21–30 of 80 posts
I'm sure that this a wonderful book, but please note the error right off the bat in equation 1.3 The tangent of the angle in question is b/a NOT a/b as stated. Probably a good idea to keep an sharp eye on the math as you go along in this thing.
This looks awesome. The popup-help's are a little jarring though since there's no indication as to which words will trigger a popup. Also: "Oh come on, you should know what a vector, v, is by now. Check out Chapter 2, for crying out loud." seems kind of harsh to say to the reader while they're reading the first sentence of Chapter 2..
"Kind of harsh" is an understatement. Insulting the reader like this is not acceptable. Mathematics is already difficult enough to learn by its very nature. Authors, you don't need to help make it more difficult. We already have a hard enough time convincing people that they can learn something this difficult.
I'm sure that this a wonderful book, but please note the error right off the bat in equation 1.3 The tangent of the angle in question is b/a NOT a/b as stated. Probably a good idea to keep an sharp eye on the math as you go along in this thing.
As someone who has used linear algebra almost every day in some form over the last decade, it's hard to get a perspective of what aspects are challenging to the beginner. And since I TA courses that involve linear algebra, it is good to know where the problems are.
I always see linear algebra on HN and many people comment on how they never understood the subject. This makes me ask: what exactly is it that people don't get about linear algebra? What makes it appear to be a difficult subject? As someone who has used linear algebra almost every day in some form over the last decade, it's hard to get a perspective of what aspects are challenging to the beginner. And since I TA cour…
Matrix multiplication, ranks etc. are some of the most random seeming operations you can tell a student to memories.
I'm sure that this a wonderful book, but please note the error right off the bat in equation 1.3 The tangent of the angle in question is b/a NOT a/b as stated. Probably a good idea to keep an sharp eye on the math as you go along in this thing.
Send me your name to immersivemath@gmail.com and we will add you to the acknowledgements section!
I always see linear algebra on HN and many people comment on how they never understood the subject. This makes me ask: what exactly is it that people don't get about linear algebra? What makes it appear to be a difficult subject? As someone who has used linear algebra almost every day in some form over the last decade, it's hard to get a perspective of what aspects are challenging to the beginner. And since I TA cour…
I'm sure that this a wonderful book, but please note the error right off the bat in equation 1.3 The tangent of the angle in question is b/a NOT a/b as stated. Probably a good idea to keep an sharp eye on the math as you go along in this thing.
Thanks for the catch! The site has now been updated.
I always see linear algebra on HN and many people comment on how they never understood the subject. This makes me ask: what exactly is it that people don't get about linear algebra? What makes it appear to be a difficult subject? As someone who has used linear algebra almost every day in some form over the last decade, it's hard to get a perspective of what aspects are challenging to the beginner. And since I TA cour…
It wasn't before years later when A) I'd taken more abstract algebra courses that introduced concepts like tensors and fields and B) I'd taken more practical computational courses where I had to do things like use linear algebra in 3D graphics and use eigenvectors to do dimensionality reduction and PCA, that I really understood the subject and its place in the world.
Just saying here's a random object (that we'll call a "matrix"), here's some random steps (that we'll call "taking a determinant"), now memorize how to apply the steps to the object and see if the result is zero, didn't lead to much deeper understanding.
I always see linear algebra on HN and many people comment on how they never understood the subject. This makes me ask: what exactly is it that people don't get about linear algebra? What makes it appear to be a difficult subject? As someone who has used linear algebra almost every day in some form over the last decade, it's hard to get a perspective of what aspects are challenging to the beginner. And since I TA cour…
I think it's mostly because mathematics is taught as is with little or no attention to practical applications of the theory. For instance, till date, I could not see how eigen values/vectors are useful.