Heretic Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 I was wondering what a good progression to grasping the ideas of string theory would be. I'm an educated layman... Not unfamiliar with the concept but generally I don't feel I could explain it adequately to someone else. That said what would be a good way to wrap my head around it fully. I'm got a basic understanding of Quantum mechanics but I'm sure I'd need a firmer background, would I not? Where should I start? Any suggestions on great reading material? (not journals, I read those, but actual books based on the subjects) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 I'm not sure of your level, but judging by the info on your post, I would say that you should start with The Road to Reality by Roger Penrose. He gives a very detailed view of string theory. The book is a little critical of it, but you can learn what it is all about. The book is difficult, but he devotes the first half of it to mathematics, so it shouldn't be that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Try Szabo's BUSSTEPP lectures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexteinstein Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 try brian greene's the elegant universe very informative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenTheMan Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Actually, I would reccomend Barton Zwiebach's book ``A First Course in String Theory''. Well-written, and there are things there that you can't find anywhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Actually, I would reccomend Barton Zwiebach's book ``A First Course in String Theory''. Well-written, and there are things there that you can't find anywhere else. I echo that, Zwiebach's book is excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 this isn`t a Book, but you May find it interesting and it`s pretty simple to understand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU1fixMAObI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted September 18, 2007 Author Share Posted September 18, 2007 Thanks guys I really appreciate it. I haven't been posting much but I've been reading over the conversations and wanting to have something to add but not being able to even relate to half the posts. I'm reading the lectures now and so far so good, Zwiebach's book seems like a good place to head to after that. I plan on watching the youtube when my eyes get tired of reading. Hopefully I'll have something to add later this year. Wow those lectures are way over my head. I'm currently sifting through other articles just to understand what are seemly basic concepts. *shrug* wasn't expecting instant results I just didn't realize how far I really was from understanding it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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