes (this is how it has worked for me till now). And personally, I love the way he has explained concepts.
This is very good advice. Another commenter pointed out the online GR lectures from MIT. Those lectures are by Scott Hughes, an outstanding GR theorist. I also have a series of GR lectures on my youtube channel "Physics Unsimplified". Each video includes several practice problems. As Nick says, you cannot learn the material well unless you work through problems.
Thank you for the reference list. For a self paced student this is extremely helpful. :) > > 4:48 One of the most difficult (time consuming) parts, but also one of the most rewarding in self paced learning is creating your own practice problems (in some sense creating the practice problem is the practice problem lol) as well as coming up with ways do do self knowledge/skill tests (and in some sense the same, creating the test turns into the test).
Thanks for sharing Nick. Now I know where to start although finding the time will be challenging. SR took me close to a 1000 hours (including Youtubing about it) over a 3-year period in between 'life' but during those hours I was fully emerged in my happy zone.
9:32 fortunately my confidence survived when you mentioned Dr physics because I already have watched his many videos with maths ,i am extremely bad in maths but the way he explains like blackhole , dark matter , in his videos with mathematics was so easy to understand compair to any any others but nowadays his videos not comes to my notification atleast.
Nice video. I find it interesting to learn about the materials you use for your videos. I didn't know you have written a book! Keep the good work. And as you say, it's ok to be a little creazy!!
I'm not a scientist, just an average programmer who loves science, struggling with ADHD and having problems finding motivation to dig deeper into physics than TH-cam videos. So it might take years until I finally read anything you showed in this video. But thank you for doing it, your list will be the first thing I try, if I ever make it all the way to GR. I love your videos, the way you explain concepts, and I trust your expertise. If anyone can explain science that well, he definitely knows his stuff. Seeing Sean M. Carroll's book was a pleasant surprise, since he is one of my favourite science communicators. In fact, he may be one of a kind: not only he explains things very well, he also does it succinctly, with humour, and his speech is almost impeccable. Virtually no filler words in his lectures, and very few in his Mindscape podcast. It must have taken him decades to master that.
By the way, I googled the book, and in the book description to the right of the search results, the second sentence reads: "Using a lucid style, Carroll first covers the foundations..." Just a funny little thing :)
One day, your ADHD hyper-focus might set its sights on GR 😉... but obviously there's no rush. Do it on your own time. I understand struggling with disability.
This video has been fantastic! You have no idea how much I appreciate that you do this. If I wasn't always struggling to afford to live I be one of those supporters helping you afford to make these videos. But I wanted to at least be able to tell you how much I appreciate these.
6:11 I love how your book looks so clearly like it's written in LaTeX. Usually I crap on people for using the default Microsoft Word theme, but I always respect LaTeX (and all other TeX things)
Yep. I actually taught myself LaTeX while writing that book. I used MS Word for my masters thesis (because change is hard) and it was a nightmare. Learned my lesson.
My favorite is A General Relativity Workbook. Idk I like the format and the small chunks.I also like the fact you have to do a lot of moderately difficult but doable problem . Incredibly helpful to build intuition. I tried Hartle, Carroll and also Wheeler before that but without success. Seems like those are meant for theorists.
People have always thought something was wrong with me because I admitted that I knew nothing about gravity. Some people are simple-minded thinking they know everything. I was never that person. Thanks for the references. I will be sure to look for them.
The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/thescienceasylum08221
I’ve got a copy of Gravitation! Woo hoo!
You're more amazing with your new ... cant put my finger on it. You two are greater than ever. Long time listener
Why don't you try mit opencourse
Hi Nick, great vid as always ! May you clarify a point please (I never found a clear answer for that) ?
If you fall in a black hole (A) and go beyond the even horizon, what happens if a much bigger black hole (B) is suddenly "passing by" at a very high speed ? Will you be expelled from (A)'s event horizon since the pull of (B) is much bigger ? If not, then would not that imply that more spacetime is created between the two black holes (because then you would remain beyond the even horizon despite being attracted strongly enough to be "before" the event horizon) ? Thanks in advance.
