Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Ideocosmology



I think there is a place for a survey course which covers everything once
over lightly. Physics just may not yield itself to this approach as well as
some other topics. I feel I am much the richer for having taken courses
like cultural anthropology, world history, world regional geography, etc.
all of which were all we know once over lightly. There is something to be
said for getting the lay of the land and seeing the big picture before
trying to fill in the details. Too often physics texts (and teachers) get
so hung up on the details that the students have no idea what it is good for.
I think Robert March's book PHYSICS FOR POETS is a wonderful little book and
I wish it had been available to me before I started graduate school.
On Mon, 23 Mar 98 10:30:49 EST Emilio O. Roxin said:
Hi, Rick!
You hit the nail on the head! While covering just a part of the
syllabus in order to understand something may be worth little,
covering everything but without understanding is worth nothing!
One of the impediments to understanding is, in my opinion, those
encyclopedic textbooks which students do not have the time to
read. The "intelligent" way to read a scientific book is to read
for one minute and then think about 10 minutes about what you read
(construct possible examples, compare with previous sections etc.)
Greetings! Emilio