how to get into science

sasha100

just wondering how to go about developing an interest in science without doing a degree as such. Any advice?

Turtwig

Start here.:)

Priori

Bit of a vague question (any particular areas?), but the science section of this documentary site might be of interest:

Top Documentary Films - Science

nozzferrahhtoo

The open university have a one year course on science which is very general but more indepth than the leaving cert.

It coveres all the main areas, physics, biology, chemistry, earth science, astronomy and more.

Not _cheap_ of course, the OU never are, but you get some good course material, it appears to be a good course in and of itself, and you can do it mostly at your own pace.

Reading the works of Carl Sagan would be another option. He is a good introduction to science for anyone.

Scuid Mhór

i've found a boosted interest in science by just reading magazines like focus or new scientist. i suggest you buy an issue to see what you think - both are informative without being too heavy-duty although new scientist does tend to have a lot more detail and i'd say it's regarded as less newbie-friendly than focus.

AnonymousPrime

Scuid Mhór wrote: »

i've found a boosted interest in science by just reading magazines like focus or new scientist. i suggest you buy an issue to see what you think - both are informative without being too heavy-duty although new scientist does tend to have a lot more detail and i'd say it's regarded as less newbie-friendly than focus.

I can't buy New Scientist anymore because it is the most addictive substance on the planet!!!
(New Scientist, 2007)

Gary L

If you just want to spark an interest in what science is up to rather than actually doing it I'd recommend www.ted.com.

Yukina

I find online magazines such as are brilliant for introducing basic concepts

The more in depth articles must be paid for but many free, interesting articles go up daily

Also try youtube for different things, there are some amazing educational videos online available for free. periodicvideos would be a brilliant place to start out.

There are some brilliant resources out there for free

5uspect

I really don't like Focus and I'm getting tired of New Scientist.
Focus tends to publish a lot of fluff pieces and NS doesn't go into any real detail with every article doing it's best to avoid actually trying to explain anything with an equation.

You won't learn much science from these magazines, just lots of interesting waffle.

For Physics I would recommend The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
They're an astounding piece of work.

Also have a look at the MIT opencourseware. Hours and hours of lectures in every science topic under the sun.

raah!

You could go and look at mushrooms and things, since it's autumn. Or think about gravity, or why things move.

It seems a bit strange that you would "want to be interested" in something. Many people lie about their interests in order to ingratiate themselves with their peers. Many of these people can be quite successful socially.

Edit: It's not autumn anymore is it?

Dave!

I'd say start reading a few science blogs and listening to podcasts, that'll gently introduce you to the subject

I'd recommend the Skeptics Guide to the Universe for a podcast (www.theskepticsguide.org). They discuss recent/relevant science news of the week at the beginning of each episode, and regularly interview people in various fields. It's not too technical or anything, and it's very light-hearted.

Coriolanus

5uspect wrote: »

I really don't like Focus and I'm getting tired of New Scientist.
Focus tends to publish a lot of fluff pieces and NS doesn't go into any real detail with every article doing it's best to avoid actually trying to explain anything with an equation.

You won't learn much science from these magazines, just lots of interesting waffle.

For Physics I would recommend The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
They're an astounding piece of work.

Also have a look at the MIT opencourseware. Hours and hours of lectures in every science topic under the sun.

You could try scientific american. I find there's a much higher noise to substance ratio.

Also OP, check out iTunes Uni or whatever it is. Basically hundreds of institutions worldwide have put up audio and video lectures on pretty much every topic imaginable. Coverage by any one institution is patchy but you can usually find someone somewhere hosting a specific topic.

Sitric

The MIT lectures linked to above are super, thanks for that.

Would you really recommend the Feynman lectures to somebody starting to develop an interest in science?

5uspect

They're notes for undergraduates, so yes! You'll have to know a small bit of maths but they're incredible well written.

man.about.town

Malty_T wrote: »

Start here.:)

i finished reading the book a couple of weeks ago, while i was reading it, i thought it was sooo good that i bought the audio book aswell. i genuinely feel i gained a great appreciation of science or atleast a greater general knowledge of science from it. i find myself constantly watching docs on tv and online now so definitely a great starting point.

the craziest part, the authors a travel writer by trade, not a man of science, he just a few years travelling around researching the various disciplines of science.

Dave!

man.about.town wrote: »

i finished reading the book a couple of weeks ago, while i was reading it, i thought it was sooo good that i bought the audio book aswell. i genuinely feel i gained a great appreciation of science or atleast a greater general knowledge of science from it. i find myself constantly watching docs on tv and online now so definitely a great starting point.

the craziest part, the authors a travel writer by trade, not a man of science, he just a few years travelling around researching the various disciplines of science.

Didn't read A Short History... myself, but I've read a few of his travel books, so if you look his style of writing, you should have a geez at them -- they're very funny I liked his Australia one

Capt'n Midnight

on a similar vein are the Science of Discworld books but read Short History of Everything first.