Comment by liendolucas | Hacker News Reader

Comment by liendolucas | Hacker News Reader

I think the question to be asked about this post should be: "How many things can you solve by yourself outside the platform you are currently using?".

I have the feeling (though I could be wrong) that you might very well sort out the exercises and problems that are presented in the platform, but what about tackling for example Project Euler? How far can you go with the knowledge that you acquired from this platform after 3 years of daily usage?

Please note that I'm not trying to diminish the value of the mentioned platform but I believe that tackling problems that force you to hit your head on the wall and/or figuring out things by yourself with maybe some books, makes you learn in a completely different and richer way.

This is a view I strongly agree with. While the “worked example effect,” which is apparently a key part of the platform, does seem to accelerate learning compared with discovery based learning [0], I do not think the learning achieved by the regurgitation of another person’s ratiocination is nearly as useful or rich as learning acquired by discovery. In my view, the best way to fully and completely understand something is to come to it in your own mind.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worked-example_effect

OK, as long as you're clear that this is an indictment of basically all ordinary undergraduate math instruction.

Yes the famous math curriculum everyone loves and instills an intrinsic love of mathematics forever

If you want to do this, there are at least two ways:

A) use the AoPS books, which present exercises before explanations, and expect students to attempt them first, or

B) Use Math Academy the way my son does: skip the explanation and worked example and immediately attempt the first problem. Only if stuck go back to the explanation and example.

(B) isn't what Math Academy recommended, presumably because you might be able to solve the problems in the current lesson, but still miss out on something else the lesson is supposed to teach you.

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