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Comment by pmtarantino | Hacker News Reader

I did three years of Maths in University. Then, I swap to Computer Science because it was always 'my thing'. When I read this kind of posts I really miss Maths. It is beautiful.

If you never tried, if your only experience is high school, go for it. Learn some Math. You will be happier.

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Math is satisfying in that you can study it either for its own sake, or in order to better arm yourself to understand the world.

To each his/her preference. I like both.

Math is somehow what intrigued me most during university. After my startup endeavours, I want to make my mark in Physics and Maths, because I think once you have mastered earth and humans(with a startup), it is time to take on the universe (Maths & Physics)

Where can I start learning math on my own? I always thought math books are arcane in the sense that perquisites math knowledge for one book are so vast that I couldn't wrap my head around one.

What math do you know, what math do you want to know?

When I did Project Euler, I couldn't come up with elegant solution that was derived from high enough abstraction using math, leaving me using brute force method that was not really efficient.

I was fascinated by how people come up with elegant math solution for the challenges in Project Euler. I am not sure how I can achieve such elegance, proving my math is insufficient for what can be done.

I would recommend 'Concepts of Modern Mathematics' [1], by Ian Stewart. It has some very nice illustrations and humor, and reminds me of 'Learn You A Haskell For Great Good' (though I believe CoMM came out before LYaH). It's a wonderful preview of a variety of topics, and is intended to introduce someone with a poor math background to some of the different fields of math.

From the Amazon description:

In this charming volume, a noted English mathematician uses humor and anecdote to illuminate the concepts underlying "new math": groups, sets, subsets, topology, Boolean algebra, and other subjects. No advanced mathematical background is needed to follow thought-provoking discussions of such topics as functions, symmetry, axiomatics, counting, topology, hyperspace, linear algebra, and more. 200 illustrations.

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[1]: http://www.amazon.com/Concepts-Modern-Mathematics-Dover-Book...

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