FIELDS

Work in progress on v4

Here is v4 so far (last update: Monday, 08-Nov-2021 13:28:24 EST): I Contents & Outline will be page renumbered last, so use the Table of Contents in the Sidebar Window in the pdf. (You shouldn't be printing anyway.)

Errata

pretty much up to date

Where to get v3

Sorry, we aren't mailing printed copies. If you still have computer-related problems, please contact your System Manager before e-mailing me.


What makes it different

Reasons not to read this book 🙄

  1. It's too broad.
    1. It's really big. You might never finish it. You will be exposed to too many interesting topics that you know you'll never learn.
    2. It's not about just LHC physics. If you read this book you'll actually learn quantum field theory, which is about more than just 1 lab.
    3. It takes too much time to get to Feynman diagrams. That means you might have to read the chapters out of order (as suggested in the Preface), which is too much trouble.
    4. It has string theory in the last couple chapters. Why would you want to learn anything that might also be applicable to string theory, & suffer guilt by association?
  2. It's too narrow.
    1. You can actually read it without reading another QFT book 1st. So if you already read another book 1st, you might have to unlearn stuff you thought you actually understood, but is really just baggage. In fact, if you learn canonical quantization of QFT you'll already have to unlearn that to understand Yang-Mills in any textbook, so better to not get as far as the Standard Model, or to read a book on just QED.
    2. There is too much math. Multiplying 2×2 matrices & doing Gaussian integrals, & having to look @ lots of indices. Why can't everything be explained with just words?
    3. There are too many words. Why can't there be more calculations? There are explicit calculations of only 4-gluon & 5-gluon amplitudes, why not 6 & 7?
  3. It isn't available printed on dead trees.
    1. How valuable can it be if I don't have to break my back lugging it around?
    2. Printed books are more sensually appealing: I love the way paper looks. I love the sound the pages make when I turn them. I love the feel of paper. I love the smell of paper. I love the taste of paper.
  4. It's too different & unconventional.
    1. Science is decided by tradition: It doesn't use the same explanations all the other textbooks use.
    2. Science is decided by authority: All the leaders in the field (or so I'm told) use other books, so they must be the best.
    3. Science is decided by democratic majority: Nobody else uses it to teach a course, therefore something must be wrong with it.
    4. Science is decided by capitalism: It's free. You get what you pay for.
  5. You won't get it. It might confuse you. That means you might have to think about new things. That can be hard. Maybe something awful will happen if you try it.

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