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Ask HN: Math for hackers.

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Re: Ask HN: Math for hackers.

#51

Post by RiderOfGiraffes »

profquail wrote: post #30

Instead of starting your own, why not contribute to Wikibooks? It's already an established site with a fair number of users, but there are several sections (especially technical areas) that are incomplete or haven't been updated in years. Plus, everyone else would be able to start contributing NOW. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikibooks:Mathematics_bookshelf http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikibooks:Computer_science_boo…

Simple reason is that they don't achieve what I think is important - namely clear progressions and dependencies from topic to topic, and a high level overview, and more, I don't think they can be made to do that.

They are fantastic resources, and I hope people continue, or restart, work on them, but I think they are resources for the system I'm envisaging, not a replacement, or starting point.

Re: Ask HN: Math for hackers.

#52

Post by RiderOfGiraffes »

tokenadult wrote: post #27

Oddly enough, I will start with "Adding Fractions" and basic algebra (expanding, factoring and simplifying) It's not odd at all to start with adding fractions. I've seen multiple questions on Usenet over the years from programmers about how to write a generalized routine for adding fractions. Many people don't learn the simple algorithm for that http://math.berkeley.edu/~wu/fractions2.pdf http://math.berkeley.edu/~wu…

Great find - thank you. I have long held that fractions are a critical point in mathematical development, and these papers are much clearer and more eloquent than I've ever managed.

Re: Ask HN: Math for hackers.

#53

Post by grandalf »

Beanblabber wrote: post #4

This would be absolutely awesome. I'm 14 and going into 9th grade. I'm taking algebra 2 / trig next year but I hate how they teach it so I use the internet to teach me. This would be a really cool idea, I'd definitely use it.

my advice for math would be:

learn to teach yourself math. I'd recommend getting a copy of mathematica and then find some good books on math subjects you're interested in and just get your learn on.

if you're getting into advanced algebra I'd recommend a bit of review of number theory and abstract algebra first, as that will make it much more interesting.

Re: Ask HN: Math for hackers.

#54

Post by RiderOfGiraffes »

jgrahamc wrote: post #2

I like this idea. Have you seen HyperPhysics? It's a physics version of what you are suggesting. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/HFrame.html

Very similar to the basic idea, although I have a different visualisation. It's close enough to give the idea.

Too bad the description of GPS is wrong.

Re: Ask HN: Math for hackers.

#55

Post by gcheong »

b-man wrote: post #16

May I suggest a couple of books? How to Solve It by George Pólya's 1945 http://www.amazon.com/How-Solve-Aspect-Mathematical-Method/d... and The Art of Doing Science and Engineering Learning to Learn by Richard W.Hamming http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9056995014/ref=olp_product_... Great books, and they will introduce you to learn the mathematical thinking, so you can deduce the patterns yourself. Great for math and…

The price for a used copy of TAODSE is a bit high ($1200 + $3.99 for shipping?), which makes the kindle version at $17.57 pretty attractive.

Re: Ask HN: Math for hackers.

#56

Post by calcnerd256 »

jerf wrote: post #34
yummyfajitas wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with you on trig. Trig is the study of straight lines and what you can do with them. The important part of calculus is the fact that you can approximate curves by straight lines [1]. A folk theorem in applied math is that 90% of the time, an approximation by straight lines is good enough (another 9% of the time, you'll need a parabola). You can drop some of the petty stuff (x,y,(180-x-y) triangles), but do…

I think you may forget what is taught as "trig" in school. Yes, knowing what sin, cos, and tan are is important. No, wasting weeks on pointless identities and digging into the minutia of lines and triangles well beyond what you will ever need, even in the course of getting a degree in mathematics , is not a sensible use of time. The only reason it is done is "that is how things are done". When people argue about the…

This looks like a place to joke about finding a spanning basis to build a curriculum.

Re: Ask HN: Math for hackers.

#57

Post by brl »

tokenadult wrote: post #27

Oddly enough, I will start with "Adding Fractions" and basic algebra (expanding, factoring and simplifying) It's not odd at all to start with adding fractions. I've seen multiple questions on Usenet over the years from programmers about how to write a generalized routine for adding fractions. Many people don't learn the simple algorithm for that http://math.berkeley.edu/~wu/fractions2.pdf http://math.berkeley.edu/~wu…

Whoah, if you include the first part of that monograph you have a 230 page explanation of how to add two fractions together.

I'm really enjoying the writing so even though I already understand how to add fractions (at least I think so!), I'm going to try to read it all.

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