Just dusted off my old maths books
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
Same experience, same subject. A while back I finally tossed most of my books from college, with the exception of math and a few computer science. Looking at the math books rather forcibly reminded me that I had long ago recycled that storage partition in my brain to store old movie dialogue. Practically speaking, much more useful.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
I tossed my calculus and linear algebra texts long ago but still have abstract algebra, combinatorics, and graph theory texts, which I found more interesting and somewhat more useful. I've reopened them a few times and my experience was similar to yours, though maybe not quite as depressing. :-D
Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. -
For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
I'm teaching a friend's high-school age kid software engineering. This week we're going to study sorting: bubble, binary insertion, quick and merge. Bubble is trivial, but I'm dreading the others. What's worse, he's very bright and thinks I know what I'm talking about. :sigh: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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I'm teaching a friend's high-school age kid software engineering. This week we're going to study sorting: bubble, binary insertion, quick and merge. Bubble is trivial, but I'm dreading the others. What's worse, he's very bright and thinks I know what I'm talking about. :sigh: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
:thumbsup: :laugh: I'd say that merge is also rather trivial, but after that I'm very happy not to be in your shoes.
Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. -
For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
One of my Engineering profs told us, "After you graduate you will forget half of what you learned. Also, you will only use half of what you learned. The trick is to forget the correct half."
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
It is happened to me with a few things but not very many. I think I am one of the rare people who has used almost everything I studied in college at one time or another. Ironically, the stuff from gradual school is what I use the least because I took a rather different direction in the real world. Today I use linear algebra and many parts of calculus often. One of my hobbies is computer graphics and my made avatar image myself.
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
Just curious, why would you hold onto those books for so long?
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other. Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it. Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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Just curious, why would you hold onto those books for so long?
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other. Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it. Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
How long have you held onto your wife?
Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. -
For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
This is something that I've been doing in my retirement. What I do is come up with a personal set of notes for any subject, with the complete derivation & proofs of applicability. I have substantially finished notes for Algebra (i.e., regular Algebra, not Abstract Algebra), Linear Algebra, Trigonometry, Analytic Geometry, Geometric Optics & Special Relativity. I happen to be in the middle of Calculus, and to give an idea of how thorough my notes are, I've derived every integral formula that one would find on the inside cover of a Calculus book :omg: :omg: and have even gone through the epsilon-delta proofs :omg: needed to be able to prove that a certain function is continuous (a necessary condition for calculus to work). I delved into Linear Algebra quite deep, proving that all the stuff that was simply lectured as fact in the typical "Differential Equations & Linear Algebra" course for non-mathematicians, like why the determinant of the product of a pair of matrices is the product of the determinants of those matrices (something that simply wowed me when I learned it) and similarly about rank (and how to determine it) and finally about null space and how it really ties into the eigenvalue problem, and also why & when a matrix can even be diagonalized via eigenvalues, and finally why the mechanical vibration problem works having a pair of matrices instead of just a single one. I studied Mechanical Engineering, and so there is plenty of stuff to review (i.e., at least the advanced "basic physics" engineering science material), etc. For regular Algebra I was able to grok how Lagrangian resolvents can be used to get formulae for the cubic & quartic polynomials - including an extraordinarily geeky delving into those formulae. :wtf: I even derived the method of partial fractions, which is used in Calculus, and why it works. Last but not least, I've even examined isohedra (i.e., all the different shapes that can used in Dungeons & Dragons). There are still a few classes of shapes I need to go through.
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Just curious, why would you hold onto those books for so long?
