/sci/ - Science & Math

>>9814848
You can but you'll run out of things you can do/understand quite fast except in biology

>>9814858
That's fine. I think I just want a better understanding of the universe. Thanks.

>>9814848
You're not learning shit, but just picking up buzzwords. >>>/trash/

there's a lot of maths you can learn in a few months (less than a year), do it faggot i dare you then come back (drink coffee and get hyped).

>>9814848
you're not going to be learning much of anything without the math

>>9814848
>don't have time to read <good books>
>have plenty of time to read <shitty book>

Stop making excuses and start reading the good stuff.

>>9814848
A lot of the most interesting, most important, and most insightful parts of these theories and discoveries can only be expressed well through mathematics and the scientific jargon. Georg Cantor said once, “The essence of mathematics lies in its freedom.” A lot of these sophisticated ideas are fascinating because they hold up to scrutiny, and even some of the controversial ones have plausibility. Without understanding the math and background, fundamental science behind these theories, you run the risk of
1) misunderstanding or missing the point
2) being unable to meaningfully contribute your own thoughts on the theory
3) being unable to comprehend how it all comes together with the other existing theories

Studying things like abstract algebra will tell you why symmetry is so important on the smallest levels. Something like the principle of least action helps you understand how to derive the various mechanical theories and to what sort of “fundamental truth” they derive from.

>layman wants to learn popular physics

>hurr durr study abstract algebra

never change, /sci, never change

>>9814848

pick good popsci books by authors who are respected physicists and you will certainly get a good high level overview of the topics, and while it is merely scratching the surface without mathematics, it is still much better than remaining ignorant

I suggest continuing with Brian Greene books and maybe Inflationary Universe by Guth for modern cosmology (very underrated popsci book)

I am a complete brainlet that has the math understandings of a middle schooler, where should I start?

>>9815055
elementary algebra is pretty powerful desu

>>9815081
ah I see, fellow brainlet

>>9814995
A bunch of these books are reference books. Most people don't even read them cover to cover.

>>9815171
>A bunch of these books are reference books.

No, they're standard textbooks at top schools.

>Most people don't even read them cover to cover.

Of course not, it's not a novel.

>>9814983
>>9815032
Thanks, I can understand why it can be difficult to understand certain concepts without truly understanding how it was derived. I have a computer engineering background, it's just that I don't want it to be an entire math course to learn about dark matter.

>>9815049
Thanks, I'll check those out. I've been looking into Carlo Rovelli since he's been publishing more recent things, I worry if I look too far back some of the stuff might be outdated? I guess if it's all theories it shouldn't matter.

>>9815171
Some of them are used in high school AP classes.

>>9815049
>>hurr durr study abstract algebra

It's not that hard and there are plenty of books on it at the high school level. Groups of symmetry are purdy and help simplify basic geometry and physics proofs.

>get a good high level overview of the topics

Which are worthless if you don't know freshman physics. Lay people don't need to read about string theory or m theory. It would be far more worthwhile for them to learn about conservation of momentum instead.

>>9815171
Fine, here's the brainlet version.

>>9815190
I’m >>9815032
I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m gatekeeping. You can enjoy popular science books for a general audience and there’s no trouble in doing so.

What I suggest is watching some videos and maybe some lectures on the topics (MIT OCW and other similar series come to mind). While you may not understand all of it, you’ll probably pick up the basics. Try to read an academic paper here and there. You can turn this interest into a hobby and reap it for knowledge slowly. If you’re not doing professional science or mathematics, there’s no rush in these things; take it one step at a time, from pop sci book to maybe light textbook reading/video lecture to an academic paper here or there

>>9815190
>Thanks, I can understand why it can be difficult to understand certain concepts without truly understanding how it was derived. I have a computer engineering background, it's just that I don't want it to be an entire math course to learn about dark matter.

And you didn't take freshman calculus/physics?

>>9815207
I did and beyond. I just don't want it to feel like I'm doing a ton of work to understand it since I worry I might be deterred if it's too dense.

Primers >>> popshit

>>9814848
You really need to know the math.
Without the mathematical understanding, you are left with a crude linguistic approximation to the mathematics.
People like Deepak Chopra prey upon that lack of understanding.
It is probably takes less work to learn the math than to memorize the linguistic approximations.

>>9815230
all of that = shit

>>9815197

>Lay people don't need to read about string theory or m theory. It would be far more worthwhile for them to learn about conservation of momentum instead.

They should do both. Everyone who is not a complete brainlet should learn at least high school physics mathematically (that includes conservation of momentum), more if you are university educated. However, it is also part of a well rounded education to know at least verbal, conceptual descriptions of the most important modern physical theories, including relativity, quantum mechanics, string theory, big bang etc. It is stuff that helps give context to our very existence and a sure sign of a brainlet to not be interested in such topics at all.

What do I do if I had terrible high school teachers and never learned the why behind the how of math?

I literally don't know rules for multiplying and dividing fractions but somehow graduated.

>>9816851
a/b = a*(b)^-1

a/b * c/d = a*(b)^-1 * c*(d)^-1 = ac*(bd)^-1 = ac/bd

[a/b] / [c/d] = a*(b)^-1 * [c*(d)^-1]^-1 = a*(b)^-1 * d*(c)^-1 = ad*(bc)^-1 = ad/bc

>>9816851
Do what everyone else does, think hard and figure out the why yourself.

>>9816889
lol this unironically (unironically)

>>9814848
hang niggers

>>9814848
Avoid math as much as possible, unitl it need to be done practically.
Math is nothing more than practical tool.
People who treat math as philosophy of idealism are retarded.

>>9814848
you will have nothing but the most facile grasp on chem and phys, horrible understanding of evo bio, really useless understanding of eng and won’t be able to do anything beyond nigger CS (this is more a testament to how dumb CS is). All studies you read require understanding statistical analysis anon, if you cannot do this you will be able to understand maybe 1/10 of the why and the how for the study (it is as simple as alg, trig, basic calc; learn it in 4 weeks of concerted effort). If you cared you could pick up calc, refresh trig-alg-geom, pick up basic stat analysis and start breaking into higher level maths quickly all in about a summer. If you care by the end of the summer you will be just competent enough to understand a cog-psyche study. Also, please learn how to balance chemical equations and the rules governing chemistry, they’re all extremely simple requiring almost exclusively alg, calc and nothing else

>>9818943
Would you say Kurt Gödel's is just a tool? The philosophy of mathematics is important to our understanding of knowing about knowing.

>>9818980
Kurt Gödel's work*

>>9814848
If you want to understand the universe, you need to study mathematics as the universe (and all other universes) are mathematical.
Mathematics is the basis of everything, natural philosophy is only the study of the phenomena that arise from that mathematical basis LOCAL to our universe.
You need to study mathematics too, don't put it off for another second, start today.

>>9814976
As Alfréd Rényi put it:
>A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems.
Which is also why you should invest in a cafetière and burr grinder.

>>9816851
Try going through the first four books in this guide (try Library Genesis if you don't want to buy them right ahead) which should cover the standard HS curriculum, then Hammack's Book of Proof (which is available for free on his website) for a primer on mathematical reasoning

>>9815190
>computer engineering
Shouldn't you already know some mathematics?

>>9814848
that's like studying literature without learning how to read.