Thank You Professor Lagerstrom, the course is outstanding. I loved the way the course was taught, everything was linked to real life situations and easy to follow. At first I felt that the course was going a little slow but then I realised that a solid foundation is absolutely necessary in order for future understanding. If you skip too much of the first part you might lose some insight and not capture the fundamental ideas. I strongly recommend this course, specially for those who aren't too sophisticated with maths, since this course does not rely on mathematical derivations, but rather on diagrams, thought experiments and logical reasoning. It is definitely worth of 5 out of 5 stars.

The tutor is excellent, the pace of the course is good, the material is sufficient and everything proceeds logically and succinctly. Lots of interesting ideas and context. Understanding Special Relativity, objective met.

I was surprised to learn that the idea follows from some simple premises and so anyone with an interest can follow along qualitatively to appreciate the idea. Math ability is not essential but a modest ability I suggest would help to follow along. For anyone who wants more, and has the time, there is plenty of optional extra study material to work through.

I will return to the course in a few months and review the material as there is a lot to take in.

Clear and detailed introduction to the Special Theory of Relativity, including deriving the basic formulae involved on the topic, and advanced work made optional but available for most weeks' topics. The basic introductory analogies are simple to follow along but stunning in their implications, such as the famous light clocks not only in Alice and Bob's frames of reference but also in an elevator to touch upon the General Theory of Relativity at the end. After being a physics and relativity geek all my life, this course actually crystallized relativity and I finally understand precisely the strange effects of the theory.

Thank you Prof. Larry Lagerstrom! This course has been a great experience. Having a background in Banking & Finance, I was not sure to have the proper skills to go through such a complicated topic, which has always fascinated me. The structure of the course is perfect, the explanations are very clear. I appreciated introduction, summaries and handouts, quotes and real life examples. I also find it very effective that the teacher writes on a whiteboard instead than using slides. I would really suggest everyone to take this course. It helps understand, as was mentioned in the course, "the marvellous structure of reality".

I had just completed my Indian Grade 12 exams and decided that since Special Relativity was something I wanted to learn about, I should go ahead and do it. I chose this course and have no regrets whatsoever. Prof. Larry explains everything in the simplest way possible and avoids complicated mathematics wherever unnecessary. After finishing this course, I have a very good idea of how Special Relativity actually works and it will immensely benefit me given I am planning to major in physics in college. Anyone who is even remotely interested in doing this course, just go for it.

I found this course very stimulating in terms of thought experiments and conceptual understanding—a good deal of brain rewiring was necessary! Though I wished the quantitative approach was pushed a little farther (e.g., using matrices for the Lorentz transformations, and getting into Maxwell's equations when it came to the invariance of the speed of light), it was not a prime goal of this course to rely heavily on "advanced" mathematics. Thus, I still think it deserves five stars; I definitely recommend it as an introduction to the special theory relativity! :)

Great introduction course. The teaching skills of Prof. Lagerstrom are really great. I studied a long time ago relativity (special and general) and this refreshing course was in some ways better than the one I had at the University. It does not require any high mathematical skills. I particularly appreciate the historical surrounding of the theory clearly highlighting how ideas and theories grow (not at all as usually explained in school). I do hope Prof Lagerstrom will pursue his teaching with general relativity and/or maybe a course on quantum mechanics.

I really enjoyed the quality and pace of this course. The weekly pace was reasonable for someone like me taking this course out of personal interest and doing so after work in the evening. The quality of the video courses was excellent but I understand that this is tied to the individual quality of the professor. Support materials (notes and problem sets) were very helpful to complement the videos. I like the structure of the course and the tool itself which I ran conveniently from my tablet. Overall great experience and looking forward to my next course.

feels great, to know about such a renowned personality like Einstein. feeling like i came closer to Einstein and his work, but more than that it i feel closer and connected to the universe. this all has become possible only because of professor Lary Lagerstrom's unique teaching skills and presentation of subjects. myself being from science background found it very easy to get hold of what is actually going, but i'm 100% positive that any person from any background can understand and successfully complete this course. thank you professor.

Larry Lagerstrom is excellent. He speaks clearly -- and repeats concepts. He is very experienced at this, applying models to illustrate points, understanding where the student might have difficulty, and going over points to make sure we have got the idea. I realized quite early that if I did not understand the concepts of this course, it would certainly not be his fault.

I enjoyed this course. It got me to think in a different way -- stretched my brain in addition to increasing my knowledge about the specific subject.

I

Professor Lagerstrom does a superb job of presenting Einstein's special theory of relativity. There is a good balance of history, high school level mathematics and thought experimentation. I have been studying Einstein's special theory of relativity, mostly by reading books, for over 60 years and this course solidified the theory in my mind. I actually have two good friends named Alice and Bob, who are unrelated to the course heroine and hero. The real heroes in the course are Professors Einstein and Lagerstrom.

