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If anyone is interested to learn more about quantum mechanics and the Dirac ket notation, check this out: https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSLA_quant

If anyone is interested to learn more about quantum mechanics and the Dirac ket notation, check this out: https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSLA_quantum_chapter.pdf https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSLA_quantum_cha... (79pp; includes exercises and problems with solutions) It's the last chapter from my linear algebra book. The book is not free, but I'm happy to make this chapter free because QM is cool stuff.

dustingetz 3y ago
i read your book cover to cover it was amazing edit: https://www.amazon.com/No-bullshit-guide-linear-algebra/dp/0992001021 https://www.amazon.com/No-bullshit-guide-linear-algebra/dp/0...
- ivansavz 3y ago
  Hey thx man! Always good to hear from readers.
- torcete 3y ago
  I was checking out the kindle version preview on amazon. You know, when you click "Read Sample". The mathematical formulas seem to be badly formatted and hard to read. I reckon this is just a problem with the html conversion for the preview. Can somebody confirm that it looks fine on the kindle?
  - dustingetz 3y ago
    sorry, i read this printed. It is textbook length, studying requires lots of flipping around. everything else kindle tho
  - ivansavz 3y ago
    Please do not buy the Kindle version form amazon; it's not mine ... someone pirated it! I'm reporting it now, but it keeps on happening. I would recommend you get a print copy since it's much better for learning, but if you prefer digital-only copy you can get it through gumraod: https://gum.co/noBSLA https://gum.co/noBSLA It comes in PDF, ePub, and mobi formats. Here is an ePub preview (of another book) so you can see the math rendering: https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_preview.epub https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_previe... I worked for 2+ years to get this to look decent, see https://minireference.com/blog/generating-epub-from-latex/ https://minireference.com/blog/generating-epub-from-latex/
    - dustingetz 3y ago
      amazon report page is not broken for me, firefox mobile ios
      - ivansavz 3y ago
        I managed to get on a report page via the KDP portal. Very weird, since it's the same URL, but the form showed up because I was coming from a different referred. Oh well, reported successuflly now (I think). Thx for confirming it wasn't just me. I was starting to doubt so I edited my comment. update: I figured out what is going on... It's the classic curse of the extra slash! - BROKEN = https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement/ https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement/ - WORKS = https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement
    - torcete 3y ago
      I had no idea that can be possible! For the record, it was on amazon UK. I will definitely follow your advice and get the paper version.
      - ivansavz 3y ago
        > I will get the paper version. Nice! I have a free-eBook-when-you-buy-a-print-copy policy. Please send me a picture of the book when you receive it or some other proof-of-purchase, and I'll hook you up with a PDF with matching page numbers. This way you'll be able to easily switch between print copy and digital as you need.
Corsome 3y ago
Your books are indeed excellent! I was wondering... what's your opinion on Geometric Algebra? (If you have one)
- ivansavz 3y ago
  I've watched a few talks and seen cool computational demos about it (see for example https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22282452 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22282452 ), but I still don't really understand it... or should I say I can't "wedge" it into my head ;) The uniformity of operations and the fact it works in all dimensions is very appealing, but I remember there were some very counter-intuitive aspects too, so I'm not fully on board. Still very cool though! I guess old school vectors, dot-, and cross- products have the benefit of history behind them, so they feel more intuitive, whereas geometric algebra operations feel somehow foreign to us (to me at least). It would be interesting to see what happens if a student learns geometric algebra first, maybe it will feel more natural then.
  - Corsome 3y ago
    Thanks for your take on it! > It would be interesting to see what happens if a student learns geometric algebra first, maybe it will feel more natural then. Yeah, I've noticed some people [0] advocating for using it for all physics as soon as possible too. [0]: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/geometric-algebra-for-physicists/FB8D3ACB76AB3AB10BA7F27505925091 https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/geometric-algebra-for-p...
abdullahkhalids 3y ago
This is very well written. I checked for a couple of common issues that arise in introductory presentations of quantum mechanics, and found that you navigated most of them correctly. For example, in the entanglement section, you did discuss that entanglement is a basis independent property, which is a critical point to make - basis dependent "entanglement" exists in classical systems; it is just correlation. However, I disagree with the inclusion of the paragraph starting "There is something strange about the EPR state." The emphasis on 'immediately' in conjunction with the large distance between Alice and Bob is particularly problematic. The setting of EPR experiments is necessarily in a relativistic world, and in that world time is only a local property. Saying things happen simultaneously (= immediately) implies the presence of a privileged frame of reference, which is exactly what we don't want to do. There are ways of saying these things correctly, but that requires a lot more setup. I also have a minor nitpick in the sentence below" "We have complete certainty about the state of the composite system |\psi_-\rangle^{AB} , and complete uncertainty about the states of the individual subsystems controlled by Alice and Bob" Since, entanglement exists on a scale, it is better to delete the second "complete" in the sentence, as we can have only partial uncertainty (in the sense of some entanglement measure) about Alice and Bob's systems.
- ivansavz 3y ago
  Thanks for taking a look and reporting the issues. I'll add clarifications around the "immediately" and remove the second "complete" as per your suggestions.

