How to become a good science player - Revision history

Auden Young: added to qb improvement methods category

2021-11-17T23:57:46Z

added to qb improvement methods category

Jacob Reed: /* Biology */

2017-09-15T16:01:30Z

Biology

Jacob Reed: /* Math */

2017-09-15T15:46:36Z

Math

Zachary Yan: lol anti-packet study bias

2014-05-29T16:56:46Z

lol anti-packet study bias

Eric Mukherjee: /* Chemistry */

2013-11-29T22:17:45Z

Chemistry

Eric Mukherjee: /* Astronomy */

2013-11-29T21:28:16Z

Astronomy

Eric Mukherjee: /* Physics */

2013-11-29T21:25:16Z

Physics

Cameron Orth: /* Physics */ Corrected Fetter title to OF

2012-11-15T15:14:10Z

Physics: Corrected Fetter title to OF

Cameron Orth: Overhaul on Math Textbook section

2012-11-15T15:06:18Z

Overhaul on Math Textbook section

Nikhil Desai: /* Math */ some more algebra textbooks

2011-07-13T06:27:54Z

Math: some more algebra textbooks

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:57, 17 November 2021
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	Becoming a good science player can seem like an extremely daunting task, especially to people with little or no science knowledge to start with. But the great thing about science is that everything you learn in classes (except for the actual computation parts of problem sets), or in textbooks, or in journal articles, is immediately useful in quizbowl. To become a good science player requires zero actual studying for quizbowl.		Becoming a good science player can seem like an extremely daunting task, especially to people with little or no science knowledge to start with. But the great thing about science is that everything you learn in classes (except for the actual computation parts of problem sets), or in textbooks, or in journal articles, is immediately useful in quizbowl. To become a good science player requires zero actual studying for quizbowl.

−	[[Category: How-to]]	+	[[Category: How-to]] [[Category: Quizbowl improvement methods]]

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 Textbooks (If you took AP biology in high school, these are 100% readable)
-Introductory
+====Introductory====
 *Biology, by Neil A. Campbell
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 *Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain (Mark Bear, Barry Connors, et al)
-More advanced
+====More advanced====
 *Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 *Alberts' Molecular Biology of the Cell
 *Watson's Molecular Biology of the Gene
-*Genes IX (Lewin)
+*Lewin's Genes
 *First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 (the entirety of medical school in 450 pages)

@@ Line 93: / Line 93: @@
 === Math ===
 *Artin, ''Algebra''
-*Lang, ''Undergraduate Algebra'' and ''Algebra''
+** More advanced: Dummit and Foote, ''Abstract Algebra''
-*''Linear Algebra Done Right'', by Axler
+*** Even more advanced: Lang,  ''Algebra''
-*''Calculus'', by Spivak
+* Axler, ''Linear Algebra Done Right'' or Strang, ''Linear Algebra and its Applications''
-*''Principles of Mathematical Analysis'', by Rudin
+* Spivak, ''Calculus''
-*''Topology'', by Munkres
+** More advanced: Courant and John, ''Introduction to Calculus and Analysis''
-*''An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers'', by Niven, Zuckerman, and Montgomery
+* Hubbard and Hubbard, ''Vector Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential forms''
-*''Basic Set Theory'', by Levy
+** More advanced: Shifrin, ''Multivariable Mathematics''
-*''Basic Algebra I'', by Jacobson
+* Rudin, ''Principles of Mathematical Analysis''
-*''An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers'', Hardy and Wright
+* Stein and Shakarchi, ''Princeton Lectures in Analysis''
-*''Complex Analysis'', Stein and Shakarchi (Part of a series of quality Analysis texts by Princeton University Press)
+** More difficult and compressed: Rudin ''Real and Complex Analysis''
-*''Introduction to Analysis'', Rosenlicht
+* Ahlfors, ''Complex Analysis''
-*''Prime Numbers: A Computational Perspective'', Crandall and Pomerance
+* Munkres, ''Topology''
-*''Introduction to Probability'', Grinstead and Snell, made available for free by [http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~prob/prob/prob.pdf Dartmouth College]
+* Lee, ''Introduction to Smooth Manifolds'' and ''Riemannian Manifolds''
-*''Concrete Mathematics'', Graham, Knuth et al.
+* Hatcher, ''Algebraic Topology'' (available free at https://www.math.cornell.edu/~hatcher/AT/AT.pdf)
 === Computer Science ===

