I really enjoy peaking in on your (cavediver and SonGoku's) conversations and I hate to intrude here but I am overcome with wonderment. I read a lot of pop science books on these topics and am always left feeling a little empty on any true understanding on the topics discussed. You have always said that a lot is lost in the translation and perhaps it sometimes does a little more damage than good in these books to laymanize these topics, but I just want a little guidance to point me in the right direction to having a proper mathematical understanding.
I am still young, 28, but am in school and almost done with a Bachelor's and work full time. My area of study isn't related to these topics but is in engineering so I have some mathematical background. My mentioning of my age has more to do with the fact that I feel I have time to
try to teach these things to myself given the proper direction and free time once I am done with my degree. It isn't practical for me to change my major to physics as I have already looked into it and it doesn't make financial sense for a person with a family considering how far behind in the game I would already be.
It seems to me that you feel that without proper schooling, knowledge about space and time in regards to general relativity is basically overwhelmingly esoteric. I have up to differential equations but not including linear algebra as my formal education in mathematics. I have also had two calculus based intro physics courses that basically went up to special relativity. My question is whether or not I (obviously you don't know me or my potential, this is just generally speaking) have the capability of taking time myself to learn these ideas mathematically and where I should start.
Anyone can get textbooks and you have mentioned "Gravitation" before, but all of the books I have seen in my schools library on relativity seem to be further along than I am. I haven't found a copy of Gravitation that I can look through (would like to before forking out all that dough, mostly for shipping
) does it start at the ground floor, or is there another recommended starting point for me like linear algebra, or some other mathematics that explain Riemannian/Minkowski/Lorentzian/etc. concepts and the like? I realize that it takes really smart people like yourself years to even intially understand these ideas, let alone a decade or so to be totally fluent in them. Am I doomed to failure and frustration trying myself or do I stand an outside chance at success?
Thanks for any input you can give. I will not have to ask silly layman questions anymore if I am pushed in the right direction.