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First let me say that I couldn't decide on the best forum for this, so if any other staff members feel that this belongs elsewhere, please feel free to move it without objections.
I have observed that because of the internet, ideas once reserved for only advanced students or graduates are easily accessible and even discussed at all levels. When I was a student, there was usually a sense of "to be continued next year" in most lectures and reading. We knew that there was more to the story but that we weren't quite ready to tackle the next level of the discussion or derivation. There was a sense that the rate at which new ideas were introduced was strictly controlled. – that we were only dealt the cards that we were ready to manage. But today a high school student with no previous exposure to physics can easily read about the most advanced concepts in detail. It seems to me that this is a fundamental change in the normal process of exposure to advanced concepts.
Is this true, and if so, how will it effect the student, and how will it affect science in general?
I have observed that because of the internet, ideas once reserved for only advanced students or graduates are easily accessible and even discussed at all levels. When I was a student, there was usually a sense of "to be continued next year" in most lectures and reading. We knew that there was more to the story but that we weren't quite ready to tackle the next level of the discussion or derivation. There was a sense that the rate at which new ideas were introduced was strictly controlled. – that we were only dealt the cards that we were ready to manage. But today a high school student with no previous exposure to physics can easily read about the most advanced concepts in detail. It seems to me that this is a fundamental change in the normal process of exposure to advanced concepts.
Is this true, and if so, how will it effect the student, and how will it affect science in general?
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