Reddit reviews How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog

Be the change you want to see in the world.

I think this fits, but for dogs
https://www.amazon.com/How-Teach-Quantum-Physics-Your/dp/1416572295

https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Mechanics-The-Theoretical-Minimum/dp/0465062903/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1TT0F2A70RBV36TT3D0S Is supposed to be good, as is https://www.amazon.com/How-Teach-Quantum-Physics-Your/dp/1416572295 . Then you can work up to https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Quantum-Mechanics-David-Griffiths/dp/0131118927 and then the gold standard for an introduction to quantum computing is https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Computation-Information-10th-Anniversary/dp/1107002176

I found How to Teach Physics to your Dog by Chad Orzel to be good. It's framed as a series of dialogues between the author and his talking dog Emmy (hence the title) where Emmy tries to creatively interpret quantum mechanics in her hunt for the neighborhood squirrels and the author has to straighten her out. It's strictly a "science for the interested layman" book though, it doesn't go too deeply into the mathematics. I found the central concept to be annoying at times, but it's usually entertaining and comprehensible, and it covers the history and experiments that led to modern understanding as well.

There's also a sequel that covers relativity.

I applaud your initiative and interest in wanting to learn more about QM. The advice I'll offer is based on your "having no physics background" and only pre-calculus math. That's ok, what matters more is the desire and application to learn more. I suggest that you initially stick with popular, layperson, conceptual materials and study them diligently and then keep going onto more in-depth materials.

I cannot in good faith recommend a single book about QM. I am going to offer a variety of materials (books, articles, videos) etc that I am either familiar with myself or others whose opinions I respect have recommended, and that I believe are at an appropriate level for you. From this and the other recommendations you receive, you'll probably find that you'll develop a feel for materials that are best for you. Also, for other book ideas, I highly suggest that you go to a local library and browse through the physics section and you'll probably find some books that appeal most to you.

The ideas below are in no particular order and you can pick and choose as you see fit:

For a preparatory short Scientific American article with some important to understand history and a lookahead to the future read 100 Years of Quantum Mysteries

Several people on reddit have highly recommended this LookingGlassUniverse video series on QM

For an easily accessible popular-level intro book, I've liked and many others have recommended How to Teach Physics to Your Dog by Chad Orzel.

I highly recommend a chapter from Sean Carroll's book From Eternity to Here on QM that he makes freely available on his website here. The book is not specifically about QM but this chapter is excellent and Sean Carroll is a clear, witty, and highly respected science communicator. This chapter has good material on the quantum wave function, the Schrödinger equation, and quantum indeterminacy.

Many have recommended the book by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw titled The Quantum Universe. I thought chapters 2 and 3 of this book were very well done but was not as keen on the later chapters. Maybe you could find a copy at a library and see what you think.

There are also some excellent materials online. One series of lecture materials I think is very good is 21st Century Science that is at the University of Oregon website. It's an excellent self-contained series of lectures and does not require math skills. It's includes more than just QM, which I recommend that you include in your study.

A nice article: 10 Quantum Truths About Our Universe

The article What is the Physics of Nothing on the energy of the quantum vacuum or zero-point energy.

Article: How does Quantum Mechanics Allow the Sun to Shine

The following are materials I wouldn't recommend to start with, but they're really good and deserve consideration:

This wouldn't be complete without a reference to the great Richard Feynman's lecture series. Part III is specifically on Quantum Mechanics. This is a classic textbook that has been used in many high schools and colleges over the years. I don't recommend starting with this, but I include it in case it might interest you.

Another reference that I wouldn't start with but feel it's good to include it in this listing is The Quantum Physics Sequence

I like this article by theoretical physicist Matt Strasler: Quantum Fluctuations and Their Energy

If you want a conceptual look at quantum field theory, particle physicist Matthew Buckley has a good article on this that is part of a longer series on particle physics. Knowing about quantum fields is important subject matter.

It's not an article, but rather a book. How to Teach Physics to Your Dog by Chad Orzel. I'd recommend it if you are wanting to try and understand some of the implications of QM without knowing the arithmetic.

How to teach physics to your dog by Chad Orzel was pretty good at explaining, as well as not being incredibly dense. Might not be what you're looking for, but there's no need for any prior knowledge.

It depends a lot on what you are interested in and how deep you want to go, and it also matters a lot whether you want to learn to do physics, or you just want to learn about physics.

If you want to do physics, there's really no substitute for an actual university. However, if you just want to learn about physics, and follow along as an informed spectator, then there are heaps of resources for free online and it really depends on how deep you want to go.

If you have an interest in quantum physics, but no maths/physics background (and you don't mind paying for a book) then I like to recommend How to Teach Quantum Physics to your Dog. It's a cute and easy to follow book written in the form of a dialogue between a physicist and his dog. I mostly recommend this one because it contains a chapter on how to recognise and avoid quantum nonsense (as opposed to quantum physics), which I think is a very important skill to develop.

If you want to go deeper than pop-sci books and Youtube videos, you will need to learn maths. It's a bit useless for me to recommend anything in particular without knowing what your background knowledge is and what your goals are in learning physics.

The are probably not capable of higher thinking. But there is a way to teach them quantum physics, so what do I know.

"How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog" was good fun

https://www.amazon.com/How-Teach-Quantum-Physics-Your/dp/1416572295

> dog farts

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In terms of free your local library probably has almost everything ... great resource to use that a lot of people forget about albeit you have to wait sometimes to get your book. I am currently reading Chad Orzel "How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog" and it is doing a pretty good job of laying everything out for you to understand... makes you want to dig deeper if that makes any sense..

https://www.amazon.com/How-Teach-Quantum-Physics-Your/dp/1416572295