I would suggest getting text books with loads of homework problems with solutions and actually sit down to work through the problems.
Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
31–40 of 160 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#32I fell in love with physics by reading this guy: Paul G. Hewitt
https://www.amazon.com/Conceptual-Physics-High-School-Progra...
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#33For physics, I believe you fall in Leonard Susskind's target audience. You can get his book, or even better, watch his large amount of lectures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJfw6lDlTuA
Susskind is an eminence - he was Feynman's buddy back in the day. And he's entertaining as hell.
Here's also Gerard 't Hooft's (Nobel laureate) list of concepts and books to master. If you finish that -in several years- you will be a qualified theoretical physicist. Whereas Susskind will give you more of an overview. http://www.goodtheorist.science/
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#34There is one sure way, and it’s a test of your fortitude. You find a a college textbook with the answers to the even-numbered problems in the back. You sit down in a warm or hot room, and solve them. If the textbook is in its 4th printing or so, the answers are correct. On a few, you’ll have to work for hours. Now here is a very, very, important point. All the learning occurs on the problems you struggle with. In the…
I almost never went to class in university (Waterloo Engineering) and this is how I did it. The best is not letting them explain the concept to you first. Try to invent the math as you go along by covering the explanatory pages with pieces of paper and reading only one line at a time.
It will stick with you forever.
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#35Read some books, practice exercises, and find an area of interest.
Start with some liberal-arts introduction to a particular topic of interest and delve in.
I often find myself recommending Introduction to Graph Theory [0]. It is primarily aimed at liberal arts people who are math curious but may have been damaged or put off by the typical pedagogy of western mathematics. It will start you off by introducing some basic material and have you writing proofs in a simplistic style early on. I find the idea of convincing yourself it works is a better approach to teaching than to simply memorize formulas.
Another thing to ask yourself is, what will I gain from this? Mathematics requires a sustained focus and long-term practice. Part of it is rote memorization. It helps to maintain your motivation if you have a reason, a driving reason, to continue this practice. Even if it's simply a love of mathematics itself.
For me it was graphics at first... and today it's formal proofs and type theory.
Mathematics is beautiful. I'm glad we have it.
[0] https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Graph-Theory-Dover-Mathe...
Update: I also recommend keeping a journal of your progress. It will be helpful to revisit later when you begin to forget older topics and will help you to create a system for keeping your knowledge fresh as you progress to more advanced topics.
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#36There is one sure way, and it’s a test of your fortitude. You find a a college textbook with the answers to the even-numbered problems in the back. You sit down in a warm or hot room, and solve them. If the textbook is in its 4th printing or so, the answers are correct. On a few, you’ll have to work for hours. Now here is a very, very, important point. All the learning occurs on the problems you struggle with. In the…
I almost never went to class in university (Waterloo Engineering) and this is how I did it. The best is not letting them explain the concept to you first. Try to invent the math as you go along by covering the explanatory pages with pieces of paper and reading only one line at a time. It will stick with you forever.
I second this, but, you will need some help initially. Follow the examples a few times - first with help, then without. Once you build your intuition, you will then be in a position to "invent" the maths as you go along.
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#37get spivaks calculus. Took me months to get though chapter 1 :D, but gave me through understanding of how to think about maths and how to prove stuff and that proof are the real fun of math. If you can't prove it, you don't understand it.
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#38Anyone who tells you can "learn" math and pyhsics by just watching videos is lying to you. There is no substitute for actually doing lots of problems. Pick a book, pick a pace to work through it, and spend a few months going through it. Do the exercises in the back of each chapter, work through the solutions, and ask around if you still can't figure it out. Persistance and routine are key here. As for books, I like S…
This!
For the programmers in the house, it would be like claiming you can code python if you’ve never coded before but watched some videos of expert teachers explaining the structure of python programming.
I often see people here on HN saying classroom lectures are more important than homework. But in my experience the real intuitive learning (at least for math and physics) doesn’t come until you’ve spent some time banging your head trying to figure things out solving problems (ie, applying the theory).
One text (Wangsness E&M maybe) had a great student quote, roughly “I understand the principles but I can’t do the problems.”
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#39Pick a problem that interests you and involves lots of physics and math. This worked for me.
Re: Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?
#40I'm in a similar situation myself. My plan is to buy a high school textbook and work my way through it, chapter by chapter. I assume that the selection of topics in such a curriculum is reasonable and if the presentation is deficient I'll supplement with YouTube etc until I understand.
Same here. I've been eyeing few books on Amazon myself. Most come with answer sheet at the back to check your work.
It's all about doing it like we did in high school. Pen, graph paper, and maybe a calculator. Drilling down the practice will help with theory.