How to tune into the quantum field?

What is the best way for a working mathematician to learn the basics of physics (up to quantum field theory)?

• To be precise, I'd like to understand the basic ideas, examples, and techniques of computation from quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. I've noticed that a lot of interesting mathematics has come from quantum field theory, so this seems like a useful step, both to come up with new research problems, and to think of new approaches to my current projects. I'm not in school, so taking classes is not practical, but I know I won't learn anything useful without solving problems. So partly I'm wondering how I should go about making "problem sets" for myself. Are there good MOOC courses that I could take to learn these topics at a deep level?

• Answer:

  You could get one or two of the freshman course books on the subject.  Some of these have a pretty good coverage of physics as it is read today.   I've been writing things on physical quantities, and Serway's "pyhsics" is quite informative, although the colour glossies spoil it somewhat. Much of cosmology is still done in c.g.s. units, which do not translate into m.k.s. units (because of unspecified dimensions).  None the same, there is a book called 'Mathematical Physics', by Donald Menzel.  This is a Dover reprint of a text around the 1960's, but it's really quite good if you want to deal with both cgs and si units.