0 The Guide to the Guide: Difference between revisions
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= Common Failure Modes = | = Common Failure Modes = | ||
While these guides are intended to be accessible, make no mistake: learning physics is extremely challenging. If you commit sufficiently to this journey, it is liable to become one of the most difficult undertakings in your life, it is also | While these guides are intended to be accessible, make no mistake: learning physics is extremely challenging. If you commit sufficiently to this journey, it is liable to become one of the most difficult undertakings in your life, it is also likely to be one of the most rewarding. Below are two ''failure modes'' that you should be aware of: | ||
# '''Thinking that you understand something when you don't''': Words like ''energy'', ''quantum'', and ''electromagnetic field'' are bandied about casually in conversation, but most people, if challenged, would not truly know what these things mean. It is absolutely fine to not understand something, but we are all quite good at convincing ourselves that we understand something that we don not. We are all excellent self-deceivers. To prevent this problem, it is important that you challenge your understanding with practice problems covering any topics that you believe that you understand to confirm that this is true. This will slow you down in the short term, but over the long term, it will prevent you from wasting massive amounts of time having to unlearn your mistakes. Remember, ''slow is fast and fast is slow''. | # '''Thinking that you understand something when you don't''': Words like ''energy'', ''quantum'', and ''electromagnetic field'' are bandied about casually in conversation, but most people, if challenged, would not truly know what these things mean. It is absolutely fine to not understand something, but we are all quite good at convincing ourselves that we understand something that we don not. We are all excellent self-deceivers. To prevent this problem, it is important that you challenge your understanding with practice problems covering any topics that you believe that you understand to confirm that this is true. This will slow you down in the short term, but over the long term, it will prevent you from wasting massive amounts of time having to unlearn your mistakes. Remember, ''slow is fast and fast is slow''. | ||