What are some recommended resources for beginners in theoretical physics?

[quanto]

Hello everyone. I recently pick up Hawking book A Brief History of Time. I just started reading it and as someone with very little science background, it is a very difficult read. However, he talks about theories and concepts so well and articulately that after reading a paragraph more than once I do get a slight hold on it. Well, I was writing this tonight because I regret now for not taking my science courses too seriously in high school. In uni too I grad with Economics. Recently after going through 3 years of regular office job, i decided to go back to uni next year to get a second degree. I was looking into actuarial science (given my econ/stats background) and so I started re-taking high school courses in Maths, Calculus just so I can brush up on them and improve my chances of getting into a good school. Hawking's book has piqued my interest so much that the next course I am registering for is Physics, just basic grade 11 stuff which I know you guys probably know like the alphabets. I don't know why but I really was considering into doing a degree in physics instead, not sure what field yet but probably something in research/theoretical physics. See, money is not a big deal for me, my parents have bought a house here where i live as an investment (they live in montreal) so I am giving myself another year or so to go back to uni. So far the Maths has been pretty good to me, I just look at it and solve the problems and think "man why wasn't i this smart back then"(and its been more than 10 years or so) I don't know guess I have really matured since then. But I was wondering how hard does physics get in later years? And how can I be prepared for that? I really would like to immerse myself and and my interests in everything to do with physics/cosmology. I hope you guys can recommend some good beginners level books or website where I can learn more about the essentials of theoretical physics..maybe something like "quantum mechanics for dummies "Lol... well it's great to join this forum, for the past few days I have been mindlessly googling all these new words in Hawking book and your website keeps coming up so I decided why not join it. Hope to hear from you all soon and feel free to drop me a line anytime. Laters

 

[lisab]

Welcome to PF, quanto, I hope you like it here.

I had a similar experience with math. I just couldn't get it when I was in high school, but in my 20s it wasn't too bad - enjoyable, even.

It sounds like you don't need to make a decision quite yet between actuarial science and physics, since both will need math, and you're doing a review of that now. Great that you're brushing up on it and enjoying it! Can you slip an introductory physics class into your schedule, just to get a taste of it?

Yes it gets hard. But that's OK, it gets waaaay cool too . You do have to be dedicated and persistent.

Sorry I don't know of any beginner's level QM book, but others here will probably have some recommendations.

 

[quanto]

Hey Lisab, thanks for your reply. I will be finishing up my current course and will take the intro physics course next. I am really looking forward to that very much. I might just hit the local library tommorow to look for some books that can get me warmed up

 

[drizzle]

Welcome to PF quanto
I'm sure you'll get the best advice from PFers.
Personally I think you should focus on the course in hand and make sure you understant all the basics very well, also train yourself by working as many problems as possible, try those tricky ones, it really help you to adsorb physics, it'll then be running in your blood!