Special Relativity Course at World Science University by Brian Greene

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a free online course on Special Relativity offered by Brian Greene through World Science University. Participants share their experiences and opinions about the course's content, structure, and supplementary materials, as well as inquire about other online courses in related fields.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant highlights the course's clarity and engaging format, noting the use of animations and interactive demonstrations.
  • Another participant mentions the thoroughness of the course and the effort put into the presentations and supplementary materials, suggesting it is not typical of Greene's pop-science style.
  • A different participant appreciates the detailed video explanations accompanying each question, estimating there are between 100 to 200 questions in total.
  • There is a request for recommendations on other online courses, particularly in relativity and quantum physics, with a mention of a Loop Quantum Gravity course that lacked interactive elements.
  • One participant expresses a desire for a future course on General Relativity by Brian Greene.
  • Participants discuss the technical requirement of the Wolfram CDF plugin for interactive demos, noting compatibility issues with modern browsers.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the quality and effort behind the Special Relativity course, but there is no consensus on the effectiveness of other courses offered on the same platform, as experiences vary.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty regarding the accessibility of interactive demos due to browser compatibility issues, and there is a lack of detailed information about other courses mentioned.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in learning about Special Relativity, those seeking recommendations for online courses in physics, and fans of Brian Greene's educational work may find this discussion useful.

Andy_K
Gold Member
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Dear All,

Just wanted to share this excellent free Special Relativity online course I came across by Brian Greene, which I believe is one of the best around. Not sure if it's been shared before here.

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Special Relativity — World Science U, by Brian Greene
http://www.worldscienceu.com/courses/university/special-relativity

The lectures are clear and interesting, supplemented with intuitive animations, interactive demonstrations and excellent exercises (each question comes with a video to explain the answer). There's also a final exam, upon which you can obtain a certificate of achievement if you score 75% or more.

Only problem is the interactive demos require a Wolfram CDF plugin, which doesn't work on most browsers anymore due to deprecated plugin technology. I found a temporary workaround for Firefox, where you have to install their ESR version, and the plugin will work (at least until early 2018). You can download it here:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/

Happy learning!
 
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I did this one out of curiosity when it first came out. It's a pretty thorough treatment, with plenty of repetitious reinforcement to bang the points home. He has put a lot of work into the presentations, problems and supplementary material. I know Brian Greene comes in for a lot of stick about his pop-sci interludes, but this is not one of those.
 
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Yup, can see that he really put in a lot of effort, especially with the detailed animations and video explanations for every single question (I believe there are at least 100 - 200 of them!). He did an amazing job with World Science U. I would be willing to pay for such a good course.

Have you tried the Master courses on World Science U by other lecturers, are they good? I briefly checked out the Loop Quantum Gravity course there but it just seemed like a normal video lecture with no interactive demos or questions.

Would be great if you can share some recommendations on other good online courses, especially for relativity and quantum physics.

I certainly hope he'll release a course for General Relativity soon!
m4r35n357 said:
I did this one out of curiosity when it first came out. It's a pretty thorough treatment, with plenty of repetitious reinforcement to bang the points home. He has put a lot of work into the presentations, problems and supplementary material. I know Brian Greene comes in for a lot of stick about his pop-sci interludes, but this is not one of those.
 
Who founded the "world science university"? Anyone to introduce please?
 

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