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Comment by phforms | Hacker News Reader

As an autodidact without an “official” CS degree, discrete Mathematics seemed to me like a key area to open up more advanced topics and solve many practical problems in programming. And indeed it helped me on many such occasions (although I am still studying).

I really like the book “A Primer of Discrete Mathematics”[1] by Finkbeiner II and Lindstrom from 1987. It’s a bit old and unfortunately not free but still holds up pretty well and has many good exercises with selected answers.

I will absolutely check out this book though, looks like a more modern approach with interactive exercises and it even is completely free!

[1]: https://archive.org/details/isbn_0716718154

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Discrete Mathematics and It's Applications by Kenneth H. Rosen helped me get an A in CS70 (Discrete Math and Probability) at UC Berkeley this past summer.

The textbook is quite large, but the content is very accessible. I'm also self-taught, finally taking formal math/physics coursework in my 30s to fill in the gaps.

Another amazing resource has been California Community Colleges. So far every math teacher I've had has been extraordinarily passionate. Most math classes have an async/online section, and it's pretty common for adults to take the classes just for fun/self-improvement.

> I'm also self-taught, finally taking formal math/physics coursework in my 30s to fill in the gaps.

How did you take CS70? Are you enrolled as an undergrad/grad student?

The summer session is open to the general public, and you can take courses through the Berkeley Extension during Fall/Spring on a space available basis.

https://summer.berkeley.edu/ https://extension.berkeley.edu/static/studentservices/concur...

I was intimidated by these math books, but I was able to find a lot of interesting stuff in "Applied Discrete Structures" by Al Doerr and Ken Levasseur[1]. I was attracted by the "Logic" section, and I was not disappointed. You can download it for free from their website.

> It’s a bit old and unfortunately not free

It's available on Anna's Archive, in case someone is looking for it.

[1] https://discretemath.org/

Hey, that's my school! I didn't have Doerr or Levasseur (before my time), but James Propp did a phenomenal job of teaching the material. I don't know how discrete is taught in other schools but I thought having two dedicated classes for it was helpful.

The AOPS Counting & Probability books are shockingly good discrete math books that come with complete solutions manuals: https://artofproblemsolving.com/store

Are these good for general education? I read somewhere they were great but more geared toward math competitions.

They might be overkill, but I don't see why not. I guess it depends on what you mean by "general education".

They have great explanations of the fundamental concepts but use problems that really stretch you more than typical books.

Probably better as a second exposure, but doable as a first for a bright and motivated student.

You may also enjoy [Concrete Mathematics](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112243.Concrete_Mathemat...) by Graham, Knuth, Patashnik.

Concrete mathematics is significantly more advanced though, if I'm not mistaken it even introduces the basics of analytic combinatorics with OGFs. Something at the same level would be the basic competitive math curriculum in combinatorics and number theory.

Aren't generating functions a standard part of a first course in combinatorics? They were when I took introduction to combinatorics in university.

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