dustingetz 3y ago

i read your book cover to cover it was amazing edit: https://www.amazon.com/No-bullshit-guide-linear-algebra/dp/0992001021 https://www.amazon.com/No-bullshit-guide-linear-algebra/dp/0...

ivansavz 3y ago
Hey thx man! Always good to hear from readers.
torcete 3y ago
I was checking out the kindle version preview on amazon. You know, when you click "Read Sample". The mathematical formulas seem to be badly formatted and hard to read. I reckon this is just a problem with the html conversion for the preview. Can somebody confirm that it looks fine on the kindle?
- dustingetz 3y ago
  sorry, i read this printed. It is textbook length, studying requires lots of flipping around. everything else kindle tho
- ivansavz 3y ago
  Please do not buy the Kindle version form amazon; it's not mine ... someone pirated it! I'm reporting it now, but it keeps on happening. I would recommend you get a print copy since it's much better for learning, but if you prefer digital-only copy you can get it through gumraod: https://gum.co/noBSLA https://gum.co/noBSLA It comes in PDF, ePub, and mobi formats. Here is an ePub preview (of another book) so you can see the math rendering: https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_preview.epub https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_previe... I worked for 2+ years to get this to look decent, see https://minireference.com/blog/generating-epub-from-latex/ https://minireference.com/blog/generating-epub-from-latex/
  - dustingetz 3y ago
    amazon report page is not broken for me, firefox mobile ios
    - ivansavz 3y ago
      I managed to get on a report page via the KDP portal. Very weird, since it's the same URL, but the form showed up because I was coming from a different referred. Oh well, reported successuflly now (I think). Thx for confirming it wasn't just me. I was starting to doubt so I edited my comment. update: I figured out what is going on... It's the classic curse of the extra slash! - BROKEN = https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement/ https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement/ - WORKS = https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement
  - torcete 3y ago
    I had no idea that can be possible! For the record, it was on amazon UK. I will definitely follow your advice and get the paper version.
    - ivansavz 3y ago
      > I will get the paper version. Nice! I have a free-eBook-when-you-buy-a-print-copy policy. Please send me a picture of the book when you receive it or some other proof-of-purchase, and I'll hook you up with a PDF with matching page numbers. This way you'll be able to easily switch between print copy and digital as you need.

Corsome 3y ago

Your books are indeed excellent! I was wondering... what's your opinion on Geometric Algebra? (If you have one)

ivansavz 3y ago
I've watched a few talks and seen cool computational demos about it (see for example https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22282452 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22282452 ), but I still don't really understand it... or should I say I can't "wedge" it into my head ;) The uniformity of operations and the fact it works in all dimensions is very appealing, but I remember there were some very counter-intuitive aspects too, so I'm not fully on board. Still very cool though! I guess old school vectors, dot-, and cross- products have the benefit of history behind them, so they feel more intuitive, whereas geometric algebra operations feel somehow foreign to us (to me at least). It would be interesting to see what happens if a student learns geometric algebra first, maybe it will feel more natural then.
- Corsome 3y ago
  Thanks for your take on it! > It would be interesting to see what happens if a student learns geometric algebra first, maybe it will feel more natural then. Yeah, I've noticed some people [0] advocating for using it for all physics as soon as possible too. [0]: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/geometric-algebra-for-physicists/FB8D3ACB76AB3AB10BA7F27505925091 https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/geometric-algebra-for-p...

abdullahkhalids 3y ago

This is very well written. I checked for a couple of common issues that arise in introductory presentations of quantum mechanics, and found that you navigated most of them correctly. For example, in the entanglement section, you did discuss that entanglement is a basis independent property, which is a critical point to make - basis dependent "entanglement" exists in classical systems; it is just correlation. However, I disagree with the inclusion of the paragraph starting "There is something strange about the EPR state." The emphasis on 'immediately' in conjunction with the large distance between Alice and Bob is particularly problematic. The setting of EPR experiments is necessarily in a relativistic world, and in that world time is only a local property. Saying things happen simultaneously (= immediately) implies the presence of a privileged frame of reference, which is exactly what we don't want to do. There are ways of saying these things correctly, but that requires a lot more setup. I also have a minor nitpick in the sentence below" "We have complete certainty about the state of the composite system |\psi_-\rangle^{AB} , and complete uncertainty about the states of the individual subsystems controlled by Alice and Bob" Since, entanglement exists on a scale, it is better to delete the second "complete" in the sentence, as we can have only partial uncertainty (in the sense of some entanglement measure) about Alice and Bob's systems.

ivansavz 3y ago
Thanks for taking a look and reporting the issues. I'll add clarifications around the "immediately" and remove the second "complete" as per your suggestions.