Ask HN: Help Me Learn Math (Please & Thank you) | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Help Me Learn Math (Please & Thank you)

20 pointsshawndumas27 comments

I made a Faustian bargain in High school. Once I figured out that I could coast all year long and supplant those bad grades with whatever I got in 3 weeks of summer school that was it. My family was not rich enough to take summer vacations so I was home all summer anyway. My friends where all ether in summer school already, didn’t wake up until after I was home, or where rich enough to be gone all summer. So being in summer school was not a burden and never having to worry all year long about homework, tests, notes, midterms, or finials, made it all seem worth it.

Alas, now as an adult making a living as A Web Developer, trying to understand Mathematics, I finally realize the true costs. I lack a foundation that makes even some Algebra intelligible even with perspicuous explanation. I need an overhaul from the foundations up. Where do I start? Are there any shortcuts I can take? I’ve checked ‘Better Explained’ [1] but it seems to not be systematic enough.

I am also having a hard time finding a clear demarcation of what I know, what I know that I don’t know, and what I haven’t a clue exists. How much should I learn – the rabbit hole is deep – and I am unsure of how much time to put in and how far to go.

I would greatly appreciate any help I could get climbing out of the hole I have dug for myself. Thanks.

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[1] http://betterexplained.com/

Read here:

http://math.berkeley.edu/~wu/

Then read here:

http://faculty.ccp.edu/faculty/dsantos/pages/lecture_notes.h...

Also read:

http://ms.yccd.edu/~jb2/Prealgebra/fm.pdf

A good book series for you would be:

http://www.singaporemath.com/New_Elementary_Math_s/47.htm

For the "Also read" book this is the directory that contains all the chapters: http://ms.yccd.edu/~jb2/ and it contains a link to a single PDF with the whole book.

I'll look at those.

Thanks!

Are you looking for practical knowledge (e.g., to solve some set of specific problems at work)? Or just want to understand capital-M Mathematics in general?

Do you know how you learn best? Are you a visual learner? Do you like to read explanations? Do you learn by doing? (Consider http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test.html for example.)

I've seen this recommended as a learning resource for math related to computer science: http://www.rwc.uc.edu/koehler/comath/toc.html Is that too advanced, too simple, or just right?

* Capital-M Mathematics in general.

* That learning style link is a pay link (but I did it anyway cause I am trusting you.) Here are the results: http://files.me.com/shawndumas/jxy4p0

* I easly understand up to 'Venn Diagram Problems' but the next section says, 'You are undoubtedly familiar with graphs of functions from your experience in algebra courses...'

Thanks!

Sorry about the pay-link; I honestly just sent the first thing that came back from Google for learning styles.

I looked the links suggested in the other comments and they seem like a good start. There are many resources and applets, it seems, to help you learn math. You might also find this book interesting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Mathematics_Comes_From

One concrete suggestion: maybe start a blog talking about your experiences?

It's all good re. the link. $9 is not alot to spend on this quest. Did you get a chance to look at the results?

I think I have alot to go over (trying not to get overwhelmed) but I am very glad for all the input.

Good idea about the blog, thank you.

About being overwhelmed:

Occasionally I look down at what I'm doing and look at all the 'mathy' symbols and know I'd have ran away screaming before. Occasionally I look ahead a bit and still have to fight the same impulse. Math can be ruthlessly cumulative, but steady progress, even if slow, eventually yields results.

One thing you can do is take a placement test at a community college to see what math class they'd place you in. Even if you don't take classes, it might help you know where you are at.

Hmm... placement test... Do you know if they charge for that?

It's free at my local community college. Mileage may vary.

Excellent, thank you very much.

First learn about the complex plane. Be able to tell someone why (-1)*(-1) = 1.

Buy a Schaum's on college algebra. Work through exercises you're unsure of. Then buy an introductory, undergraduate discrete mathematics text, or a calculus text, depending on your interests. Work through that.

If you want to continue, buy a book introducing you to basic proof mechanisms and work through that.

After that dance, you should have a good foundation to read upper-level mathematics texts. Remember, mathematics cannot be learned without working exercises.

Helpful, thank you.

I wish I can clone my two Math Copy-Books and send them to you; they have all the mathematical baggage needed for a programmer. If there is something that makes me think that my 12 years of my country-system education weren't lost is my mathematical background. I don't have any resources, but here are the things that you'll need most.

* Learn Limits, functions (linear, parabola, hyperbola, eclipse...), derivative , primitive.

-> How to trace a curve, asymptote, resolve an equation and also use a calculator to check the derivative

* Neperian Log, Decimal Log, Exponential, their curve and the relation in between. Also how to put points on a semi-logarithmic paper. You are going to use those functions frequently.

* Statics: It's simple. Learn also how to use a calculator, Excel and Extrapolation.

* Probability: Not as easy as it sounds. Don't jump it, I used probability a lot.

* Complex numbers: I never needed them, but they are easy to understand so it's a bonus.

* Have a mathematical sense.

What exactly is a copy-book, and how did it teach you these things differently than, say, a high-school or college textbook?

Thank you!

I went back to school with only a slightly higher math background than yours. By the time I was ready to go back, my already neglected math skills had atrophied, but it wasn't like I never attended algebra class in high school.

For me, I read a GRE prep book (it had concise reminders for basic things I should have known, and probably did at one point, but potentially forgot.) Following that I worked a college textbook for Calculus and enrolled for Calculus II at a local community college. I took all the math courses there and I'm now at a four year considering a math double major. Go figure, I thought I hated math.

I still hit embarrassing gaps from time to time, but I'm at the point that filling them in isn't such an ordeal. It is strange though to be in a 400 level class and to be the only guy that gets caught up on some basic high school thing. At this point though all that stuff seems simple once looked at.

Good luck with the mathematics. It's worth it.

That's an encouragement; thank you.

The subject is incredibly rich, and it will take time to master basic principles. The Chinese Remainder Theorem is a good example - it requires no previous math but the concepts used to prove it are fundamental to the subject. You will need to take several courses to get enough experience to do anything useful, because you're not just learning formulas.

lol, thanks for givin' it to me straight-no-chaser.

Take a look at Steven Strogatz's series of articles in the New York Times. He makes learning the foundations of maths FUN and INTERESTING and accessible!

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/steven-strogatz/

I wish I could have found it earlier. Khan Academy http://www.khanacademy.org

Couldn't recommend this enough. I'm using it for Calculus and Linear Algebra.

The "lectures" are all around 10 minutes explaining a single core concept, most times with examples. Everything is done with a tablet+drawing software and some person talking, but this simple setup couldn't be more effective.

I have found that each of this 10 minutes lecture is equivalent to a full hour of my normal class, with an easier to understand (but not simpler) flow.

I have that bookmarked but was unsure where to start. It seems a bit overwhelming.

Can you suggest an entry point?

Thanks!

Maybe take a guess, watch a lesson (they are just around 10 minutes) and see if you need to go to simpler of more complex ones?

I think it depends too much on what you already know, what concepts are you familiar with and what you really want to know. But I guess not even you could be sure about that, so go explore some.

Good advice. I'll start tonight.

Thanks!

I'm going to have to send that man some money.

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