Starting to study physics at the age of 36 is not only feasible but commendable, especially for personal enrichment rather than professional aspirations. Participants in the discussion emphasize the importance of a solid mathematical foundation, suggesting that beginners should revisit elementary math concepts before diving into physics. While online resources like YouTube and Wikipedia can provide supplementary information, they cannot replace the depth of understanding gained from traditional textbooks and problem-solving. Engaging with physics requires a commitment to both theoretical concepts and practical exercises.
PREREQUISITESThis discussion is beneficial for adult learners, hobbyists interested in physics, and anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of scientific principles without a formal academic background.
No, not at all.hellinida said:Is it completely insane for a 36 year old high school graduate to start studying physics?
Cool. Those are good reasons.hellinida said:Not for professional purposes but just out of need to get answers on personal questions. Always liked physics.
It's not crazy at all.hellinida said:Please someone an opinion here i think i am going crasy for wanting to do that.
Cosmobrain said:Study physics just like me. There is an entire world on the internet. Just google whatever you want to know and start from there. Watch youtube videos, browse wikipedia, ask stuff on this forum. You can definitely learn by yourself.
cb
micromass said:Please do not do this. If you're interesting in truly understanding physics, then watching videos, browsing wikipedia is not enough. You need to get an actual textbook, think and suffer while doing the problems, ponder on the material etc. Resources like youtube are ok as secondary resources, but do not think they will allow you to understand the physics in a decent manner.
Of course, if you're just interested in pop sci, then go ahead and watch youtube. But it won't give you a real and deep understanding.
Cosmobrain said:I can't speak for OP, but I personally enjoy the theoretical part of physics. I don't like math, I just want to understand how the world works.
From my experience, the internet can be as useful as textbooks if the source is reliable (of course).
Once I read a book about modern physics in the library in my college and it was pretty much the same thing I had seen online. It didn't add much to my knowledge
There are awesome youtube channels with accurate information, like the khan academy. This video is one example there are a lot more in the related videos.
Cosmobrain said:I can't speak for OP, but I personally enjoy the theoretical part of physics. I don't like math, I just want to understand how the world works. From my experience, the internet can be as useful as textbooks if the source is reliable (of course). Once I read a book about modern physics in the library in my college and it was pretty much the same thing I had seen online. It didn't add much to my knowledge
There are awesome youtube channels with accurate information, like the khan academy. This video is one example there are a lot more in the related videos.
cb
Cosmobrain said:I can't speak for OP, but I personally enjoy the theoretical part of physics. I don't like math, I just want to understand how the world works. From my experience, the internet can be as useful as textbooks if the source is reliable (of course). Once I read a book about modern physics in the library in my college and it was pretty much the same thing I had seen online. It didn't add much to my knowledge
There are awesome youtube channels with accurate information, like the khan academy. This video is one example there are a lot more in the related videos.
cb
leroyjenkens said:It depends on what you want to learn about physics. You can learn some physics without math. I think there's a sort of elitist attitude with a lot of people acting like physics is nothing without math, as if getting good at math first is some hazing process to be "one of us". There's a lot of conceptual things you can learn about without any math. And there's tons of stuff that's just basic algebra that everyone should know. No one should have to study math any further to do special relativity calculations, for example.
leroyjenkens said:It depends on what you want to learn about physics. You can learn some physics without math. I think there's a sort of elitist attitude with a lot of people acting like physics is nothing without math, as if getting good at math first is some hazing process to be "one of us". There's a lot of conceptual things you can learn about without any math. And there's tons of stuff that's just basic algebra that everyone should know. No one should have to study math any further to do special relativity calculations, for example.
I can think of plenty of calculations in physics that only require basic algebra. For instance half life, Schwartzchild radius, kinetic energy, wavelength, F=ma, the inverse square law, the Stefan Boltzmann law, Newton's law of gravitation, blackbody radiation, doppler shift, Kepler's laws, escape velocity, etc. There may be calculus versions of some of these, but that doesn't negate every other version. If all of these, plus a lot more, represent such a small part of physics that you can comfortably call it nothing, then I guess you're right.Anyway, it's certainly not an elitist attitude or some kind of hazing ritual at all. Math is an absolute necessity for physics. Sure, you mention SR, but I doubt you can mention much more than that. Even if you go into classical mechanics, you'll need calculus very quickly. You just can't do much without calculus!
I'd say actual physics started with Newton, and he had to invent calculus for it. So I don't see why you think you don't need to know calculus in order to understand physics.
You can learn, for example, Newton's 1st and 3rd laws of motion without needing any math. There may be calculations associated with them, but knowing how objects behave is important and not contingent on math. If someone learns that an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an external force, then just having that idea and understanding what that means with everyday objects is physics. If someone learns that, and what they learned is physics, then how are they not learning physics? After having learned that, they could easily construct an experiment to show other people how it works. They could put something on top of their car, go straight and then take a sudden right turn and show that the object continues forward. If you can do all that, I'd say you've learned physics, even if you can't make calculations. And I'd say that person has about as good of a chance of explaining what will happen in a situation like that as much as you do (such as how far the object will travel after the right turn is made, or what orientation it will end up positioned in, etc), even though you know the math and they don't.I think you are confusing "learning about physics" with "learning physics".
Sure, you can learn about physics without knowing any math, but only in the sense that you can learn about sailing without ever having been in a boat.
leroyjenkens said:If you can do all that, I'd say you've learned physics, even if you can't make calculations. And I'd say that person has about as good of a chance of explaining what will happen in a situation like that as much as you do (such as how far the object will travel after the right turn is made, or what orientation it will end up positioned in, etc), even though you know the math and they don't.
So to know the trajectory a ball will take in order to catch it requires absolutely zero knowledge of physics?I caught a ball in motion today. Hooray I know physics! (P.S. that's not what Newton's 1st law actually entails)
If that's the only thing you have to say in response to all I've said, I'll just take that as a concession."I'd say" might be good enough authority to score points in a high school debating competition, but science isn't based on personal opinions.
leroyjenkens said:So to know the trajectory a ball will take requires absolutely zero knowledge in physics?
micromass said:Great, so my 5-year old nephew knows physics! If that's your criterium, then yes, you don't need to know math to know this kind of physics.
leroyjenkens said:He knows some physics. I'm not arguing he knows all physics, which you seem to be implying.
micromass said:Even my cat knows physics then.
I think we have a very different definition of what physics is.
leroyjenkens said:To an extent, your cat does know physics. That's one thing they're learning as kittens. You don't consider projectile motion part of physics? My physics books disagree.
micromass said:I doubt my cat can do projectile motion calculations, or can explain why her intuition is correct.
You're confusing physics with intuition and common sense. Obviously, intuition and common sense are necessary in order to do physics. But they are not physics on their own.
Claiming "what goes up must come down" is common sense, it's not physics. However, if you start calculating how fast it comes down or where it comes down, if you start explaining "why" the mass doesn't matter, etc., only then are you doing physics.