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I also recall hearing that as an undegrad curriculum, the lectures never worked well (even when feynman himself was teaching them). His way of understanding phy
by pge 8y ago
I also recall hearing that as an undegrad curriculum, the lectures never worked well (even when feynman himself was teaching them). His way of understanding physics is beautiful but not intuitive for most people. I read them after getting a degree in physics and it was fascinating to see his approach precisely because it was so different (and elegant) than the way it is typically taught, but I could not have understood them nearly as well if I had not already learned the concepts in a more traditional way.
All that is to say- The Feynman lectures are wonderful, but I would not recommend them as a first text.
- derangedHorse 8y agoI disagree. As someone who doesn't know much about Physics, certain things I read in the Feynman lectures today still stick with me. Like if you drop a heavy object onto the floor, its temperature rises by a minuscule amount lol.
- anonytrary 8y ago> Like if you drop a heavy object onto the floor, its temperature rises by a minuscule amount lol. Tidbits like this are not a substitute for a working knowledge of physics. The Feynman Lectures are not a substitute for undergraduate courses. You'll get more out of the Feynman Lectures after completing the main undergraduate courses.
- derangedHorse 8y agoI'm not sure what you define as a 'working' knowledge of Physics, but to get to a research level of physics requires more than a few introductory physics course also. I'm not saying the Feynman lectures is a substitute for learning any specific part of Physics, but it is useful for understanding basic concepts and also understanding how those concepts can fit in to our everyday lives. What I disagreed about in the post I replied to was the position that it wasn't "intuitive" or a good first text for beginners.
- abecedarius 8y agoCounterpoint: "Memories of Feynman's lectures" at http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/I_90.html http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/I_90.html Every time this topic comes up, someone says they heard nth-hand that the lectures didn't work. I suspect it's folklore that grew out of Feynman's disappointment expressed in his preface. I studied them together with the official text in my undergrad courses, and found them helpful, FWIW.