When I was studying Physics at school level and then undergraduate level, what truly made all the difference were the tests. Every Saturday morning for 1 year straight at school, I had to sit 1-2 hours doing a Physics test (+3 hours for the other subjects on the same day), and then at undergraduate level, it was 3-4 hours Physics test every Saturday for 2 years (always 4 questions: two easy, one advanced, one hard). You won't find many people with the discipline to do it, or to do it so consistently for years, so I can't see how youtube videos teaching the math can be useful to the general public, they are mostly a complement to mentoring or monitoring for undergrad students, however it's called in your country when a top student (must score +8 out of 10 in the previous semestre in the Physics subject) teaches new students when you're an undergrad in Physics or Engineering.
This video triggered quite a trip down memory lane for me. When I was a new physics teacher at a high school in Pasadena, I ended up with both of Richard Feynman's kids in my classes, and for several years after that he came to talk to my classes about topics in "modern" physics. I was happy to hear him say to my students that nobody really understands quantum mechanics because they thought that when I said the same thing that it meant that I didn't understand it. Kip Thorne visited my physics classes once to try to recruit more minority students for Caltech. And to top it off, I learned E&M from James Hartle at UCSB. He was one of the best teachers I ever had because he anticipated where we would have problems, and he taught us the math along with the physics.
Cool! In our email correspondence, James Hartle seemed like a really nice guy. I remember being so confused and my advisor was like "You could probably just email him. Worst thing that could happen is he won't answer." Hartle responded within 24 hours with the contact info for the person who made his graphs. It was incredibly helpful.
Why did Kip Thorne not try to recruit the best students
@@robertprentice8230 This was in the 1970s when minority students (and all girls) were routinely and purposely steered away from math/science classes. A decade earlier when I was in middle school all the boys were taught how to make furniture while the girls learned how to bake cakes. This kind of discrimination still goes on in a lot of places even today.
@@danielduncan576 It's things like this that is hard for people to understand these days when they know nothing about the history of education and how it affects generations.
@@robertprentice8230 Do the best students have a problem finding their way to Caltech?
This is perfect. A map to follow with important been-there-done-that hints. I will never walk this particular path, as advanced math eludes me, but as a retired teacher it is clear to me that this is exactly what the learner needs. Well done Nick!
Totally agree, It's nice to have these paths laid out for learners when it comes to particularly advanced things in advanced fields like this. I see discussions from a lot of people who struggled in graduate degree programs who might have benefited from this kind of advice but instead were given the "all the information is out there, just go learn it" directive instead.
I’m always wondering somewhere in my humble vast mind, what keeps you from going a lot crazy?
@@Toefuy as a mathematician, I honestly think it's my attraction to the subject and a passion to discover answers, that keeps me from going insane
Or ig it might be due to my Asperger's lol..it develops fixation to specific things in you.
I am currently reading your book "Advanced Theoretical Physics" and it's really good. I really enjoy reading and diving deeper into the fascinating world of physics. I can absolutely recommend it. Greetings from Germany :)
Can you rate his German pronunciation in the video?🤣
That book is so good at teaching, the author should start a TH-cam channel.
Where can I find it?
He wrote a book?!?!
@@ynotds6205 I can 7/10. especially the ü sound wasn't quite right.
I'm a math undergrad and was so happy to see eigenchris's playlist, his lectures on tensors are some of the best on the subject
You mean maths...I see its going well....
@@manoo422 if this was a burn, it wasn't a good one lol
The Misner, Thorne and Wheeler book is great for practical experience with gravity because of how heavy it is.
(also, thanks for the shoutout!)
😂 (Also, I like how thorough your playlists are and they're better than watching an MIT lecture because no one has to squint trying to read a distant chalk board.)
@@ScienceAsylum Thanks. Making those videos was basically how I taught myself tensors. Although, like you, some of my earlier videos I'm not so happy with anymore. Didn't spend enough time proof-reading.
Your playlist is the best explanations I have seen on Tensors. Thank you so much for making them.
I love you both, keep on rocking guys!
@@ScienceAsylum Nick, considering how you described M,T,&W as reference, I wish I'd known that some many decades ago when I bought the book, and tried to learn GR from it. It remained on my bookshelf for almost that long, and got very little use. I'm sure for many others, it was invaluable.
This is one of the better videos on how to actually learn these subjects I've ever seen. Good work on this!
Thanks! 🙂
I was lucky to take a course in GR during my senior year of undergrad back in 89/90. It was taught by the math department. The first semester was differential geometry and SR. The second semester was applying all of that to the R(3+1) manifold of spacetime. I have to say spending the time learning the math of diff geom and tensor analysis and calculus before diving into GR was a fantastic approach.
