51–56 of 56 posts
"Naive Set Theory" by Paul R. Halmos.
The better approach is to get a theoretical book, something like Spivak's Calculus or Linear Algebra by Friedberg, Insel and Spence. And then from there whenever you have difficulty with the material spread out laterally and you really start to gradually grow an understanding of mathematics.
And then perhaps, one day you'll be up for Spivak's Calculus on Manifolds!
Also, One, Two, Three, Infinity by George Gamow (a great physicist) is a great intro.
Second the How To Solve It recommendations.
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Maybe more on topic than you suggest, as some Physics books double as pretty good books about math. http://www.amazon.com/Road-Reality-Complete-Guide-Universe/d... OK, I haven't actually read it, but it looked like a really good book for learning a lot of interesting math when I thumbed through its contents at the library. :)
I agree with hyperbovine -- Road To Reality is a downright terrible book for the casually-interested nonprofessional, and I don't understand why it gets recommended so frequently. Roger Penrose is a bright fellow and a good writer but this book is not for the person who did OK in high school math and physics and now wants to take it to the next level.
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I agree with hyperbovine -- Road To Reality is a downright terrible book for the casually-interested nonprofessional, and I don't understand why it gets recommended so frequently. Roger Penrose is a bright fellow and a good writer but this book is not for the person who did OK in high school math and physics and now wants to take it to the next level.
How would it be for a guy who aced second semester freshman physics and the math GRE (40 years ago), and top 100 on the Putnam?