The Most Infamous Graduate Physics Book

Today I got a package containing the book that makes every graduate physics student pee their pants a little bit.

[kmacksb]

I actually took the first semester of graduate E&M from Dave Jackson himself at Berkeley in 1984. He was actually quite a good teacher. At one point we stumped him on an example where his text said that the derivation of a result was "trivial." After failing to produce the derivation, he told us to note every place he used the phrase "is trivial, " "can be easily shown, " etc. in the book so he could remove them in the 3rd edition. :-)


He did come up with the derivation in the next class. It was, indeed, trivial — if you saw the completely non-obvious trick, that is!

[pouncebaratheon]

Griffiths is like a relationship with your first crush. You're always discovering new and exciting things, you can't wait to see where it's going to go next, and when it's over you think you're ready for something more serious. Jackson is like getting through a marriage.

[everlastingauraX]

The virgin Griffiths vs the CHAD Jackson.

[rataroulle]

I don't even study physics why am I here

[marcusrosales]

The readability of Jackson was a function of page number: the further you go the less he explains. Plus your will power begins to wane.

[ChrisChoi]

bruh that package lookin like a thicc ravioli

[jonathanspears]

A grad student told me how his professor or something along those lines met Jackson in a plane. Apparently this professor or what not told him "so Jackson, that was a pretty tough book you wrote" and soft spoken Jackson responded something along the lines of "I didn't think it was that bad"

[benguthrie]

I was talking with an old mentor of mine, who got his PhD in the 60s, about how strange it is to have finished all the core undergrad physics classes - like, I've actually learned all the fundamentals now! He laughed and told me I haven't /really/ taken all the fundamental physics classes until I take E&M with the Jackson book. I love that this experience literally transcends generations.

[NinjaGamer]

Who else watches these videos but isn't actually taking physics in university? Like I have no clue what's going on half the time but they're still so interesting

[Topspeedcraft]

Me: "Imma become a great majored physicist"

Classical Electrodynamics: "I'm about to end this man's whole carreer"

[victorserras]

“Magnetohydrodynamics” you physicists just make these names up to make stuff sounds impossibly difficult right

[ethanmullen]

My deep personal sense of ambition and love for knowledge: I WILL go to grad school for physics and i WILL make a difference
My mathematical ineptitude/jackson's Classical Electrodynamics: *no you ain't*

[BlazeCyndaquil]

Expected a meme video, instead got a textbook unboxing video
10/10 nice meme

[brianlane]

Sees video title.
"Jackson. It's gotta be Jackson."
Clicks video.
"Yep, it's Jackson."

[filipristovski]

When you try to redeem your iq points after losing them over the summer dumbness

[joaopadua]

One of my phisics teacher told me when you touch this book the day turns into night

[praveenb]

The package is vacuum-sealed to protect the innocent from toxic contamination.

[UteChewb]

Sees, Jackson sheds tears of nostalgia. Wonderful book. So much pain, I mean insight. Beautiful agony. Still have my copy, no longer understand it, :(

[beatleplayer]

Didn't do method of images in undergrad - My prof said "We will skip method of images, because it's stupid."

[robertdavis]

In my world (applied EM), whenever someone asks whether we can do something analytically, the go-to answer if no one knows is "Maybe Jackson has it?" If not, then the answer is no, no you cannot.