BTW, the running joke at the time was that Miser, Thorn and Wheeler could be no other text than on GR because it was so dense it bent light around it. (Yeah physics jokes for the win :))
Yeah, I took a differential geometry course in the math department too. It was helpful, but not as much as I had hoped.
(That's a funny joke! If I had known it, I would have included it in this video for sure.)
Wish these courses were offered at my school! We have SR (taking that next semester) but not GR
My MSc was quantum stuff.
And yes, mannigfaltigkeit I mean Riemannian manifold.
That was cool. In complex var it ends with surfaces.
Cheers
Hmm my quantum text, Griffiths was like 1000 pages.
I thought quantum stuff wasn't affected by GR
XD dx/dt
@@misterlau5246 The wavefunction of ur reply has collapsed
Quick note, I do want to mention MIT provides free lectures of GR online. I also want to say that GR is very math-intensive. That isn’t to say that you can’t learn it, just be prepared to struggle.
Some other suggestions are to try studying electricity and magnetism first. David Griffith’s E&M textbook is super good for a beginner comfortable with vector calculus (Calc 3 at most universities). E&M provides insight as to exactly why special relativity makes sense and will help a lot with understanding the subject
*"I also want to say that GR is very math-intensive. That isn’t to say that you can’t learn it, just be prepared to struggle."*
💯
Yes!
Quantum math is way easier than GR
@@misterlau5246 When compared to intro quantum, yes, by far, lol. Most people don’t realize GR is typically a grad level course. I’d say GR is probably closer to maybe quantum field theory in terms of difficulty.
@@joshuagrumski7459 man, those excitations of fields are transients.
😳
Infinity everywhere, except we have the >h/4pi stuff and renormalising that stuff is the key.
Those fields are worse in chromodinamics.
I love electrodynamics, Rick Feynman did a great job creating that framework with the diagrams!
For anyone looking, it's in here -> th-cam.com/users/mitocwplaylists
As a fellow holder of an MS in physics, I celebrate the distinctions between PhD and non-PhD. Too often a PhD (the credential) is mistakenly taken to mean the recipient is an expert at all things in a discipline, which is most certainly not the case (if you’ve ever taken a college physics course you know what I mean). Anyone can understand anything regardless of the letters behind one’s name.
I agree. The fact that I have a Ph.D. mostly just means that I passed a series of tests (a comprehensive exam) with high enough scores to be allowed to work on a dissertation project. I spent a few years of the project and learned a lot during the process (and pushed the limits of human knowledge slightly), but I didn't learn any more about areas of physics that were not closely related to my project.
@pyropulse A PhD isn’t necessary for what we do.
One comment about getting a PhD: it does not only make you proficient in one tiny area of science, but also teaches you diverse research skills, and you get to meet experienced researchers from many different related fields. I'm sure you can do that also without getting a PhD, but most Masters I know have not gone into research, so they did not acquire nor require those skills.
Nick, Brother, I'm always pleased to see a new upload from ya. ALWAYS. I'm no scientist other than what my obsession with science has made me . I'm a retired carpenter who now builds ultra custom cutting boards. So geometry is as deep as I get in practice,mathematically. I've got several favorite science channels. Your right up top on my list. And" wife reacts" are most of our favorites (I'm assuming) . Em and you are truly entertaining and educational to watch. Much love Brother.
The conversational video style with my wife are going to be a regular thing. About once or twice per year, I have a topic well suited for it.
You know, these maths are like scary.
Then, you get it. Like the geometry you are expert at, more dimensions?
Yeah Matrix math. But honestly. After I wasn't scared anymore I just saw the table it represents.
Cheers.
You know many theoretical dudes can't build physical stuff? I mean, you know how to build things for real with wood.
Just because they don't do it.
I have my degree and stuff but I prefer building stuff than calculating by hand.
Maybe you could try to build some of the math stuff. Just check Riemann surfaces, then manifold and stuff.
If you can build it, you will understand it. And I could, why can't others?
Your pronounciation of "Jürgen Freund" was already pretty good!Greetz from Germany 🇩🇪
Thanks!
I have an engineering degree but ended up teaching high school physics. Your videos have been absolutely awesome - used quite a few in class - hope that's ok man!!
