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Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?

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Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?

#1

Post by mosconaut »

I'm in my early thirties and I feel I've not really made any significant effort in learning math/physics beyond the usual curriculum at school. I realize I didn't have the need for it and didn't have the right exposure (environment/friends) that would have inculcated in me these things. And perhaps I was lazy as well all these years to go that extra mile.

I have (had) a fairly good grasp of calculus and trigonometry and did a fairly good job working on a number of problems in high school. But over the past 12-13 years, I've really not had any need to flex my math muscles other than a problem here or there at work. Otherwise it's the same old enterprise software development.

I follow a bunch of folks on the internet and idolize them for their multifaceted personalities - be it math, programming/problem solving, physics, music etc. And these people had a natural flair for math/physics which was nurtured by their environment which made them participate in IOI/ACPC etc. in high school and undergrad which unfortunately I didn't get a taste of. I can totally see that these are the folks who have high IQs and they can easily learn a new domain in a few months if they were put in one.

Instead of ruing missed opportunities, I want to take it under my stride in my thirties to learn math/physics so as to become better at it. I might not have made an effort till now, but I hopefully have another 40 years to flex my muscles. I believe I'm a little wiser than how I was a few years back, so I'm turning to the community for help.

How do I get started? I'm looking to (re)learn the following - calculus, linear algebra, constraint solving, optimization problems, graph theory, discrete math and slowly gain knowledge and expertise to appreciate theoretical physics, astrophysics, string theory etc.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?

#2

Post by chipuni »

Being in your thirties has little to do with learning. How you learn is much more important than your age.

If you learn best in a classroom, you may have a local college that teaches math in the evenings. (I got my Master's in Statistics that way.)

If you learn best in small chunks, Khan Academy has differential and integral calculus and linear algebra, to start you out.

If you learn best from books... there are hundreds of great textbooks.

Best wishes to you. Keep up a lifetime of learning!

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?

#4

Post by Ian_Paul »

I can't speak to all of the things you want to learn, but I've learned some of them on my own. For calculus and linear algebra I'd go with Khan Academy, especially since it seems like all you need is a refresher for calculus. Graph theory and discrete math I did with MIT EdX courses. Their discrete course is pretty nice and I found it very easy to follow along with.

Constraint solving and optimization problems aren't things I self studied, but you can find a variety of resources to help with those based on how you learn best. For me, I did them by taking a class and relying heavily on my textbooks.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?

#5

Post by Jemmeh »

Ian_Paul wrote: post #4

I can't speak to all of the things you want to learn, but I've learned some of them on my own. For calculus and linear algebra I'd go with Khan Academy, especially since it seems like all you need is a refresher for calculus. Graph theory and discrete math I did with MIT EdX courses. Their discrete course is pretty nice and I found it very easy to follow along with. Constraint solving and optimization problems aren't…

+1 to Khan Academy. Explanations are super clear. Their website allows you to work through practice problems too, which I think is the most important thing.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?

#8

Post by madengr »

The Feynman Lectures on Physics. I found 50th anniversary hard-bound edition at the Los Alamos book store. Very readable. Feynman explains things like no other. The audio recordings are out there, though video should have been made of these. A real loss for humanity.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?

#10

Post by hprotagonist »

The epitome of what you want is to find a mentor, a chalkboard, and 3-4 hour chunks of time you can dedicate to learning. Repeat about 2x a week for a year, and do independent study with a book on one side of the table and a notepad on the other between classes.
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