Professor Lagerstrom takes it slow to approach the theory, making it available to anyone with very basic math skills. While the equations are important, building the mental model around the strange world is way more essential to comprehending the special theory of relativity, and that is where this course shines. Professor Lagerstrom will look at the same problem in many different angles, cross referencing between them constantly, making sure the fundamentals of the theory sinks in.

Oddly, given subject matter, this is a very old school course - professor lecturing before a white board. Yet it works! I finally understand the Special Theory of Relativity and am convinced that time dilation and length contraction are real. Course is well paced. Outlines provided for taking notes for each session are very helpful. Quizzes and tests are appropriate. Highly recommend to anyone who has ever wondered if on might actually travel to another galaxy and return alive.

This is truly one of the more interesting (and fun) courses at Coursera. The presenter takes the student step by step through the intricacies of understanding the special theory of relativity such that, even with a very limited background in math and physics, you will be able to appreciate the impact this theory had on scientific thinking back when it was published and how it, and its 'big brother, the general theory of relativity, shape scientific endeavors presently.

This course is the best place to learn the concepts of special relativity as a beginner. The instructor is awesome. Although he goes quite slow, it helps because the concepts in the latter part of the course are counter-intuitive and may need a bit of time to be understood. I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in learning more about the principles of relativity. I hope to see a general relativity course taught by this professor soon!!!

A very thorough and complete explanation of the Special Relativity theory. Finally a really good pedagogical approach is used to explain to plain people like me concepts that are proven for more than a century but still a mystery for most. Having very important scientific concepts explained to our society can mitigate the terrible challenges we shall confront in the coming decades.

Thank you very much to Stanford University and specially to Dr Lagerstrom.

It is amazing to have access to such an interesting, well taught class through this free app. Prfessor Lagerstrom takes material that is often considered extremely difficult and explains it in such clear and concise terms that it can be understood by just about anyone. The required math is not much beyond basiic algebra and you can come away with a much deeper understanding of the way the universe works as well as a nice look at Einstein as a person.

This was a very enjoyable and revealing course, covering what at first may appear to be a somewhat impenetrable subject. But the step by step approach and sensible progression of topics made the subject matter easily understandable, and the obtaining of that understanding a joyful and insightful experience. It can't be easy to teach such a course to camera, so big thanks to Larry Randells Lagerstrom.... he definitely deserves a strong lager!!

This was not just a course, but an experience in learning. The professor took us through a journey of learning about a topic very difficult understand, and patiently led us through the learning experience with right amount of maths and excellent use of examples, quotes etc., to keep the interest alive all through. I wonder if some such course on General Theory of Relativity can be there, even if that is perhaps more mathematical.

This course is superb! The professor explains complicated concepts and mathematical equations in the simplest manner possible. I learned a ton!

Note: the course keeps mathematics at a minimum, so if you want a quantitative approach to the Special Theory of Relativity, this is not for you. However, even if you are looking for a quantitative approach, this course will enhance your conceptual understanding of Einstein's theory.

An amazingly clear overview of the matter. The professor takes it step-by-step, religiously. I succeeded the course, but now I think I want to do it again, taking more notes, doing all the homework (which I did none). Don't rush! It's fundamentally important for your understanding of the universe.

As a reading, I recommend "A Journey into Gravity and Spacetime", by John A. Wheeler. Perfect further reading for this course.

Until I took this thoughtful, extremely well organized course, I could not get my head around many of the weird concepts in Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, no matter how much I read about it. Prof. Lagerstrom is to be congratulated for the very excellent, logical manner in which he has taught this course. I would highly recommend this course to anyone seeking a great mental challenge and scientific curiosity.

I seriously love this course. It gave me a lot of insight in the realistic world. I love the way it is explained, it could not have been better! Thank you so much! This is the first course I have ever done, and I think I will move on towards the General Theory of Relativity. So much thanks again! This course changed my life, positively. I'm more motivated than I ever was. You are doing a great job, I love it. -Remko

Wonderful course that has opened so many doors of thought and knowledge. Thanks to the professor, Larry Randles Lagerstrom for his instruction and for bringing this amazing course of one of the greatest minds of all time to Coursera. My interest in physics has been piqued and i will continue to pursue a deeper understanding after this wonderful course. Thank you again to the professor and to the team at Coursera.

This is a very wonderful course. I really enjoyed it. The professor really shared the insight of having a struggle to understand will lead to an ennobling, enriched experience and how we can look at the big picture of what the universe is like and how this works. Understanding Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity really helped a lot (in context and some key concepts of space and time). Thank you professor.