…Emphasizes philosophical perspectives, where relevant. Available for free online. Introduction to General Relativity on Wikipedia. A quick overview of a few of the essential features of GR, on everyone’s favorite non-scholarly resource. Mathematical introductions to general relativity Oz and the Wizard, by John Baez. This is very entertaining introduction to general relativity in the form of a dialogue. It also contains a fantastic dictionary of…
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…lways google an author that you’re interested in. Or, cut to the chase and check out this meticulous list of philosophers with online papers, compiled by David Chalmers. Go to the Library. The what? Yes, the library. It’s still the easiest way to get free books to read. Some libraries will even send books to you in the mail for free. Here’s how to find a public library in your area. Or, visit your local University’s library for an even grander sel…
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…o make and sell burgers in. The wealthy Scrooge McDuck had enough money to buy buildings. So they struck the following deal. McDuck gave BurgerBee the money to buy a building for their burger joint (say, 100,000 dollars). In return, BurgerBee gave McDuck a little certificate, which says that BurgerBee will pay McDuck MUCH MORE than the original amount (say, 200,000 dollars). But the payments are made in small amounts, every month, over the course…
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…demic community needs. In this case, the author himself is taking steps to overcome your failing, by posting the French edition on his website. (Souriau’s stated motto, translated from French: “I wanted this site to distribute my work as widely as possible.”) Unfortunately, an English version of the book is not freely available. At least, not anymore. It was freely available, on underground websites like Library.nu (rest in peace). Such websites c…
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…hor and reviewer, when everyone has access to the interwebs? An anonymized online interface would be quicker, easier, and more useful. In particular, it would allow for quick clarificatory questions, and even back-and-forth discussions of important results between author and reviewer, before a finalized report is submitted to the editor. Incentives for high-quality reviews. Most journals don’t offer you an incentive to do a good job in a timely ma…
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