The discussion centers on the effectiveness of Mathpages as a resource for understanding General Relativity (GR). While some users appreciate Kevin Brown's Mathpages for its accessibility and practical examples, others argue that Sean Carroll's lecture notes provide a more rigorous introduction to GR, despite being more challenging. The consensus indicates that Mathpages serves well for those seeking worked examples, whereas Carroll's notes are better suited for advanced learners. Additionally, the existence of earlier rigorous papers on GR is acknowledged, suggesting that Mathpages is not the only resource available.
PREREQUISITESThis discussion is beneficial for students and enthusiasts of General Relativity, educators seeking teaching resources, and anyone looking to deepen their understanding of theoretical physics through accessible examples and rigorous derivations.
FYI, there are a number of papers that did very rigorous derivations along this line years before math pages existed. While I generally have a good opinion of Kevin Brown (author of mathpages), there are times when he over philosophizes and over complicates things that can be treated much more simply. I think the single best free online intro to GR is Sean Carroll’s lecture notes.m4r35n357 said:I have to be perfectly honest here, I haven't checked this (lack of stamina), but thought I'd post it for awareness.
From the Field Equations to the Kruskal Metric
Tyre-kicking of the highest order!
To put it bluntly, Carroll's notes are just too hard, and too theoretical for my taste. I think the only part I understood properly was the effective potential orbit stuff. Mathpages suits me because it is like a giant set of worked examples, which I think is necessary if you are not surrounded by professors, textbooks and other students.PAllen said:FYI, there are a number of papers that did very rigorous derivations along this line years before math pages existed. While I generally have a good opinion of Kevin Brown (author of mathpages), there are times when he over philosophizes and over complicates things that can be treated much more simply. I think the single best free online intro to GR is Sean Carroll’s lecture notes.