The man is a legend in his own classroom. He has a Ph.D. from Berkeley, a very famous sister, and a hat always covering his head. This man is Professor Rick Field, and he teaches physics here at the University of Florida.

Last year, Professor Field started teaching quantum mechanics I. The first test was a disaster. That year's class got to take a retest, and Professor Field has modified his style a bit, but there is still much that his students can do to succeed in his class. Many of these points apply generally to any class, so you would be wise to heed these words, even if you aren't in Quantum.

1) Be prepared. Dr. Field posts his lecture notes on his website, before class. His lectures are then taken almost directly from these notes. Unfortunately, these notes are both highly condensed, and highly confusing, so you can't use them to skip class. Use them, instead, as both a guide to the current lecture (print them out and bring them to class), and as a memory aid for past lectures.

2) Watch out for traps. Dr. Fields homework can often look deceptively simple. Simple enough that one might be tempted to put off the homework until the weekend before (knowing how well that usually works?). Don't. In general, you probably shouldn't for any class, but I repeat DON'T. Those two pages of assigned homework (with the answers already given to you) can take you more hours than you have in a weekend to finish. Certainly more hours than you can spend thinking straight during one homework session. An hour here and there over the time the homework is assigned can let you see sunlight on the weekend before it is due.

3) Don't panic. The first attempt at one of Dr. Fields' homeworks may leave you wishing you opted for a different class; one, preferably not involving math in any form. Do not lose hope, for Dr. Field does a couple things that, through careful observation, will make the problems much easier. First, he will often use homework problems from the textbook. Second, he will tell you exactly where in the textbook he got said problems. Third, for problems not taken from the textbook, he will point out exactly where in the textbook you should look. These little things will help you understand the homework almost as much as attending lectures.

4) Be brave. Dr. Field is fairly friendly. He invites all of his students to interrupt him during lectures to ask for clarification. Take him up on it. Quantum Mechanics is a very confusing subject, one which tends to throw away everything you have ever learned in physics before. Just stand right up and say, "Hey, Rick..."

Quantum Mechanics with Dr. Field can be hard. But with a little work, and this handy survival guide, you can see the light at the end of the semester.