Physics

[Jane Elliot]

I'm looking at the recommendations for rhetoric stage physics in TWTM and wondering about some of these books. Have any of you or your students read Darwin's Black Box, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory, or A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes? Is there one or more we really shouldn't miss out on? How did you work them in?

[Anne/Ankara]

I haven't used those books yet, but someone recently posted this link to Cambridge's Readable Theoretical Physics booklist, which looks pretty interesting. Maybe it will help your choice of texts....

 

http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/undergrad/documentation/readinglist/text.pdf

[MaryM]

Darwin's Black Box was used with biology. We used a traditional AP book as well and Thinkwell and ds read Black Box and discussed it in light of the coverage in the standard books. Good read but you truly need the traditional science materials as well for these additions, imho.

 

Mary

[Lisa in TN]

I enjoyed Darwin's Black Box, but I wouldn't necessarily consider it a physics resource. If I recall correctly, it uses arguments based in biology and biochemistry to refute spontaneous evolution.

 

My favorite physics resource has been a set of Teaching Company tapes, Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists. After listening to these tapes, which I borrowed from my public library, I checked out a book by Richard Wolfson (the professor who lectures on the tapes), and I felt that I finally grasped the essence of Einstein's theories. His book was titled Simply Einstein: Relativity Demystified.

 

I didn't tackle Einstein's own book, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory, until after finishing Wolfson's book and lectures. By this time I already understood the basics of the theory and a lot of the examples. I'm not sure how well it would have worked if I had tried to read this book first.

 

Wolfson also has a Teaching Company lecture series called Physics In Your Life. I hope to try this one next, since I liked the other one so much.

 

I haven't read Hawking's book yet.

[Jane Elliot]

you truly need the traditional science materials as well for these additions, imho.

 

Mary

 

Yes, I have our text figured out. I was looking at these as supplemental.

[Jane Elliot]

I enjoyed Darwin's Black Box, but I wouldn't necessarily consider it a physics resource. If I recall correctly, it uses arguments based in biology and biochemistry to refute spontaneous evolution.

 

My favorite physics resource has been a set of Teaching Company tapes, Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists. After listening to these tapes, which I borrowed from my public library, I checked out a book by Richard Wolfson (the professor who lectures on the tapes), and I felt that I finally grasped the essence of Einstein's theories. His book was titled Simply Einstein: Relativity Demystified.

 

I didn't tackle Einstein's own book, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory, until after finishing Wolfson's book and lectures. By this time I already understood the basics of the theory and a lot of the examples. I'm not sure how well it would have worked if I had tried to read this book first.

 

Wolfson also has a Teaching Company lecture series called Physics In Your Life. I hope to try this one next, since I liked the other one so much.

 

I haven't read Hawking's book yet.

 

Hmmm. I wonder why Darwin's Black Box is listed with the Physics resources in WTM. Very interesting.

 

I'm encouraged to hear that Wolfson's course was good. I ordered Physics in Your Life yesterday but not the Einstein one. I had a terrible time choosing. Maybe I should just order the Einstein one, too. I didn't realize Wofson had written a book. Thanks for recommendation.