A modern approach to quantum mechanics
Explore A modern approach to quantum mechanics by John S. Townsend: 4 Hacker News mentions from 4 participants in 2007-02-22–2026-11-01. Read original excerpts, compare opinions and save this book.
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Read on Hacker News… hogwash. Its author assumes (but never explores or explains the assumption) that there's some unidirectional arrow of improved understanding and pedagogy through time (“progress”) and that therefore modern explanations are inherently more sophisticated/subtle/polished than the original grapplings with a subject. What he misses is that the seminal papers in any field are forced to really grapple with a subject for its own sake, while later works fetishize dogma and ceaselessly pander to the interests of whoever is paying for the work to be done, simplifying concepts to be understood by those of uncertain prior experience, and packing in features (ooh, glossy pictures! companion website!) that will sell copies. There are some areas where studying the originals is not especially helpful, because subjects weren’t yet understood. For instance…
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