Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician • Hacker News Board

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#11

Post by liftbigweights » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 10:53 AM UTC

standupmaths wrote: post #5

Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here. I was so startled I made an account. Ah… you’ll probably enjoy my new book about maths mistakes. Check if your favourite programming error is in there! http://wwwh.umble-pi.com

I swear everyone who advertises here says the same thing.

"Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here."

followed by you can get my product here.

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#12

Post by anonytrary » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 11:06 AM UTC

liftbigweights wrote: post #11

standupmaths wrote: post #5

Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here. I was so startled I made an account. Ah… you’ll probably enjoy my new book about maths mistakes. Check if your favourite programming error is in there! http://wwwh.umble-pi.com

I swear everyone who advertises here says the same thing. "Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here." followed by you can get my product here.

You're probably thinking it's a bit suspicious seeing that the account was made 62 minutes after the post was submitted. It could be that the user just browses HN regularly, saw this post about him, and wanted to separate his comment histories from his main account.

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#13

Post by standupmaths » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 11:13 AM UTC

liftbigweights wrote: post #11

standupmaths wrote: post #5

Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here. I was so startled I made an account. Ah… you’ll probably enjoy my new book about maths mistakes. Check if your favourite programming error is in there! http://wwwh.umble-pi.com

I swear everyone who advertises here says the same thing. "Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here." followed by you can get my product here.

That is a great observation. It reminds me of when I was recording my latest DVD special, also available on download and floppy disk.

http://festivalofthespokennerd.com/dvd

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#14

Post by standupmaths » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 11:15 AM UTC

anonytrary wrote: post #12

liftbigweights wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I swear everyone who advertises here says the same thing. "Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here." followed by you can get my product here.

You're probably thinking it's a bit suspicious seeing that the account was made 62 minutes after the post was submitted. It could be that the user just browses HN regularly, saw this post about him, and wanted to separate his comment histories from his main account.

Yes: I normally lurk on HN. But people started messaging me when this reached the top, of course. I can confirm I don’t know or have any connection with the OP.

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#15

Post by throwaway8521 » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 11:24 AM UTC

Matt, what are your top recommended intro to proofs books for math beginners?

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#16

Post by roel_v » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 11:39 AM UTC

If you like nerd humor, you'll also like Standup Economist (standupeconomist.com)

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#17

Post by standupmaths » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 11:41 AM UTC

throwaway8521 wrote: post #15

Matt, what are your top recommended intro to proofs books for math beginners?

For a modern popular math book I would recommend The Man Who Loved Only Numbers (by Paul Hoffman) about the life Paul Erdős. Is a great intro to the life of a working mathematician and a bit about proof.

The classic text is How To Solve It (by Georg Pólya). A bit antiquated but still good.

Beyond that: find an introductory text book to a subject and start trying the worked examples!

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#18

Post by standupmaths » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 11:43 AM UTC

andrewshadura wrote: post #10

standupmaths wrote: post #5

Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here. I was so startled I made an account. Ah… you’ll probably enjoy my new book about maths mistakes. Check if your favourite programming error is in there! http://wwwh.umble-pi.com

Hi Matt, great to see you here, I enjoyed your performance at freenode.live last year in Bristol.

Thanks! I enjoyed that evening in the museum. My spherical camera is still working as well.

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#19

Post by liftbigweights » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 11:50 AM UTC

standupmaths wrote: post #13

liftbigweights wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I swear everyone who advertises here says the same thing. "Hello everyone. Didn’t expect to see myself here." followed by you can get my product here.

That is a great observation. It reminds me of when I was recording my latest DVD special, also available on download and floppy disk. http://festivalofthespokennerd.com/dvd

> That is a great observation.

I couldn't agree more.

> It reminds me of when I was recording my latest DVD special, also available on download and floppy disk. http://festivalofthespokennerd.com/dvd

Looks like I'm going to finish my christmas shopping early boys. Are the floppy disks 3 1/2 or 5 1/4?

Re: Matt Parker – Standup Mathematician

#20

Post by fjsolwmv » Sat, Oct 06, 2018, 12:13 PM UTC

standupmaths wrote: post #17

throwaway8521 wrote: post #15

Matt, what are your top recommended intro to proofs books for math beginners?

For a modern popular math book I would recommend The Man Who Loved Only Numbers (by Paul Hoffman) about the life Paul Erdős. Is a great intro to the life of a working mathematician and a bit about proof. The classic text is How To Solve It (by Georg Pólya). A bit antiquated but still good. Beyond that: find an introductory text book to a subject and start trying the worked examples!

Isn't that a bit misleading because Erdos was a famously unusual mathematician personality/lifestyle? I think focusing on Erdos as an intro fetishizes mathematicians/mathematics.