I love to hear about my videos being used in classrooms 🙂
I don't think I'll be pursuing physics after high school but still it is a very enlightening video.... It encourages me to actually go through the basics myself... This is kinda the fundamental of real education. Thanks I liked this
Hey Nick, Plz dont stop suggesting books like this...! This is really helpful..! I am Currently an Undergrad in physics...!
Carlo Rovelli with General Relativity - The Essentials was most helpful for me; will get Sean Carrolls book next as I already ordered his newest book soon to be released Biggest Ideas in the Universe about space and time.
Thank you, This is exactly what I was looking for!!
I love that you're honest about how not just you, but edutaiment as a whole is not enough to learn. While I study law, physics and astronomy is my platonic love, so I try to learn the most from channels like your and online articles but I know there is a limit on how far I can go without a formal education in the matter. I apreciate that you share your own sources and methodology with us in this honest way so we know what is important in Order to learn properly
EDUtainment is meant as a solid start. Here's this interesting thing and this is some of the physics connected to it. It's necessary to get people excited, but the hope is that some viewers will go learn more.
Love your channel Nick. Crazy or serious, doesn't matter, you're the best. Thank you
This here is great. As a mechanical engineer GR was never part of our education but I was interested in in since highschool. My fascination for Einstein was the significant reason for me to get into physics. Up to recently I was kinda afraid of GR to be honest but hopefully your guide will help me get at least into it
For regular Joe’s like me “Einstein, Relatively Simple” by Ira Mark Egdall is great. It claims “Our Universe Revealed in Everyday Language”, and does an excellent job delivering on that claim.
Thanks... Always wanted to learn a bit more about it but always thought that it would be too much for me. Reading the author's words, I think this book may help me a bit to some extent.
We already live in some questionable times, and this is the timeline where the Feynman lectures exist. Imagine what it would be like if they didn't. Volume 1 chapter 31 to this day is still as good as the first time I read it
Coincidentally, my first GR textbook was J. Hartle's " Gravity " too..
And afterwards, R. Wald's: a classic, more advanced for those that are more mathematically inclined.
S. Carroll 's textbook is great also, in my opinion, one of the best at an " intermediate" level ( between Hartle's and Wald's).
C.Rovelli has published an introductory textbook also, for those that prefer something more brief or less extended than the other ones.
Thanks for the great video. I'm a physics professor and regularly send my students to your channel to supplement my classes. Your style is idiosyncratic and informative, perfectly complementing rigorous study. Just ordered your book and look forward to soaking up your unique insights and sharing it with my students.
That's great! Thanks for sharing.
I think the book by Einstein himself provides a good introduction to SR. The language is not too easy, but it's not too difficult either and it just feels awesome to read about the thought experiments presented by Einstein himself. The book also covers GR, but I haven't made it through this part yet, so I can't judge.
Is there a link to that?
I am agree with Carsten Siemers
@@-_Nuke_- You can find PDFs of Einstein's 4 lectures at Princeton on relativity.
This is awesome! Thanks for making this video. I have already ordered the first book. I'm curious though, what level of math do you think someone needs as a prerequisite for these books?
Calc is a must, but differential equations would be better. If you don't have that background, I'd recommend watching a couple of 3blue1brown's playlists before you start reading. GR is mostly tensor math, but that stuff is usually taught to you as you read.
Going to have a dive into the tensors videos linked here. I've got a good understanding of the basics, but lack a good working knowledge of Tensors. Thanks for the links!
