F is for Feynman Lectures and 3 free books to teach your child physics

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND HIS TIMES

The Feynman Lectures are Fantastic!

Richard Feynman was born in 1918. He started his career working on the Manhattan project when he was in his early 20’s and went on to earn a Nobel prize for topics in quantum mechanics (physics). He settled down as a professor at CalTech where he developed his famous set of physics lectures.

He is famous beyond the small circle of physicists and engineers as the person who figured out why the Challenger space shuttle exploded, killing everyone aboard. If you watched any of the televised congressional hearings after the accident, you will likely have seen Feynman in action.

But his approach to teaching physics is legendary. Much like some of the educational theories that suggest you wait until a child is 10 or so before entering formal studies, Feynman’s approach to physics was that you should not start learning physics until you have the math to understand it.

He did write a series of lectures that turned into a book which describe basic concepts of physics for people without math knowledge, but the majority of his work requires understanding of Calculus. After all, that is just the way Physics is.

“You can know the name of that bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird. You’ll only know about humans in different places, and what they call the bird… I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.”

WHAT FEYNMAN WROTE

I received the Feynman lectures as a gift from my husband, way back in the dark ages when we were still dating. At the time I was a physics major in college which made them an amazing gift.

I did not realize at the time how indispensable they would become once our children grew to be teenagers. The three volumes cover all aspects of physics and replace the undergraduate lower division physics requirement at CalTech.

Now, here is the amazing part: If you have that child who lives and breathes physics but it really isn’t your cup of tea, don’t settle for a dumbed down high school version of physics. Head over to the online Feynman lectures and your child can independently work his or her way through all the material. There are even sets of problems with answers.

When your child is done, head over to your nearest CLEP testing center and take the physics test. Not only will you be able to document the learning progress for a physics course for your child, and get transferable college credit, but your child will have the smartest man who ever lived for a teacher.

Among the fantastic books he wrote are:

• The Feynman Lectures on Physics (3 volumes)
• The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist
• Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher
• No Ordinary Genius: The Illustrated Richard Feynman
• What Do You Care What Other People Think?
• Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character. 

“There is one feature I notice that is generally missing in cargo cult science [pseudoscience]… It’s a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty — a kind of leaning over backwards.”

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AND NOW, THE LINK PARTY!

FIRST, MY WONDERFUL CO-HOSTS:

AMANDA HOPKINS AT HOPKINS HOMESCHOOL

CHRISTINE HOWARD AT LIFE’S SPECIAL NECESSITIES

DAWN PELUSO AT SCHOOLIN’ SWAG

JENNIFER KING AT A PEACE OF MIND

KIMBERLEY LINKLETTER AT VINTAGE BLUE SUITCASE

KRISTEN HEIDER AT A MOM’S QUEST TO TEACH

LORI HOOTEN AT AT HOME: WHERE LIFE HAPPENS

WENDY ROSS AT LIFE ON CHICKADEE LANE

YVONNE BILLIAN AT THE LIFE WE BUILD

NOW, THE RULES (DON’T WORRY, THEY ARE REALLY SIMPLE):

1. Write a blog post and then hop over to the linkup and add your post!
2. Grab a blog button for your post.

3. Take some time to read the other great posts if you have the time and spread some encouragement and appreciation with a comment or two!

Together we can help each other increase our traffic, read some interesting tips and ideas, and spread some good cheer that will help us start off our weekend!

FINALLY, THE POSTS!

Inlinkz Link Party