Independent learning: math, physics, and cosmology — index of posts
I recently realized that it would be nice to have an index of my posts in this series for reference. So, in case you missed any of them initially, or are new to my posts, here they are in chronological order, with links to the actual post:
Feb 1, 2026: Independent learning: math, physics, and cosmology. A brief note to kick off the series.
Feb 2, 2026: Independent learning: taking notes. How I ended up using LaTeX.
Feb 3, 2026: Independent learning: how I got started, and the structure of my notes.
Feb 8, 2026: Independent learning: mathematical notation. My battle with variations in notation.
Feb 13, 2026: Independent learning: general approaches to understanding physical systems. Descriptive vs. analytic tools and techniques; generalized coordinates, spaces, manifolds.
Feb 19, 2026: Independent learning: general approaches to understanding physical systems, part 2. Symmetry; general mathematical formulation— statics and dynamics.
Feb 26, 2026: Independent learning: general approaches to understanding physical systems, part 3. Forces and potentials.
Mar 2, 2026: Independent learning: general approaches to understanding physical systems, part 4. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics.
Mar 5, 2026: Cosmology— the beginning. What is cosmology? Cosmic distances and redshifts; the birth of cosmology as a science; Einstein’s greatest blunder; questions I plan to address.
Mar 11, 2026: Cosmology— the expanding universe. The Copernican Principle: We are not special; the cosmic microwave background confirms the Big Bang; the horizon problem; the geometry of the universe; the universe is boundless.
Mar 16, 2026: Cosmology— the first million years. The cosmic scale factor a; how the universe changed over time: temperature, color, brightness, density, composition; recombination; dark matter at work.
Mar 22, 2026: Cosmology— the first second. Eras and epochs; some important events.
Mar 26, 2026: Cosmology— Stars, their formation, evolution, and fate. A slight detour for some important background.
Mar 31, 2026: Cosmology— growth of structure. Dynamics of cooling and collapsing clouds of particles; the first galaxies; reionization; evolution of galaxies; galaxies and black holes; larger structures; zooming even further out.
April 12, 2026: Cosmology— major stages of the evolution of the universe. A different perspective.
April 16, 2026: Cosmology— baryon acoustic oscillations... and the Standard Model of Cosmology. Fossilized sound waves from the early universe; two opposing forces: gravity and radiation pressure; ΛCDM and the Standard Model of Cosmology; growing “tensions.”