Freedom Is An Illusion

I have recently come across a very interesting book written by the great behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Freedom_and_Dignity

I haven't finished this book yet but the general gist is that we should start shaping people's behaviors with with psychological technology.  This theme is reflected in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, who was opposed to Skinner's proposition.

I have a lot to say about this book but I need to catch up on renormalization for my quantum field theory class...

Learning Quantum Electrodynamics

I am currently taking three graduate level physics courses: Physics 210 (General Relativity), 251a (Advanced Quantum Mechanics), and 253a (Quantum Field Theory).  Of the three, QFT is the most difficult (in my opinion).  This is a subject that people usually don't get the first time around.  I must admit that this is the first class that I have taken where I am really struggling to get through the material.

Fortunately, I have come across two books that have helped my QFT education: Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell by Anthony Zee and QED by Richard Feynman.

http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Field-Theory-Nutshell-Princeton/dp/0691140340/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289796861&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/QED-Strange-Princeton-Science-Library/dp/0691125759/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289796839&sr=1-5


I would highly recommend the first to any physics student interested in learning QFT.  Zee starts off with the path integral formulation of QM and derives many of the results that can be obtained from the alternative method of using perturbation theory (treating particles instead of fields as the fundamental starting point) that is normally taught in a QFT class (at least at Harvard).

I would recommend Feynman's book to both physicists and non-physicists.  This is a compilation of non-technical lectures on quantum electrodynamics given at UCLA in the 1980s.  Feynman was one of the main developers of QED and it is always illuminating to know what this Nobel laureate had to say about the nature of nature.

Dating != Physics

After going on a date every week since the beginning of the semester, I've been on a dating hiatus for about a week now and it has been fantastic.  What has also been great is not going out every weekend.  I highly recommend abstaining from both activities if you want to focus on schoolwork and getting enough rest.  I have started reading up on string theory and cosmology and I am HOOKED!

Here are the books I am reading:

http://www.amazon.com/String-Theory-M-Theory-Modern-Introduction/dp/0521860695/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289083282&sr=1-7

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Cosmology-Scott-Dodelson/dp/0122191412/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289083368&sr=1-1

Note: Try to not take three graduate-level physics courses in one semester.