Adventures of a Physics Nerd

As an undergrad student of physics, I have been studying mathematics rigorously from the first days of my freshman year. Here is a list of books that I have been studying lately to develop my mathematical background: Vector Calculus by Susan Jane Colley Vector calculus is a mathematical tool that a physicist uses on a daily basis. The branches of physics where vector calculus is used are a lot in number; classical mechanics, classical electromagnetism, fluid mechanics, classical field theory- to name a few. And it’s an prerequisite to learn differential geometry. I have been studying vector calculus for some time. And Susan Jane Colley’s has been quite a nice guide to learning vector calculus. What I love about the book is that it’s emphasis on rigorous development of the subject while still not very dry to study. And it contains lots of nice problems to test one mathematical understanding; especially the miscellaneous problems at the end of the chapter amalgamat...

I started learning differential geometry without a sound base on calculus. Here's what happened afterwards. I was solving a problem on vector calculus from Lovett's  Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces . It involved solving a first order ODE but at first there was a square of the first derivative. All I had to do is take the square root of both sides and solve a very easy first order ODE. But, what I did was both funny and nonsense. I treated the square of the first derivative as a 2nd derivative and started solving a 2nd order ODE. To add more to the irony I sent the solution to a graduate student for feedback. Thus, the quote on the picture of the heading was born. And then he sent me a long reply on why should I study calculus with great rigor and details for a long time. I became agitated as I took it as an insult. I didn't think there was anything left for me to learn in "elementary" calculus and/or analysis. All the high sch...

How my mother died I remember how I lied about the cause of my mother’s death during my teenage. Every time someone had asked about it, I would say “ Brain Stroke ” or “ Stroke ” or something else. I contradicted myself several times while doing it. My father had forbidden me to tell anyone the real cause. So, I lied again and again. I knew no one was going to take it in a human way- or at least past experiences suggested so. Maybe it is the time, I opened up about it as I know I am just helping a taboo by not doing so. My mother suffered from a mental condition called Schizophrenia. Many times I saw her talking with herself. I couldn’t understand then, but now I understand how she suffered from hallucination, loneliness and depression. Life was hard for her, and I hardly could understand that. All the obsessions, the pressure of handling a family was killing her inside. So, in 2005 she decided to hang herself. I still remember that day. I was wa...