Excellent all-around foundation for someone with a high-school background in math and physics. Covers everything from Thermodynamics to Quantum Mechanics to Astrophysics.
Not only is this book extraordinarily clear and well written (considering it *is* a physics book), it's loaded with full-colour pictures, real-world examples and illustrations of all the concepts at work.
I'm guessing this book is used for College courses - there's a ton of problem sets with each chapter, and solutions are provided, as well. From the nature of the content though, it would probably be used for a first-year 'foundation' course, though it does go into some more advanced material: if it's not in this book, you probably wouldn't understand it without reading this book first.
As a Sysadmin manager, I've found that personality and ability to work in a team can be as important as strong technical skills. As mentioned in other posts, knowing where to find the info you need quickly can make the difference, so finding someone with a strong, broad tech base and a good attitude can be better than taking the first real guru to walk through the door.
Here's some of the discussion questions I hit prospective candidates with to guage both their general tech knowledge (and involvement), as well as their personality and interest in their work:
- Do you consider the open source movement to be a threat to the commercial software industry?
- What was your first computer? What kind of things did you use it for?
- Explain ways in which you believe improper or ignorant use of technology can lead to lost productivity in the workplace.
- Tell me a joke (remarkably, this one stumps about 90% of the interviewees, but it lets me know how fast they can change gears).
I also make sure all the serious candidates meet individually with a few members of the team to get an honest take on how they'll get along, as well as to let the candidate see what kind of environment they'll be working in.
So far, results have been great. Because we only take people who enjoy the technology and a good challenge, we've got an enjoyable, productive environment with lots of discussion and innovation.
Slashdot Mirror
Excellent all-around foundation for someone with a high-school background in math and physics. Covers everything from Thermodynamics to Quantum Mechanics to Astrophysics.
Not only is this book extraordinarily clear and well written (considering it *is* a physics book), it's loaded with full-colour pictures, real-world examples and illustrations of all the concepts at work.
I'm guessing this book is used for College courses - there's a ton of problem sets with each chapter, and solutions are provided, as well. From the nature of the content though, it would probably be used for a first-year 'foundation' course, though it does go into some more advanced material: if it's not in this book, you probably wouldn't understand it without reading this book first.
As a Sysadmin manager, I've found that personality and ability to work in a team can be as important as strong technical skills. As mentioned in other posts, knowing where to find the info you need quickly can make the difference, so finding someone with a strong, broad tech base and a good attitude can be better than taking the first real guru to walk through the door.
Here's some of the discussion questions I hit prospective candidates with to guage both their general tech knowledge (and involvement), as well as their personality and interest in their work:
- Do you consider the open source movement to be a threat to the commercial software industry?
- What was your first computer? What kind of things did you use it for?
- Explain ways in which you believe improper or ignorant use of technology can lead to lost productivity in the workplace.
- Tell me a joke (remarkably, this one stumps about 90% of the interviewees, but it lets me know how fast they can change gears).
I also make sure all the serious candidates meet individually with a few members of the team to get an honest take on how they'll get along, as well as to let the candidate see what kind of environment they'll be working in.
So far, results have been great. Because we only take people who enjoy the technology and a good challenge, we've got an enjoyable, productive environment with lots of discussion and innovation.