People will always be interested in why things work. At least one will as long as I'm alive, but I really don't think I'm that special. Wondering why things are the way they are is really at the core of science. Sure, there are plenty of physicists, mathematicians, neuroscientists, biologists, and others who just want answers, but this is a very narrow part of science.

I would really encourage others to read works that go through the history of the topic they are studying. If you're interested in quantum mechanics, the one I'd recommend is "The Quantum Physicists" by William Cropper[0]. It won't replace Griffiths[1] but it is a good addition.

The reason that getting information like this is VERY helpful is that it teaches you how to solve problems and actually go into the unknown. It is easy to learn things from a book because someone is there telling you all the answers, but texts like these instead put yourself in the shoes of the people in those times, and focus on seeing what and why certain questions are being asked. This is the hard thing when you're at the "end". When you can't just read new knowledge from a book, because there is no one that knows! Or the issue Thomas Wolf describes here[2] and why he struggled.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Physicists-Introduction-Their...

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Quantum-Mechanics-David-...

[2] https://thomwolf.io/blog/scientific-ai.html

David Griffiths is an excellent author if you're not afraid of math.

https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Quantum-Mechanics-David-...

https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Electrodynamics-4e-David...

https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Elementary-Particles-Dav...

I had to use Griffith's book, and he certainly didn't follow the historical approach. He writes out Schrodinger's equation on the first page, before moving on to "simple" examples (the infinite well). The hydrogen atom is covered after a 100 pages or so.

http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Quantum-Mechanics-David-G...

I love Griffith's informal style, and I'd recommend the book. Familiarity with PDEs and harmonic oscillation would be the only necessary prerequisites I can think of.