Free Downloadable Math and Physics Textbooks

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the availability and credibility of free downloadable math and physics textbooks found on a website called freescience. Participants explore the implications of using these resources, their potential accuracy, and the reasons behind their free distribution.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express surprise at the number of free textbooks available, questioning why they are offered for free and whether their content can be trusted.
  • Concerns are raised about the professionalism of using printed materials from online sources in an academic setting.
  • There is a suggestion that these online textbooks are intended as supplements rather than primary texts for classes.
  • Some participants speculate that the authors may not have found traditional publishers, possibly due to a congested market or lack of fame.
  • Others argue that the accuracy of these free textbooks is likely comparable to that of paid textbooks used in classes.
  • One participant mentions technical difficulties in downloading the textbooks and highlights humorous content found on the website.
  • There are discussions about the potential motivations of authors who provide their works for free, including the possibility of seeking wider distribution and independent study opportunities.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the credibility and appropriateness of using these free textbooks in academic settings. While some express confidence in their accuracy, others remain skeptical about their professional use.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various technical requirements for accessing the textbooks, such as needing specific software to view them. There is also a recognition of the time and effort authors likely invested in creating these resources.

Tom1992
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i'm so surprised at all the hundreds of free downloadable math and physics textbooks at freescience (e.g. http://www.freescience.info/books.php?id=4&PHPSESSID=c3046af36f33033bc738fa34f64005be , covering almost every university level and even graduate level topic, with professional typesetting and diagrams, table of contents, etc... some textbooks have over 500 pages. i can't find these titles at amazon so apparently these books (most of which are only about 5 to 10years old) have not been published. so what gives?

is there a reason that they are offered for free? seems to good to be true. some authors don't have have phd titles (but most do) but many are college instructors, so their credential seems ok. should i start reading from these books and trust their content?
 
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*clicks link* Your link doesn't work.

Is it http://freescience.info/index.php"

Personally I think it would be somewhat unprofessional for someone to bring a stack of papers he printed out at home to class with him instead of a textbook :rolleyes:

Online textbooks are more intended as a personal supplement to what you learn in class, not an in class text
 
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Ki Man said:
*clicks link* Your link doesn't work.

Is it http://freescience.info/index.php"

Personally I think it would be somewhat unprofessional for someone to bring a stack of papers he printed out at home to class with him instead of a textbook :rolleyes:

Online textbooks are more intended as a personal supplement to what you learn in class, not an in class text

The link works now. The online books ARE textbooks, just not popular textbooks. But why? What's wrong with them?
 
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Ki Man said:
Personally I think it would be somewhat unprofessional for someone to bring a stack of papers he printed out at home to class with him instead of a textbook :rolleyes:

Online textbooks are more intended as a personal supplement to what you learn in class, not an in class text

Don't print it out... read it [and mark it up electronically] on a https://www.physicsforums.com/blog/2006/05/20/tabletpcs-for-science-and-science-teaching/" .
 
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robphy said:
Don't print it out... read it [and mark it up electronically] on a https://www.physicsforums.com/blog/2006/05/20/tabletpcs-for-science-and-science-teaching/" .

so you are saying that the accuracy of the content in these books is good.
 
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robphy said:
Don't print it out... read it [and mark it up electronically] on a https://www.physicsforums.com/blog/2006/05/20/tabletpcs-for-science-and-science-teaching/" .

are you being paid to advertise on pf?:smile:

These are full length textbooks, and they are (probably) no less accurate than the kind you would use in class. Schools just like making you pay for stuff. :-p
 
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Ki Man said:
are you being paid to advertise on pf?:smile:

Nope... but being an advocate and amateur evangelist, and acting like salesman for TabletPCs, I sometimes wonder if I should get a commission. :approve:
(I am, however, trying to advertise the PF blog among PF users.)
 
Ki Man said:
These are full length textbooks, and they are (probably) no less accurate than the kind you would use in class. Schools just like making you pay for stuff. :-p

textbooks like these could cost $50 to $150. so there must be a reason that they are offered for free. my guess is that the author's could not find a publisher to invest in their books (the writer's must have tried to make money first before uploading them for free). the question is why couldn't they? is it because they are not famous enough? you said that the books' content is just as good as other textbooks.
 
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I imagine the market for books like those is congested and publishers probably don't accept all offers.
 
  • #10
that sucks for the authors (they must have spent 1000+ hours typing out their books and perfecting the typesetting and diagrams), but is great for us.
 
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  • #11
If a company puts out a billion books on one subject, every school will have a different book so overall the writers of the books won't get as much comission, and then the writers will start to take their business elsewhere, so i guess writers who don't get their books published give their books to the community for independent study through e-books
 
  • #12
I can't see how to download them, the formats don't work with any program I seem to have. One of the sites I got from the link was kind of hilarious:

"If you are a students and do not feel sufficiently challenged your courses try solving the Discrete Problem of the Week or one of the Seven Mathematics Problems of the Millennium." :D Ill do that
 
  • #13
you need adobe acrobat reader or ghostscript viewer. once done, you have a free library of university textbooks.
 
  • #14
Some are simply proofs of very good books, eg. Meyer's matrix book - iirc, SIAM let authors put preprints of their books on the web.
 
  • #15
Ki Man said:
*clicks link* Your link doesn't work.

Is it http://freescience.info/index.php"

Personally I think it would be somewhat unprofessional for someone to bring a stack of papers he printed out at home to class with him instead of a textbook :rolleyes:

Online textbooks are more intended as a personal supplement to what you learn in class, not an in class text

Unprofessional? Who in your school really cares about how professional you look as a student? You could always take the money that you saved on books and buy some really nice suits, now who looks more professional when it counts?

If you can find the book that your school is using then I say go for it, you would be stupid not to.
 
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  • #16
:redface: I didnt really mean it as a bad thing.

an education is an education no matter how you obtained it
 

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