7:00 I know it sounds silly but it's very interesting to see the wear of the book
It reminds you that nobody knows everything, and that science is really more about knowing where and how to search instead of trying to remember everything
Nice tips, I learned GR from Carrolls's lecture notes , i must say that it was a good source for learning. I also learned some stuff from Eigenchris videos and some other sources online. I definetly think that a combination of both the right book and good online sources is perfect to learn such subjects, gives more "point of views" on the subject and different explainations can be usefull to understand deeply a concept
Thank you for this video! I have experienced a TH-cam college reunion: I took the same course as another commenter in Differential Geometry & Relativity created and offered by a math professor at Johns Hopkins in 1989-90. Neat! That class gave a strong and solid mathematical foundation to the topic. My graduate studies and life went in different directions, but I've often thought I'd like to return to Relativity with my now more mature mind; this feeling has intensified in recent years and then voila! You create this video - thank you! Interesting that some of the texts and still THE texts. You are an excellent physicist and educator, and I continually enjoy your stimulating content. I enjoy it as someone who continued on the path to achieve a PhD in physics, for me one of the most challenging accomplishments in my life. While I was required to become an expert in a niche topic (granted), more significantly, I had to generate new physics knowledge and communicate that discovery to the world in the form of a thesis - a relative big deal and I believe more than a bump on a diagram. Best wishes
As a person looking at graduate textbooks in maths, I assure you that the book at 2:20 is in fact the adult equivalent of a book with colours. it has figures and few walls of text, which is just beautiful
I'm only up to 6:43, but the this is already one of my favorite you've done. Explaining the your background, owning the masters (congrats), and the shots of books are well done and like the wood, the angle, lighting, and how they're accented with bookmarks. Though the math is a language I cannot read. This video shows multiple levels of mastery.
I wanted to be a PhD in neuroscience. Got a BA in English in 2005, went back to school in US in 2013, did a BA in psych taking grad level classes for BA credits. I really wanted to study biology, but I couldn't get through algebra required to enter chem required to enter biology due to dyscalculia in distracting environments (university lecture rooms and computer labs with hundreds of people and noises). I was able to get through the course work by using brown noise stuffed in ear buds and brought my failing stats grade to 100%. Long story short, moved back to Tokyo in 2015 to study neuro-education, but due to financial and family issues, I had to start working instead. I got into medical editing and ended up working on papers for Japanese researches from editing to ghost writing and getting them published. I wanted to be able to edit science papers outside of medicine, so started watching particle physics on TH-cam as a crash course, which is how I found your channel. It's a great shame to me that I wasn't able to get a masters or PhD, even though I aced the grad level coursework (for undergrad credits). Now I've switched focus to audio engineering. It's fun because it uses both neurophysiology (hearing) and physics (sound waves). I teach English, but from an understanding on how the brain makes long term memories, and use techniques focused on those applications. So this video resonated with me. I'm embarrassed that I don't even have a masters. But i know we can teach ourselves anything by following the research. Yes, the references of Wikipedia are important. Thank you.
Wow. Your life has been a roller coaster. You seem to have turned out ok though 🙂. Don't be embarrassed through. Like I said in the video, degrees don't say as much about you as people tend to think.
Unique topic, and I am so happy, since I have been asking so many times for it! Wanted to do it slowly, for the rest of my life, thank you for this, it will help a lot!
I hope this helps you out 🙂
Although it's not an official "textbook," the English versions of Einstein's papers, including corrections, are available online for free.His writings are easily readable and explain the problems with combining _Newtonian_ gravity with _special_ relativity.
The papers published before 1916 had been written before there was a complete solution to the field equation, so Einstein's derivation of _Newtonian_ gravity is explained without assuming the readers have already mastered differential geometry, tensors, and curved spacetime.
Can you link it bro I don't know how to search for it 😅😅😅😅
Thank you.
For my exam of GR I used (and really liked) "Schutz B.-A First Course in General Relativity-Cambridge University Press (2009)"
The author uses the "wrong" convention on the signature, but except for some strange minus here and there, it's really explained well and in a easy way
It was smart of you not to mention what the "wrong" metric signature was so as to avoid any internet backlash 😆
@@ScienceAsylum eheh, of course it was intended (not because I didn't know how to write it w/out using the matrix XD)
I can recommend _Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology_ by Robert Lambourne (Cambridge University Press, 2010). This was written as an Open University course book, so it's specifically designed for self-study, and includes exercises - with solutions!
wow thank you very much, this is so much valuable for someone who self teaches. If possible a whole self study guide for physics from start would be appreciated.
Leonard Susskind’s Stanford course
Practice is by far the best way to learn something.
I did a Cosmology and Relativity paper at University back in 2000 during a stint working at a Job in which I had a lot spare time on my hands. Every week we were given a problem to research and because this was also my only paper, I was able to spend an absurd time of time on it.
I had only been a solid B to C student prior to that when I had been a full time student, but for that one off paper I ended up with an almost perfect final mark.
Practice and having the time to practice.
Sure. I think a failing of our education system is that it doesn't consider how we're all different (because that doesn't scale well).
