(Drivebycuriosity) - Are you familiar with "the dot product defined for ordinary 3-vectors"? If not, the book "Quantum Mechanics: The theoretical minimum" is not for you (amazon ). The authors, Leonard Susskind & Art Friedman, have no do doubt that their readers are. They based their book on their Internet lecture and cater apparently an exclusive circle of theoretical physicists and mathematicians.
Susskind`s style reminds me of the specific humor of "Sheldon" from the show "The Big Bang Theory". If the reader had worked through page 85 then he is finally "positioned to make some real calculations, something that should make his inner physicist jump for joy".
The Person In The Street
The tandem declares: "To the person in the street, quantum mechanics is all about light being particles and electrons being waves". But up until page 235, the authors have hardly mentioned particles, and the only mention of waves has been the wave function, "which so far has had nothing to do with waves".
According to Google AI Quantum Physics and Quantum Mechanics generally describe the same field—the study of matter and energy at atomic/subatomic scales. "Mechanics" tends to emphasize the mathematical framework, while "physics" is a broader term for the entire discipline including its theories and applications. I read several books about Quantum Physics which where helpful for my understand, "The Theoretical Minimum" is not.
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