
How to become a Good Theoretical Physicist - tokenadult
http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~Gadda001/goodtheorist/index.html
======
htns
On the topic of free introductory physics books, Landau's Course of
Theoretical Physics
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Course_of_Theoretical_Physics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Course_of_Theoretical_Physics))
is available on archive.org, since the earliest editions are out of copyright
by now:
[https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22L.D.+Landa...](https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22L.D.+Landau+%26+E.M.+Lifshitz%22)

~~~
spott
These don't fall under "introductory" in any sense of the word. These are hard
graduate level books.

~~~
htns
They are introductory in the sense that they are more about the horizontal bar
of the T than about going in depth in a particular topic. But I guess I have
to admit it was a poor choice of words.

------
tokenadult
Thanks for the comments about links of related interest, for example links
about studying advanced mathematics. One comment here suggested that the
original author's selection criteria of free and online[1] have allowed in
some links that are not really very good.

With that idea in mind, it occurs to me that we could help Gerard t'Hooft,
Nobel laureate in physics and the author of the site submitted here, by
sending him the best links that his site doesn't already have that would help
people learn more background for physics and physics proper. He surely hasn't
been able to find all the best links by himself.

[1] "It is my intention to search on the web where the really useful papers
and books are, preferably downloadable as well. This way, the costs of
becoming a theoretical physicist should not exceed much the price of a
computer with internet connection, a printer, and lots of paper and pens."

------
nirai
Thanks for this pointer!

Take a look at the awesome:
[http://theoreticalminimum.com/](http://theoreticalminimum.com/)

------
javajosh
Spot check of his links yielded a quite disappointing 100% failure rate: the
lecture notes he links to for "phenomenology" (which ordinary people would
call high energy physics) are all bad.[1]

Also, I don't think you can discount the value of _community_ when studying
anything as fundamentally social as theoretical physics. Maybe a modern Gauss
could make his way to the edge of human understanding, and beyond, on his own,
but most of us need the insights and encouragement of our peers. I would say
that a smart, intrepid physicist should audit classes. Impress the professor
with your effort, earnestness, and ability, and there's no way you'd be kicked
out of class no matter what the rules say.

[1]
[http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~Gadda001/goodtheorist/pheno....](http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~Gadda001/goodtheorist/pheno.html)

~~~
jakebian
Phenomenology is definitely not the same thing as high energy particle
physics, its a very small subset of hep.

------
gone35
Call me old-fashioned but I think the previous, less fashionable version of
this page (site?) was much more usable [1]. At least it gave you a much better
idea of all it takes by having it all the links in one page.

[1]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140408204512/http://www.staff....](https://web.archive.org/web/20140408204512/http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/%7Ehooft101/theorist.html)

~~~
sillysaurus3
I completely agree. I can't wait until webdevs rediscover "have all content on
one page" and it becomes a new trend.

------
Numberwang
Seems like a great site. Is there anything similar out there for Mathematics?

~~~
nmrm
The University of Chicago Undergraduate Mathematics Bibliography is useful:

[https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~abhishek/chicmath.htm](https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~abhishek/chicmath.htm)

The "Intermediate" section contains the canonical texts for undergraduate
first and second courses in the "mainstream" mathematics subjects. The
"advanced" section contains mostly intro and/or reference texts for research
in each area (ie assume an undergraduate degree in Mathematics).

Some less main-stream areas (e.g. logic) aren't particularly well-represented.

------
officialjunk
this site isn't exclusive to theoretical physics. most of the material is
broad. It's not until the later topics that it becomes more theoretical:
general relativity, super gravity, string theory...

physics may also interest those who don't want to be come any type of
physicist, hence the popularity of television shows like Cosmos, etc. for
those that want to dive into something a little more technical, but very
approachable, there are the feynman lectures, which are freely available
online here:
[http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/](http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/)

~~~
jakebian
I disagree, general relativity is not any more or any less theoretical than,
say, electromagnetism.

~~~
officialjunk
i say this because most the people i know that are doing graduate studies
focused on general relativity are in theoretical physics. we're not at the
point, technologically, where experimental physics can cover the full range of
what general relativity describes. it would be nice to have a black hole in a
lab that is not an analogue, though. and one day, we probably will. so, i
agree that eventually it will be on par with electromagnetism, but for now it
describes a lot that is still very theoretical.

~~~
jakebian
But EM as a subject, as its usually taught, is still theoretical. Experimental
EM would be better known as either electronics or statistics. You make it
sound like theoretical means lacking experimental support, perhaps that is
what the word means in, say, politics, but certainly not in physics.

