Book List and a Physics Group!

nobody@vox.com(Nick) — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 14:16:13 -0800

QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter

QED, done. Really, truly fascinating stuff. I'll probably come up with questions over the next week or two so I'm keeping it in my bag so I can look stuff up. Also joining the bag is the next lesson, The Trouble with Physics.

The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next

Also interesting considering I know little to nothing about string theory (not that I ever claimed to know anything about quantum electrodynamics either) but the string theory bubble has been growing (and hubbub about an experiment at the LHC which would prove or disprove it) and I should probably learn more about it. I picked up two more old (from '62 and '70-something) Feynman physics books the other day at Phoenix Used Books in Noe Valley. Particularly interesting because they actually have equations in them (unlike most of the Feynman I've encountered so far). I've got a lot of non-Feynman to read as well so I'm trying to go back and forth.

Also, I'm thinking of giving this Physics/Cosmology group a go next Wednesday. It's at 7PM at Au Coquelet, 2000 University, in Berkeley. Assuming it's always posted on craigslist, this page should list the upcoming meetings. It's squarely interferes with one of my classes at CCSF (pun intended) but I think I can go without for a class to see if this is worth attending on a regular basis.

Don't be silly, of course I know this is taking it to the next level of geek. But it's fantastic!

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Words, Words, Words.

nobody@vox.com(Nick) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:47:15 -0800

Amazon is so great. I ask for books and they send them to me. In the mail today:

The Trouble With Physics is a newer hardcover (I haven't bought a hardcover new in years) about stagnation in the realm of physics and the author's dislike of string theory. I've heard mixed things about it but mostly that it's very good so I'm giving it a shot. Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics is about the 1986 Dirac Memorial Lectures by Feynman and Weinberg and although it was really just a last minute purchase to get free shipping, it looks like it'll be fantastic reading. Of course, neither of these books are getting any attention until I finish QED which I started on my way to work this morning. I finally made it through the end of Six Easy Pieces after quite some time in my bag. It was really good, I just got into a rut of only reading it on the train to-and-from work/school which is something like 16 minutes MAX in an entire day.

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Snakes on a Blog

Book List and a Physics Group!

Words, Words, Words.