The Theoretical Minimum

what you need to know to start doing physics

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A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2013A world-class physicist and a citizen scientist combine forces to teach Physics 101the DIY wayThe Theoretical Minimum is a book for anyone who has ever regretted not taking physics in collegeor who simply wants to know how to think like a physicist. In this unconventional introduction, physicist Leonard Susskind and hacker-scientist George Hrabovsky offer a first course in physics and associated math for the ardent amateur. Unlike most popular physics bookswhich give readers a taste of what physicists know but shy away from equations or mathSusskind and Hrabovsky actually teach the skills you need to do physics, beginning with classical mechanics, yourself. Based on Susskind's enormously popular Stanford University-based (and YouTube-featured) continuing-education course, the authors cover the minimumthe theoretical minimum of the titlethat readers need to master to study more advanced topics.An alternative to the conventional go-to-college method, The Theoretical Minimum provides a tool kit for amateur scientists to learn physics at their own pace.