Is Synge's Special Relativity Still Relevant Today?

[Frabjous]

I stumbled across a cheap copy of Synge’s Special Relativity. I know that it was an important book, but there is an undercurrent in the comments that it is now dated. Is it still worth spending time with?

 

[dextercioby]

For me, just because it was written in 1955 using $x_4 = ict$ is major reason to dismiss it. I would rather have his 1960 GR book (using a flat +++- metric) as a textbook, a more modern Pauli, Papapetrou or Eddington.

 

[robphy]

In my opinion, Synge's text offers some possibly useful spacetime-geometric insights not found elsewhere. So, in spite of its dated conventions and notations, it still could be useful as an interesting reference... but not as a primary or secondary textbook.

 

[Frabjous]

Thanks.