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Kalid from BetterExplained here, glad you're enjoying it! I often go to the history of a concept for both historical appreciation and, practically, to understa
by kalid 10y ago
Kalid from BetterExplained here, glad you're enjoying it!
I often go to the history of a concept for both historical appreciation and, practically, to understand it better. We often study Calculus without looking at what Archimedes was able to do -- break shapes into smaller parts -- and without really seeing how the notion of infinitesimals come into play. (Epsilon/delta definitions don't give the same insight.)
The natural log was discovered before e -- why would that be? Sine, cosine, trig functions -- they started as measurements of triangles, evolved into analytic definitions of their own -- why does this progression make sense?
In my mind, truly understanding a concept means you understood the path it took to the current state.
- laddng 10y agoOh wow, this is why I love Hacker News - thank you for helping me overcome my mathematical anxieties in college as I was working on my Computer Science major. Your site really helped me gain an appreciation for math since I had terrible teachers as a kid and led me to believe that I could never 'get it'. Would love to see some more linear algebra materials as well
- kalid 10y agoThat's awesome to hear, thanks (I started the site to help other students). Yeah, my only linear algebra content is: General Overview: https://betterexplained.com/articles/linear-algebra-guide/ https://betterexplained.com/articles/linear-algebra-guide/ Matrix Multiplication for Programmers: https://betterexplained.com/articles/matrix-multiplication/ https://betterexplained.com/articles/matrix-multiplication/ Hoping to flesh it out over time.
- chillee 10y agoOut of curiosity, how is the content generated? Do you write it all yourself, or are there other contributors? I've always thought that betterexplained was a great resource, and was wondering whether there was any way I could contribute.
- kalid 10y agoJust saw this now :). I write it all myself, but sometimes get pointed at resources by others. https://aha.betterexplained.com https://aha.betterexplained.com - forum to discuss ideas. It's in the background currently but I'd like to make it into more of a public place. If you like, shoot me an email, I'm putting together a list of people who might want to be contributors. Thanks! https://betterexplained.com/contact https://betterexplained.com/contact