With online lectures, MOOCs, and open courseware, it's probably never been easier to get access to college-level instruction on a huge variety of topics. But yesterday saw the launch of a new entry dedicated to scientific concepts: the World Science University, launched by the group that runs the World Science Festival.
The WSU takes a somewhat different approach to things, offering two levels of courses in physics, depending on how interested you are in delving into the underlying math. It's also got what you might call a physics FAQ, with answers provided in video form. We've been playing with the beta version of the courses over the last few weeks, and we sat down with WSU founder and lecturer Brian Greene to talk about why they've decided now is the time to tackle online science education.
The WSU material is split into what he called a "three layer experience." Science Unplugged material is the simplest, as it just involves Greene explaining a topic or answering the question in a short video, without visuals or a prepared script. Most of these are based on questions he's been asked in various contexts, although he's encouraging users to send in additional ones.
Years ago I read his book, The Elegant Universe. It's an excellent book for anyone who wants to understand more about traditional particle physics (the standard model), as well as relativity & string theory, with a bit about the extension of string theory to membrane theory.
And no, you won't get bogged down in math, he keeps it conceptual. You might, however, have to read a few pages & then put the book down to give yourself time to wrap your brain around what you just read.
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Free online physics courses with Brian Greene (Original post)
merrily (45,251 posts) 
