Mailman lists give you a lot of options you can control regarding how you receive the mail and more. Although membership is mandatory (please do not unsubscribe) you can e.g. select digest mode if traffic is too distracting. This list also maintains archives of all traffic, and it is a good idea to review it from time to time if some discussion of difficult problems has occurred. Option control and the archives can be found at:
http://lists.phy.duke.edu/mailman/listinfo/phy41