h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi again,

Did you ever happen to pick up that book on 'Q' by Dr. Anthony Zee?

I'm looking forward to a review.

I did indeed, and holy cow! The book is supposed to 'bring quantum field theory to the masses,' but the masses better have an IQ over 150 and some serious math under their belts. There are lots of equations, some of which I even recognize... Time to go back to school.

I'm re-reading Zee's 'Einstein's Universe' just for the pleasure of his lucid explanations and examples. He must be a wonderful teacher. I think I have another hero to add to my 'life list'.

How goes it with your Wilderness Survival entries and Peer Review?

quiz

The news about the book is both encouraging and discouraging, Quiz.

I certainly agree that his clarity should qualify him as a fine instructor. Perhaps the subject matter just does not lend itself to a non-math environment?

After reading "An Old Man's Toy", I was inspired to look for "Fearful Symmetry". With your review, as problematic as the IQ thing is, I'll now have to find this one as well.

Thanks for asking of the no-longer-a-series series.

One of the fine suggestions was that a single entry would more easily be picked up by the guide than a set of entries. I've stripped it down to a previous, more straighforward form, so that it might be combinable. I can always go back and write it to length later, re-inserting the humour(?) as seems appropriate.

Just now, it is pretty bland stuff.

Meanwhile, it's off to Trig and Calculus to pump my IQ up and get myself ready for the Zee.

Hope you are having a great summer.

I just pulled 'Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell' off my shelf. The dust jacket says:

'A quantum field theory text for the twenty-first century, this book makes the essential tool of modern theoretical physics available to any student who has completed a course on quantum mechanics and is eager to go on.' The blurb also notes that QFT is 'one of the most vital but notoriously difficult subjects in theoretical physics.'

Ouch. This is a text book, and I'd have preferred something for the educated lay person. The lazy educated lay person. This is embarrassing because I taught calculus when I was in grad school, and when I looked at the equations, the only thing that popped into my mind was . On the other hand, mental gymnastics are supposed to help prevent or delay Alzheimer's disease, so I expect I'll slog through the details.

Coincidentally, I'm at work on next week's article, which is about the joys of doing nothing. It's summer, what can I say? Oxford is delightfully dull in summer, but the U-Hauls are arriving and the local Wal-Mart's shelves are jammed, so the university students can't be far behind.

I was hoping that your Wilderness series would survive with all the humour in place. The entries were funny and informative - I laughed out loud many times while reading them. Oh, well, this is why I'm not in charge around here.

I seem to have Abuse-of-Smilies disease today...

Cheers!

Ah, a textbook! That explains quite a bit. Think there is a cliff-notes version out there?

QFT may be baffling, but I keep running across an article that tries asserting that centrifugal force = gravity. I think some of us have enough to tackle with the basics.

Oh the joys of doing nothing! How I miss that since buying a house. It's not so much a money pit, as an energy blackhole.

Thanks again for the warm comments on the Survival stuff. I had considered just pulling it out of PR, and letting them stand as journal entries. Some, however, were neither as kind or amused as you. Now, If I were king, ....

BTW, I even appreciate your Alsmiler's Syndrome. Perhaps I should be using more?