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Comment by threatofrain | Hacker News Reader

Note that Axler intended this book to be the second reading of Linear Algebra after you've already taken a first course, but it is doable for a first reading.

If you want to be crazy you can also check out A (Terse) Introduction to Linear Algebra by Katznelson & Katznelson.

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I did undergrad linear algebra with my daughter last semester, and Strang and Axler were a good one-two punch, Strang for the computation, Axler for the proofs homework.

So did you read through Strang and then read Axler, or did you try to work through both of them at the same time?

Same time. I'd taught myself linear algebra from the Strang lectures (and a Slack study group we set up with some random university's syllabus, which gave us a set of homework problems to do) long before this, so mostly I just matched the professor's lectures to the Strang material, and dipped in and out of Axler when proof and conceptual stuff came up; it's not like we did Axler cover to cover.

Before doing this, I'd only ever sort of skimmed Axler; it's sort of not the linear algebra you care about for cryptography, and up until the spectral theorem stuff that's exactly what Strang was. It was neat to get an appreciation for Axler this was.

Yeah, my math class followed Axler, which was great - but I didn't really get a feel for how useful linear algebra was until I read through Strang on my own. The applications are endless!

>>The applications are endless!

Pretty much all of grad level engineering classes, all of grad level Stats classes, all of grad level Econ classes include applications of LA. Heck quantitative research work in social sciences are still included via stats.

When I taught linear algebra I used Strang and a book from the UK by Morris that seems to be out of print these days.

Dang, I remember everyone not enjoying linear algebra class with Katznelson in undergrad. I did ok but it felt like way more focus on things like row elimination algorithms than why any of it works. It wasn't until I worked with a PhD geometer that any of it made sense and they largely cribbed from Linear Algebra Done Right. Hopefully the book is better than a class aimed at a generic mix of STEM undergrads.

Wow, we used this textbook (albeit alongside a more beginner focused one) in first year undergrad Computer Science.

What's your recommendation material for first course? Strang, perhaps?

I used Howard Anton's.

I would definitely choose Strang to begin learning Linear Algebra. He develops the geometric intuition you need for applying it in other subjects such as Calculus or Statistics or Physics. Linear Algebra is not just Abstract Algebra, at least for most of us, including most mathematicians. After Strang, or even alongside him, if you want more rigour then you would benefit from a text like that of Anton, or Friedberg, or Curtis or, God forbid, Axler.

FYI I bought Axler's book (3rd edition).

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