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Taking notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim (2019)

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Re: Taking notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim (2019)

#21
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did this back in 2011, though I used OpenOffice (and now I believe it's LibreOffice) at first, its equation editor syntax was a lot like LaTeX. I didn't realize MS Word had a text input option for its equation editor. Eventually I decided to switch to Vim and LaTeX though (I was pretty new to both). The OP's setup looks much fancier than what I did, I just used pdflatex and mupdf. Diagrams I would draw by hand on p…

An 11" Chromebook maybe? I'm done with classes as of last year but I just used pen & paper in all my schooling. I would rewrite my notes on a tablet after class though. It's more common to see people using iPads and Surfaces than when I first started.

I have heard that the latest chromebooks make it easier to switch into linux mode. I bought one a few years ago and had to go through some hacks to run linux, and every time I power it on, it would tell me to press space bar to "fix" everything and wipe the harddrive.

Was the tablet not a good fit for real time handwriting? Is it a bit slower than pen and paper?

Re: Taking notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim (2019)

#22

Obviously the author can take these notes and be a mathematical success. That's amazing. Personally, I confess that I don't have enough cycles to both understand a lecture and live-LaTeX it. (Can I add that I am a math PhD and also very experienced with LaTeX? So if you feel that this may be too much for you, IMHO that's OK).

It depends on the subject matter for me. Live-LaTeXing works pretty well for me until matrices get involved. Just fractions, equations, and summations are fairly easy though.

Re: Taking notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim (2019)

#25

Maybe I'm missing something but why do I need to write notes like textbook when textbooks already exist. I have only taken applied math courses, but when I go to lectures I'm trying to create a mental model of how the various assumptions, statements and theorems relate to one another. I need to listen to the lecture on the arguments of how the proof works, create examples, counter examples and outliers to test the pr…

People learn in different ways. Personally, I've always been a "learn by using my hands" person, and in college I was a meticulous note taker. I could never use the method you described, but have met others like that too.

Re: Taking notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim (2019)

#26
I just wish all uni's and colleges recorded their lectures by default. That way we can focus on what's important in class and if we missed something we'd be able to watch the recorded lecture. Trying to write down what's being said and written AND focusing on the lecture at the same time is hard.

Re: Taking notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim (2019)

#28
Discussed at the time:

How I'm able to take notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19448678 - March 2019 (221 comments)

How I'm able to take notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19440652 - March 2019 (6 comments)

Re: Taking notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim (2019)

#29

Maybe I'm missing something but why do I need to write notes like textbook when textbooks already exist. I have only taken applied math courses, but when I go to lectures I'm trying to create a mental model of how the various assumptions, statements and theorems relate to one another. I need to listen to the lecture on the arguments of how the proof works, create examples, counter examples and outliers to test the pr…

I’m the same way. You don’t need notes when you understand the underlying concepts. For me it is better to spend 100% of my concentration on the prof and ask questions when something doesn’t make sense.

Re: Taking notes in mathematics lectures using LaTeX and Vim (2019)

#30
I'm always envious of people who have vim/emacs setups that appear so clean and functional.

I just think to my cobbled-together vim setup which both had a long startup and was riddled with idiosyncrasies (both I'm sure caused by my own misconfiguration).

I since have migrated to spacemacs, thinking that I could let people more competent than I do the brunt of configuration, but still I have managed to make the startup long and the experience janky.

I guess I should either spend more or less time configuring my setups...

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