A route to learning the art?

I have a fairly intuitive understanding of complex mechanical systems, but I find the world of electricity and electronics to be, well, counterintuitive ... I understand enough to know it's based on a series of fundamental principles but because it can't be seen it's difficult to visualize what is going on and the nature of the relationships between various elements of a circuit are not obvious. Not to mention the vague influences of fields and various forms of interference and distortion.
I am fascinated by this science that seems to approach art at the design and refinement level and after the giddy success with my first DIY project, I'm resolved to ground myself in the basics, learn from the experience represented in this forum and, hopefully, understand enough at some point to maybe even create a novel design of my own ...
It's probably a good thing that I'm interested enough in the process of discovery to make the trip worthwhile.

Graham recommended the following:

The Art Of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill, Cambridge publishers, although expensive (mine cost 60 GBP about 15 years ago) should help greatly. The best place to start is right at the beginning of the book where you will discover the authors taking an intuitive approach. I too started out in mechanical engineering but moved into electronics at a gradual pace.Edit: At one point in my career my head of department (there were just two designers: he and me) was actually an industrial chemist... during that time we designed quite a lot for the BBC world service... so you stand a good chance [IMG]smileys/smiley20.gif"
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Edited by RobW - 12 Jan 2010 at 6:27am

So Graham ... are you considering putting something like this together? or just suggesting there are places to look.
I read the introduction to The Art of Electronics (on-line) - it's surprisingly easy and entertaining to read and my math skills should be up to the challenge, so am interested enough to have reserved the book at the local University library.
So back to the idea of a sort of bimonthly "course" with DIY projects along the way. I'm intrigued.
... and 60GPB sounds like a bargain.   

Edited by RobW - 12 Jan 2010 at 6:34am

RobW wrote: I've put in several hours reading "The Art ..." by now. Not as much as I wanted or intended, but there's nobody timing the process. I sure wish I had someone right on hand as questions come up.

Ask away. I may not be on hand the moment you ask though.

Hi RobW, many thanks for the info. I just searched catalogue of uni's library. Much to my surprise, library holds 36 copies in total, and 75% of them is on loan, despite the fact that the 2nd Ed is written in 1989.

As my interests in electronics grow, I was looking for a book to get started. Now I can have some good reading to catch up. Thanks again.

Many thanks to Graham for recommending the book at the first place. I suppose that shall give me a solid start in the world of DIY audio.