true.

They are still my best resource for certain types of information. So, for example, reading an old text on electrodynamics is the best way to regain my ability to solve electrodynamics problems since (a) the presentation in the books is often high quality and (b) it is the source I learned from, which helps me relearn it quickly.

*However*, as I think about it, I realize that I don't do that many electrodynamics problems. The books are still my most useful resource, but the skills in my skillset have evolved. The stuff I learned in school is often useful and it was valuable for training me how to think and whatnot.

I think what happens is that you learn the language of the discipline and the basics, but then in your life you end up in the weeds on any number of things. Sure, the physics is fundamental to many projects, but working out the actual physics is a small part of where the time actually goes. ( Even when I was in grad school and worked in a physics research lab, most of my time was spent debugging equipment and analyzing data. The fundamental calculations behind the experiments were usually done during the proposal stage and are just one tiny piece of the actual work. Now that I'm in industry and my career is drifting ever more towards software, I solve almost no physics problems like in the old days. )