In the summer of 2003, exactly one decade ago, I had a few months to spare before I started graduate school with no full time employment. So I spent that time reading and reviewing as many books on physics as I could. Partly to prepare for graduate school, partly for fun, and partly because I knew the first thing I would have to do when I got to ( Read more... )

There's a connected set of issues that rests at the very heart of physics, which I've always thought was not very clearly explained in any of my classes. I had a very vague understanding of it while I was an undergrad, and hoped that I'd be able to sharpen it up in graduate school. To some extent, I did, but I found that even after 6 years of ( Read more... )