Hacker News: susanrigetti

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:19:43 +0000

For me, it’s all about consistency. It’s spending a few minutes to a few hours every day, forever, til the day I die.

I usually can squeeze in 30 minutes to an hour every day to study something (whether it’s math or something else — right now I’m studying cinematography). Sometimes that’s in 15-minute chunks if it’s a busy day. Usually it’s before bed or while I’m eating lunch or if I have extra time on the weekends while my kids are napping.

It’s all about just doing a little bit every day. That’s been successful for me.

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:15:38 +0000

I will tell you the secret: just jump in.

Grab a pen and paper, open up the first book in any of the guides, and start reading. Read for 15 minutes, or 20 minutes, or whatever time you have on your lunch break or before you go to bed or while you’re using the bathroom. Do it again the next day. And the next. And the next.

That’s how I did it. There’s no brilliance involved. It’s just jumping in. The more you do, the easier it gets.

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:11:05 +0000

That’s what the real analysis course is usually for, and why it comes after linear algebra and algebra.

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:10:01 +0000

I want this too. Let me know if you find anything!!

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 14:58:57 +0000

I suspect that people forget that undergraduate programs don’t really cover very much. This true not just for math, but for pretty much every other major. I mean, think about how little of physics you learn if you only take undergraduate courses!

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 14:47:07 +0000

I suggest taking another look at the list and comparing it to the required courses of the undergraduate math majors at the top 20 universities in the USA.

Real analysis, complex analysis, topology, and number theory are there (topology and number theory are both listed as electives since most math programs categorize them as such). Graph theory, functional analysis, differential geometry, probability, and statistics are almost always either electives or graduate courses.

It’s funny, because most of the things you mention as “real math” are things that many math undergraduates don’t learn (not until graduate school at least) but that physics students learn as undergraduates (differential geometry, measure theory, functional analysis, etc.).

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 23:56:02 +0000

Yeah, iirc the ebook formatting made the book difficult to read.

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 23:33:40 +0000

For what it’s worth, the curriculum in this guide is modeled after the math major maps of many universities, including the one I attended (Penn). I would be curious to know what part of an undergraduate math curriculum will lead people very far astray…

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 20:05:43 +0000

In that case, I recommend starting out with Zill's Precalculus with Calculus Previews and then working through Stewart's Calculus: Early Transcendentals!

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 19:59:08 +0000

If you have a solid background in calculus, I'd recommend Zill's Advanced Engineering Mathematics, which is pretty much basic math for physicists and engineers (aka for people who need to "use it").

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 19:53:52 +0000

You cut out the middle of that paragraph, which says:

"Sadly, there is all sorts of baggage around learning it (at least in the US educational system) that is completely unnecessary and awful and prevents many people from experiencing the pure joy of mathematics. One of the lies I have heard so many people repeat is that everyone is either a “math person” or a "language person” — such a profoundly ignorant and damaging statement. Here is the truth: if you can understand the structure of literature, if you can understand the basic grammar of the English language or any other language, then you can understand the basics of the language of the universe."

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 19:37:29 +0000

guilty as charged! :)

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 19:36:35 +0000

Check out my physics guide: https://www.susanrigetti.com/physics. It has both the physics core curriculum AND the math essentials you need to know in order to understand the physics essentials. (And thank you!)

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 19:20:46 +0000

Gross's review of linear algebra from his MIT algebra course bridges the gap: http://wayback.archive-it.org/3671/20150528171650/https://ww.... A combination of that and then chapter 11 in D&F should cover whatever readers didn't get from Strang.

That being said, Axler is an excellent book. I don't know if I would replace Strang with it, but I should add it as a supplement to the next edition of this guide!

New comment by susanrigetti in "So you want to study mathematics"

susanrigetti — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 18:48:47 +0000

Agree that Baby Rudin is VERY difficult to study on its own. I recommend only studying it alongside the other two books I listed: Abbott's Understanding Analysis and Spivak's Calculus (which has a solutions manual). Abbott in particular is very straightforward (at least in comparison with baby Rudin haha)

So You Want to Study Philosophy

susanrigetti — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 20:15:08 +0000

Article URL: https://www.susanrigetti.com/philosophy

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26973634

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by susanrigetti in "So You Want to Learn Physics, Second Edition"

susanrigetti — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 15:37:19 +0000

Awesome!! I have it all outlined, just need to skim through the textbooks again and then type everything up. I’m putting up the philosophy list next week and then all my spare time will go into finishing the math one!

So You Want to Learn Physics, Second Edition

susanrigetti — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 21:05:04 +0000

Article URL: https://www.susanrigetti.com/physics

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26895439

Points: 6

# Comments: 3

A Smarter Way to Think About Intelligent Machines

susanrigetti — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 20:36:29 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/opinion/killer-robots-ai-humans.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18463026

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

How Do You Get Cybersecurity Students to Think Like Criminals?

susanrigetti — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 23:32:45 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/opinion/cybersecurity-education-skills.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18455301

Points: 11

# Comments: 3