Khan academy. I decided to relearn all math from scratch and now I'm almost done with Algebra 1. It's pretty good.
Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
31–40 of 215 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#32haskell(common knowledge) -> category theory(compare it with set theory here you will read about math foundation crisis) -> type theory(curry howard correspondence or logic == program) personal perspective
That seems way too abstract and advanced for a beginner. I can't imagine anyone starting that way.
i agree but i think you can see the whole image and select what you want. for example maybe you like CS you will comfortable with graph theory or compatibility theory, or philosophy you love paradoxes you counter in logic, even the history you can read about Hilbert program.
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#333Blue1Brown
Youtube link to make it easier: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw
The calculus and linear algebra playlists are particularly excellent.
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#34The simplest approach I think would be to start with Khan Academy. Well spoken clear and concise. You can go from a Highschool level towards subjects from first year university. Once there, it should be easier to self teach from books.
I can recommend this path, studied almost all my pre-engineering math this way 2011 and were better equipped for initial engineering courses then most of my peers. However it kinda capped out at high-school level (or atleast Swedish equivalents).
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#35I would suggest to browse through coursera and pick something free and easy (since you labeled yourself pre-highschool). If it turns out too difficult, dont worry, unsign and pick something else. I never tried Khan Academy, but people seem to praise that too. Moreover, maybe just taking high school math book and exercises book would be fine.
Most importantly, at stage you are at, learning math should consist of doing a lot of exercises - with increasing difficulty. Just like with sports, you cant learning it by reading theory only. Pick up book with a lot of exercises and do homework if you sign to some course.
The rule of thumb is, that if you can solve all exercises without having to think or being occasionally frustrated, then the exercises book is too easy for you. If you have difficulties, then it means that you are learning. (If you end up completely stuck then you need something easier.)
Videos and such are fine, but really really focus on exercises.
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#36What do you know already? What kind of stuff do you want to learn about? What do you want to do with it? Maths is big , and cumulative. Edit: Re your experience edit, I second the recommendation of Khan Academy. I'd also recommend the book Measurement by Paul Lockhart.
> Maths is big, and cumulative.
The cumulative part needs to be emphasised. Almost every topic in math, from grade-school on up, has pre-requisite knowledge. If you miss key knowledge you will easily get lost, so it's important to take things step by step.
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#37Method-wise it could be helpful to get a (lightweight) computer algebra software and learn how to use it and how to explore knowledge using it. One thing you won't have when you're out on your own is a method to just try out stuff and verify that it is correct, or to get better visualizations quickly. Often you will get stuck with something and need a different angle (which teachers or other students could normally p…
Personally, I wouldn't recommend Wolfram Alpha, or anything proprietary. If you have some programming knowledge (as OP is likely to), Sympy and Matplotlib are much more capable and controllable (and free!).
I think if you're building up skills and knowledge, it should be towards something you have control over and can use in any situation without worrying about licences, cost, etc. At my university, we teach undergrad engineers Matlab, and it just seems like an expensive clunky dead end to me (though their numerical methods knowledge should be transferable).
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#38I am studying from this MOOC, really good!
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:ASUx+MAT170x+2T201...
Next month will go for Calculus.
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#39Method-wise it could be helpful to get a (lightweight) computer algebra software and learn how to use it and how to explore knowledge using it. One thing you won't have when you're out on your own is a method to just try out stuff and verify that it is correct, or to get better visualizations quickly. Often you will get stuck with something and need a different angle (which teachers or other students could normally p…
For an open source option: http://www.sagemath.org/
Re: Ask HN: How to self-learn math?
#40Firstly, don't use those books that suggest to teach you more than one subject at a time, in a traditional way. In mathematics those kind of books do not work, at least in my honest opinion that is. What I mean by this is that, you will have some knowledge over the subjects taught by the book but you will have no understanding what so ever, or it won't be good enough in the long run.
As you said, the problem was that you didn't pay any attention while in high school. It was because you had no interest, and if you try to self-learn mathematics the same way you tried learn basic maths in school, then you will also fail.
The answer to all this is better books or a different kind of approach. I should mention that this is all from my own ongoing experience. There are traditional books that cover high school math[0]. And there are bad ones and good ones. The good ones still throw definitions and theorems at you, but it's more clear and concise, and most importantly understandable.
Now comes the new kind of books which try a different approach to the subject at hand. They try to give more understanding that anything else. I only read "Burn Math Class" by Jason Wilkes and "Math, Better Explained" by Kalid Azad. These books lack exercises, which are, in my opinion, as important as understanding. But one doesn't work without the other.
As for the future just follow this[1] so that you won't get information paralysis or other difficulties that come when there are a lot of choices.
[0] https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/self-study-basic-high... [1] https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/micromass-insights-on-...