Smolin video LQG online course

[marcus]

Indeed. I am not a friend of communities, but ... fulfil the very important purpose to keep people together and connect lines of thoughts.

putting the general communities issue aside, I really liked to see this at your blog:

Wir sind der Morgen
Wir sind das Erwachen
Wir sind die Möglichkeit,
die Welt zu erschaffen

it is a gutsy poem. and sounds that way too

people should check out Backreaction
http://backreaction.blogspot.com/
it is interesting as a group-blog, not just a solo-blog also (both kinds have advantages)

 

[marcus]

Christine Dantas has been gradually going through the lectures and posting a brief outline of each one as she goes.

she is up to Lecture #10 now.

One of the University Waterloo students, William, has been posting comments at Christine's blog. Today he corrected a reference to a paper that christine got wrong (the writing on the blackboard is not always clear)

William says that the course is now officially over but there is talk of continuing it into the summer if there is interest and if enough prospective GUEST lecturers indicate willingness to contribute talks.

 

[ccdantas]

Hello Marcus

Yes, fortunately William quicky corrected me. It's very nice to know that a student of the lectures is also reading my blog with great attention.

As I wrote there, I am thinking on the idea of posting my notes online. It would be nice if someone could review them before I post them onlne. If I had time, I would LaTeX them, but for the moment, I only expect to scan them...

Best wishes
Christine

 

[marcus]

Hello Marcus

Yes, fortunately William quicky corrected me. It's very nice to know that a student of the lectures is also reading my blog with great attention.

As I wrote there, I am thinking on the idea of posting my notes online. It would be nice if someone could review them before I post them onlne. If I had time, I would LaTeX them, but for the moment, I only expect to scan them...

Best wishes
Christine

the most usual thing, I believe, is to give the LECTURER a chance to look over the notes, at least before hardcopy publication.

I don't know the custom when it is a question of posting online.

One idea would be this: If you have a website, put them online at your website but do not reveal to the general public what the link is. then email the URL to Smolin and to any other reviewer.

Say: "I plan to make these notes to your course available on the web. Before I do so, if you would care to look them over and offer comments or corrections, here is the URL."

He might reply:
1. I am too busy but I have given the URL to a student of mine who will look over the notes and reply to you.

2. I am too busy, do anything you want. But thank you for giving me the chance to look at the notes before you published them.

3. One of my students actually is preparing notes and they will be available sometime this summer (!) on some other website. Write back to me in a few months and I will tell you the URL, if you want.

===========
I obviously can't tell you what is best or what could happen, but I have done this with reviewers when I had some writing. I put my writing online with a secret URL and give the URL only to one or two people that I want to check the work. then after a process of emendation or correction, I make the URL generally available.

I think this is what you had in mind.
=============

But you may not have been thinking of sending the secret URL to Smolin himself. I have tried to think about it from his point of view and I think he would consider it a courtesy to be offered the OPPORTUNITY to look over the notes before they were made widely available.

He might not actually do it, but at least he has the chance.

Also one or more of us at PF might be willing to and could simply write email to you asking for the "prepublication" URL.

I don't know where you get so much energy to do so much extra stuff. You are amazing

Who could who be? I'll never tell.

 

[Mike2]

Hello Marcus

Yes, fortunately William quicky corrected me. It's very nice to know that a student of the lectures is also reading my blog with great attention.

As I wrote there, I am thinking on the idea of posting my notes online. It would be nice if someone could review them before I post them onlne. If I had time, I would LaTeX them, but for the moment, I only expect to scan them...

Best wishes
Christine

I wonder how one would even go about taking notes in Smolin's lectures. I was thinking of going through the lectures myself and taking notes. But he is so busy jumping from one black board to the other, how does one make a sequential series of notes out of that?

 

[ccdantas]

Hi Marcus (and yes I know **who** you are),

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. When I have all the notes relatively well organized I will think what I will do of them. I believe it would indeed be polite to contact Lee Smolin first. I have already exchanged a few emails with him and he is a very accessible and mindful person.

And definitely yes, it is much more interesting (and perhaps much more fruitful) to just listen to his talk than to follow what he is actually writting on the blackboard(s). Also, there are lots of signs and factors all over the equations which I am not supposed to trust (he mentions this all the time...) I am having a real hard time on taking notes... That is why I am so late. I stop all the time, go back, etc. And still, it is hard to understand this subject. But I will not give up.

Best regards
Christine

 

[Core2duo]

Great