I love your content maaaan. I binged most of it the first time, then gone back and watch them more attentively, and now I cherish when I see a new video uploaded. The mix of hard-core science with personality quirks is delightful.
Thanks! 😊
At my university, Carroll's lecture notes were used to introduce GR and it's great. Wald was too difficult for me to follow without going through Carroll first.
Yeah, I wouldn't have been prepared for Wald without having looked at Carroll first.
I am 76 now, and I realiza that my mind isn‘t as flexible as it used to be. Therefore I started to look videos on Physics and Math, just for mind training. What do I still understand, what is still understandable for me and where I still habe a chance when looking into the books. Your videos are really perfect on for this purpose.
I regard your list as a good recommondation. Feynman is a must, even though he was a real macho. What I still would like to really understand is the geometry of the 4-dimensional Lorentz-Manifold with the Minkowski-Space as tangent. For my way of looking at general relativity this is essential. But till now, I didn’t find to much on this in the books.
PS: Your pronounciation of „Freund“ was perfect (second try). Much better than my english is. (;-).
The tangent space (tensor bundles) is simply the reduction of GR to SR. The formalism of GR is such that it must reduce to SR under certain circumstances. One way to see this is Taylor expand the metric at a point and you will recover the SR space and you can see where the GR terms creep up. This is one way of introducing the Riemann curvature tensor since you precisely, if so desired with an actual metric, at what space time length (interval) in which a SR approximation fails. Good luck.
@@tethyn That is exactly what I said (or wanted to say). General Relativity is a system of differential equations, but does not define the global Topology or Geometry of the underlying 4-dimensional Lorentz Manifold. And the devil hides in the topological details. This accounts for the known (and unknown) different solutions. And by definition, a Tangent Space to the respektive Lorentz Manifold is a 4-dimensional Minkowsky Space with its„weird“ non positiv definte metric.
In some way, Special Relativity and General Relativity are analog to the „Flat Earth Model“ and the „Sphere Model“ of our planet (:-). This view really helps, if one is to lazy to calculate (like me). Anyhow, thanks for your comment.
PS: Meanwhile I try to find a way to construct a wormhole through the atlantic. When I suceded, I will visit you in the US. Might become an interesting conversation (For me, at least(;-).)
There are many paths to GR and it really depends on what you are tying to do with it in the future that determines the most efficient path. I went from AP French Special Relativity to Shultz a first course in general relativity, then relativity gravitation and cosmology by Cheng, relativity by stephani, General Relativity by Wald and large Scale structure of space time by hawking and Ellis. MTW is a great resource but it is truly that. As far as practice problems With content, Shutz, Cheng and Stephani are great and not too mathematically complex (though each step is a bit more difficult then the previous). Relativity Demystified is not a good learning book but goes through basic GR calculations including Schwarzchild solutions. And lastly mathematical methods for physicists by Arfken for a mathematical reference. Differential topology is a great way to look at GR and helps those looking at cosmological perspective without imposing an actual metric on the topology. Good luck and the time and effort will be rewarding.
I appreciate you putting the links in the dooblydoo for us. That’s very helpful. Not enough people do that.
I am currently reading Einstein's own book on special and general relativity. It sure is crisp and concise. Looking forward to reading the undergraduate one you suggested after that. Thanks.😃
Me too☺️
Hope you enjoy it! 🤓
You're still keeping it professional and classy @ 4:38, but we get this reference 😁.
1:20 but you answered a question, and now noone else has to or if they ask it again they now have your data to compare. 👏👏
More videos like this one on other self-study topics would be amazing!
I liked "A short course in General Relativity" by Foster & Nightingale as a first book. Somewhat lightweight and with some exercises. While still quite early getting into the actual field equations.
Excellent! I am shopping for the books, tons of pencils and paper, plus some antidepressants right now. :)
I've had eigenchris's videos on my mental "to watch" list for a long time but it's always felt like a daunting prospect. XD
They are absolutely worth it. But you do have to bring some concentration. They are not infotainment. The dedicatedTensor playlists go into a lot of detail while the Relativity playlist focuses more on the application in Einstein's theories while explaining the relevant aspects of the math.
Your way of discussing topics is epic ✨️
Don't ever let any PhD make you feel bad about being a master of physics. In the inspiring words of Darth Vader: "When I met you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master."
