Nothing says "buckle up, kiddo" quite like a physics textbook that starts by telling you the pioneers of the field literally died studying it! 😱
That highlighted passage is basically saying: "Two brilliant scientists who developed this field committed suicide... anyway, YOUR TURN NOW!" No wonder the student's face is pure terror.
Statistical mechanics is already intimidating enough with all those equations, but this intro is basically the academic equivalent of a horror movie opening scene. "Perhaps it will be wise to approach the subject cautiously" is textbook-speak for "RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN!"