alt Hacker NewsSo you want to learn physics (second edition, 2021)
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I have no idea why these sorts of posts are popular. Past college you're not going to learn physics by trying to self-study an entire university course. The best way to learn is just to pick a small part of physics you'd like to learn (preferably related to your job), i.e. how GPS work or some fluid mechanics etc... Then learn the physics you need for that. Knowledge accumulation can't be organized in a straight line, it happens non-linearly and generally builds upon small wins that are useful for you.
Why this rather than Motion Mountain?
The person who wrote the guide is more unusually interesting than the guide itself. I knew something sounded familiar.
Popular in 2023 (528 points, 165 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37200615
I'd recommend Shankar's books as a starting point.
Some classic soviet-era physics books which one can use as a good supplement to the listed textbooks.
1) Physics for Entertainment by Yakov Perelman (2 vols) - https://mirtitles.org/?s=physics+for+entertainment Great to motivate oneself and learn to think in physics terms.
2) Fundamentals of Physics by B.N.Ivanov - https://mirtitles.org/2018/04/21/fundamentals-of-physics-iva... Nice overview which approaches physics "from atoms to matter".
3) Physics for Everyone by Landau and Kitaigorodsky (4 vols) - https://mirtitles.org/?s=Physics+for+Everyone A nice overview of all the major domains in physics.
4) General Methods for Solving Physics Problems by B.S.Belikov - https://mirtitles.org/2015/12/07/general-methods-for-solving... This is a great book which teaches you by walking through the solutions of various physics problems using a general methodological framework.
I've found pacing to be the biggest problem with self-learning of academic subjects.
Suppose we are learning from a textbook. The things we learn in each chapter are built upon in the subsequent chapters. If we go forward before we have a good enough understanding it can make it very hard to learn that next chapter.
On the other hand if we wait to go forward until we feel we really have mastered the material up to this point it can take a long time to move forward, and that doesn't even really gain you anything.
The best way to master something is to practice it. The textbook author knows this. The author writes each chapter under the assumption that you are OK with the material from the previous chapters but have not yet mastered that material. You now need things to practice that material on, and using it while learning the material of this chapter is perfect for that.
That point where you have gotten good enough with the present material that you can handle the next chapter is almost certainly going to be a point where you do not think you are ready.