The transition from mathematics to physics can be very hard. Most importantly, don't let yourself get stuck because of the lack of rigor and of the lack of proper motivation for doing things in a certain way. Very often the motivation becomes clear only in hindsight (and this hindsight at times may only come as a result of first doing the required calculation even without the complete understanding of what is going on), so it is important to try to move forward and (provisionally) ignore the bit that got you stuck. See also this text by S.P. Novikov about his personal experience of learning physics; some of the above suggestions were taken from there. Also, whenever possible, try to pick several books or sets of lecture notes on the subject rather than sticking to a single one. As for the actual learning of physics, you can try to look into the Feynman Lectures on Physics to get a general feeling of the way the physicists think.
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The transition from mathematics to physics can be very hard. Most importantly, don't let yourself get stuck because of the lack of rigor and of the lack of proper motivation for doing things in a certain way. Very often the motivation becomes clear only in hindsight (and this hindsight at times may only come as a result of first doing the required calculation even without the complete understanding of what is going on), so it is important to try to move forward and (provisionally) ignore the bit that got you stuck. Also, whenever possible, try to pick several books or sets of lecture notes on the subject rather than sticking to a single one. As for the actual learning of physics, you can try to look into the Feynman Lectures on Physics to get a general feeling of the way the physicists think. |
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