------
omnibrain
This depresses me a lot. It depresses me because it is something I may (the
may is the first problem here) want, but I feel I can never achieve it.

When I was a child I wanted to become an astronaut. But from the age of 8 or 9
onwards I was always a fat kid, and fat kids can't become astronauts, so I
quickly buried this dream and stayed the fat kid, instead of becoming lean and
pursuing it. Don't get me wrong: I never had much problem with being the fat
kid besides that. There was almost no bullying, I had friends, got a
girlfriend (later) and everything. The point is, I buried the specific dream
of becoming an astronaut but I was still fascinated by technology, computers
and science. And dinosaurs, like every proper kid in the 90ies. I was always a
lazy kid. Lazy, but with good to very good grades. (That's the other part of
the problem.) I may have suffered early from the challanges of being gifted;
though it is possible that I only was ahead of my classmates because I was 1
year older, because of my day of birth - I doubt myself a lot nowadays. So
after primary school I got only sent to the "Realschule", it's the middle
layer in the german school system, not the Gymnasium where you are on track
for the abitur (the diploma to enter universities). Everything was pretty easy
there, I never had to practice, never did my homework and had always good to
very good grades. Except in French. For French I would have had to practice,
memorize words and do the homework but i could not bring myself to do it.

During my time at the realschule I was interested in almost everything. Being
it physics, history, politics, computers, etc. I wanted to understand every
aspect of the world. I read books by Gell-Mann, Feynman, Hawking an others in
the physics field, same for history, politics, computers and aspects of math,
but already at this time, I never went too deep (this may be the third part of
the problem). But I intended to go to a gymnasium (with a technical profile)
after the Realschule and study physics after that. In 9th and 10th grade I
developed an additional interest in economics.

I went to a gymnasium with an economic profile, instead of the technological
one; for various reasons, my interest in economy played a role, but also that
the girl I had a crush on went there and all in all it was the most convenient
choice. There I did well in every subject except spanish. I almost never
learned, I almost never did homework. I was still one of the best and
considered very smart by everyone. So probably not the age.

During this time I got engaged in politics (a local chapter of a party), more
involved with the voluntary firefighters of my home village. This is about to
become important. I also noticed that I struggle with the more complex math
(integral calculus), not so much because of the concepts, but because I didn't
train it enough. So I figured physics may not be the right thing for me and
neither computer science. I was pretty arrogant at that time and also decided
for myself that I only want to attend a "real" university, and not a
university of applied science (Fachhochschule). The other factor was that I
did not want to leave my home town because of the firefighters and the party
and because I did not want to ask my parents for the money to pay rent in
another city when I can study in the next city and live at home.

So I decided to go for Economics at the university. I figured the math can't
be that bad. After the first year it became apparent that I'm going to fail, I
also had never made a lot of contacts with other students (I had a 1+ hour
public transport commute each way every day) to learn together and motivate
me, and later I was ashamed to talk with anybody about it.In the end I
switched subjects to law (I lied to myself that I'm interested in it). This
way I could stay at the same university, I did not even tell my parents at
first, though everybody else knew. All the time I was still interested in
everything (even economics), and quickly felt that I may get problems diving
deeper into law topics. I began to become a bit depressed and anxious to even
enter the university. One day the new semester started and I could not bring
myself to enter the lecture hall. I phoned my girlfriend and said to her: "I
can't enter the lecture hall. This has to end." Finally I felt free and she
felt free too, because she had felt that something wasn't right with me, but
was afraid to ask, because my reactions can be horrible.

I started to look for alternatives. I figured that it's time to leave the
university, I did not want to try anything else at the university (it would
have been computer science) for fear of failing again. So I decided to apply
for vocational training as a programmer (this is a thing in germany.) I had
luck, it was early in 2008 before the economy crashed and burned, so I quickly
found a spot. I got the job, did the training and work now as a business
software developer, doing ABAP developement in some of our companies SAP
systems for several years now. Sometimes it's fun and it enables my lifestyle
of buying fancy stuff and clothes and huge steaks. Sometimes I'm bored to hell
and want to do "real programming", though. I procrastinate a lot during my
job, but I usually finish in time, because when I need to I can be very fast,
and occassionally deadlines get pushed back, so I am lucky and am not late. I
learned the valuable skill of "asking for help". At least sometimes I am able
to. I still have the fear that other may notice that I'm not so smart and
don't know stuff I'm supposed to know.

