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Helical
May30-06, 12:35 AM
I was wondering if anyone had read this book and if it was a good book to read if you are not familiar with physics. I looked at the book at a bookstore and it seemed lengthy and filled with formulae. However the preface painted a very different picture so I was just wondering what other thought of it, please keep in mind that my knowledge of physics is minimal.
Thanks

LeBrad
May30-06, 02:21 PM
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=48209

Helical
May30-06, 10:13 PM
Thanks a lot for that link, it helps a lot but now I'm left with somewhat of a dilemma. I think that probably the FLOP's would be better for me due to my lack of mathematical knowledge. Is that a good assumption? It seems maybe that The Road to Reality might be just too advanced for someone who hasn't even taken Pre-Calc yet...But I'm not even sure if I could understand the FLOP's very well (I'm not sure if there is a great deal of math involved in those or not), anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks

Pseudo Statistic
Jun1-06, 04:54 PM
Well, from skimming through the book (I just got it in the mail yesterday :D), you could *POSSIBLY* handle it... but you would (ofcourse) not expect to be able to evaluate residues and complex integrals without some sort of help from an outside source... (The book does start with some geometry I'm sure you're familiar with, but it starts advancing pretty quickly from there)
So a possible way for you to look into this book is to get it along with a book on calculus or something... or to research calculus topics on the internet whenever needed/possible. (When this book isn't enough)
If you do end up buying the book, good luck. ;)

loom91
Nov11-06, 03:32 AM
If you don't yet have Precalc, forget about buying this book. It'll be a waste of money. Calculus is the language of Physics, you must learn it thoroughly before you start poking around physics. Learn calculus as early as possible.