Troubles learning Quantum field theory.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges of learning Quantum Field Theory (QFT), focusing on personal experiences with lectures, homework difficulties, and the resources available for study. Participants share their struggles and strategies in understanding this complex subject.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Homework-related
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty in learning QFT due to the challenging nature of the material and the professor's accent, which complicates understanding.
  • Another participant finds lectures on QFT initially understandable but notes that homework reveals the complexity and tediousness of calculations, leading to frustration over potential mistakes.
  • A different participant mentions that lack of time to review notes or textbooks makes following lectures difficult, although they manage to catch up later with their notes.
  • One participant highlights the use of Srednicki's Quantum Field Theory as a primary resource, while also recommending Peskin's Introduction to QFT as a complementary text for learning.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share similar sentiments regarding the challenges of learning QFT, but there are varying opinions on the effectiveness of different resources and teaching methods. No consensus is reached on the best approach to learning the material.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention the importance of reviewing lecture material and the availability of various learning resources, indicating that individual experiences may depend on personal study habits and the teaching style of the professor.

Casco
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Hi everyone, I'm having a lot of troubles learning QFT, personally I find it very challenging, besides that my professor has a very difficult accent and given that I'm not an English native speaker it is really hard for me to follow him. I would like to hear your experience learning QFT, Was it hard? I just want to hear your experience when you first encounter with this wonderful branch of physics.

Thank you.
 
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From my experience, lectures on QFT seem easy and understandable... because everything appears so normal and beautiful let us say...
The problem is when you have to do homeworks- then you understand that nothing is so obvious and a lot of calculations are tedious... eg several times I find myself saying "well at this point, if I've done one mistake it's over, I'll never find where"

I'm not so sure that this topic belongs here (??)
 
Last edited:
I found QFT lectures to be challenging at times. This is mainly because I didn't have time to review the notes or read the textbook before the next class. If I forgot what was discussed in the last class I usually found the current lecture hard to follow. I took good notes though so when I finally got around to catching up on the material I was able to make sense of it all.

This is just my personal experience. Is your professor following a book or is it his own notes?
 
Someone1987 said:
This is just my personal experience. Is your professor following a book or is it his own notes?

My professor is following Srednicki's Quantum Field Theory. I find it very nice nevertheless sometimes is not so great. I think that nowadays we are very lucky to have so many sources of books and learning material in the internet. For instance, I think that Peskin (Introduction to QFT) thogether with Srednicki make a awesame combination to learn QFT.
 

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