I have Ideas but I don't pursue them. Because I don't know everything. I can't
think them through and suddenly there is the next idea or interest. I noticed
a few things in the last years. I can only learn (or bring myself to learn) if
i have a real task. Abstract learning is very difficult for me, I search for
distractions and excuses. Those tasks need to be given to me from someone
else, because I can't give myself tasks, because if I give myself I task I can
cancel it by myself. When I begin to dive into a topic, being it maths, or
economics, or puzzles, I tend to stop at the first obstacle, if it is not the
most exciting thing in the world.

I think I am stuck with programming software, and I think that's fine. But
even in this field I have troubles rooting in everything described above.

And there is still the love for physics somewhere deep in me. But I simply
can't pursue it. For all those reasons.

So my problems are: 1\. I still don't know what I really want. 1.1. I want
everything 1.2. I want it now. 2\. I need to know everything before I
continue, decide, 2\. I don't want to give up, what I already achieved 3\.
Good enough is often good enough for me, I can't force myself to go on and
further 4\. I never learned to ask for help. 5\. I avoid conflicts 6\. I never
learned to cooperate in education 7\. I have been lucky too often. 8\. I can't
stay focused except under high external pressure 9\. My mind may not be best
suited for the symbolic language of math. (that's what I think) 10\. Nowadays
I doubt if I am really smart 11\. ?

I could continue for another hour, but this text alreadyis an incoherent mess.

Edit: And I turn 30 next months. I increasingly get the feel that I'm too old
for anything now.

~~~
aik
You have two options: Change your mindset or continue burying/ignoring your
ambitions. Burying your ambitions can make you relatively satisfied in life,
but I believe they will always haunt you regardless of how hard you try.

You can change your mindset by developing habits that turns your mind into a
force for achieving your ambitions, instead of an obstacle that prevents you
from achieving your ambitions (which it appears to be now). Through this you
will achieve MUCH more, and I believe be much more satisfied in life.

You're only 30. I would suggest you continue reading, looking inward and
learning about yourself, and continue searching for answers concerning why you
aren't full of passion and motivation for achieving your ambitions. Everyone's
journey is different, however here are a smattering of books/resources that
may be insightful and have helped me:

1\. Carol Dweck on mindset:

\- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

\- Self-theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development
(Essays in Social Psychology)

2\. About the inner journey of high performance, removing mental obstacles,
cross-disciplinary learning, and nature vs. nurture:

\- The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence - Josh Waitzkin

\- Way of the Peaceful Warrior

\- The Talent Code - Coyle

\- Bounce - Syed

3\. Add some insightful structure to your perspective. Do you have a
pessimistic and deterministic mindset that is a detriment to your success?

\- [http://blakemasters.com/post/23435743973/peter-thiels-
cs183-...](http://blakemasters.com/post/23435743973/peter-thiels-
cs183-startup-class-13-notes-essay)

4\. Learn how self-control and willpower works and overcome it:

\- The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What
You Can Do to Get More of It - McGonigal

5\. Strengthening your mind:

\- The Rock Warrior's Way: Mental Training For Climbers

\- A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey Through the World of Fighting

6\. Find famous people in history you admire and feel you can relate with, and
read their biographies. A few suggestions:

\- The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

\- Titan (about Rockefeller)

\- Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War

\- Steve Jobs - Isaacson

\- River of Doubt (about T. Roosevelt's dangerous journey through the Amazon
river)

7\. Don't worry about things you can't change and place all your focus in the
things you can. Stoicism:

\- Seneca

\- Meditations

8\. On how the people who have become masters in their field became masters in
their field:

\- Mastery by Robert Greene

9\. Very intriguing characters that display incredible strength (mixed with
some controversial philosophy):

\- Atlas Shrugged - Rand

\- The Fountainhead - Rand

~~~
sriku
I'm guessing that this is likely to be more depressing.

I like to consider myself as one of those amateur physicists who Hooft talks
about. .. but instead of the deep academic physicist researcher kind, I prefer
to be the playful kind. I've filled a notebook with such play. It is likely to
be of no use to a professional physicist, but I certainly had fun thinking
about things.

A couple examples -

1\. I tried to work out a formula for refractive index of a material assuming
that photons get slowed down by it through repeated absorption and re-
emission.

2\. I asked "what if gravity obeyed maxwell's equations?" Iirc some
approximate calculations based on it turned ou something like newtonian laws
would hold if we're living on the inside of an exploding blackhole (or
something like that).

I don't know whether I went anywhere with those, but they were interesting to
think about when I knew enough math to do them.

I'm quite sure such play is well within the reach of amateur theoretical
physicists even if you may not end up solving the domain's pressing problems.

------
chm
This is a well deserved upgrade from the previous design!

------
drunkenmasta
This is going to take a while.

------
bayesianhorse
Short answer: Don't go to Wallstreet.

