<p>pebbles, your post #33 was sufficiently reasonable that there is no point in arguing further. <em>proceeds to argue slightly further, being a dishonest kind of person</em> </p>
<p>You haven't done a study of whether AP Physics C kids did or didn't do better in 8.012, so we can't be sure how they fared comparatively. What we can be sure of is that your non-freshman friend is wrong in his categorical remark about being better off "forgetting everything [one] learned in high school". I learned a lot of physics in high school, so did lots of my friends (at MIT and elsewhere), and it's served many of us all the way through fairly advanced courses in serious departments. So let's just tone down the generalizations which are (i) wrong and (ii) demotivating to people who are audacious enough to think they can learn something real before coming to college.</p>
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[quote]
8.012 is really nothing like Physics C
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depends on where you took it and how much you studied on your own. K&K is sold in fine bookstores everywhere. (Well, not really. But on Amazon.)</p>
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don't expect to cruise because you 5'ed the AP.
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Yes. On this we agree completely. People whose Calculus teachers were droopy-eared chipmunks with English degrees are probably better off than many overprivileged losers like me, because the former kind doesn't expect to cruise. Assuming you should work really hard is the safest strategy, because at worst you'll overshoot and be pleasantly surprised.</p>