I skimmed all the replies below - this is years of learning and study - so I ask: Is there some dependency order someone could quickly sketch out for some of these topics? Eg, linear algebra comes before X? HN is an incredibly useful crowdsourcing resource for the self-motivated!
The minimal classical way to bootstrap your math knowledge is algebra (mostly linear) + analysis. This is the approach used by e.g. Harvard Math 55, which is a really famous course. Harvard Math 55 employed Halmos + baby Rudin as main textbooks. Halmos has now been replaced by Axler, which is an excellent textbook (but the typographic changes in the last edition are very distracting). Rudin is probably too synthetic…
Ask HN: Mathematicians, what textbooks are best for learning these math topics?
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Re: Ask HN: Mathematicians, what textbooks are best for learning these math topics?
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
The minimal classical way to bootstrap your math knowledge is algebra (mostly linear) + analysis. This is the approach used by e.g. Harvard Math 55, which is a really famous course. Harvard Math 55 employed Halmos + baby Rudin as main textbooks. Halmos has now been replaced by Axler, which is an excellent textbook (but the typographic changes in the last edition are very distracting). Rudin is probably too synthetic…
I would love a bootcamp like that. Or even one that helped you with proofs. I've found that's my biggest issue trying to teach myself pure mathematics. I just can't start the damn proof. Once I get the start, I can usually finish it, but starting the proof I just feel so clueless how to do it.
A more advanced approach would be to go through a logic book like Velleman that teaches proofs as structured programming.
Re: Ask HN: Mathematicians, what textbooks are best for learning these math topics?
#33So, the feer of a math intensive grad program (and admission had me worried). My CS program offered some math refresher, but I ended up just jumpting in without it. If the program is decent, you will be guided along at a digestable pace. As a responsible adult with a hunger to learn, and you will enjoy and digest more. In a curriculum, you'll also have peers/teachers to help you when absolutely stumped - which will happen.
For books - I just have one that I saw referenced here on HN, which is a little odd, but highly recommend for understanding Fourier transforms [1].
1. Who Is Fourier? A Mathematical Adventure 2nd Edition... Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0964350432/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i...
Re: Ask HN: Mathematicians, what textbooks are best for learning these math topics?
#34I never knew Computer Science was an applied math. But I always went with statistics.