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Show HN: I wished for a site with a growing list of math problems, I built it

teachyourselfmath.app

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Re: Show HN: I wished for a site with a growing list of math problems, I built it

#81

Post by mindcrime »

bo1024 wrote: post #67
circadian wrote: post #61

It's a really nice idea and very good to see a familiar and simple interface, I'm definitely keen to look at this when I'm "idling"! Two suggestions that I don't think have been mentioned: 1. It might be nice to at least acknowledge the source of the problems PDF-wise, no doubt somebody put effort into developing then and the supplementary information (assuming the PDFs are open source) would be useful for learning 2…

Strong agree on (1). I don't mind the copyright violation personally, but as an academic who develops these types of problems, attribution would be the polite thing to do.

> I don't mind the copyright violation personally, but as an academic who develops these types of problems, attribution would be the polite thing to do.

Is there a copyright violation? Totally not a copyright lawyer (or any kind of lawyer) but I thought basic facts, mathematical relationships, etc. were not eligible for copyright. At least for something like:

Find the derivative of X^2 + 2x + 3

I think the problem and the solution aren't subject to copyright.

I guess a complex word problem might be though, since the prose part would normally be subject to copyright anyway? Not sure being part of a math problem would change that.

I dunno. I could be totally wrong about this. Any copyright experts around to chime in?

Google's Generative AI feature says the following, but not sure how much trust to put in that.

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According to Bytescare, mathematical formulas, problems, proofs, and theorems are not copyrightable. This is because math is considered a "truth" and is not necessarily invented but discovered.

However, the content of a math book, including diagrams, word problems, and illustrations, can be copyrighted. According to the Copyright Advisory Network, word problems may fall under copyright, but problems containing only numbers and symbols probably do not.

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Re: Show HN: I wished for a site with a growing list of math problems, I built it

#83

Post by dustfinger »

It would be really valuable to add a challenge rating to each problem. I am sure there are some criteria that could be used to auto score these. Then, viewers would be able to select a category and challenge rating so that they can focus on topics of interest at their level.

Re: Show HN: I wished for a site with a growing list of math problems, I built it

#85

Post by bagels »

viveknathani_ wrote: post #65
criddell wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the account needed for? I assume you track progress, but are there other reasons for it?

for now, the account is needed to be able to post a comment

But, why is it needed? To prevent spam?

Re: Show HN: I wished for a site with a growing list of math problems, I built it

#86

Post by anonimo37 »

This is a great resource. I'm slowly relearning my engineering maths from 30 years ago. It is good to have source of problems to work through.

A couple of suggestions.

1. It would be nice to be able designate one of the comments as the best answer rather than have to wade through a lot of comments to find the solution.

2. I find the name "Teach Yourself Math" a bit misleading. The names suggests that the site provides a structured introduction to math much like a textbook, not a bunch a math problems that require some existing knowledge to work on. Some of this expectation comes from associating the "Teach Yourself" name with the Teach Yourself series of books intended for self learners.

Re: Show HN: I wished for a site with a growing list of math problems, I built it

#87

Post by terribleperson »

bo1024 wrote: post #67
circadian wrote: post #61

It's a really nice idea and very good to see a familiar and simple interface, I'm definitely keen to look at this when I'm "idling"! Two suggestions that I don't think have been mentioned: 1. It might be nice to at least acknowledge the source of the problems PDF-wise, no doubt somebody put effort into developing then and the supplementary information (assuming the PDFs are open source) would be useful for learning 2…

Strong agree on (1). I don't mind the copyright violation personally, but as an academic who develops these types of problems, attribution would be the polite thing to do.

I don't disagree that attribution would be polite (in fact I think a lack of attribution is impolite), but I don't believe mathematical problems are generally copyrightable.

Re: Show HN: I wished for a site with a growing list of math problems, I built it

#90

Post by bo1024 »

terribleperson wrote: post #87
bo1024 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strong agree on (1). I don't mind the copyright violation personally, but as an academic who develops these types of problems, attribution would be the polite thing to do.

I don't disagree that attribution would be polite (in fact I think a lack of attribution is impolite), but I don't believe mathematical problems are generally copyrightable.

I'm sure it depends on the situation, but I doubt for example that you could legally copy 50 pages of problems out of one book and sell them in another book verbatim.
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