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Ask HN: Is learning deep topics shallowly worthwhile?

1 points by desertraven ↗ HN
Say quantum mechanics for example. Is it worthwhile for a layman to learn about it, without the rigour of academic study? For what? To discuss shallowly with others? To gain a illusion of understanding?

4 comments

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h2odragon
It could be useful, just to gain an index of what's available and where to go after when you do want to learn more. Can also be fun to glance at a topic briefly, then come back to it in a few years and see how much has changed.
082349872349872
Try reading Feynman's QED and decide for yourself if non-rigourous learning is worthwhile.
eimrine
For the sake of stop being ignorant, or if this is a part of your favorite field.
underanalyzer
Generally I find that shallowly learning topics adjacent to the areas I know deeply works best but trying to glean the idea of topics way outside of my understanding (i.e quantum physics) does not end well for me.