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Ask HN: A math study program?

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Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#12

You might want to have a look at The Art of Problem Solving - https://artofproblemsolving.com/

I also came here to say this.

I have a PhD in engineering that was fairly mathematical, but I was missing lots of fundamentals and working through those books has changed my life, and the way my brain works, in a massive way.

They aren't cheap, but they are worth every cent. I am very grateful for having discovered them.

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#14
post #9

Khan Academy. I completed all their Math modules over the course of a Summer and, frankly, learnt more from their content than I had in 10+ years of mainstream Math education. I feel like if I had done it sooner I would have been an A* student, which haunts me a little. Despite studying engineering up to postgraduate level, I tended to avoid any concept that required a deep understanding of the Mathematics behind it.…

Seconded. I started learning calculus for the first time in my late 20s (about 7-8 years ago) and Khan Academy was great for that. Once you get into Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, etc., find Gil Strang's lessons through MIT's YouTube channel. He is truly a master teacher and I learned a ton from him without ever meeting him or setting foot on MIT's campus.

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#16
post #9

Khan Academy. I completed all their Math modules over the course of a Summer and, frankly, learnt more from their content than I had in 10+ years of mainstream Math education. I feel like if I had done it sooner I would have been an A* student, which haunts me a little. Despite studying engineering up to postgraduate level, I tended to avoid any concept that required a deep understanding of the Mathematics behind it.…

Seconded. I started learning calculus for the first time in my late 20s (about 7-8 years ago) and Khan Academy was great for that. Once you get into Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, etc., find Gil Strang's lessons through MIT's YouTube channel. He is truly a master teacher and I learned a ton from him without ever meeting him or setting foot on MIT's campus.

What made you want to learn calculus later in life?

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#17
If you want to get better at geometry a very good start is brilliant.org. They have five great geometry course that's good for learning concepts visually and has some basic exercises, but not enough for drilling.

When it comes to exercises, brilliant.org is lacking in volume. Khan Academy is a great supplement for geometry, single and multivariable calculus although brilliant.org goes a bit further than Khan Academy with Linear Algebra, Group Theory and more.

Khan Academy also has a linear algebra course, but I found it to be kinda crap with no exercises. For linear algebra it's better go with brilliant and 3blue1brown's linear algebra videos, then a good continuation would be Linear algebra done right by Sheldon Axler and also fast.ai's free online course Computational Linear Algebra for Coders.

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#19
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconded. I started learning calculus for the first time in my late 20s (about 7-8 years ago) and Khan Academy was great for that. Once you get into Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, etc., find Gil Strang's lessons through MIT's YouTube channel. He is truly a master teacher and I learned a ton from him without ever meeting him or setting foot on MIT's campus.

What made you want to learn calculus later in life?

I was a self taught programmer/dev and started getting interested in signal processing, systems of pulse coupled oscillators, and machine learning. So I figured I should "learn the language" so to speak.

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#20

There's no royal road to geometry. You just have to keep trying things and keep suffering. Sadly, I'm not familiar with that book or particularly with the topics you've mentioned, so I can't recommend specific books, but this is the basic recipe that I've used to teach myself some amount of mathematics: Start with a book you want to read. If you get stuck, then buy another book (hopefully aimed at a lower level) on t…

Not the answer OP was hoping for, but definitely the right one.
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