Is Relativity Too Complex for Young Students to Grasp?

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Mad1kas
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    Relativity
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges faced by a young student in understanding the concepts of relativity. It explores the accessibility of resources and guidance for learning about relativity, particularly for non-native English speakers.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • A 14-year-old participant expresses difficulty in finding understandable resources on relativity and seeks assistance.
  • One participant recommends Banesh Hoffmann's "Relativity and its Roots" as a comprehensible resource for learning about relativity.
  • The original poster indicates a preference for resources in Greek to better understand the material.
  • Another participant expresses skepticism about the availability of physics books in Greek but encourages the search for such resources.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the difficulty of understanding relativity and the need for accessible resources, but there is no consensus on the availability of suitable materials in Greek.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights potential language barriers and the varying levels of comprehension among students, which may affect their ability to engage with complex topics like relativity.

Who May Find This Useful

Young students interested in physics, educators seeking to support students with language barriers, and individuals looking for accessible resources on relativity.

Mad1kas
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hello people of physics,

i am a 14 year old boy from Greece and i am generaly attracted to physics...but...relativity has caused me some troubles...
for some reason i haven't found an understandable guide to understand relativity..
i don't know if my intelligence growth is enough to understand it but worths giving it a try!

what i would like to know is if anyone of you is willing to help me understand it or share with me an understanble guide !

with respect to my co-physicians,
mad1kas
 
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The people here probably know better books than the ones I've read, but from layman to layman I'd highly recommend Banesh Hoffmann's "Relativity and its Roots", by far the most comprehensible explanation of special and general relativity I've read so far (wikipedia's articles are great too).

I looked up Hoffmann's book and it's even available as a google book:
ht_tp://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=JokgnS1JtmMC&dq=relativity+and+it's+roots&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=_UViyEBijK&sig=Au5OLcS-2UKeNkYEI0-DN4NIEAA

(Remove the _ in http to get the address, I haven't got to the 15 posts threshold I'm required to cross before posting URL's :P)
 
Thank you my friend i really appreciate your assisstance...
Though, i don't think my English is enough improved to understand this entire book so i would like to look for something in my language so that it would be more comprehensible and easier for me to understand !

i will look up for Hoffman's book in Greek and anyone's else our co-physicians will suggest...
 
I rather doubt that many people here are acquainted with physics books in Greek, but maybe you'll get lucky!
 

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