Starting physics with the Open University of UK

 I'd been wanting to do this for a while, and here we are, I enrolled for the integrated Master of Physics degree at the OU. The studies formally start on Oct 7 2023. I've got 16 years to complete the whole thing. The whole thing is divided into "modules". Once you pick a module, you've got to finish it by the stipulated time by taking the various assessments and the final module exam.

I'm doing the "advanced math start", and starting with a basic math module (MST124) and a basic physics module (SM123). Both seem pretty well-structured, the former even comes with fancy printed books. For someone who grew up with "Indian Subcontinent edition" textbooks, these books are Makkhan :)

Today I was working through what I thought was very easy stuff - significant figures and rounding. But it turns out it is not that easy (but is very interesting!). For instance, I did not know that 0.360 and 0.36 differ in the number of significant figures. The Wikipedia page on the topic is really good.

As pre-work, I've also been going through the Feynman Tips on physics, which is such a bounty of ideas. A cool thing I already learned there was the trick to quickly differentiate any expression, even if the result would need significant algebraic simplification.

My motivation for doing this is just that I enjoy the knowledge and solving math problems. While I could have done a self-paced study for much, much cheaper (A typical module costs close to 2k CHF, and I need about 16 of those for the entire thing), I figured I enjoy a structured syllabus, a community and the idea of "formally" completing a qualification enough to justify the spend.

The main challenge is fitting studies around my schedule. My job isn't easy, I have many hobbies, and there's my first baby coming next year :) I think that studying one module at a time is totally doable (8-10h of weekly study), especially if I cut down on some of my tail hobbies. I picked two modules in the beginning because a lot of the material like trig, basic calculus is already known (even if rusty) to me thanks to my engineering studies.