Feynman's lectures

PhdGuy SG

Anyone here read Feynman's lectures on Physics? I read some chapters in vol. I & II several years back and I must say those lectures are very enlightening and insightful. However, they are not introductory. You need to have a good foundation in Physics (1st-year university level) to understand his lectures. He wrote in one chapter (I think Gravitation) that all that one needs to know is F=GmM/r^2 and that if the student is sufficiently talented in math, the rest follows. Verdict: you cannot be a good physicist if you cannot do Math! I got to appreciate his point only some time later when I decided to dwell deeper into Physics. Theoretical (or mathematical) Physics is all about Math. You must know calculus, ODEs, PDEs, variational principles, tensor calculus at your fingertips if you would like to do Theoretical Physics! There is no short cut or mere memorizing.

Now let's go back to his lectures. It was said that his lectures cater more to professors and PhDs than to the freshman physics students for whom they were originally intended. The undergrad students slowly began to leave his lectures at Caltech and their seats were taken up by faculty and staff researchers!

Nevertheless, his lectures are classic and remain inspiring for generations of young physicists till this day. Get a copy if you like Physics!

codelieb SG

The Feynman Lectures on Physics was used to teach the 2-yr introductory physics course at Caltech (required of all students) for well over a decade. It certainly DOES NOT require a good foundation in physics to be read; Most of the (many thousands) of students who have used it were not physics majors, and did not know any physics or calculus beforehand (they were taking introductory calculus concurrently).

It is a myth that "The undergrad students [in Feynman's course] slowly began to leave his lectures at Caltech and their seats were taken up by faculty and staff researchers!" You can read more about that myth, and other popular misconceptions about The Feynman Lectures here: http://www.feynmanlectures.info/popular_misconceptions_about_FLP .

I am sorry you find The Feynman Lectures on Physics so difficult to read, but I do not think that is any reflection on the book.

Michael A. Gottlieb
Editor, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Definitive and New Millennium editions
Coauthor (with Feynman and Ralph Leighton), Feynman's Tips on Physics, a problem-solving supplement to The Feynman Lectures on Physics
—
Physics Department
The California Institute of Technology

PhdGuy SG

lol I didn't know our sg forums are so popular that we even attract contributions from professors from the Physics department at Caltech.

Can I also ask you why Caltech decided to discontinue adoption of his Lectures? Did they not at least supplement his Lectures with modern textbooks? Why then is that the case? Correct me if I am wrong.

Do not be mistaken. I am a fan of his Lectures. I do not think his books are 'so difficult to read' as you put it. I am just saying a student needs some kind of maturity to be able to understand his lectures and that they will best benefit students who have at least some prior exposure to Physics.