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Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

math.cmu.edu

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Re: Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

#52

Post by wbrd »

evanmoran wrote: post #47

As a CS major who went to CMU years ago, my favorite book from all of my professors was for my 15-213 class called Computer Systems: A Programmers Perspective I remember at the time the book was in loose leaf paper so it warms my heart to see the book has a 3rd edition. It was used as a core part of teaching assembly, memory representations, and getting students ready for the operating systems class. When I help peop…

Going through this now and it's great

Re: Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

#53

Post by culi »

engineer_22 wrote: post #45
no_wizard wrote: post #42

Does anyone know of an entry level book that could take someone through say, high school math to college alegbra / calculus? This is my singular biggest hurdle in going back to school to finish my degree and I'd love to fill the gaps I have around mathematics so I can not only finish my degree; I'd also like to participate in some more advanced computer science that rely heavily on underlying computation.

Check out Kahn Academy, they have a gamified course to guide you through the equivalent of a high school and early college math curriculum. AFAIK it's free?

Khan Academy is great. When I was taking AP calculus in highschool I failed to complete any homework and barely passed the class. But when it came time for the AP test I binged Khan Academy videos for 3 days beforehand and ended up getting a 5 (the max score). Great resource and even bingeable

Re: Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

#55

Post by l33t233372 »

cubefox wrote: post #54

Note that these are 700 pages which could take multiple years (if you're doing it in your spare time) to go through. I'm not sure who would have the motivation and discipline for this.

It might, but it shouldn’t. There are 8 chapters and most of the content in the first 7 shows up in any run of the mill “Introduction to Higher Mathematics” or whatever that university decides to call their first actual math class, although occasionally combinatorics will replace number theory content.

Re: Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

#56

Post by abhayhegde »

cubefox wrote: post #54

Note that these are 700 pages which could take multiple years (if you're doing it in your spare time) to go through. I'm not sure who would have the motivation and discipline for this.

Most of the books are meant to be consumed in parts. This book explicitly mentions "Segue from previous chapter" for most chapters indicating what key concepts are continued in exploring/building new ones. Also, I believe any reader on HN can make sense quickly of the basic definitions needed to understand a concept in isolation.

However, mathematics is especially known to require continuous dedication for years to attain any sort of mastery.

Re: Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

#57

Post by eimrine »

cubefox wrote: post #54

Note that these are 700 pages which could take multiple years (if you're doing it in your spare time) to go through. I'm not sure who would have the motivation and discipline for this.

Kids, cherry-picking students of other disciplines, those who really understand what is a good read.

Re: Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

#58

Post by Koshkin »

cubefox wrote: post #54

Note that these are 700 pages which could take multiple years (if you're doing it in your spare time) to go through. I'm not sure who would have the motivation and discipline for this.

> Everything you... wanted

Far from being "everything" anyone would want or need, it's rather "some (fundamental) things" you must know. A couple of pages a day, on average, would get you there within one year.

Re: Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

#59

Post by BeetleB »

cubefox wrote: post #54

Note that these are 700 pages which could take multiple years (if you're doing it in your spare time) to go through. I'm not sure who would have the motivation and discipline for this.

It depends on how rigorous/detailed you want to be. This is at most two semesters worth of material, and has a very shallow learning curve (hence the large PDF). If you've been exposed to these ideas, you could cover it in a semester. I'd say it's quite doable in a year in your spare time.

If you drop the combinatorics chapter, it is definitely doable in one semester.

For example, Chapter 7 is 100 pages. In Tao's analysis book, he covers the same material in 42 pages.

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