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Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

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Re: Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

#81

Post by artagnon »

ege_erdogan wrote: post #78
artagnon wrote: post #55

I've self-taught myself undergraduate-level Mathematics, and am currently enrolled in an advanced Masters program specialized in higher category theory at Université de Paris. Here are some thoughts: First, the amount I learnt on a day-to-day basis from self-studying in my free time pales in comparison to the amount I learnt from a structured course ending with an exam, in which you have to commit to studying 2~4 hou…

I always appreciate when someone leaves the well-defined path and does something different, such as you self-studying Math and getting enrolled in a Masters program. I am just curious about your process of actually joining the masters program. They usually require 2-3 letters of recommendation etc. How did you handle such requirements? > Second, classroom lectures mainly act as a structured table-of-contents for work…

See the other reply on the thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24900707

Re: Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

#82

Post by mangamadaiyan »

artagnon wrote: post #80
jkmcf wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How long did you self study? Total years and average hours per day? Merci!

I started in late 2016. Initially, it was just during the weekends. I was a regular at the local coffee shop near my place in Boston: I'd go in with my iPad and some sheets of paper, spend 4~5 hours studying, while constantly consuming coffee. Then, I found a friend who had done a Bachelors in math, and we'd visit the local community college 3~4 times a week, and discuss general math and GRE problems on the blackboar…

If I might ask - which local university was it that let you audit their course? This is not a usual occurrence in India, which is why I ask -- I'm extremely happy to hear that things like this even happen as outliers, btw.

The fact that it was a graduate-level course in algebraic topology seems to imply that the university in question is not a run-of-the-mill university, which makes me all the more happy.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

#84

Post by Jimpulse »

buixuanquy wrote: post #46
Jimpulse wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any recommendation on a book about proofs? Every time I delve into algorithms most CS books seem to make large jumps in logic when demonstrating proofs.

The best book about proof I've read is "How to prove it" by Daniel J. Velleman. A lot of set theory. But to understand it, you must do the exercises in the book. And for the solution, checkout this blog: https://www.inchmeal.io/htpi/index.html

Thanks for the recommendation and solutions. It's the second one in this thread. I'll definitely be purchasing it.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

#85

Post by zrkrlc »

artagnon wrote: post #80
jkmcf wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How long did you self study? Total years and average hours per day? Merci!

I started in late 2016. Initially, it was just during the weekends. I was a regular at the local coffee shop near my place in Boston: I'd go in with my iPad and some sheets of paper, spend 4~5 hours studying, while constantly consuming coffee. Then, I found a friend who had done a Bachelors in math, and we'd visit the local community college 3~4 times a week, and discuss general math and GRE problems on the blackboar…

Was your undergrad GPA ever a factor in the admissions process?

Re: Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

#86

Post by artagnon »

mangamadaiyan wrote: post #82
artagnon wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started in late 2016. Initially, it was just during the weekends. I was a regular at the local coffee shop near my place in Boston: I'd go in with my iPad and some sheets of paper, spend 4~5 hours studying, while constantly consuming coffee. Then, I found a friend who had done a Bachelors in math, and we'd visit the local community college 3~4 times a week, and discuss general math and GRE problems on the blackboar…

If I might ask - which local university was it that let you audit their course? This is not a usual occurrence in India, which is why I ask -- I'm extremely happy to hear that things like this even happen as outliers, btw. The fact that it was a graduate-level course in algebraic topology seems to imply that the university in question is not a run-of-the-mill university, which makes me all the more happy.

Chennai Mathematical Institute.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

#87

Post by artagnon »

zrkrlc wrote: post #85
artagnon wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started in late 2016. Initially, it was just during the weekends. I was a regular at the local coffee shop near my place in Boston: I'd go in with my iPad and some sheets of paper, spend 4~5 hours studying, while constantly consuming coffee. Then, I found a friend who had done a Bachelors in math, and we'd visit the local community college 3~4 times a week, and discuss general math and GRE problems on the blackboar…

Was your undergrad GPA ever a factor in the admissions process?

No, because my undergrad wasn't in math.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

#88

Post by Valk3_ »

wcarss wrote: post #50
impendia wrote: post #38

I am a math professor. In my observation, there is a huge amount of material available on the web, but it isn't very centralized -- especially at the upper levels. My advice would be to get a book on any topic which interests you, read through it, and do a significant number of the exercises . You might try Epp's Discrete Mathematics , Hefferon's Linear Algebra , Colley's Vector Calculus , Dudley's Elementary Number…

With many books, I'm not sure how to verify that I'm actually doing the exercises properly. In the (simple!) maths I took, my misunderstandings often led me to do exercises incorrectly, but to think I'd done them right, or to have half a proof and no idea what insight I was missing. Even when solutions were provided (which was rare!), the path connecting the dots could be foggy. "What made them think to introduce thi…

Another alternative to hanging out in forums is to join a good math discord server. I can highly recommend this one: https://discordnetwork.com/, I have no idea how many people are in the server but I'm guessing at least more than 10k (about 9k online as I'm writing this, and more offline I have to presume). The advantage with such servers is fluid communication, but the downside is because of this in combination with the fact that there might be alot of people, you sometimes have to wait as to not disturb ongoing discussions.

This discord server in particular is good if you want help, although you might not recieve instant help, you will eventually get help if you are patient. There are also other channels in the server just for the purpose of discussion, i.e discussing general topics in math.

This might not give you what you are looking for, but it's a possible alternative I guess.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a website specialized in mathematics courses?

#89

Post by mangamadaiyan »

artagnon wrote: post #86
mangamadaiyan wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I might ask - which local university was it that let you audit their course? This is not a usual occurrence in India, which is why I ask -- I'm extremely happy to hear that things like this even happen as outliers, btw. The fact that it was a graduate-level course in algebraic topology seems to imply that the university in question is not a run-of-the-mill university, which makes me all the more happy.

Chennai Mathematical Institute.

That is simply wonderful! Good for you, and good for them!
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