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other. Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it. Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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This is something that I've been doing in my retirement. What I do is come up with a personal set of notes for any subject, with the complete derivation & proofs of applicability. I have substantially finished notes for Algebra (i.e., regular Algebra, not Abstract Algebra), Linear Algebra, Trigonometry, Analytic Geometry, Geometric Optics & Special Relativity. I happen to be in the middle of Calculus, and to give an idea of how thorough my notes are, I've derived every integral formula that one would find on the inside cover of a Calculus book :omg: :omg: and have even gone through the epsilon-delta proofs :omg: needed to be able to prove that a certain function is continuous (a necessary condition for calculus to work). I delved into Linear Algebra quite deep, proving that all the stuff that was simply lectured as fact in the typical "Differential Equations & Linear Algebra" course for non-mathematicians, like why the determinant of the product of a pair of matrices is the product of the determinants of those matrices (something that simply wowed me when I learned it) and similarly about rank (and how to determine it) and finally about null space and how it really ties into the eigenvalue problem, and also why & when a matrix can even be diagonalized via eigenvalues, and finally why the mechanical vibration problem works having a pair of matrices instead of just a single one. I studied Mechanical Engineering, and so there is plenty of stuff to review (i.e., at least the advanced "basic physics" engineering science material), etc. For regular Algebra I was able to grok how Lagrangian resolvents can be used to get formulae for the cubic & quartic polynomials - including an extraordinarily geeky delving into those formulae. :wtf: I even derived the method of partial fractions, which is used in Calculus, and why it works. Last but not least, I've even examined isohedra (i.e., all the different shapes that can used in Dungeons & Dragons). There are still a few classes of shapes I need to go through.
But do you know the average laden velocity of a European swallow? :laugh: Sound like you have been having fun!
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
As a long retired structural engineer I was interviewed for a school project the other day by a pair of fourteen year olds. Embarrassing. 'Nuff said. However I can still remember the almost spiritual feeling when my maths teacher demonstrated Euler's Identity. I doubt if I could recreate the derivation but you've prompted me to try. Thank you.
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
I tried that a few years ago with my own introductory college-level maths book - Boas' Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences. I found it tougher going than the first time around, but - to my surprise (and pride :) ) - I could still do most of the problems. I graduated almost 30 years ago.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
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I'm teaching a friend's high-school age kid software engineering. This week we're going to study sorting: bubble, binary insertion, quick and merge. Bubble is trivial, but I'm dreading the others. What's worse, he's very bright and thinks I know what I'm talking about. :sigh: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
So, cheat and read up on it. :) Sorting Algorithms - GeeksforGeeks[^]
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello Never stop dreaming - Freddie Kruger
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
Chris Maunder wrote:
Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
To me that happened when I started at the university. I got slapped straight in the face with a frying pan. That was my punishment for having gone through my school years without needing put in any effort at all.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello Never stop dreaming - Freddie Kruger
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For 20 years I've been saying "I'm going to pull out my old university maths books and relearn what I did during those painful 4 years". For years and years I kept procrastinating until this weekend. I'm starting with the simplest and my favourite, [Calculus by Michael Spivak](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/328645.Calculus) (the classic!) and, well... I don't feel as smart as I used to. I seriously thought I'd pick up the book (and this is an entry level to Calculus) and breeze through it in an hour or so, nodding wisely, reminiscing over proofs by induction, mucking around with limits, breezily finding the derivative of tan(Θ) from first principles, and then crack a beer and feel that I still had it. No, that didn't happen. I got to chapter 2 and proved d/dx(xn) = n.x(xn-1) and then had to have beer and a lie down. Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
cheers Chris Maunder
Forty years after high school, I am now asked to teach high school geometry to a kid. Starting this week. No dusty old books, but fresh PDF books available in the public domain.
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Chris Maunder wrote:
Anyone else opened that box past glories and been slapped with the reality that yes, that stuff was and still is hard work?
To me that happened when I started at the university. I got slapped straight in the face with a frying pan. That was my punishment for having gone through my school years without needing put in any effort at all.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello Never stop dreaming - Freddie Kruger
Same here, up to the last year of high school I used to get 90...95% of the maximum number of points without ever having to study or open a book, life was really easy. Higher education to get an engineering degree turned out to be a big surprise! In the end I did manage to acquire the degree within the foreseen time without re-exams etc... but it took quite a bit of effort which I was not used to.
