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Ask HN: A math study program?

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Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#21

Post by strikelaserclaw »

AlchemistCamp wrote: post #6

IMO, the clear choice for this is Math Academy. It was started by a very, very early Uber contractor who built the early versions of their dispatcher, their profiler and also the grid system that helped them scale and pretty much saved them during new year's in 2013. Since becoming wealthy from Uber's IPO, he's been pouring money into hiring experts and building the curriculum. The first step was a non-profit program…

jeez, what kind of 11th and 12th grade curriculum teaches topology, real analysis etc...? Is this a syllabus for math whiz kids?

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#22

Post by equilibrium »

gorilla0 wrote: post #8
equilibrium wrote: post #2

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

Came here to recommend this. I completed my bachelors in mathematics back in 2003. However, recently I am thinking of going back to school to study graduate level mathematics or higher, and possibly do a PhD in a related field. My tentative plan over the next couple of years is as follows 1) Art of Problem Solving - all of the books to review mathematics at middle/high school level 2) Roughly follow the plan mentione…

I purchased the pre-algebra course a couple of weeks ago and I'm planning on working through the books as well. Would you be interested in some sort of study group?

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#23

Post by t_mann »

My impression of sites like brilliant.org or Khan Academy (or the Math Academy mentioned in another post here, which sounds like an absolutely brilliant resource for curious high school students) is that they're geared towards "pre-university" math, which is decidedly different from the mathematics in a university curriculum. Really just different, not even necessarily easier, because it's focused a lot on "mechanical" computations, which can get really gnarly, versus the more "intuitive" proof-based courses at university (tbf, you still have to master the gnarly mechanical topics at university, but you'll also have markedly different courses from the start, and their prominence just grows the further you go).

The best places that I am aware of for self-studying university-level math are university websites (like MIT OCW) or just going through undergrad textbooks on your own. Someone made an imho decent guide for the latter [0], curious if HN users have other recommendations.

[0] https://www.quantstart.com/articles/How-to-Learn-Advanced-Ma...

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#24

Post by ivansavz »

I have a bit of early geometry (polyhedra and formulas from high school) in Chapter 6 of my book, see preview here https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_previe... It's pretty basic though... you might need another book for more details, especially if you want to do geometry proofs.

If you want to broader review of undergraduate math and physics, then check out the longer book: https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmathphys_v5_pr...

Both books have hundreds of exercises, which, as other have pointed out, are the most important part of any learning resource. Several readers have said they appreciate how complete the curriculum presented in these books are (based on years of experience helping people review math needed for university-level courses).

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#25

Post by strikelaserclaw »

TaupeRanger wrote: post #19
tayo42 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

did khan academy give you enough knowledge to have the background required to understand ML ? My company heavily focuses on ML/Statistics and i want to understand what they are doing so i'm trying to self study statistics as a first start, any courses you recommend?

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#26

Post by Tao3300 »

Penyngton wrote: post #7

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…

> There's no royal road to geometry.

Come on. This is totally not what OP was asking for. Pithy adages might seem wise and helpful, but you're dismissing the fact that OP very much asked for the work and the hard road. They want to backtrack and fill gaps in their skill, and just want recommendations on the path to take to get there.

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#27

Post by ianai »

Write in vote for devoting time to actually work problems routinely. Ie every day, every other day, at least 3 days per week. It’s working problems and across topics that builds intuition and ability.

Forgetting the book, but I have a book on solving problems which I studied from for the Putnam. The premise was to take someone seemingly around your level and build them up to problem solving machines. Probably math competition textbooks would be a good source for you.

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#28

Post by ecshafer »

strikelaserclaw wrote: post #21
AlchemistCamp wrote: post #6

IMO, the clear choice for this is Math Academy. It was started by a very, very early Uber contractor who built the early versions of their dispatcher, their profiler and also the grid system that helped them scale and pretty much saved them during new year's in 2013. Since becoming wealthy from Uber's IPO, he's been pouring money into hiring experts and building the curriculum. The first step was a non-profit program…

jeez, what kind of 11th and 12th grade curriculum teaches topology, real analysis etc...? Is this a syllabus for math whiz kids?

The "High School" Curriculum is basically an undergraduate mathematics degree.

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#29

Post by Penyngton »

Tao3300 wrote: post #26
Penyngton wrote: post #7

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…

> There's no royal road to geometry. Come on. This is totally not what OP was asking for. Pithy adages might seem wise and helpful, but you're dismissing the fact that OP very much asked for the work and the hard road. They want to backtrack and fill gaps in their skill, and just want recommendations on the path to take to get there.

I'm sorry that the phrase riled you. I didn't intend it to be pithy, but simply to demonstrate that it's well known that what OP is asking for doesn't exist.

> Is there a course or series of courses I can take that can build my math skill level to solve such problems with ease?

It seems to me that this question assumes that there is a "royal road" of courses that will turn him into the mathematician he wants to be, but I don't believe that's the case. The only way to get where he wants to be is through a long and difficult process. And in my comment I tried to give what advice I could, however inadequate.

Re: Ask HN: A math study program?

#30

Post by dugmartin »

AlchemistCamp wrote: post #6

IMO, the clear choice for this is Math Academy. It was started by a very, very early Uber contractor who built the early versions of their dispatcher, their profiler and also the grid system that helped them scale and pretty much saved them during new year's in 2013. Since becoming wealthy from Uber's IPO, he's been pouring money into hiring experts and building the curriculum. The first step was a non-profit program…

You are going to spoil Jason's HN announcement post Mark :)
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