The Theoretical Minimum
What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics
Ratings8
Average rating3.5
'For anyone who is determined to learn physics for real, looking beyond conventional popularizations, this is the ideal place to start. It gets directly to the important points, with nuggets of deep insight scattered along the way' Sean Carroll, physicist and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe In this stimulating primer, world-class physicist and father of string theory Leonard Susskind and citizen-scientist George Hrabovsky combine forces to provide the ultimate master class in modern physics. Unlike most popular physics books - which give readers a taste of what physicists know but not what they actually do - Susskind and Hrabovsky teach the skills you need to do physics yourself. Combining crystal-clear explanations of the laws of the universe with basic exercises, the authors cover the minimum - the theoretical minimum of the title - that readers need to master in order to move on to more advanced topics. In a lucid, engaging style, Susskind and Hrabovsky introduce the key concepts of modern physics, from classical mechanics to general relativity to quantum theory. Instead of shying away from the equations and maths that are essential to any understanding of physics, they provide a practical toolkit that you won't find in any other popular science book. The Theoretical Minimum is a book for anyone who has ever regretted not taking physics at university, who knows a little but is keen to know more-or who simply wants to learn how to think like a physicist.
Series
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10 released booksThe Theoretical Minimum
The Theoretical Minimum is a 10-book series with 10 released primary works first released in 2013 with contributions by Leonard Susskind, George Hrabovsky, and Леонард Сасскинд.
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Seemed interesting, but gave it up due to not actually caring very much. Quickly got past my knowledge. Reading an ebook copy of it didn't help though. I'd probably recommend it if you're keen!
What is the theoretical minimum of understanding a text necessary to log it as “read” on goodreads without lying?
I can tell you that my eyes touched every word in this book. I can't tell you how many of the typed elements penetrated the various parts of my eyeballs and how many of the equations were lost on their way through my nerves and into my brain. I was not a strong maths student, and never had a pre-Calculus class let alone Calculus. So, many of the equations in this book were essentially static to me.
I read all of the prose(?). But much of this prose broke down the equations—unfortunately not in a way that could make much sense to me. I thrived on the parts of the book that explored concepts more than the parts focusing on calculus.
As it turns out, the theoretical minimum to start doing physics is more than the practical maximum of my maths competency. The fault lies with me, not the book. I do think with a primer to Calculus, I could figure this out, but not in this form.
