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The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

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Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#11
post #4

I took a version of this class (called The Art of Approximation) with Dr. Mahajan when he was a visiting professor at Olin College. The course helped me become fearless about tackling a broad range of math problems I knew little about, and has helped me in countless real life situations from financial planning to major work decisions. Also, it's a great intro on good ways to nail PM interviews, at least at Google (wh…

Thank you for sharing the first hand experience. When I see book pdfs posted here, my first question is "Did anyone actually read or go through this?"

Is it really just a few hours to go through it? :-)

Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#13
post #6

The irony of a an article claiming to master complexity while using one of the worst choices of information dissemination. PDF's. Palpable.

Besides it being a book, not sure what the irony is here. PDF is a poor way to disseminate information via the web, but excellent for distributing information in a container that you envision as uniform and universal -- in this case, paper. The responsive variable nature of a browser window can sometimes do screwy things to a well planned layout.

Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#14
post #4

I took a version of this class (called The Art of Approximation) with Dr. Mahajan when he was a visiting professor at Olin College. The course helped me become fearless about tackling a broad range of math problems I knew little about, and has helped me in countless real life situations from financial planning to major work decisions. Also, it's a great intro on good ways to nail PM interviews, at least at Google (wh…

Oh cool. I'm actually in Olin now, and even better, taking his class as I type this post.

Art of approximation https://imgur.com/a/OvDzl

I'll pass along any cool questions.

Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#15
post #4

I took a version of this class (called The Art of Approximation) with Dr. Mahajan when he was a visiting professor at Olin College. The course helped me become fearless about tackling a broad range of math problems I knew little about, and has helped me in countless real life situations from financial planning to major work decisions. Also, it's a great intro on good ways to nail PM interviews, at least at Google (wh…

> it's a great intro on good ways to nail PM interviews, at least at Google (where I now work, thanks in no small part to the lessons from this class).

Could you give an example? It would be great to know why you say so.

Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#16
post #9

How come this book is available on download I mean what about copyright?

It's under a license that allows freely sharing it for non-commercial purposes.

I've wondered about this: when it says non-commercial purposes, does that mean me downloading a copy to read for my work, or me printing and selling?

I haven't any problem buying it, since it's useful for my job, but that distinction has been a bit fuzzy to me (and I'll normally just err on the side of buy, just to be safe).

Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#17
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's under a license that allows freely sharing it for non-commercial purposes.

I've wondered about this: when it says non-commercial purposes, does that mean me downloading a copy to read for my work, or me printing and selling? I haven't any problem buying it, since it's useful for my job, but that distinction has been a bit fuzzy to me (and I'll normally just err on the side of buy, just to be safe).

Commercial would mean you make a gain from distribution of the book. Money can be one of the gains.

Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've wondered about this: when it says non-commercial purposes, does that mean me downloading a copy to read for my work, or me printing and selling? I haven't any problem buying it, since it's useful for my job, but that distinction has been a bit fuzzy to me (and I'll normally just err on the side of buy, just to be safe).

Commercial would mean you make a gain from distribution of the book. Money can be one of the gains.

Thanks - distribution vs consumption always mix me up with the copyright rules.

Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#19
post #4

I took a version of this class (called The Art of Approximation) with Dr. Mahajan when he was a visiting professor at Olin College. The course helped me become fearless about tackling a broad range of math problems I knew little about, and has helped me in countless real life situations from financial planning to major work decisions. Also, it's a great intro on good ways to nail PM interviews, at least at Google (wh…

If you don't mind me asking, any other resources you found useful for PM interviews?

Re: The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering: Mastering Complexity (2014) [pdf]

#20
post #4

I took a version of this class (called The Art of Approximation) with Dr. Mahajan when he was a visiting professor at Olin College. The course helped me become fearless about tackling a broad range of math problems I knew little about, and has helped me in countless real life situations from financial planning to major work decisions. Also, it's a great intro on good ways to nail PM interviews, at least at Google (wh…

What class is that? Is any similar MOOC course available?
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