9:31 seems so satisfying that you mentioned Dr Physics he is the only one who's explanation of Mathematics seems Interestingly simple to understand don't know what magic hidden in him .
As a pilot I loved seeing the sectional chart bookmark at 2:20!
And 6:11!
And 7:40!
I have 3. They were a gift from a viewer. They're my favorite bookmarks 🙂
You haven't only learned a german name, you also learned the german word for friend. Good to know if you want to visit our Moria through the west gate.
I find the most pressing issue whenever I try to teach myself something is forgetting "previous chapter's" information and not realizing it. However, the issue goes beyond simple forgetfulness. In math, I feel the difference between a beginner and a master is that beginners need everything spelled out to them while masters only need "the gist" to proceed. To better understand what I mean by this, consider this example. Imagine finding the area of a strange polygon. Give the problem to a master and have that master explain how it did it to a complete beginner. The master will likely say some like "I broke the shape up into a bunch of easily calculable areas and added them together". The beginner would then ask "how". Masters condense many steps into a single statement and know what it means, allowing them to more easily think about novel situations and trust their ability to follow through. When I leave a past chapter and am unable to think novelly pull knowledge from it in a condensed form to think about something, it means I left before mastering it, and the details may soon be lost to time without realizing it. Figuring out when I've mastered an idea as opposed to being temporarily competent in it is difficult to say the least, but I have to move in eventually or else he trapped in a cycle of unconfident meandering. I thought of "cumulative homework" to prevent this from becoming an issue, but books have a limited number of problems, waiting to do them until much later on comes at the cost of crucial practice now. The fundamental question is how does one structure practice to mastery as opposed to temporary understanding. Thank you for listening to my TED talk *outro noises*.
I usually take notes as I read. There's about half a page to a page of notes for each chapter that I can refer back to when needed. It doesn't always work though because, sometimes, what I _thought_ was important wasn't _actually_ important.
@@ScienceAsylum I've heard of the approach of taking notes only after a chapter or subchapter is completely so you can better recall important details, but I haven't tried it yet. Thanks for the reply btw.
Wonderfully articulated
David Hestenes and the American Modeling Teachers Association give one answer to the question of how to master the practice of Physics.
One of the easiest books to start with and understand the very basics is surprisingly "The Theory of Special and General Relativity" by Einstein himself. This is a book written for college audience with minimum equations but clearly explaining his entire reasoning from the start. This book opened my mind ☺
Thank you! Very helpful! Difficult topic, GR...but it has consumed me...and I am always thinking about it. No easy pathway. No quick understanding. This type of long hard mental pursuit is nearly gone in our new world.
Everyone seems to miss "A most incomprehensible thing" by Collier. I thought it was a really good 1st book.
General relativity- no two perspectives occupy the same space time
VERY HELPFUL! Thanks for the resources and links.
You're very welcome 🙂
I appreciate that the recent videos have featured an overall more sedate tone, both in host and editing style. Additionally, the perfectly-rectilinear overhead book shot is very satisfying to observe.
I'd like to recommend Arvin Ash channel . He's a PhD as well who does an amazing job explaining any topic including its complex math formulas
No, Arvin Ash doesn't have a Ph.D. either. As Nick said, one can be a good science communicator even if one is not a subject matter expert.
Stanford has a free online lecture series with Leonard Susskind covering GR, I'd recommend that as a good starting point.
I knew you taught physics but didnt know much more.
Its a great achievement to have obtained such a higher level of understanding of a subject. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge
I must say, that 10 sec footnote on the ships/string paradox instantly cleared up the confusion for me, perhaps more so than the said video itself.
Glad I could clear things up 🙂. Relativity is tricky sometimes.
I already said this and I'm going to say this again: Thank you for posting your captions along with the video.
It's nice to see you going into deep details for GR
That's a library right there in the description 👌 Collector's items ❤
This is exactly the kind of video I've been looking for
Another useful resource for GR could be David Tong's notes online, I have found them really useful because they cover all the concepts of physics, so even if you need some basics to be cleared without reading through a whole text on that concept, you can just go and read that section in his notes (this is how it has worked for me till now). And personally, I love the way he has explained concepts.
Every time I see you upload I'm reminded of when you taught me in college many years ago, always great to see your content sir!
Thanks for the video and the links, especially to the Feynman lectures. Unfortunately I sold my copies!
I really like one of the points in this video:
Do the EXERCISES!!!!!
