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Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

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Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#11

Post by Proziam »

gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

I know a person who tried Khan Academy to get caught up on math after a pretty poor childhood education (they didn't finish middle school). Their feedback was that they were able to get their fundamentals down enough to actually pursue more advanced topics fairly easily (about a year of self-study to go from zero to 'high-school graduate' level.)

From my own personal experience, I would recommend getting to the high-school graduate level and then taking some classes at your local university or community college for topics beyond trigonometry. You'll likely be able to handle everything up to that point on your own without much support, but many people struggle at that point and benefit from having people to ask for help when they need it.

I would wish you the best of luck, but I have no doubt you'll get to where you want to be without it.

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#12

Post by look_lookatme »

gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

The No Bullshit Guide To Math And Physics

https://minireference.com/

I bought the Math and Physics copy because it has an ebook option and the first chapter is the Math guide. I’m going through a few pages a day and it’s crisp and straightforward. There is a sample of the first chapter on the site, I suggest you check it out to see if this is what you are looking for.

Found via an HN thread from last year on this topic.

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#13

Post by giornogiovanna »

gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

I know these are extremely common suggestions, but…

• 3Blue1Brown has great introductory series on linear algebra and calculus.

• Khan Academy covers pretty much all of US high school mathematics, and you can go through it at whatever pace you want.

• I can send you a few Australian high school textbooks if you want.

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#14

Post by [deleted] »

gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

[deleted]

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#15

Post by scranglis »

gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

Our site (brilliant.org) is designed for your use-case, among others.

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#16

Post by ivansavz »

look_lookatme wrote: post #12
gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

The No Bullshit Guide To Math And Physics https://minireference.com/ I bought the Math and Physics copy because it has an ebook option and the first chapter is the Math guide. I’m going through a few pages a day and it’s crisp and straightforward. There is a sample of the first chapter on the site, I suggest you check it out to see if this is what you are looking for. Found via an HN thread from last year on this top…

Ha, I came here to shamelessly self-promote, but I see my book has already been mentioned!

Here is a direct link to the preview: https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSguide_v5_previ...

I won't claim that Chapter 1 is complete and detailed review of all of high school math, but I did my best to cover all the essential topics needed for mechanics and calculus so that the book will be self-contained.

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#17

Post by throwthrowcatch »

gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

Check out OpenStax: https://openstax.org/

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#18

Post by xenihn »

scranglis wrote: post #15
gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

Our site (brilliant.org) is designed for your use-case, among others.

Yep, brilliant.org + the first book from minireference.com are what OP needs.

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#19

Post by raidicy »

gavinray wrote: post #6

I know this is going to be the case for likely nobody, but I have browsed most of the self-study math threads that pop up here as a forever-on-my-todo-list thing and I have a remark to make: I have yet to find a guide that does not start with the assumption that you graduated highschool. That is a very reasonable assumption to make. We are in a community of technology and engineering, it would be a bit ridiculous to…

I'm in a similar situation. I'm having to learn linear algebra,calc,basic prob, and brush up on all of my holes in between. I haven't found a direct path, however. What has helped me is this deep learning book[0] which has spelled out very plainly what I need to learn. From there I use a combination of math is fun[1], better explained[2] and 3blue1brown. math is fun really helps by just giving you examples and definitions strictly based on the subject instead of assuming knowledge in another category. better explained helps with intuition. And, 3b1b was second to none for really painting a picture of linear algebra and calc. Even though I've had to watch the videos 3-4 times each to get it, I'm extremely happy with what I've grokked. One last resource is Eddie Woo[4]. Super clear and enthusiastic intuitive lessons from him teaching highschool and slightly beyond math

Good luck in your journey. I know how frustrating it is to not be able to find the math resources you need at an awkward level. If you happen across even better resources please share.

Also a tip that really has been helping me: when you "read" a math equation, don't simply recite the variable names and numbers. Try to say out loud what they represent. I've found that if I can't then I don't really understand the concept I'm working with.

[0]https://d2l.ai/chapter_preliminaries/index.html [1]https://www.mathsisfun.com/ [2]https://betterexplained.com/ [3]https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw [4]https://www.youtube.com/user/misterwootube/playlists?view=50...

Re: Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner

#20

Post by chobytes »

hackernews7643 wrote: post #2

One thing I don’t think is discussed enough is the process of how self-learners in math get critical feedback. Most advanced level math textbooks do not have solutions to check their work against nor do they have a way to get feedback by an expert and this is essential for learning. Least with programming, you can get immediate feedback and know whether what you did is correct or not.

Learn proofs well and you get pretty good and knowing when you’re right. Enough for almost any problem you’ll be likely to encounter in a math textbook anyway.
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