Hi all,

 

I am interested in learning about general relativity (GR) in a do-it-yourself fashion. To that end, I was hoping that some of you may be able to provide some advice on the following two questions:

1. Am I missing any prerequisite knowledge required before beginning an introductory study of GR? Below is a list of college level math and physics courses that I completed during my engineering undergraduate days (a while ago, but reasonably confident I can brush up on the course material).
2. A good introductory GR textbook - aside from clear explanations, something with lots of examples and worked through problems would be nice.

Thanks in advance!

 

Completed Relevant Coursework:

Classical Mechanics Physics (i.e. Newtonian stuff)

EM Mechanics Physics

Multivariate/Vector Calculus

Ordinary Differential Equations

Numerical Computation Methods

Introductory Statistics

Differential geometry- you would need the basics, if nothing else, for the notation.

Before you start on GR you should be aware that the theory has changed and developed of the course of the last century.

 

A good history of this and the experimental work that went into these changes is to be found here.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Theory-Century-Geniuses-Relativity/dp/1408703106/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407790350&sr=1-1&keywords=perfect+theory

Edited August 11, 201411 yr by studiot

You have some calculus and differential equations. This should be enough to get started. I suggest you read the lecture notes of Carroll, they are a good place to start.

 

arXiv:gr-qc/9712019v1