Learning math and physics by being confused
There are so many resources these days for learning math and physics at all levels, but pretty much all of it is focused on how to understand it and how to derive it in the correct way.
But I believe that to effectively learn math and physics, we also need to show examples of misunderstanding, miscalculations, and confusion.
Why? Because in my experience learning any new topic in math, physics, or other complex subjects beyond the most elementary levels, there is always an initial period when a certain passage in a book or paper, or a certain section in a lecture video, doesn’t make sense. I often think it’s a typo or some kind of error. And then, after digging into it a few more times, I realize the fallacy in my thinking that prevented me from seeing the correct path, and suddenly everything falls into place.
That experience of learning, via exploration–going down a few blind alleys–and finally discovery, is magical! And I think that making mistakes or wrong assumptions in the beginning (to be fixed later) is an essential part of the experience.
This is why I would like to start jotting down real experiences of making mistakes or being confused, followed by clarification of what the correct path should be. This will be useful for me to help myself learn, and I hope this can be useful to others as well.