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 == The Basics ==
-There are four basic ways to get better, regardless of what subject you want to get better in or what level you're currently at. They are:
+There are five basic ways to get better, regardless of what subject you want to get better in or what level you're currently at. They are:
 *Go to practice
 *Go to tournaments
 *Write questions
 *Ask someone who's better than you for advice
-Seriously. That's all it takes to become good. Don't believe all the hype about studying questions and packets on your own. Every player who has ever had a meteoric rise from poor to competent, or from competent to good or great, has done so by doing those four things.
+Seriously. That's all it takes to become good. Every player who has ever had a meteoric rise from poor to competent, or from competent to good or great, has done so by doing those five things.
 == Get Exposed to Science ==
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 *If even getting close to science classes is too terrifying for you as you begin your career as a science player, try reading "popular" books on science. These books are intentionally written at the level of the person with no science knowledge whatsoever, and are often written by people who know quite a lot about the field they discuss. While they may not get you points immediately, they will be able to start you on the path to understanding just what those wacky scientists are talking about.
-== Study Your Notes, Not Old Packets ==
+== Study Your Notes from Class ==
 One of the greatest things about science is that it has a pre-defined canon. Stuff people learn about in high school or introductory classes is pretty common in high school and college novice packets. Stuff people learn about in upper division classes or grad school is common at the post-Regionals difficulty of most opens and college nationals. Regular college tournaments have some sort of a mix.
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 == Stay Current in Your Chosen Field ==
-High-impact science journals are often mined for lead-ins, because they are publishing original, important research. Guess what that means? Every issue, there are tens of potential unique clues that have never been used before because they're just being published. Good science writers know how to (judiciously) use these new articles to connect novel and exciting research topics to old and stale answers.
+High-impact science journals are often mined for lead-ins, because they are publishing original, important research. Guess what that means? Every issue, there are tens of potential unique clues that have never been used before because they're just being published. Good science writers know how to (judiciously) use these new articles to connect novel and exciting research topics to old and stale answers. Please note that despite the potential for these sources to be used for new lead-ins and for general interest, they may not be all that useful for quizbowl "studying".
 Even if you're not particularly interested in a given field, the introduction sections of most scientific articles are written at the level of a scientifically-knowledgeable non-expert. That's you! You can significantly broaden your science knowledge base from just reading the introductions to scientific articles, or even better, from reading review articles. Review articles are articles that review what research has been done in a field over the past several years, or just in general, depending on the scope of the article. These articles are great for picking up on new topics without having to wade through things like Materials & Methods sections or graphs of results.
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 === Physics ===
 === Earth Science ===
 === Astronomy ===
 === Math ===
 === Computer Science ===
-*[http://portal.acm.org/ ACM Digital Library] (note: may not be all that useful for quizbowl CS "studying")
+*[http://portal.acm.org/ ACM Digital Library]
 === Other ===

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 *Organic Chemistry, by Bruice
 *Organic Chemistry, by McMurry
 === Physics ===

@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 *Goldstein/Fetter/Walecka, ''Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and Continua''
 *Griffiths, ''Introduction to Electrodynamics''
 *Jackson, ''Classical Electrodynamics''
 *Kittel, ''Introduction to Solid State Physics''
@@ Line 73: / Line 75: @@
 *Reif, ''Statistical and Thermal Physics''
 *Any of the ten volumes (Mechanics, Classical Theory of Fields, Non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Electrodynamics, Statistical Physics I, Fluid Mechanics, Theory of Elasticity, Electrodynamics of Continuous Media, Statistical Physics II, Physical Kinetics) of Landau and Lifshitz, ''Course of Theoretical Physics''
 === Earth Science ===

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 === Math ===
-*Abstract Algebra, by Dummit and Foote
+*Dummit and Foote, ''Abstract Algebra''
 *Linear Algebra Done Right, by Axler
 *Calculus, by Spivak