It's a very important way to check whether we have really understand it.
This is very good advice. Another commenter pointed out the online GR lectures from MIT. Those lectures are by Scott Hughes, an outstanding GR theorist. I also have a series of GR lectures on my youtube channel "Physics Unsimplified". Each video includes several practice problems. As Nick says, you cannot learn the material well unless you work through problems.
Hey I've watched several of your videos! Thank you for your work!
Cool!
Thank you for the reference list. For a self paced student this is extremely helpful. :)
>
> 4:48 One of the most difficult (time consuming) parts, but also one of the most rewarding in self paced learning is creating your own practice problems (in some sense creating the practice problem is the practice problem lol) as well as coming up with ways do do self knowledge/skill tests (and in some sense the same, creating the test turns into the test).
A great resource in the form of recorded lectures is the series by Alex Flournoy here on YT.
Thanks for sharing Nick. Now I know where to start although finding the time will be challenging. SR took me close to a 1000 hours (including Youtubing about it) over a 3-year period in between 'life' but during those hours I was fully emerged in my happy zone.
Well done General Professor Nick
6:25 You literally read my mind right there.
Thanks for the intro about academia. I hold only a BSc yet am co-supervising a PhD student. Experience matters.
9:32 fortunately my confidence survived when you mentioned Dr physics because I already have watched his many videos with maths ,i am extremely bad in maths but the way he explains like blackhole , dark matter , in his videos with mathematics was so easy to understand compair to any any others but nowadays his videos not comes to my notification atleast.
This is gold!
Thanks for being so open Nick!
Nice video. I find it interesting to learn about the materials you use for your videos. I didn't know you have written a book! Keep the good work. And as you say, it's ok to be a little creazy!!
Ah, that transition to the Skillshare discussion was slick as they come.
I'm not a scientist, just an average programmer who loves science, struggling with ADHD and having problems finding motivation to dig deeper into physics than TH-cam videos. So it might take years until I finally read anything you showed in this video. But thank you for doing it, your list will be the first thing I try, if I ever make it all the way to GR. I love your videos, the way you explain concepts, and I trust your expertise. If anyone can explain science that well, he definitely knows his stuff.
Seeing Sean M. Carroll's book was a pleasant surprise, since he is one of my favourite science communicators. In fact, he may be one of a kind: not only he explains things very well, he also does it succinctly, with humour, and his speech is almost impeccable. Virtually no filler words in his lectures, and very few in his Mindscape podcast. It must have taken him decades to master that.
By the way, I googled the book, and in the book description to the right of the search results, the second sentence reads: "Using a lucid style, Carroll first covers the foundations..." Just a funny little thing :)
One day, your ADHD hyper-focus might set its sights on GR 😉... but obviously there's no rush. Do it on your own time. I understand struggling with disability.
This video has been fantastic! You have no idea how much I appreciate that you do this. If I wasn't always struggling to afford to live I be one of those supporters helping you afford to make these videos. But I wanted to at least be able to tell you how much I appreciate these.
Thanks for the encouragement 🙂
I’m so excited I found this video. Now, where’s that Khan Academy Algebra review? 😭
6:11 I love how your book looks so clearly like it's written in LaTeX. Usually I crap on people for using the default Microsoft Word theme, but I always respect LaTeX (and all other TeX things)
Yep. I actually taught myself LaTeX while writing that book. I used MS Word for my masters thesis (because change is hard) and it was a nightmare. Learned my lesson.
My favorite is A General Relativity Workbook. Idk I like the format and the small chunks.I also like the fact you have to do a lot of moderately difficult but doable problem . Incredibly helpful to build intuition. I tried Hartle, Carroll and also Wheeler before that but without success. Seems like those are meant for theorists.
My Gravitation book just arrived a few weeks ago!
I never thought I would love this channel so much.
People have always thought something was wrong with me because I admitted that I knew nothing about gravity. Some people are simple-minded thinking they know everything. I was never that person.
Thanks for the references. I will be sure to look for them.
👍 for showing Richard Feynmans Lectures of Physics vol i-iii
Hey, crazie! What you've just done here is priceless! It is a pity not many people will realize that! Thanks!
Very helpful. A big problem in learning is just not knowing where to start!
Great book list. Thanks you. Also so happy you mention EigenChris, those videos are amazing.
Thanks!