Where Can Hobbyists Access the Full Solutions Manual for 'A First Course in General Relativity' by Schutz?

  • Context: Relativity 
  • Thread starter Thread starter astrobird
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges faced by hobbyists in accessing the full solutions manual for "A First Course in General Relativity" by Schutz. It touches on self-study methods, the utility of solutions for verifying answers, and the restrictions imposed by publishers on access to educational materials.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Homework-related, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses frustration over the limited access to solutions for exercises in Schutz's book, despite having the student manual which only provides partial answers.
  • The same participant believes that having access to full solutions would enhance understanding, especially when self-studying complex topics like general relativity.
  • Another participant questions the first participant's confidence in their answers, implying that uncertainty may be a factor in seeking solutions.
  • The first participant acknowledges occasional uncertainty in their answers but emphasizes that mistakes can happen even when they feel confident.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the necessity of full solutions, as the discussion includes both the need for verification and the implications of self-study confidence.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the limitations imposed by publishers regarding access to educational resources, particularly for non-students or hobbyists.

astrobird
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I'm self-studying various physics topics (as a hobby) and currently enjoying "A first course in general relativity" by Schutz. I also have the students manual for this book by Scott which provides the answers to a selection of the exercises in the book as well as some additional material.

For quite a few of the exercises Scott doesn't provide the solution though, or just a hint. This is not always enough to verify whether I have done things correctly or in some cases simply to check the way forward in case I'm not sure how to arrive at a correct answer.

While I'm a firm believer of making a serious attempt of figuring something yourself first, sometimes the solutions really help to understand things better. I have requested access to the solutions from the publisher of "A first course in general relativity" by Schutz but was denied on the basis that I'm not employed with a university. I even offered them to provide due diligence so that they can see I'm not a student or anything like that but that didn't help either. I understand it from their point of view but on the other hand, someone like myself investing good money in a book should be able to use the solutions as well.
 
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Sorry, seems like I sorted out the problem:)
 
Are you not confident in your answers?
 
Sometimes yes, sometimes no, but even when confident there can be a mistake sometimes:)
 

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