For those who have read "Road to Reality" by Roger Penrose.?

Question

In the first chapter, why is the author telling me stuff about Euclidean geometry, Plato's ideal world, the axiom of choice and everything else? I can't see the relationships between the information he provided in chapter 1 with the rest of the book.

Also, do you think that this book is too advanced for me, and what do you think the age limit is for this book?
- Have no prior experience in physics
- Only gone through Calculus 1 and most of Calculus 2
-I am pretty good at math
- I am 17 years old

Answer 1

Books have no age limit. Look through the table of contents. You'll see that the major emphasis of the book is mathematical. Skim quickly over the math that's beyond you and see if you can still get useful content from the book. He tells you about Euclidean geometry to tell you that it's insufficient for modern physics. The Platonic world of mathematical forms is really the foundation of all the forms of string theory. I definitely would not recommend this book as a first book in physics for anyone without a deep and strong mathematical background, at least PhD level. There are plenty of others written for a more general audience.

Answer 2

That really isn't a book for a layperson in physics. I think it's assumed that you have at least a few undergrad physics courses under your belt first, if not an entire degree. I think he's just setting the stage in the first chapter, but really, it's probably too advanced for now. It will get more frustrating.